Chapter 58

Training Centre

Esthar City. The Heart of the Empire. Raine had never been to the sprawling mega-metropolis that would have blanketed much of Balamb's mainland, though her mother had, and her grandfather had ruled it during its brief stint as a republic. Crisscrossing blue skyways as far as the eye could see. Impossibly shaped buildings of light shades, varying from chrome to sandstone to cream. Structures that seemed unending, ridged with countless bullet-shaped glass pods, like the surface of a giant dartboard.

She, Liu, and Zhang were advancing down one of the broader semi-transparent skyways. Thunderstroke was a blur in her hands, held in the middle and entwined with a glowing, silver thread. Liu moved equally as suddenly, sometimes veiled by flame, his mother's sword a silver flicker in the firelight. Zhang moved between and around his opponents like a toxic cloud, tangling enemy gunblades with his nunchucks and lashing out lethally with Xu's dagger.

They were at least a mile above the eastern continent's arid ground, but Sacred and Minotaur were fighting alongside them, too, blunting every coordinated charge the uncountable Esthari threw at them. Behind them, several Magitek units lay in smouldering heaps, though more were on their way. The operators' visors could filter flashes harmful to a retina, though Zhang always shrouded the blast-reinforced portals with black smoke, so they were apt to fire their elemental rays wildly or trample their own people. Then Brothers' maces would reduce them to junk. Failing that, Liu would melt them in their boxes.

When no less than twenty Esthari lay motionless and every Magitek unit was out of commission, an onrushing noise signified the arrival of a hostile monster. Or even a Guardian Force, as Ultimecia would dispatch one of her puppeteers to deal with such a destructive trio. She would neither know nor care that Raine's unit were technically rookies. Her final solution towards SeeD remained unshakeable.

Doomtrain shot high across the road before circling them several times, approaching in a way that, while dramatic, Raine knew was characteristic of its summoner. They must have done really well for Ultimecia to dispatch her most faithful servant. As it was not her Knight who stepped through a carriage door – more a horrific gash in sinew – and landed on the translucent road before the three Neo-SeeDs, but General Zebalga.

The simulation had not been updated since Galbadia and did not account for Zebalga now wielding Tiamat's magicite; the Solomon Ring glinted on his left hand. Alternatively, it could have selected the late Lieutenant Akechi or Colonel Domitian as the 'boss', along with their demi-GFs that had now been freed. Or Reinhardt with Leviathan. Or even Tyris, as Lieutenant Pandemona.

Raine had managed to stop thinking about punishing Tyris for her father's death. Well, almost. There were still some weaker moments. These training simulations were the closest she had got to fulfilling vengeful fantasies. As she had never trained with a sword, she would have been hard pressed to kill Tyris in the same manner her father had died, though before her Dollet mission, she had beat the simulated Tyris to a pulp while the real one had been in the Brig. Still, she had left the Training Centre feeling empty that day. Lieutenant Pandemona did not exist anymore. Moreover, Tyris was junctioned with her father's GF now, and had been given both lightning GFs' blessing to wield Raikou. Raine knew she would stand little chance against her.

Raine had met General Zebalga twice now, and the twins had met him once. The so-called Liontamer looked younger here, perhaps as he had when he had first fought her uncle. Humbled Squall, imperial propagandists had had the free world believe. Zebalga's callous grin showed those pointed teeth, and the noonday sun caught those awful keloid lines. This was the first time Raine had encountered him here, though, while training with the twins. She was thankful, because she needed to see how they would react, if they could their composure against the one that had taken something dear to them. Particularly Zhang, who had become an ill-tempered and unpredictable loose-cannon.

These boss battles had a predictable onset. Zebalga twirled his khopesh and started uttering a one-liner, the rolling low rumble of his voice and the Kakashbaldi accent highly accurate.

'Cid has sown a fine batch of warriors, yet-'

Zhang did not let him finish, charging him, his nunchucks circling his arms and torso as he put on those exaggerated high-pitched cries.

'Zhang, no!' Raine implored.

He was deaf to her. Not that he would come to any real harm if he was 'killed'. The sim acknowledged the interruption and pre-emptive strike, Zebalga stopping midsentence and lunging with his blade. Zhang rolled under it, following through with a firm strike at his hamstring, though he was a fraction too slow. Back on his feet, Zhang weaved under Zebalga's tight, trailing cross-slash that was only possible with such a curved weapon. Xu's bare dagger flashed as Zhang thrust for Zebalga's throat, missing by a hairsbreadth, and he had two more attempts before an elbow forced him to back away.

Raine now knew this was far from their first meeting inside the Training Centre. Zhang had probably been coming here daily, while he eagerly awaited the day that he got to do this for real. She also knew Zhang would be continue being unheeding of her, so instead she signalled for Liu to fan out around the General, as they had in Dollet. Liu recalled Sacred, perhaps thinking that such wild swings, or even just the usually uncoordinated teamwork of Brothers, would be a hindrance here. Minotaur remained.

'Stay back!' Zhang demanded. 'He's mine!'

'Don't be stupid, bro!' Liu snapped. 'I lost Muqin, too!'

'Aw,' Zebalga mocked. Of course, he would be programmed to do that. 'And who was the unfortunate coeurl that shat out you two backbiting cubs?'

'Torama!' Zhang corrected. 'She was the Torama Fang!'

'I see. And where is that teeny, luscious torama?' Zebalga pressed. 'Go running to her, cub. When I find you, I'll rip out one of her glorified fangs and slit her throat with it.'

'You already did!' Zhang shouted, renewing his attack.

'Don't let him get to you!' Raine urged. She wondered exactly what had been said between Squall and Zebalga on the two occasions they had duelled. His loathsome words could cut as deeply as his sickle sword, and the sim reflected that. Although it would have had input from any SeeD who had ever survived an encounter with him. What would this Zebalga say if Raine mentioned her father? Yeah, right, she thought. Raijin had been the strongest man on the Planet; if he were here, he would crush Zebalga's skull with his bare hands.

Zhang continued to twist out of the sickle sword's line, lashing out intermittently at the first hint of an opening. Raine knew Zebalga's armour was impregnable, having once smote him with enough force to knock his ribcage from his body. The General had already moved with his back to one side of the highway, a safety wall behind him. All the same, he was effectively cornered, Liu and Raine had moved to positions either side of him, waiting for a time to strike.

A venomous circle rose up from the surface of the road, blanketing the blue completely. Raine and Liu instantly gagged, their throats burning before Siren cancelled out Doomtrain's poison spell; mercifully, they were of the same element. Minimog winked into existence to dowse them with panaceas unbiddenly, reversing any abnormalities. Now the sim had established that causing status ailments would be ineffective, Raine doubted the virtual Zebalga would attempt it again.

Thanks as always, Mog! Raine thought.

'Tread carefully, kupo!' was his answer, before he returned to her.

Instead, Zebalga started uttering lowly in that language known only to the Zebalga Clan. In ages past, its male shamans had been able to access the Ethereal by intoning that tongue. Females had been forbidden from uttering it, and when Queen Zenobia had acquired her own means of accessing the elements, she had been deposed by King Zebalga and the Magi. The Forbidden Tongue had never been transcribed, passed down orally through the generations, a practice that had endured since the Zebalgan kingdom of pyramids thrived. Therefore, it remained known only to the Magi, and the General was among those select few.

Small hieroglyphs appeared in the air in front of Zhang, forcing him to back up before they split into a dozen images, evenly surrounding them in a circle. Raine knew these were likely the ones Zebalga used as devastating projectiles, exploding more potently than grenades on contact. She thought they would be directed at all of them, though she was wrong in that assumption. They all rapidly homed in on Minotaur, who did not have a chance as he swung his mace in a circle. When the flashes cleared, he had vanished.

Sacred reappeared where Minotaur had been standing, surprise flickering across Liu's face. He had not been summoned.

'Time for a spanking, Magi!' Sacred declared.

He advanced, knocking Zhang askew with his crooked elbow and hefting his mace. Yet in his tunnel vision he was blind to a miniaturised Doomtrain, who struck him like a javelin as it soared between Zhang and Zebalga.

Zebalga guffawed at Liu now. 'You possess poor command over Geb's brawn, cub!'

'Siren won't make that mistake!' Zhang assured him.

While Minotaur had honoured his virtual defeat, Sacred reappeared in front of Zhang, dropping to a fighting crouch again. 'Stupid game!' he said dismissively. Liu shook his head, extending his hand to recall his wayward GF.

Simulation or not, Zebalga was right. Liu needed better mastery over the more insubordinate of the two earthen overlords. Perhaps it was because he had never trained with the earth element, or because he had never undertaken the trial at the Tomb of the Unknown King. Raine would see about getting him permission to train there if she thought it would help. With Xu buried outside, Liu had an addition incentive to go, but there was no time before their next mission.

Zhang pounced forward. Zebalga stopped Zhang's dagger thrust, his khopesh angled highly so the twin could not strike the General's skull with his nunchucks, and this also obscured the subtle movement beneath it. Zhang had not noticed one of Zebalga's hands creeping to his belt, where a bone-handled knife rested, the same knife that had flayed the Children of Sarona's main bankroller and cut Celes from ear to ear. With an imperceptible silver flash, it was buried in Zhang's abdomen.

The sim immediately determined Zhang was out of hit points, and he simply faded from view, though Raine could hear his cries of rage from ten feet away. Zebalga was looking between her and Liu now. Liu's hands were aflame, reading to unleash his para-magic. Raine sighed and reached for her VR headset, hitting the instant abort button. The backdrop of Esthar City was replaced by a wide-open area. The Training Centre was vast, though they were the only ones in the open sections for simulations at this hour. The other side of the room contained mats and an array of fake weaponry for more traditional sparring. It was barely 0600, and the only other early chocobos were two martial artists practicing groundwork.

'Fucking Hyne!' Zhang swore, pulling off his own headset and banging fists down on the deck. 'I beat Zebalga the last three times! If Sacred hadn't have thrown me off!' He shot his twin a scathing look. 'Keep that overgrown bull on its leash!' Then he gave Raine one. 'And Mog's squeaks were just a Hynedamn distraction!'

'Three times?' Liu questioned. 'How many times have you fought him in here?'

Zhang stalled, shrugging. 'I've lost count, now.'

'Zhang, were Uncle Squall's instructions completely lost on you?' Raine demanded, approaching the kneeling twin, staring him down for a few heartbeats. He got to his feet and returned her steely gaze, stubbornly folding his arms. Raine continued. 'The Commander said that if we encounter Zebalga, or Ultimecia, we must fight as one. You weren't there when Zebalga killed the White SeeD elders! He will seize any opening, any opportunity, as he has done countless times in the past! You should know that as well as anyone! And he doesn't distinguish between friend or foe once he loses the upper hand; how many Esthari did he kill to recover his retreat in Dollet?'

Zhang made a childish, obstinate grunt before turning his back on them both. The two grapplers were staring at them now. Zhang started for the exit.

'Zhang, listen to me!' Raine urged, running in front of him.

'Or what?' Zhang said coolly, then warned, 'Outta the way, Raine!'

She shook her head firmly. Zhang imperceptible tensed, his nunchucks raising fractionally.

'Don't make me move you!' he warned. 'I'm an assassin, remember? A murderer!'

Liu instantly appeared at his twin's side. 'What the hell's wrong with you?'

Zhang shot him a scornful look. 'Is that how it is now? Hoes before bros?' he asked contemptuously.

With Zhang momentarily looking away, Raine deftly thrust her staff into his chest. With the air sucked out of his diaphragm, he fell to his knees, and Raine had already leapt back to avoid a retaliatory strike.

'I've never been one to pull rank, Zhang, but if you don't obey my orders, Uncle Squall will demote you back to cadet!' she announced. 'All it takes is one word from me! He was going to do it anyway, to order you to unjunction from Siren, but I assured him that you can claw your way out of this black hole you've gotten yourself into!'

Zhang wheezed, remaining on his knees. The two sparrers were still watching, an unwitting audience. Even though they were cadets, Raine could not exactly ask them to leave.

'I haven't told you guys, but I couldn't go back to Aaron,' Zhang confessed, between laboured breaths. 'Not after what happened with Septimus. After what I did.' As he breathed deeply again, Raine untensed, one end of Thunderstroke resting on the deck. 'I needed time and space, lots of it. I knew it was more than Aaron could spare, so I ended it. He's young, devilishly handsome, and we hadn't been together that long.'

Tears came to his eyes now, and Raine a Liu shared an awkward look. The martial artists had decided to cut their groundwork session short and leave. Liu put a hand on his twin's bare shoulder, and Raine knelt before him.

'I don't wanna go to Dollet,' he stated, then corrected himself. 'To Sarona. Why would the Commander send me back to the country that forced me to the psyche sessions in the first place? And just for me to give them back Siren, as if to rub salt in my wounds. What good will I be to Argus, after that? Does he wanna keep using me as a honeytrap? Order me to sneak into the tents of closeted Esthari centurions in the dead of night, slitting their throats after cutting their balls off? If he does, I won't do it! I'll go AWOL!' he declared.

'We'll be there to assist the new Dragoon regiment,' Raine clarified. 'Once we know exactly who were reporting to, and if our objectives demand such conduct, then Liu and I will step up instead. Won't we, Liu?' she asked, needing her lover's backing.

Liu gave one of his stoic nods, unhesitatingly. 'Of course.'

'But could you really do it in my place, Raine?' Zhang asked. His tone was not facetious now, but curious. 'You wouldn't follow our original orders in Dollet,' he pointed out, and she could not argue.

'I drew the line at kidnapping and murder,' Raine said. 'Some forays behind enemy lines may be inevitable, pre-invasion, but heinous acts shouldn't be necessary. Not that I can guarantee that; we never can, and that's the problem. Though for the most part, we'll be in open battle on the Timber-Sarona border. That much I do know.'

'We will,' Zhang said, then argued, 'but I won't be by your side, will I? Not when Siren is gone. I'll be fighting with a bunch of Dragoons I don't know, a hastily assembled special forces unit who will be watching my every step, maybe even looking to me for guidance. And they could be our enemy after the war,' he speculated.

Liu had his arms folded, now, a slight vacancy in his eyes suggesting he was conversing with his GFs, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Raine looked at her smartwatch. It was almost time for them to depart. She had opted for the early training session because they would be in transit most of the day, a journey that would not end until they were deep within the Saronan mesas again, and everyone had been given the last few days off.

'Zhang, most of the veteran SeeDs are gone,' she said. 'It does say something that the three of us were trusted with GFs and promoted to A-Rank so quickly. Uncle Squall is deploying us because we're the best he has, and he doesn't want you to quit any more than he wants to lose me, too.'

She extended her hand to him.

'We want you with us, bro,' Liu added.

Zhang gave a reluctant sigh, taking Raine's hand and rising to his feet.

'Best he has, huh?' a familiar voice sneered behind her.

Damian stood there, in his tactical vest and combat shorts, the haft of the glinting Mastema resting against his inked shoulder. Raine gave him a warning glance, though she was irritated that she could not console one comrade without offending another.

'What are you-!' Zhang started.

'Doing here?' Damian finished. 'Hey, we all had a wild night. Nothing helps my hangovers more than going eight rounds with General Zebalga!' He narrowed his eyes at Zhang. 'Beat his keloid ass three times, huh? You'll have a lot of catching up to do when you get back, sprout!'

Raine kept her hand on Zhang's wrist, though she could stop him from saying, 'Fuck you!'

Damian shrugged. 'How many times I gotta say it, sprout? Not as long as there are geezards on the plains.'

Before Zhang could retort, Raine cut across him. 'We're deploying in less than thirty minutes, Damian. If you've got nothing encouraging to say, then get out of our way.'

He did not move, only lowered his axe to take the haft in his offhand.

'Actually, I do,' he said, looking between them. His expression softened a fraction. 'Maybe you three are the best. I can't argue that you all got A-rank before I did. The Commander could have recalled me from Timber when he started his GF quests, but he went with three cadets instead. And he's gonna be damned sorry to lose you all to the Saronans when we march.' He paused. 'Diablos would desert me if I apologised to you, Zhang, but the other day was the first time you fought me by yourself. What you've finally earned is my full respect. Losing a month's pay was worth the brawl we had, anytime.' He grinned. 'The cadets loved it! People here are gonna be talking about that one for years!'

Raine was stunned. In all the time they had known Damian, they had never heard him be complimentary of anyone other than himself.

'Yes, they will,' Zhang responded slowly.

'The Commander chose you to reach the end of the Jade Passage, Damian,' Raine lessened. 'You will always have that over us. I only went as far as Cerberus.'

'Your uncle knows my place, and so do I,' he replied. 'The VR is the closest I'll get to avenging our townsfolk, Raine; I think we both know who has Zebalga's number. It's time I started preparing for the Twelve, or what's left of them. Namely Reinhardt, Ialantha, Gabranth and Cullyn; those four were there the night Cid and Edea were killed, and the Commander has trusted me to make them writhe for their part in it. I am the bloodhound of this generation! The Dark Messenger's roars will herald the coming of the Wraith of Winhill. Not one of the Praetorians will survive the coming battle,' he vowed, 'not once the wings of Diablos blot out the sun over Timber.'

'Good job somebody got over their fear of heights, then,' was all Zhang said.

Damian shouldered Mastema, walking over to the hanging headsets lining on one of the walls. Raine remained rooted to the spot, as the twins.

'Your's will be no small feat, Damian,' Liu mentioned, his words characteristically well chosen. 'The Praetorians have always been the best fighters from across the Empire, and Ultimecia increases their speed in ways that Rinoa and Selphie can't. They can match any GF bearer.'

Raine agreed. 'We met Ialantha in Dollet; the Golden Raptor, Ultimecia's talon for longer than I've been alive. She shrugged off Zhang and Nadia like they were nothing.' That staff, she reflected. Rune engraved, like her own, antlered on one end and taloned on the other, ringed with gold. Beautiful but fatal. 'And to think of all who have died by the other's hands.'

'They've yet to meet the Wraith,' Damian said indifferently. He looked over his shoulder at them and winked, flashing them that cocky grin of his. Then he warned, 'Watch your six around the Saronans. All of you.'