Disclaimer : I don't own anything. If I did, do you really think I'd be writing fanfictions?
Note : Just a note, but this game is broken up into 4 discs, so I'm working on disc one right now. Kapri will be introduced very soon, but then will disappear for a brief bit.
Taylor - Fujin, Eric - Rajin, Toxica - Biggs, Jindrax - Wedge, Marah - Selphie (I think I already mentioned that)
And just so you know, chocobos have existed in Final Fantasy for as long as I can remember. No matter what the world, what time frame, and if it's in no way related to another world, you'll find chocobos. They're as resilient as cockroaches. LOL.
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(Dollet)
Heading back down, I joined the others as we prepared to disembark. A moment later, and the ship shuddered, showing it had landed, and the ramp in the back opened, allowing us to rush out.
Cam turned to Tori and saluted before running off and Tori turned to us seriously. "Ok, you are to secure the Central Square!" she ordered before climbing a ladder to a large gatling gun on the ship and situating herself.
That left Blake, Dustin and I as the scout party.
"Let's move out!" Blake called before running ahead, and Dustin shrugged to me before we followed him.
Rushing up a flight of stairs, we made our way to the entrance of the city, bypassing another trio of SeeD candidates. That's when we were ambushed by three soldiers. They were dressed in mavy blue suits with black battle armor and helmets, carrying rifles.
Galbadian troops.
"These are the Dollet reinforcements?" one asked incredulously.
Pulling out my gunblade, I took up a defensive stand, Blake on one side of me, and Dustin on the other. Blake, too, armed himself, but I guess not surprisingly, Dustin's weapons were the metal lined gauntlets he wore.
He was the first one to attack, racing forward to level a volley of punches at a guard's face, before kicking him in the side of the head. Then Blake raced forward and slashed the same guard in the gut, bringing him down.
I attacked last, taking on the second guard, and bringing him down with three slashes of my blade before I fired a few shots at the third guard. Then, Dustin raced forward and kicked him in the gut before doing a backflip and kicing him in the head.
Once the last guard fell, we headed into the city, following Blake's overly excited lead.
Damn him!
He was calling the soldiers to us! Taunting them and causing us to run into many battles. At the end of the third one, we had to take a moment to heal up with Cure spells and potions, and Blake was still grinning!
Catching up to him under a bridge on the main street, he pointed up and raised an eyebrow, and a moment later, two soldiers jumped down from above.
I shook my head as I attacked the first one. Show off.
Dustin and Blake took out the second and I took out the first with a fire spell after using my gunblade on him.
Another battle over with, we continued on.
"The Central Square's up ahead." Blake informed us with a disappointed frown. Raising his gunblade to the sky, he shouted to anyone that could hear him. "Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there! Come out 'n show your faces! Don't leave me hangin' now!" Then, he ran off towards the Square.
Dustin shook his head. "...What an idiot." he muttered before beginning a jog to catch up to him.
We encountered two more battles before finally having a chance to relax a moment. I checked arouns the Central Square a little more before letting out a silent sigh and walking over to Blake and Dustin. "I think that's all of them." I said simply.
"Well then, we're on standy 'till the enemy comes..." Blake groaned and folded his arms over his chest. "Standby. How boring."
Suddenly, I heard the sounds of fighting around us, increase, and I narrowed my eyes, staying alert for signs of danger. "Sounds like it's starting."
Blake shrugged. "Bring it on." he grinned. A dog came over and pawed at his leg before it began to gnaw on the edge of his jacket and he frowned, using his leg to push it away. "Get outta here!" he growled, shooing the dog with his hand. "Scram!"
Moving to the side, he raised his gunblade to the sky, ignoring Dustin who was glaring at him from the corner of a building he was leaning against. "Hey! Galbadian soldiers! What're you waiting for?! Come show me what you got!" he called.
Looking around, I frowned in suspicion when I noticed no soliders running in our direction. "...Nothing." I said quietly, to myself. This isn't right. There should be some soldiers rushing at us...
"That's it!" Blake yelled angrily. "I can't take this anymore! What is this, some kind of dog training?!"
The dog that had been following him around, moved to the other side of the Square and began to howl. Taking the warning sign, the three of us ducked down behind the edge of the building and watched silently as six soldiers ran through, heading down another path, one of them carrying a small box. Once they were out of sight, we moved out of hiding.
"It's the enemy..." I said quietly.
Dustin frowned and nodded. "Where the hell they goin'?"
Looking over at a large mountain a little ways away, I noticed a large tower on it and frowned.
"What's that up there?" Dustin asked.
"Our next destination." Blake said with a grin as he put his gunblade away.
"But..." Dustin spluttered as he looked between Blake, and me who remained silent. "But that's against orders!" Turning to me, he shot me a begging look. "Shane!"
"I'll follow the captain's orders." I said simply with a shrug. Either way, I have a feeling we're going up there.
"...Captain's orders?" Blake repeated with a raised eyebrow. "You want to wreak some havoc too, don't you?"
I shrugged. Not really, but orders are orders. Besides... "It's a good opportunity to test out my training." Turning to Blake, I regarded him for a moment. "Thanks to you, I feel like I can take on anyone. Even if they do fight dirty like you."
He grinned and shook his head. "You'll thank me when the day comes."
I bit back the urge to roll my eyes as I stared at him emotionlessly. Are we actually having a civilized conversation?
Apparently, Dustin noticed it, too. "What the hell...? I thought you guys didn't get along. You're like, all buddy-buddy now. Listen. This ain't no ordinary battle. It's an exam, an important one. I'm telling ya, we have to stick to orders." he pleaded.
Blake shot him a dirty look. "Then you stay here. I don't need any boy scouts."
"What was that?!"
I sighed and turned to Dustin. "Don't take him seriously, Dustin." Turning to Blake I shrugged. "If we're gonna go, let's go already."
He nodded back. "The enemy's heading for that facility. We, Squad B, are to secure the Summit. Move out!"
"Alright." I agreed.
Dustin sighed and shook his head. "Tch...fine."
(Dollet Mountain Hideout)
Running along the back street, we were soon let out on a brick path that led up the mountain. It wound around many trees and fallen Dollet soldiers, and we stopped to speak to a few on our way, hoping for some useful information.
The first wounded soldier we fround, was laying against a large stone slab and panting. "What business do they have with the Communication Tower, now?"
A second soldier was lying on his back on the ground, bleeding badly from a wound, but it didn't seem fatal. "...As a child...I used to...play at this Communication Tower... It was already closed down then...and... Ugh, I was careless."
Heading up the stone steps, we made it halfway to the next portion of the path when a rustling sound came from the bushes to our left and we armed ourselves quickly, only to find ourselves face-to-face with a wounded soldier crawling out of them.
Seeing us, he gasped and crouched back a bit, shaking in fear. "W-Who are you?" he stuttered.
"Don't worry. We're SeeD candidates. We've been dispatched by Garden." I said quietly, lowering my sword and watching as he fell onto the path, panting in relief.
"So what's gonig on up there?" Blake asked curiously, lowering his weapon as well.
"The Galbadian Soldiers have entered the Communication Tower. On top of that, the place has always been a breeding ground for monsters. If you guys are goin; up, be caref-Ahhhh!" his last statement turned into a terrified scream as a loud hiss was heard from the bushes and something wrapped around his ankle, trying to drag him back into them. "HELP!" he screamed.
Rushing forward, I stooped and grabbed his arm, using my gunblade to slice whatever was holding him, letting him go free. Moving him safely to the side, I watched as a giant snake and a large lizard slithered out, glaring fiercely at us for interrupting their meal.
Arming ourselves again, we got ready for battle. The snake, or Anacondaur, was a stronger monster, so we focused on the lizard, the Geezard, first. Dustin ran forward, punching and kicking it, and knocking it on it's back, where Blake slashed it across the stomach, killing it.
I charged forward and cast a quick Fire before slashing with my blade and jumping back. Feeling a burst of energy, I unleashed my ultimate attack, Renzokuken. I ran forward again and sliced viscously at the snake several times, before jumping back and raising my hands over my head, holding my gunblade standing straight up. I large beam of energy came from my blade and shot into the sky before coming back down, and I held an empowered blade. Swinging it over my head in a vertical arc, I watched as the wave of energy sliced the snake in half, sending each half falling in a different direction.
My ultimate attacks sometimes had different forms, and this was just one of them.
Once that was done, I sighed and sheathed my blade. "Monsters, huh?"
"More fun for us." Blake said easily. "Come on." Racing off, Dustin and I exchanged raised eyebrows.
"Fun?" Dustin asked incredulously. "Pu-lease!"
Making it to the top of the mountain, we noticed an opening in the brush that would allow us to look out over the entrance to the Communications Tower that two soldiers stood outside of. I laid down as flat to the ground as I could, Dustin crouching on one side of me, and Blake laying on the other side of him, and we watched quietly, as one of the soldiers worked on a control panel, and the other worked on some thick cables lying on the ground.
That's when a third soldier came out and saluted to the other two before bringing out a clipboard.
"The generator is up and running!" the third soldier said.
The first one nodded. "No problem with the boosters!"
"...The hell they doing?" Blake asked quietly, frowning at what he was seeing.
"Cable disconnection confirmed!" The second soldier replied to the others. "Beginning exchange process!"
"...Repairs?" I questioned quietly as the three soldiers entered the Comm Tower and we stood up.
"Who cares?" Blake snorted. Turning to me, he grinned. "This must be your first real battle. You scared?"
I shrugged. "...I don't know. I try not to think about it."
He shook his head in response. "I love battles." he sighed almost dreamily. "I fear nothing. They way I look at it, as long as you make it out of the battle alive, you're one step closer to fulfilling your dreams."
"What?" I questioned as I made a face. Blake's following a dream? I don't understand.
"You have one too, don't you?" he asked with confusion.
Shrugging, I shook my head. Haven't had a dream for a long time. "Sorry, but I'm gonna pass on that subject."
"Yo!" Dustin cut in, finally having enough of being ignored. "Let me in on it, too!"
Blake shook his head. "Mind your own business." he sneered.
"Fricken hell!" Dustin yelled, beginning a series of punches around Blake's face, as if trying to intimidate him.
"What's the matter, Dustin? Swatting flies?" he asked mock innocently before walking off towards the path to the Comm Tower.
"Damn you...!"
"There you are!"
Spinning a little in surprise, I noticed the same girl I gave a tour to, before, standing on top of a hill, waving at us below her. She took a shaky step down to a lower ledge, but slipped and fell, flipping and rolling down the hill until she landed on her knees in front of us. Rubbing her head, she pouted before getting up and brushing off the short skirt of her uniform and sticking her tongue out and winking at us.
"Are you...Squad B?" she asked hesitantly as she rubbed at the back of her head a little more.
I nodded and her eyes lit up as she looked at me closely.
"Wait a minute... You're the guy who showed me around, before. Thanks! I don't get so lost anymore." she said cheerily. "Oh yeah, I haven't told you my name, yet. I'm a messenger from Squad A. Name's Marah." Looking around, she frowned when noticed that it was only the two of us, besides her. "Squad leader's Blake, right? Uhh...where is he?"
Looking down to the front of the Comm Tower, I pointed as Blake ran into view, waving at us from below.
"One of these days, I'm gonna tell you about my romantic dream!" he called before disappearing inside.
Sighing, Marah took a step towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. "This sure is tough." she whined before jumping off the edge and sliding down it, this time, landing on her ass. Standing up, she turned towards the Tower. "Captain! Wait up!!" she called. Then she turned back to us. "What're you waiting for? Come on!! Come on!!!"
Looking at me nervously, Dustin offered a weak chuckle. "Shane, you're not gonna... It's a cliff, man..." he weakly protested.
No duh. I kinda noticed that. "No way." I like my bones they way they are, thank you.
Running around the path to the tower, we soon caught up to Marah who was giving us an impatient look. "What took you so long? It would've been quicker if you'd jumped."
"Jumped? Pu-lease..." Dustin snorted, shaking his head. "You won't normally jump off a cliff, ok?! Ain't that right, Shane?"
Looking at the cliff thoughtfully, I decided to bug Dustin and shrugged. "...I don't know about that. Maybe everyone but the Chicken Wuss can do it."
"WHAT DID YOU SAYYY?!?!" he screamed, getting red in the face.
Looking at him seriously, Marah nodded. "Hmmm... Since you're getting so angry, I'm guessing you're the Chicken Wuss."
"What the...!!!" Dustin looked at us both with wide eyes, his head almost steaming by now. "Why is everyone... I AM NOT A CHICKEN!!"
"Well..." Marah seemed to think about it. "If you're not a Chicken, then how about...a PIG!" Then she shook her head. "Oh, but you look more like a Chicken anyways."
Shaking his fist, Dustin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, relaxing. "Chicken, pig, whatever." he said indifferently. "Call me what you want!" he yelled, glaring at us. "I don't care anymore!!"
And yet, your yelling says differently. "Don't take it personally, Dustin." I said with a wave of my hand.
He turned towards the Comm Tower. "Tch..."
Having enough of this, Marah moved to the door and turned back to us. "Since he left you guys alone, I'll join your group. Well, let's get goin'." she said, walking to our sides.
"So... This is the Communications Tower..." Dustin said thoughtfully as he looked up to the top of it.
Marah nodded. "Sure is big."
"Ahh...AHHHH!"
Looking back down at the door, we watched silently as Blake chased out two soldiers and watched as they ran away.
"H-Hey!" Marah called, but Blake ignored her and walked back inside. Turning to us, she stomped her foot and pouted. "The captain's getting away!"
We headed inside and watched as a flat lift descended from the upper floor. "...Did he go up?" I asked quietly.
"Hey!" Marah called loudly. "Squad B Captain!"
Shaking my head, I got on the lift and waited for the others to get on as well before hitting the switch to go up. As the lift ascended, Marah looked over the edge of it excitedly. "This is a pretty cool lift."
"Don't get too excited, or you'll fall." Dustin said with a raised eyebrow.
She stuck her tongue out at him and placed her hands on her hips. "Like I'm really going to!"
Finally making it to the top, we stepped off the elevator and stood a few feet away from a Galbadian soldier. Actually, it looked more like an oddly dressed woman than a soldier, but I knew better. She wore a veil over her face, with a horn on the top of a strange looking helmet, and a long black and purple dress with jagged points of armor on her shoulders, and it came to her feet. Hanging across her back was a staff with a glowing green stone on the top.
Suddenly, the tower began to shake, and we looked around, before I spun to look behind me and watched with wide eyes as a large, metal cylinder rose behind me and raised high into the sky, before it opened at the top and formed a satelite with blinking lights around the edge. Then, the disk began to glow and a thick beam of light shot from it, reaching far into space.
Turning back to the woman, I glared at he and took a shaky step forward as my legs settled again to the now lack of shaking. "What do you think you're doing?!" I demanded.
She spun to face me, showing young asian features and her eyes narrows as she grabbed her staff. "Huh? Likewise, mister! What do you think you're doing?!" Then her eyes widened and she took a step back as she looked around. "H-HEY! What happened to all of the soldiers below?! Jindrax, take care of these twerps!" she ordered.
Looking around when nothing happened, her eyes widened again and she began to stutter. "J...Jindrax? I...ah... Well, I ah... Seem to be done here." she said with a nervous smile as she began to edge towards the lift. "So, I'll just be on my-"
Holding her staff up, she tried to act tougher. "I'm leaving! Move it! Move, move, MOVE!!"
There was a sound, and we watched as Blake showed up, swinging his blade and knocking the staff out of her hands. "Sorry to crash the party." he said with a grin.
"Hey!" she protested, running over and picking up her staff. Turning to us, she glared. "Are you crazy!?"
Shaking my head, I grabbed my gunblade and settled into a defensive stand. Beside me, Dustin smacked his hand into the palm of his other hand and grinned, and Marah grabbed her nunchucks and swung them around.
Then someone else came running up. Actually, it was something that looked more like a monster than a human. He was white with pale red marks on his white suit and armor, with a helmet that his light, pale yellow hair stood out of. The face of his mask almost looked like a...clown?
Oook. I thought with a raised eyebrow as he ran up beside the woman.
He also had a horn on his head, and a set of daggers on his hips.
"Major Toxica... Have you finished the repairs, ma'am?" Then he spotted us and grabbed his daggers. "What is the enemy doing here?!"
Was it just me, or was he a little slow?
Turning her face to him, Toxica scowled. "Jindrax! Where were you?!" Shaking her head, she turned back to us. "No pay this month!" she said as she got ready to fight.
Letting his head drop, he sighed and joined her. "Should've stayed home today." he muttered.
Running forward, Jindrax attacked me with his daggers, and I jumped back to avoid them, raising my gunblade to block an attack at my chest. Countering, I swung forward and pushed him back before spinning and slicing him across the stomach.
Dustin ran at Toxica and began punching her, some of his attacks blocked by her staff. Jumping back, he spun and swung a leg out, catching her in the shoulder and sending her stumbling back, as Marah sprung forward and hit her with her nunchucks, sending her crashing to the ground.
Then, a strong wind blew up and we knelt down, holding onto the grating of the top level to keep from being blown away. Unfortunately for Toxica and Jindrax, they weren't quick enough and stumbled around in surprise as the wind caught them.
"What the...?" Toxica called as she was lifted into the air.
Jindrax soon followed. "Whoa!!"
They were blown away, and in their place, a large monster that looked a little like a cross between a bat and a bee settled down in front of us, glaring at us with red eyes.
"An Elvoret!" Marah cried with wide eyes as we stood back up.
It was one of the monsters that had been using the Comm Tower as a breeding ground. I was about to attack when I sensed something within it and closed my eyes, using my drawing technique to sense a GF in it.
Siren.
A mermaid GF with the element of water, that could silence enemies when called into battles by playing her enchanted harp.
Using my technique, I drew her from the monster before opening my eyes and running forward to slash at it with my gunblade.
Marah raised her hand and a ball of wind formed around it before shooting out to hit the Elvoret, knocking it off balance. That's when Dustin ran forward and punched and kicked at it before jumping back, and I followed suit by summoning a GF.
The sky darkened as we moved back, and thunder was heard. Flashes of lightning shot across the sky, and a moment later, a thick bolt of lightning shot down, hitting the ground and forming a ball that took on the form of a bird, before it solidified into Quezacotl, the Lightning GF.
Rearing it's head back, the yellow and green bird shrieked and a ball of lightning shot out of it's beak, hitting the monster and forming an electrified barrier around it. As the lightning shot around inside the barrier, Elvoret was electrocuted again and again before the barrier faded, and Dustin ran forward as Quezacotl disappeared, punching the monster in the stomach and running up it's body to kick it in the head with a roundhouse kick.
Marah summoned Shiva, and as the Diamond Dust attack cut Elvoret badly, we watched as she faded and the monster collapsed, falling off the edge of the tower and towards the sharp rocks below.
Then, Marah made her way over to Blake who was watching the whole with with a bored expression on his face.
Lazy jackass. I thought darkly. He could've helped.
"Excuse me, Mr. Squad Captain? I have new orders, sir." Closing her eyes, she stood straight and saluted as she repeated her orders. "All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are ordered to withdraw at 1900 hours. Meet at the beach."
"Withdraw?!" Blake yelled angrily. "But there's still enemies around!"
She shrugged. "I'm just the messenger."
"An order to withdraw takes prioity." I stated out loud as I sheathed my gunblade. "I don't wanna miss the boat."
Frowning, Blake's eyes darkened as he turned to Marah. "What time did you say?"
She sighed and repeated herself. "Like I saaiiid. SeeD members and SeeD candidates are ordered to withdraw at 1900 hours. Meet at the beach."
"1900 hours..." His eyes widened and he jumped up. "We only have 30 minutes!" Turning to us, he boarded the lift and smirked. "You got 30 minutes to reach the shore." he pointed out before heading down.
"Heeey!" Marah whined as the lift soon reappeared. "Wait for us!"
Setting my watch to 29 minutes, I began the timer and headed onto the lift with them.
Dustin scowledf as we headed down. "Who the hell does he think he is?!"
I shrugged. "Why don't you ask him?"
As we descended, we were unaware of Toxica staggering to a small computer key pad, and punching in a code. "Those little twirps are the targets." she hissed as a giant machine weapons scrambled around the top before stopping and making a series of beeping noises.
Finally making it to the bottom of the tower, we raced out and were about to leave when we heard the sound of metal scraping slowly on metal, above us, and looked up to find a giant machine inching it's way to the edge of the grating before jumping off to land in front of us.
We don't have the time for this! I thought angrily as I grabbed my gunblade. Frowning, I thought of something, as the light glinted off the steel body. Machine. Weak against lightning.
Replacing my gunblade, I gestured for the others to move back, and summoned Quezacotl. The lightning attack was amplified on this creature, and one hit brought it down. Once it collapsed, we made our way past it and began to run up the path. We didn't make it far before we heard a sound and looked back at the corner we'd just rounded. The head of the monster appeared and it approached, only to get stuck on the way.
"Huh? It repaired itself?" Dustin asked with wide eyes as we slowly backed away.
Shaking her head, Marah grabbed her nunchucks. "No more."
"There's no end to this." I stated as we turned and ran.
Making it to the bridge, we had to carefully walk down them, and once we were at the bottom we ran again, hearing the metal legs of the weapon, chasing us all the way. Getting to the bridge, we started across when we heard a strange grating sound and watched as the machine jumped over us to block our escape. Turning, we ran back, only for it to jump back, and we immediately spun back, managing to get across the bridge before it could get it's bearings.
Running through the street, we bypassed the Central Square, barely noticing as the dog from earlier, ran off with a terrified yelp. We kept running down the street, but I spared a glance behind me to watch as a leg from the machine impaled a car and destroyed it completely before it continued on.
The thing was gaining on us.
Making it to the archway that led to the stairs down to the beach, Marah and Dustin jumped landing and rolling on the sand before getting up and running towards the last ship there. Our ship.
Unfortunately, I wasn't as fast, and just when I was about to jump, the machine crashed into the archway right behind me, the force of the blast knocking me down and I hit the sand hard on my back, rolling a foot away. Laying there, winded, I watched for a moment as the machine crashed into it again and broke through. That's when I stumbled to my feet, and began to run again, my steps shaky.
The machine was right behind me, closing in as I ran. I saw Dustin and Marah stop ahead of me, turning back with concerned looks and waving me to hurry up. Then, they started running again and soon boarded the ship as it began to pull out.
Damn! I thought fiercly as I boosted my speed, feeling the ache of my lungs as I struggled to breathe. Almost there...!
Finally jumping, I latched on to the ramp as it began to lift, and pulled myself inside, looking back with wide eyes as I panted.
The machine was at the edge of the beach, only two feet away and was reaching for the ship when a volley of shots began to rain out and hit it dead in the head, knocking it back. But the shots didn't stop until it fell back and landed on the ground, the red lights marking it's eyes, fading as it powered down permanently.
That was too close!
Watching as Tori climbed down a side ladder and entered the room, looking nervous and a little fatigued, I nodded slowly, understanding that it was her who saved us all. Then my eyes turned to Blake as he smirked at us, reclining in the seat as he relaxed.
Bastard!
Turning away from him, I got to my feet and sat on the other side of the cabin, still panting a bit as my heart pounded in fear, and my body ached from my landing on the sand.
Too close...
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A long chapter. Oh well.
Hope you like it.
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"Man...all they did was get in my way. Being a leader ain't easy."
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi