Draco: I did something unusual and planned most of what happens in this fic. Like, proper plans, not just 'there are things that need to happen' and 'there are references I want to make' like I usually do. I have a specific layout for most of this, particularly this chapter.

Final Fantasy Type-0 © Square Enix

Striking at the Wild Tiger

=Gelumens XXII, 841 RG=
Former residence of Black Tortoise l'Cie Erragal
Lorica Region

"...ning."

Deuce winced as she drifted out of sleep. Her entire body felt stiff.

"Good mor~ning..."

As she opened her eyes, she found a woman in armour kneeling at her side.

"Time to wake up. Come now, that's it."

Karia got to her feet as Deuce slowly lifted upright, the previous days occurrences slowly coming back to her. The old home in the forest was ill suited to host fourteen overnight; Ishme had returned to the paladins' quarters in Lorica for the night, and Class Zero had insisted that the dracoknight take the building's lone bed in the attic. Consequently, Deuce and her Classmates had taken to sprawling themselves on the floor around the map table on the lower floor, and as Karia stepped away she was all but dancing between the Agito Cadets as they slowly rose from slumber.

"It will be dawn in a few short hours," the Concordian announced. "Ishme brought a meal for us. Eat quickly; then we should depart."

She was out of the house in a few moments, leaving the cadets alone in the building. In a few moments, they had all drawn themselves out of slumber; and they knew there was one thing they had to check while Karia was not watching them.

The class' gambler held his hand away from himself and let magic gather in his grip, a pale, glowing sphere - white phantoma - appearing in his palm in short order.

"Ace, check."

This was how they spoke with one another on Code Crimson missions. Dominion communications were all interlinked, and so Mother did not have any at the Vermilion Nest. Rather, Class Zero kept contact with a phantoma-harnessed obscure neural extension magic that conveyed spoken word directly to the minds of those they were linked to. Ace's voice was naught but the quietest whisper, such that his own ears hardly reached it - yet his Classmates all heard him as clearly as though he were speaking into their ears. At long range, monsters would be driven mad by the resonations in their own phantoma, and at longer still even humans would notice something awry; but when they were so close together, the only ones to even be affected were the twelve Classmates Zero.

The phantoma in his hand vanished, and Deuce formed one in her own. "Deuce, check." Everyone heard it, and so she let it fade as Trey grasped one for himself.

"Trey, check."

Each of the twelve of them tested their magic, so as to ensure the link between the twelve of them was still active; then they got to their feet, stepping out of the building to find Ishme and Karia waiting for them. The paladin had come without his tauricorn, this time; but around the building were six impressive skyverns, each turning to the Class.

"A little slow to rise, are we?" Ishme mused.

"How do you even hide dragons in Lorica?" Jack inquired

"The forestry means that being grounded is cover enough," Karia explained. "Will you be eating?"

"Can we get that to go?" Seven asked. "We should move out immediately."

Ishme smiled. "I like your style."

Karia beckoned one of the dragons to make its way forward as Ishme distributed breakfast. "The dragons can carry carry two phoenixes, at most," she explained, "though I should be able to join the lightest group. Each of you, choose a partner. We will take you to the Berith sands, and retreat in short order."

Partners were a simple matter, for everyone in Class Zero had someone with whom they were on amicable terms. Ace and Deuce were both willing to be welcome; Seven was the only one who could match Sice's scathing insults; Eight and Cater went without saying; Queen was least objecting to Trey's intellectual lengths; Nine and King had the toughest skulls in the Class; and Cinque was cheerful enough to take Jack's jesting when the mood allowed it. In no time, they had boarded the dragons; Karia donned a dracoknight helmet and mounted the skyvern Ace and Deuce were upon, drawing a spear from her back.

"Hold tight, all of you. This will be no pleasure cruise."

+x+x+x+

Pleasure cruise or not, the dragons had speeds comparable to Class Zero's corvette. In no time, the six skyverns were soaring up the mountain range to Berith, with the dragon Karia rode at the front.

They were most displeased to find a series of tri-legged machines at the top of the mountain: Militesi Nymurods. By some stroke of fate, they were all ill positioned to strike at the soaring dragons, but the Class knew how quickly these things could turn when they started moving. Karia seemed to realize the danger as well, for an utterance of "Damnations" reached Ace's ears even in the wind.

"What do we do?" Deuce cried.

"Keep holding on," Karia insisted. Then, crying out so that all six dragons could hear her; "Haltz!"

The dragons accelerated still further, rushing parallel with the mountain. The Nymurods were clearly piloted, for they began to move as Karia issued her command; however, it was no time at all before the skyverns were level with the machines, and from each dragon's maw emerged a blast of voltage that blew the mechs to pieces. The shocks disabled the mechs, but in no time at all were a few pilots emerging from the collapsed machines.

Karia growled in an almost draconic manner herself. "Ratelo!"

The skyverns shot forward like bullets, and the Militesi rogues were unable to act before the dragons' claws ended their lives. Karia quickly directed the thunder earthward, soaring parallel to the mountain range until they arrived at the sands and landed. Class Zero quickly leapt down from the saddles, some landing more smoothly than others.

"When we're done," Ace informed the dracoknight, "we'll head through the Berith Tunnel to the Northern Valley. Meet us there."

"Very well," Karia mused. "I trust you will be successful."

She made sure the entire Class had dismounted; then she directed the dragons to soar back over the mountains, vanishing in short order.

Cinque giggled cheerfully. "That was awesome," she mused. "Halt! Rattle, yo! It would be so cool to fight with a dragon!"

Trey shook his head. "It was haltz, and ratelo," he corrected. "She was speaking in Soryusian, a language meant to make communication with-"

"Deuce, Cinque, with me," Ace said quickly, interrupting Trey before he got too into it. "Better we get there before the heat picks up."

The archer fell quiet as the three of them started towards the center of the desert. Nine, Cater, and Eight were also quick to start moving as a group, as did King, Sice, and Seven. With a sigh, Trey allowed Queen and Jack to start moving before he followed suit.

"Trey," he told himself, "you're rambling again."

+x+x+x+

There was no shortage of unpleasant monsters in the desert, but it wasn't long before the twelve of them had gotten close enough to take a good look at the encampment. The leader of each team quickly triggered their Camouflage Cloak before the gunners could notice the black spots in the desert; then they got into position to observe the encampment.

A Striker MA and two troopers were patrolling the outside of the camp; as the Class watched, they approached the gate and made their way back into the camp as an identical unit stepped out for their shift. The guntowers visibly had only one or two men at the post, and aside from two Supersoldiers watching the gate, there didn't seem to be that many men watching the interior.

"Looks like Biggs and Wedge didn't have a whole lot of sympathizers," Queen observed.

"More likely they've only got a few men watching because of the conditions," Eight argued. "They'd get tired quick in this heat, and Militesi helmets don't exactly keep the sweat out of your eyes."

Everyone in the class looked at him when he said that.

Visible or not, Eight could feel the gazes. "I mean they don't look like it."

Ace rolled his eyes, turning back to the gate. "Easiest way in would be to slip by while the patrols are changing shifts," he observed. "Failing that, I should be able to stop the gate from locking to prevent the charge, and we can climb over."

Seven nodded. "Alright. We'll set up a few distractions for the patrol in case Gamma needs them, then come in after you and start preparing them on the interior."

"I think just watching the gate should be enough with the way they're set up," Cater observed. "Eight and Nine to either side, and me straight-on. As long as we keep close enough for our cloaks to keep us invisible, we'll be fine."

"Well," Jack mused, "how do you want us to prepare for the strike?"

"Sit tight where the patrol can't walk on you and you won't get crossfired by Gamma," Ace replied. "We'll make sure the gate's disabled when we need you to move in."

"That'll do it."

The patrol was already changing shifts; it didn't look like they did any more than one lap around the base before they changed. Ace quickly got to his feet. "Deuce, Cinque, let's move!"

"Right!"

"Okay!"

Moving in while they shifts changed worked well enough. To avoid traffic with the MAs, they did it in rounds; outgoing shift exited the base, incoming shift entered. The Phi team was able to slip in while the shifts were changing, and they quickly headed between the nearest two warehouses to make sure they didn't get heard while they were planning.

"Okay," Ace murmured. "I'm getting hot. Deuce, can you turn your cloak on?"

There was the muffled tear of a velcro strap, and a fresh dose of Inviga washed over the three of them; Ace quickly folded own sleeve back, glancing around. Unfortunately, sneaking in was going to prove a little more difficult than they anticipated; almost all of the warehouses were connected with fencing, and the sounds of charge told them that they were all electrified, same as the border fencing.

"Keep close. This could get bothersome."

+x+x+x+

The Omicron team decided their diversions needed to be loud and hidden. To that end, King unlocked a few magazines from his handguns and set them in the shadows near each guardtower; Seven would strike them at range when they were needed, detonating them, and Sice would be all to eager to deal with the renegades when they took notice.

When they made their way inside, the Phi team had already vanished into the fence maze. The initial plan was a diversion on the inside and outside at both watchtowers, but Seven settled for putting them just on the two along the gate side and waiting for a signal to move in.

The Eta team was waiting on the north side of the base, waiting for the signal to move in - and they were rather concerned to see a trio of Striker Transports approaching from that side. Jack was quick to trigger the phantoma link, warning the others.

"Uh, guys, this is Eta. We've got an MA unit coming from the north."

Cinque was quick to respond; "How big are they?"

"Just the cargo models," Jack assured them. "But what are they doing?"

"They must have a long-range patrol to watch the edges of the desert," Seven replied. "They must have been notified when we took out those Nymurods."

"That doesn't make sense," Trey protested. "Berith is huge. There's no way they could get communications at that range without an airship to carry the signals."

A pause; then everyone in Class Zero glanced up, to make sure there wasn't an airship flying there that they had somehow missed.

"Stay quiet and keep hidden," Eight advised. "Omicron, see if you can listen in on them when they get inside. Something has to be up."

"Copy that."

It took a while before the Striker Transports arrived at the base. Seven had King trigger his cloak to Invis him and Sice; then she approached the arrivals as a man in a supersoldier uniform came out of one of the guntowers. The pilot for the first transport pulled himself out, and the two exchanged Militesi salutations.

"The cargo arrive already?"

"I wish I could say that. The ship's been wiped out."

The supersoldier scoffed. "I didn't think those dingies would be any good that far out."

"What? No, nobody showed up."

"Then how did you-"

A groan from the pilot shut the supersoldier up. "Did you even read the orientation packet?" He quickly turned back to his MA, reaching into the cockpit and drawing out a letter. "The order says: Evie bringing ammunition, Colossus MAs, Prometheus MAs to Berith north shore, accompanied by Henry, Jacob, Lydia, and George."

The supersoldier scratched the back of his head. "Who?"

A glare isn't easy to do in goggles and a helmet that casts your face in shadow, but the pilot managed it.

"Oh, wait, shit."

"Exactly," the pilot reprimanded. "Go tell V&W. We're gonna get these Transports back in storage."

Seven muttered a curse under her breath, making her way back to where King and Sice were waiting. Once she was in range, Sice triggered her cloak, prompting Seven and King to turn theirs back off; then the whipblade artist triggered the phantoma link. "This is Omicron. The cargo MAs were awaiting a transport ship on the north shore. The renegades are identifying defeated units when they don't recognize the names. They could tell the ship was wiped out because they had a crew listing."

"Damn," Nine muttered into the link. "Yo, if they noticed something like that, they're gonna tell we wiped out their turrets on the mountain, hey."

"Yeah." Sice glanced at the fencing maze. "Hey, Phi, keep your ears open. If they get on alert, give us a heads-up."

"Copy," Deuce confirmed. Then; "Oh, speak of Finis."

"What's happened?" King asked.

+x+x+x+

Unfortunately, the Militesi renegades had the good sense to make sure their labyrinth of electrified fence was only such that one could get into - or out of - it from the gate side. Fortunately, there was a portion which was damaged near the training hall, and the charge had been disabled for repairs; although there were some men working on it, it was a simple matter for Ace to deal out a few cards, Cinque to drag them into the nearest warehouse full of weapons, and Deuce to extract their phantoma, after which the Phi team slipped through. This happened around the time Jack informed them of the approaching MAs; by the time they got Seven's warning, they were already trying to pick their way through.

"Hey, Phi, keep your ears open," Sice warned. "If they get on alert, give us a heads-up."

"Copy."

No sooner had Deuce finished than the door to the nearest MA warehouse burst open, and a whole squadron of supersoldiers stepped out.

"Oh, speak of Finis."

"The delivery team and the guards on the Lorica mountains!?" one soldier ranted. "Damn it all! Someone is up to something! Keep your eyes open; no one out of the Black Tortoise can hide to save their asses, but if the Emperor deployed a covert squad then that's another matter altogether. You," he added, pointing at the last soldier out of the door, "stay here and watch the door. This is the only one that doesn't go through the barracks. Turn on an MA if you see anything. And check your lists, damn you. The rest of you, spread out. Get as many soldiers moving as you can. Did we ever...?"

As the soldiers departed, a tap on Ace's shoulder prompted him to turn on his cloak so that Deuce could turn hers off; then the Phi team made their way around the corner of the warehouse to make sure they wouldn't be overheard.

"We can't go take out V&W if there's that many men patrolling," Deuce observed, "there's no way Eta can get through safely."

"Maybe get Omicron to start a diversion?" Ace mused.

Deuce shook her head. "This many soldiers active, and more being put on alert? Even if Sice can fend off their ground troops, she needs to be out in the open in order to fight that many opponents, and that'll leave her exposed to the guntowers. King's the only one of all twelve of us who can attack from far enough to deal with them."

Cinque hummed, glancing back. "If there's so many soldiers running around," she mused, "they're all gonna come running to the same place, right?"

Ace turned to her. "Yeah, but-"

"I'll be right back."

"What?!" The draw of velcro told them that Cinque had turned on her own cloak; Ace's attempt to grab her arm only grasped air. "Oh, come on- Cinque!" he hissed, fighting not to yell.

"Relax, would you!" Cinque's whispered cheer came from just to the right. "I'm not gonna smash anything!

Then, as her footsteps started away; "...Myself."

+x+x+x+

The soldiers didn't seem to have their repairmen on the lists, but Cinque knew it would only be a matter of time before someone realized that the fence should be fixed by now. She quickly snuck her way to one of the frontmost warehouses - where, she had noticed on her way in, a section of the roof had fallen away. She didn't want to risk opening any doors in case they were connected to security, but the Striker Transports that Jack had announced were running into traffic difficulties on an adjacent warehouse; it was a simple matter to hop the running board, clamber up the cargo space, and hop onto the roof before anyone noticed the ripples of movement, whereupon she made the simple leap from the MA storage to the one with the broken roof and drop in.

Several automated weapons were gathered inside; but the silence inside indicated that they were all shut down, which gave Cinque some breathing room as she turned off her cloak. Moving carefully so as to make sure she didn't accidentally activate one, she looked around the warehouse until she came across a large computer.

"Oooh," the mace-swinger muttered, "I hate Tiger tech."

Hated or not, Mother had made sure they all knew how to work 'Tiger tech'... more or less. Carefully clicking through, Cinque found that the automatons were set up so that if the personnel entrance or the bay door was opened, they would start scanning; if there were any targets not wearing a Militesi uniform, the weapons would start attacking, otherwise they would go into patrol mode.

And the system was not password-protected, which made it a simple matter to change that...

+x+x+x+

Ace and Deuce were left waiting impatiently until Cinque got back - which they only realized when Deuce heard her whisper "Done" at point-blank range. Only Ace's hand over her mouth stopped the flautist from screaming; after a moment's panic, they realized that the supersoldier guarding the warehouse they were at hadn't reacted, and the gambler pulled his hand away.

"What were you doing?" Ace demanded.

"One of the stores up front had a busted roof," Cinque explained. "It was full of their auto-bots, with a screen to change their settings. I set them up so they start shooting as soon as the big door opens; then I replaced the door workings with my mace."

"You did what?" Deuce was incredulous.

"Uh-huh!" Cinque confirmed. "Get Kingaling to blow up one of his mags on the tower..." She paused for a moment, visualizing the gates before she said, "on the left, facing the gate, so they've got all the soldiers' attention. Then I can drop the door, and the machines are gonna start shooting 'em full of holes!"

Ace chuckled. "That's... actually pretty good."

Deuce quickly triggered the phantoma link. "Omicron, this is Phi. Do you have a diversion on the northeast tower?"

"Diversion in place," Seven confirmed. "Should we get into position?"

"Not quite," Deuce explained. "We need the diversion triggered, but we can't have you nearby. Cinque hacked several automated weapons to fire when the bay doors are opened and then prepared it to fall. Can you trigger it at range?"

King huffed into the link. "Give us a countdown."

"Damn you all," Sice muttered. "I wanted to reap some Whites."

"Don't worry, Sicey," Cinque insisted. "There's a lo~tta soldiers in the training hall, and they're gonna start fighting as soon as we take out the leaders. You're gonna be grim by the time we're done."

She raised her hand so that when her mace appeared it would be propped on her shoulder. "Five, four, three, two, one, go!"

They heard the magazine detonate clear across the camp. In no time at all, Seven came through over the link; "Soldiers gathering. Drop the door." Cinque's mace appeared in her hand, and before long the sound of Militesi gunfire was bursting out from that direction. Ace quickly tossed a hand of cards at the supersoldier on door duty; once he was on the ground, Ace was running in while Deuce extracted his phantoma.

That delay was the only reason the entire Phi team didn't get taken out at once.

Deuce's Camouflage Cloak was the one still active; as Ace broke into the courtyard, his body became abruptly visible as he found himself out of range of the Inviga. An entire squadron of shock troopers stepped out of the training hall as Ace started to turn around; one of them got the idea to hurl his thunderhatchet at the cloaked cadet, the shock paralyzing Ace and throwing him to the ground. Deuce heard him cry out and started moving, only for Cinque to grab her arm and drag her out of the way; her reasoning became clear when the shock troopers noticed the open doors and came looking.

"What do we do?" Deuce asked.

Cinque shook her head. "Get Sicey in here before they can take Acey inside," she insisted. "She's the only-"

They were both cut off when Cater's voice came in through the phantoma link - in a panic.

"This is Gamma! We've got trouble!"

Draco: Oh, come on, a mission before Cid even started his coup and you thought it was going to go squeaky-smooth?