Campsite Mission. Sunday 2200.
"Who lived here before?" Raddie asked Timeth, knowing he was knowledgeable about history.
"Based on the age of these items, they probably belonged to immigrants from small islands who fled from monsters during the first Sorceress War. This site was likely one of the concentration camps where the immigrants were initially gathered before being distributed to cities around the world," Timeth replied, his gaze fixed on one of the broken chests. They were orphans, just like him and many others. Being orphans themselves, they probably didn't feel the same emotional weight as others when saying that word aloud.
Raddie and Timeth sat down, their eyes fixed on the screens that transmitted live signals from Squad A, who just reached the underground facility.
"I'm not used to sitting in the back and watching through a camera like this." Raddie confessed, unconciously shaking his legs.
"I can tell. But it's good to give others a chance to lead once in a while. You might even learn something from them," Timeth added.
"Did you convince her to take my place?" Raddie asked.
Timeth chuckled. "I don't have that superpower. It was all her. Shrew isn't the type of person who does something just because others ask her to."
Shrew? Well, well. Things are moving quickly, Raddie thought.
"But why is she positioning herself so close to Devie? Garneet was far behind, too. Anyway..." Raddie remarked.
Inside the underground complex, Devie, a nimble and stealthy ninja from Trabia Garden, skillfully navigated the maze created by the water pipes, exploring the hidden depths.
As Shrewdya followed Devie's lead venturing deeper into the underground, the oppressive darkness seemed to close in around them.
This place... It's quite spooky. I'm starting to regret volunteering to take the higher position. Is this really a P2 mission? Shrewdya's nerves were shaken as she wasn't accustomed to darkness. There was nothing easy to assess since the only visual cue they had to rely on was thermal signals.
Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the damp air, followed by a swift movement. Before they could react, a creature lunged at them with lightning speed. Its claws, sharp and menacing, sliced through a member, eliciting a loud scream.
Time seemed to slow down as Raddie witnessed the gruesome attack through the camera feed.
"Shrew!" Timeth and Raddie both exclaimed.
Shrewdya let out a piercing scream, a mixture of pain and shock, as she stumbled backward, clutching her bleeding arm. Devie, his eyes widening in shock, quickly brandished his ninja blades in a defensive stance, standing low and close to shield Shrewdya who was laying on the ground.
"Shrewdya! Hang on! Garneet, help!" Devie called out, trying to remain calm despite the sight of Shrewdya's severed left arm, which still retained warmth and was bent in an L-shape.
As Garneet rushed to their side, she instructed the upper ground squad to assist.
"Squad B, requesting assistance! We've been ambushed!"
"Are we clear to proceed, Acma?" Raddie asked the mission leader, but Timeth already started to move.
"Proceed with caution. Raddie, you go in first with Timeth backing you up. Permission granted to use light sources. Do not engage in termination until further notice," Acma instructed the group as she was leaving the aircraft, confirming their next move.
Receiving confirmation, Raddie hastily caught up with Timeth and they followed the path cleared by Squad A to descend. As they caught sight of Squad A, they found their friend drenched in blood.
"Watch out, there are a couple of them. They're very fast, only use physical attacks so far!" Garneet exclaimed with a fleeting sense of relief upon seeing the backup.
"Fire!" Raddie illuminated the area as permitted by Acma. This covert operation had now officially turned into an overt one, with unknown political consequences. "Oh my Hyne, Shrewdya..." He looked at Shrewdya with Garneet and Timeth besides her.
"I sealed her wound and sedated her. Otherwise, the pain would have sent her into shock. It was a clean cut. If we can safely return within an hour, we can reattach her arm," Garneet reassured, securing Shrewdya's severed left arm to her clothing. Having at least two medics was always a necessity for any mission.
Raddie felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Shrewdya's bloody detached arm with protruding bones and muscles, reminding him that this was a real battle and not a simulation.
Shrew… Hang on…
"Acma, any idea what we're up against?" Raddie contacted Acma, seeking more information.
"Negative. None of the thermal images or battle specs collected from Squad A match anything in our database. Since there are multiple creatures, you have permission to kill. Try to leave one alive if you can," Acma responded.
"Roger," Raddie replied, feeling the sedation shot in his pocket. It was a long shot that he would have the chance to use it. Right now, the first priority was to eliminate the monsters.
"I don't see anyone here. Where were they last located?" Timeth scanned the underground facility, filled with pipes and devoid of any signs of life.
"They're all around us, coming from both the ground and the ceiling," Devie responded, his eyes fixed on the space in front of him. His sword was already stained with orange liquid from the creature, yet it continued to attack relentlessly without showing any signs of slowing down.
"Everyone, come back to O position. Timeth, get ready for a time freeze. Garneet, provide cover with ice magic. Based on the color of its blood, I can guess it possesses the Fire element," Raddie instructed.
The Squad followed Raddie's commands to back each other in a circle. A few more seconds passed, but nothing happened.
"Acma, do you want to get down here? I want to get Garneet and Shrewdya back up to the ground." Raddie was very concerned about Shrewdya.
"Don't get distracted. I'm almost there. She still has plenty of time to retach her arm." Acma reassured.
Just as Acma finished speaking through the radio, one of the creatures dropped from the ceiling with a shrieking voice. It targeted Timeth, who stood still, preparing his time freeze magic.
"Freeze!" Timeth reacted swiftly as the orange monster with massive jaws lunged towards his arms. It was mere inches away from breaking the skin. The creature's large, black nose sniffed at Timeth, causing him to feel a wave of disgust.
"Yaaaaa..." Raddie swung his sword at the monster from the side, attempting to push it away from Timeth.
The monster was knocked off course, sustaining a deep wound, yet it managed to slip into a crack on the ground and vanished.
"What the hell? Where did it go?" Garneet exclaimed. The ground was no longer safe. Her attention was divided between supporting Raddie and protecting the unconscious Shrewdya. Her machine gun could surely hit the target, but due to its size, they would need multiple shots to bring it down. If she became their next target, it would be game over.
"Protect!" A green, reassuring shell suddenly surrounded Garneet and Shrewdya. Acma had arrived. "Garneet, hold on to Shrewdya, return to our aircraft and treat her immediately. I have already contacted Garden. More backup is on the way."
Garneet swiftly grabbed Shrewdya. It was her first SeeD exam, and she couldn't stay until the end, but they had followed all the protocols and orders from the Balamb's SeeDs. She felt confident that she would earn a good mark to be counted towards the next exam.
"Float!" Acma raised her hand, lifting both girls off the ground. Her other hand remained fixed toward the boys, ready to release an icy blast if the creature attacked again.
Raddie felt a wave of relief wash over her as Acma arrived. Despite being only a year older and having obtained her SeeD title the previous year, Acma possessed magical abilities that rivaled those of the Legendary SeeDs at their age. However, her proficiency in melee combat was somewhat limited, even though she had received training from Zyma before Raddie became her partner.
Just as Acma managed to send the girls back up, the creature was ready to strike back.
"Acma, 3 o'clock!" Devie warned the redhead.
The creature suddenly attacked Acma from her blind spot, swiping at her with its sharp claws this time.
"Acma!" Raddie threw his sword towards the shadow behind her.
"Freeze!" Timeth managed to slow down the creature's claw. The attack had already torn through Acma's SeeD uniform. In an instant, Raddie's sword pierced through the creature.
"Blizzaga!" Acma reflexively cast the spell. The creature froze in place and dropped to the ground, shattering into several ice fragments, leaving Raddie's sword behind.
"Damn, I panicked. We could have captured that one alive," Acma exclaimed.
"You were almost killed!" Raddie rushed towards Acma, examining her wound beneath the blue SeeD uniform.
"I'm fine... It's just a scratch... Stay focused, Raddie!" Acma brushed him off.
He quickly retrieved his sword and returned to a fighting stance. "What now? Are we going to continue the fight to capture the rest?"
Acma looked at the ice fragments on the ground.
"This might be barely enough for DNA analysis. Let's all retreat to the surface immediately."
"Um... Are you looking for a sample? My sword is covered in its sticky orange liquid," Devie offered, approaching Acma and showing her his sword.
"WATCH OUT!" Raddie screamed as he heard some movement.
Another creature dashed towards Devie's arm. Everyone unleashed their magic to defend against the attack, successfully eliminated the monster, but also depleted their resources.
"Time freeze down for 30 sec," Timeth warned, his magical power running low. He wouldn't be able to dodge any more surprise attacks soon.
Within a few seconds, they heard multiple noises approaching them.
"Uh oh…" Devie was really scared this time as he realized more monsters were marching towards them.
"Everyone, gather back to O position! Acma, shield us!" Raddie commanded.
"Are you sure, Raddie? That way I won't be able to cast offensive magics…" Acma disagreed.
"Let's keep everyone alive first!" Raddie insisted.
Acma reluctantly gave in, and covered the group with Shell and Protect, just in time before dozens of creatures threw themselves at them.
"Holy Hyne..." Devie gasped, repulsed by the disgusting creatures.
These creatures must have crawled up to the surface upon hearing the commotion. If they had been attacked by this many creatures earlier, they would have surely been devoured.
"Damn… Good call, Raddie." Acma said, swallowing hard.
Raddie didn't have time to celebrate. They couldn't attack the monsters while under the protection spell, which would eventually wear off as the creatures relentlessly pounded on it with their sharp claws and teeth.
"Has anyone noticed? They seem to intentionally target our left arms in most of their attacks," Devie shared his observation.
Raddie moved his left arm around, and everyone gasped as the creatures in his vicinity seemed to follow his motion.
"They have no eyes, that black thing is probably their nose." Acma suggested.
Raddie attempted to move his right arm, but it didn't produce the same effect on the monsters.
"Could it be related to the smell of our junction devices?" Raddie suggested. "Timeth, are you left-handed? Can you try moving your hands and see which one they follow?"
Timeth tried with his left arm first, but there was no reaction. Then, when he moved his right arm with junction, the monsters gravitated towards it, just as Raddie had expected.
"Why?" Devie exclaimed, unable to comprehend the implications. "Metal?"
"No time to figure that out now. My protection is weakening. Any ideas?" Acma urged, aware of the urgency.
"Gosh, are you guys okay?" Garneet shouted from above.
"Stay where you are, Garneet. They can smell our junction devices. Do we have more backup coming?" Raddie asked.
"They're on their way, ETA 15 mins. Hyne! There are like twenty of them surrounding all of you. I have my machine gun, I can handle a few," Garneet replied, not feeling confident that the squad could defend for another ten minutes.
"Aim for the nose…"
"What?" Garneet turned towards the source of the voice, feeling shocked to see her badly injured comrade sitting up and gripping the magically sealed wound. "Shrewdya? Are you alright?"
"Fire at their nose first, then switch to a 90-degree angle and target their head. Two shots," Shrewdya grunted, trying to look closer to the monsters.
"Okay... Take it easy. I'll give it a try," Garneet said, looking concerned at Shrewdya, who seemed to be in considerable pain. "Raddie! I'm going to take a few shots to buy you all some time!"
Garneet's shout caught the attention of a few monsters nearby. Their snouts twitched as if they could detect the healers, causing her to tremble slightly.
"Do it..." Shrewdya picked up her small gunblade, offering reassurance to Garneet. "I can still take down a few if they happen to fly."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Garneet aimed at a monster in her line of sight. It fell motionless, seemingly dead after a few shots.
"It worked! How do you know?" Garneet exclaimed.
"Blobra's mutants. Its only centra point is at the brain. Keep shooting; it takes two to three bullets to break through," Shrewdya explained.
"Good job, Garneet!" Raddie shouted.
"It was Shrewdya's idea!" Garneet shouted back.
"Shrew? Thank goodness you're okay," Raddie said with relief.
"Raddie… my shield… we need to do something. Do you want to try unjunctioning yourself first?" Acma suggested
Raddie quickly removed his junction and waved his arms again, and the monsters no longer followed his motion.
"It's working. Devie and Timeth, remove your junctions too. Acma, we'll support you."
"On second thought.. I don't think it's a good idea. Without junction, you guys won't be able to finish them in a single blast." Acma shook her head.
"Oh no!" Garneet screamed. "More of them are coming…"
"What?" Raddie panicked, a wave of fear rushing through him.
"How about using GF?" Devie suggested, looking towards Acma.
"It can't tank if the monsters only target junction holders," Timeth disagreed.
"Right…" Devie murmured.
"Time's up, Raddie. I'm taking over," Acma declared, pulling out a siphon. "I'm going to use my Limit Break. If anyone has a better idea, speak up now."
Raddie hesitated as he watched Acma begin drawing blood from her vein using the siphon, but he was out of ideas. Acma was the only one who could deal large area damage. As if to push for this idea, a monster managed to pierce through their protection with the tip of its claw, putting even more pressure on the team.
"You won't have a clear shot from here," Timeth quickly added. "I'll cast Float on you. Raddie and I will propel you upwards. Devie, please help clear any monsters in her path. Use a 5k Pa force to push, Acma. With your weight of 110 pounds and Float reducing it by 8 times , you should reach the ceiling in 2.5 seconds. Lasso to latch onto the ceiling. Time your Limit Break during your flight."
Raddie's head was spinning as usual. Timeth and Acma had always been the ones to handle the technical aspects of their missions. Math, physics—they understood each other's stats and moves seamlessly for having teamed up on critical missions since their time in Trabia.
"… That makes sense. Thanks, Timeth." Acma nodded as Timeth cast Float on her. "Garneet, be ready to protect the guys when my shield wears off in 10 seconds."
"Acma... good luck!" Raddie found himself at a loss for words, his gaze fixed on Acma's pale face as her HP quickly dropped.
"Thank you," Acma removed the siphon, "I think this is enough. Let's do this."
"Be careful." Raddie said his last words before Acma's daring move.
Acma nodded, placing her foot on the interwoven hands of Raddie and Timeth. As they lifted her, Devie swiftly cleared the majority of the monsters from her path. A claw managed to graze her torso, causing a long open wound but nothing life-threatening.
"Garneet, now!" Acma signaled Garneet, who promptly cast a protective barrier around the boys, shielding them from the monsters' claws and teeth. "Quezacotl!"
With a magnificent twist, a thunderbird-like GF manifested, spreading his majestic wings. He flew to his master, allowing her to sit on his shoulder, and waited for her command.
"Duo: Thunder's Judgment." His master commanded.
Quetzacolt tilted its head back slightly before unleashing a barrage of blinding thunderbolts. Acma combined her Holy magic at the right timing with her GF's thunder spell, casting an advanced and devastating spell on the orange creatures below.
"God damn…" Devie, who was a few years younger than Acma, gasped in awe as he witnessed her Limit Break for the first time.
After a while, the blinding light subsided, granting everyone a moment to recover their eyesight.
Is it over? Acma wondered. Quezacotl returned to her consciousness, and she descended to the ground, slowly reattaching the siphon to restore her lost HP as she couldn't see very well due to blood loss and her Limit Break. She prepared herself for the worst-case scenario, in case any lingering monsters remained.
Unfortunately, that worst-case scenario unfolded before her. Just a few feet away, a handful of creatures crawled towards her. They appeared weak, but with her diminished HP, she wouldn't be able to withstand multiple attacks. She attempted to stand up, but the low blood stream made her dizzy and felt back to the ground.
The creatures were clearly somewhat resistant to Thunder.
"Help!" Acma screamed, desperately calling out to her comrades.
"Acma!" Raddie, Timeth, and Devie rushed forward, eliminating piles of monsters hungrily moving towards the smell of blood and junction device. Garneet's machine gun also fired relentlessly from the top.
As Acma's vision continued to fade, she could sense the presence of two monsters slowly crawling towards her. Her MP was still in cooldown, preventing her from casting a spell anytime soon. Reaching for her dagger, Acma was ready for a brutal fight against their sharp claws.
Thud.
Something dropped between Acma and the approaching monsters, and they quickly surrounded on the object.
"Freeze! Freeze! No!"
Confused and disoriented, Acma instinctively swung her dagger forward, trying to make sense of the situation while Timeth's frantic screams filled the air. She took a deep breath, unable to understand why she hadn't felt any cuts from the monsters.
"Yaaa…"
Her friends finally arrived, clearing out the monsters.
"Acma… are you okay? Oh Hyne, Shrew…" Raddie grabbed Acma's arm to help her up, while Timeth knelt down to collect something.
When the siphon finally pumped back enough HP to Acma, her eyesight slowly returned, allowing her to understand what had saved her.
Shrewdya's left arm lay scattered in pieces.