Chapter 13: The Counter-Attack
Cephiro Castle, Several Days Later
The allied leaders were all gathered in the main chamber of the castle, now joined by Tarta and Tatra of Chizeta.
"That's such horrible news," said Tatra, looking crestfallen as she heard how poorly the battle with the Zill had gone.
"If only we could have been here," said Tarta, looking frustrated. "We probably could have turned the tide in your favor."
"I'm afraid in this case, even your Guardian Djinn wouldn't have stood much of a chance," said Clef. "These weapons the Zill use drained not only the energy of Autozam's machines but also the magic of Lady Aska's illusions. For all we know, your Djinn would have been destroyed as well."
"Besides, the aid you've provided so far has been beyond invaluable," said Ferio. "The food and medicine will go a long way in treating the survivors."
"Well, that's very good to know," said Tatra, perking up.
"Well now that our fleet has been destroyed, what do we do now?" asked Lady Aska.
"We've already sent the call for reinforcements from Autozam," said Eagle. "We will need a larger force if we're going to face down the Zill. However, we still have no counter for the energy dampeners they used against us."
"Which means no matter how many ships we throw at the Zill, as long as they can drain all our power, we don't have a snowballs chance in hell of surviving," said Geo.
"If only we understood how they worked, we might find a way to counter them," said Zazu.
"I believe we might be able to help with that."
Everyone turned to see Kefka and his squad standing in the doorway, now minus their helmets.
"What's with the talking dogs?" asked Tarta, raising an eyebrow.
"They're so adorable!" said Tatra. "Would they mind if I petted them?"
"Lady, we're not house pets," said Jiang, looking unnerved.
"Everyone, this is Commander Kefka and his team, the War Wolves," said Ferio. "They defected from the Zill Imperium during the battle."
"Hey, we remember you now! You are the one that saved us!" said Lady Aska, pointing her fan straight at Kefka.
"Yes, my lady, that was indeed me," said Kefka. "And we've come to offer our aid in solving your disruptor problem."
"I'm assuming you're talking about those new weapons the Zill used to defeat us," said Eagle.
"Yes, that's correct," said Meex, stepping forward, brushing back his cyan hair. "I'm the squad engineer, and I have a plan on how to counter those disruptor cannons. But it's going to take a ballsy move on our part... pardon my terminology."
"What exactly did you have in mind?" asked Lafarga.
"We need to hijack a Zill ship and bring it back for study," said Meex.
There was a long pause before anyone dared to speak. "How in the world do you plan to steal an entire warship?" demanded Tarta.
"We've already discussed this with Hikaru and the others," said Kefka. "The Zill are using cruisers and destroyers to run missions here on Cephiro now that the fleet has cleared the way. They're constantly going in and out of your airspace, dropping ground troops and supplies or running sorties. We pin down one by itself, capture it, and bring it back here to the castle. Then your engineers can study those cannons to your hearts content."
"Ahh, I see what you mean," said Eagle. "By having a fully functional Zill weapon at our disposal, we can develop countermeasures much faster than by simply observing it in use. That's actually an incredibly good plan."
"It still doesn't explain how you plan to capture that ship, though," said Tarta.
"We were hoping that was where you could help us," said Raxx. "You and your sister can summon spirit guardians to fight, right?"
"That's right, we certainly can," said Tatra. "Why do you ask?"
"If the two of you can serve as a distraction, we War Wolves can attack and breach the ship's hangar bay, along with the Magic Knights," said Kefka. "Once aboard, we fight our way to the bridge and capture it. Then we bring it back here."
"Sounds simple and straightforward enough," said Lantis. "But are you sure you can pull it off that easily?"
"Nobody is expecting it to be easy," said Kefka. "We're going into this expecting some complications. That way we're less likely to be caught unaware."
"You're certainly prepared," said Lafarga. "Especially for soldiers so young."
"We've been trained soldiers since we were six," said Tino. "We've been doing stuff like this literally our whole lives."
"Six years...the Zill begin training you that early?" asked Lafarga.
"Wow, must make for some lousy childhood memories," said Caldena.
"This is the way," said Kefka with a shrug. "Regardless, can we count on your help in this operation, Princesses?"
"Alright kid, you've got a deal," said Tarta. "We'll provide you with the distraction you need."
"Thank you," said Kefka. "We'll take a couple of days to track down the incoming ship movements, then we'll get back to you once we've nailed down a target."
Three Days Later
"There's our target," said Meex, checking his long-range scanner.
"What's the situation look like?" asked Kefka.
"One destroyer, two light cruisers, and likely a wing of fighters," said Meex. "Which means we need to breach that hangar as fast as possible before they can launch them."
"Sounds like a plan," said Raxx. "You ready for this, Umi?"
"I was born ready," she said, hovering beside him. "I can't wait to get payback on these creeps."
"Well, this will not be the same ship where we were held prisoner," said Fuu.
"Fuu, don't ruin the moment," said Umi while the others chuckled.
"So, you ready to do this, Hikaru?" asked Kefka, turning to the side.
"As ready as I'll ever be," replied Hikaru with a smile. "Let's do this."
"Right!" He tapped one of the buttons on his control panel. "Tarta, Tatra, we're in position!"
"You've got it, kid! One distraction, coming right up!" came Tarta's voice on the other end.
As they watched, the two Djinn guardians suddenly materialized right in the path of the destroyer and began posing.
"Ugh, that's still so creepy," groaned Umi.
"I feel so uncomfortable," said Raxx, shuddering.
"That's our signal, come on, hurry!" said Kefka, blasting off towards the destroyer. "Hikaru, you and Umi take down the light cruisers! I'll breach the hangar with Tino and Meex, and then all of you join me inside!"
"Right! Be careful, Kefka!" said Hikaru, breaking off with Umi following behind. "Okay Umi, let's take these guys down!"
"Right! It's payback time!" said Umi. "Water Dragon!"
"Flame Arrow!"
The two spells struck their targets dead center, causing both ships to crack in half and explode into giant fireballs. The destroyer, realizing it was being attacked on multiple fronts, began to open its hangar doors to start launching fighters.
"Winds of Admonishment!" shouted Fuu, immobilizing the doors, preventing the launch of the fighter craft.
"Now guys, switch to explosive rounds!" shouted Kefka, spinning his mobile armor and passing through the gap in the hangar doors, followed by his two teammates. Before the hangar crews could react, the three mobile armors opened fire, destroying the control stations and the fighters before they could try to fight back. In mere seconds, the bay was reduced to flames and twisted metal.
"Alright, girls, the hangar is secure!" called Kefka. "Shakku, Raxx, Jiang, move in!"
The girls and the other pilots flew through the now open hangar doors, and the girls deployed from the Rune-Gods. "Wow, so far so good!" said Hikaru.
"Yes, the operation is going off without any complications," said Fuu.
"Well, we're not out of the woods yet," said Shakku, jumping out of his mobile armor. "We still need to reach the bridge."
"Then let's go for it," said Raxx, pulling out an energy rifle. "The longer we stay here, the more time they have to shore up defenses."
"Right, let's do this!" said Kefka.
They readied their weapons and headed for the hangar exit.