5
CHAPTER 5 – THE STAGE IS SET
With the sound of the Ragnarok's whirring thrusters descending upon the island came the rendezvous signal. Squall made a beeline for the great red ship the moment he saw it zoom in for a landing. The infantry transports flew by just behind, this time mirroring its trajectory to touch down just beside. Just as he'd stepped out of the orphanage's front doors and started down the trail, so too did Odine and his aides emerge from the neighboring annex. He barely ground to a stop in time to keep from bowling them all over.
"Eager, aren't we?" Odine addressed him with a smirk.
"And what have you been up to all this time?" Squall fired back; as far as he could tell, the doctor had spent every waking moment since his interview with Edea confined to the stout stone building.
"The due diligence expected of any man of science: examining the sum of the total evidence, and deriving an appropriate conclusion. And all on such short notice, no less."
"And I take it that was no problem for you?"
"For someone of my station, with so many years spent studying the power of a sorceress, what else would you expect?"
A little more humility would be a good start.
"Tell your father, your matron, and your closest allies to assemble in the conference room as soon as we board. We have much to go over. I would ask you to please not involve Ellone, however."
"Why?" Squall asked; for Odine to suggest something so out of character for him was almost alarming.
"There are some things she's better off not knowing for the time being. You want our plan to go off without a hitch? Then the last thing we need is to load her down with even more emotional baggage. You know how she gets."
Usually, its no thanks to you.
The doctor bade his guards to follow, and together they trailed off to the Ragnarok. Squall stayed standing there, ready to intercept whoever should exit the orphanage next. On cue, Rinoa, Quistis, and Edea all came out together. As he filled them in, he took note of the headmaster's absence, as well as the White SeeDs'.
"We've had a long talk," Edea explained. "I told Cid he's better off not getting involved. This is my duty, and regardless of whatever happens to me, the legacy of SeeD must go on."
To that, Squall simply nodded. She was right to prepare for the worst. That history remembered SeeD persevering through the ages did not guarantee their survival. And that Rinoa knew nothing of Squall's fate in particular placed even greater uncertainty over its prospective leadership going forward. The two of them shared a look before the three ladies started off together into the distance.
Eventually, Laguna and Ellone emerged. He kept mum on the conference for the time being, and instead walked along with them back to the ship. Idle chatter between the three ran the gamut from their next course of action, to just how many SeeDs they'd managed to pick up. The amount Squall's eyes were met with as they boarded filled him with some measure of confidence; the gathered crowd of black-clad operatives all saluted him as he entered. There were roughly 20 in total, likely as many as the ship had remaining quarters to house them on board. Provided the other two vessels were likewise packed to their capacity, it boded well for their current manpower.
"Welcome to the fight, guys!" Laguna addressed them all with a wave.
The gathered SeeDs evidently had no idea who he was nor how to react; a pregnant pause gave way to uncertain muttering among them.
"President Laguna Loire of Esthar!" Squall hastily introduced him. "Show some respect!"
The buzzing ceased at his command, as they all reverently bowed one after the other to his father.
"Thanks," he whispered into his ear. "Just so used to everyone knowing who I am."
Mind letting me know how long it takes to get there?
"As you were."
"I didn't realize you held so much clout, Squall," Ellone spoke softly over his shoulder.
"You and me both," he agreed. "Even now…"
"Hey, you guys!"
He turned his head in the direction of the shout. In came Zell and Selphie weaving their way through the proceedings.
"You guys hear about the meeting in the conference room?" the blonde asked. "Lets get a move on!"
Damn it…
Squall glanced to Ellone at his side. She looked back to him inquisitively, perhaps even pleadingly. Much as he hated to leave her in the dark for now, Odine must have had his reasons.
"Sorry, Ellone, but… this is official SeeD business," he told her. "Could you maybe-"
"It's fine," she replied, averting her eyes. "I understand. Just promise me you won't go making any more rash decisions on my behalf. I worry enough about you already, Squall."
"It won't be long," he assured her. "And I won't. Thank you… Sis."
She smiled and nodded to him. Satisfied, he turned to Laguna and bade him to follow after him and his friends. Together they made for the conference room he'd been escorted to on his first boarding.
"I get where you're coming from," Laguna said as they neared the door in question. "I've always hoped she wouldn't have to get any more involved in this kind of thing, ever since the day I left you two and Raine back in Winhill. And just look at how that turned out."
"Odine's the one who insisted on keeping her out of this meeting," Squall told him. "And frankly… that just makes me even more nervous."
Zell opened the door to reveal the wide conference table. Odine sat on the opposite end, just as before, backed by his guards and the two windows looking out on the island. Rinoa, Quistis, Edea, Kiros, and Ward were all seated around, leaving a small section open for the remaining four of them to squeeze in. They took their spots without a word, Squall appropriately being left the one situated between his father and Rinoa.
"I assume we all know why we're here, so let us cut right to the chase," Odine bluntly began. "Sorceress Ultimecia, the enemy we face resides in the far future, in a time none of us sitting here will live to see. And so, the question becomes how to dispose of such a threat in the present. Armed with what information we have managed to gather from her, courtesy of Sorceress Rinoa and Mrs. Kramer, I have worked tirelessly all night and through today to formulate a plan of action."
"I knew I kept you around for a good reason!" Laguna half-joked. "So, lay it on us, Doc!"
"Put simply… we must allow her to achieve her goal of time compression."
That's a bold strategy…
"Say what?!" Zell exploded, leaping up out of his seat. "After all we've been through, you're telling us to throw in the towel, just like that?!"
"Calm down, young man," Odine scolded him. "It is inevitable that we let her succeed in completing the ritual. After that, however… then is when we act."
"Is it truly inevitable?" Edea spoke up.
"Unfortunately, yes. Much as I am loathe to give credence to the notion of fate, that the course of our lives may be predetermined from the hour of our birth, it seems such a thing might very well hold water. Ultimecia believes as much, at the very least. And therein lies her entire rationale for performing the time compression incantation to begin with."
"And what is that?" Squall asked; for months he had pondered what reason anyone could have for reshaping the world into such a state.
"It is as I said: Ultimecia lives in a time far removed from our own. A time following her own preordained defeat at the hands of SeeD. A time when the stigma surrounding the sorceress power has resultantly grown so fierce, so volatile, that she'd had no chance at a normal existence. Indeed, her life has been quite the tragedy, from what Sorceress Rinoa has told me."
Squall glanced sideways to see her staring blankly at the table's surface. All at once, it became clear why she'd been so scared of what the future might hold for her. Was society truly destined to become so hostile to her kind in the aftermath?
Rinoa… just what kind of world did you see?
"But then, why?" Quistis interjected. "Why go through with any of this at all? Why would she willingly repeat history, especially if she already knows what becomes of her in the end?"
"I have to admit, that doesn't make much sense," Kiros agreed; Ward by his side huffed with his arms crossed.
"Yeah," Laguna cut in. "If I had the power to send myself back in time and take over someone's mind… well, I sure as hell wouldn't just let things play out the way they already have. In fact, I know exactly who I'd be taking control of. Any guesses, Doc?"
Odine simply snorted at the implication.
"What's done is done," the doctor deflected. "And that is the entire point. Fate's hands are immovable, their grip consistent, and ever binding. It is a concept directly proportional to the passage of time itself. Time marches forever on, straightforward, linear, allowing fate's grand design to unfurl as it was always intended along the way. That being the case, imagine a reality in which time no longer exists in a linear fashion. No past, no future, just one moment lingering in place for all eternity. Then it would be possible to break free from fate's hold. For if time no longer exists, then neither can fate.
"This is Ultimecia's end goal: to create such a world through time compression, where her destiny can no longer hold sway over her. The irony being that she must first embrace her destiny to fulfill the necessary conditions for the incantation. Only once she has completed it will she have her chance to clean the slate, to rewrite the last page of her story as she sees fit. For history as it stands remembers SeeD defeating her in our time. But that will only come to pass if we can prevail against her in the time compressed world, where no outcome is guaranteed."
"That's… insane," Kiros spluttered, unable to keep a straight face.
"So, it's all just a means to an end?" Selphie said. "All this trouble, just for a chance of getting over the horrible hand she was dealt in life? That's… kinda sad."
Squall almost couldn't believe it himself. Still, it somehow made sense to him now that Odine had laid all the pieces out on the table.
"It means nothing," he declared. "So she's lived a less than ideal life. So have a lot of us sitting here. She's still chosen this path of her own volition. Her motivations make no difference. She needs to be brought to justice for her crimes."
The other nine seated around the table all nodded in unanimity. For the first time in a long while, he felt deserving of the title he carried.
"And to that end, we must allow fate's design to continue as planned," Odine resumed. "Make no mistake, this ritual to achieve time compression is a more complex procedure than any I've ever performed. She must enact it simultaneously across three separate time periods – if such a thing can even be called simultaneous – using the power of three different sorceresses, all bound by the same common energy frequency and consciousness. It is for this reason she requires Ellone to send her back further, to another point in the past."
"Question!" Selphie butted in again. "How is it she's able to send herself back to our time, anyway? I mean, she's already taken over Matron and Rinoa, no problem."
"It's rather simple, actually. For you see, Ellone's power and Ultimecia's are one and the same. In a manner of speaking, you could even say the two of them are the same person."
"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Laguna jumped down his throat.
If Squall could see his own face, he'd have assumed he looked as if he'd swallowed a lemon whole. A quick glance around the table let him know he wasn't alone. Save for Odine, smug as ever, and Rinoa, her eyes still boring holes into the table beside him, every other person present sat flabbergasted. He couldn't even imagine Ellone's own reaction were she there to hear this.
"Temper, temper, Mr. President," Odine calmly responded, wagging his finger at him. "To understand, we must first ask ourselves what the nature of Ellone's power actually is. That's something I've been trying to figure out ever since she was first brought to me, 18 years ago. For the short time I'd been permitted to study her, I ran all sorts of imaging tests on her brainwaves. Still, I couldn't determine the source of her power. It was clearly nothing like Adel's. Neither could I find precedent for a kind like it among the old sorceress legends. I was at a loss. But now, once again courtesy of Sorceress Rinoa, I've had the answer handed to me. As it turns out, it's not so far removed from the sorceress power after all.
"I believe we're all at least somewhat familiar with the legend of Hyne, fabled creator of mankind? Hyne the magician, so he came to be called, who struck a deal with humanity by promising them his power. But they were all of them deceived. He instead bequeathed his power to the first generation of sorceresses, leaving King Zebalga with nothing but his cast off skin. This is the story that has been passed down for millennia. His body abandoned, and his magic hidden away with those chosen women who have lived in secrecy through the ages, Hyne disappeared from the world.
"But what of his consciousness? His mind? Did it simply dissipate into the ether? No, of course not. It too was passed on to a successor, and has continued to subsist from one generation to the next via a form of spiritual atavism in that family lineage. This would explain why neither of Ellone's parents possessed the power. Surely one of her ancestors had, however, as will further descendants in her family tree."
"So, you're saying Ellone's mind… is the reincarnation of Hyne's?!" Quistis gawked.
"That is correct," Odine continued. "And as Hyne's own creations, we are all intrinsically bound to him. This is why she is able to link herself to the consciousness of any other human being. 'Junctioning', I've named it."
"Right now, I think my mind's going to explode!" Zell moaned with his head in his hands.
Too late…
Squall was now more grateful to Odine than he could have ever imagined. Ellone never would have been prepared to accept such truths as they came. Even he barely could.
"And are you also implying that Ultimecia is from Ellone's family tree?" he finally asked.
"Correct again. It's impossible to say if she's directly descended from her, however. At the very least, they are distant relatives. In fact, Ultimecia is what you might call the perfect storm: Hyne's magic and consciousness, finally reunited in one body after thousands of years. The enemy we face is in essence the great god himself, reborn."
To that, no one had any further response. What more was there to say of such a thing? A sorceress from the future had already seemed an insurmountable obstacle. To defeat the literal reincarnation of a god was likely a feat beyond the capability of any mere mortal. Seconds passed in silence as the lot of them grasped for something, anything to contribute. It was Edea who finally found the courage to break it.
"And because the consciousness of a sorceress becomes entwined with her own power… does that mean…?"
"Exactly," Odine lauded her. "A piece of your very essence flows through Ultimecia, as does that of every other sorceress along her line of inheritance. That is how she was able to take possession of you from the future. But don't you find it strange? That despite your power having passed on to Sorceress Rinoa, here you remain? That your consciousness has remained tied to your body? There's certainly no record of that among the sorceress legends. By all accounts, you should be dead."
"Really?" Selphie blurted out incredulously. "I mean, yeah, I was really putting everything I had into that blast at Galbadia Garden, but… would that really be all it takes to bring down a sorceress?"
"I suppose it depends on the amount of power the sorceress in question wields. For Mrs. Kramer's, it might have been just enough. I'm certain Ultimecia herself will not go down so easily. But, more to the point, a sorceress can only pass on her power in death. That much is clear from what knowledge we have. So, I ask again: how can it be that your matron was spared? Perhaps I can make it even easier: what was it that allowed her consciousness to remain behind even when her power had departed?"
Surprisingly, it was Laguna who answered the query. The moment it left his lips however, Squall realized he should have expected more from him; his father would have surely known better than most at the table.
"Because there was another consciousness already in her mind when it happened!"
"Impressive," Odine complimented him, however backhandedly. "Yes, it was Ultimecia's consciousness which ended up being forced out with Mrs. Kramer's power, leaving behind her own. This is what allowed her to survive. And… I dare say perhaps even more than that."
"What do you mean?" Edea asked; were she at all unnerved, her calm veneer masked it well.
"This is merely a hypothesis of mine, but I have a strong suspicion it might just be on the mark. So please, permit me for a moment to indulge in some educated speculation."
"Just this once," Squall sighed, rolling his eyes. Though he was for a fact interested, the doctor clearly wouldn't have taken no for an answer.
"Mrs. Kramer," he addressed Edea. "You maintain that you were able to keep your mind closed off from Ultimecia for nearly the entire time she was possessing you. How so? Was it through some kind of enchantment? Or sheer willpower, perhaps?"
"I've told you, I don't know how I did it," she insisted. "I could feel her forcing her way into my mind, and just fought to pull myself away."
"A shame then that Sorceress Rinoa couldn't manage the same feat. Well, young miss? Did you put up such a fight?"
"As… best I could," Rinoa answered, finally raising her eyes.
"But to no avail. So, what is the difference between these two cases? Experience wielding the sorceress power? Possibly, but there is another factor at play here. It is the very same one I just outlined for you all: that Mrs. Kramer's consciousness was not passed on with her power. At that moment, the two became wholly separate entities. True enough, a residual trace of her mental resonance, like a fingerprint of sorts, must have still been ingrained into the energy. Such is the only way Ultimecia could have junctioned herself unto Mrs. Kramer, after all. And when she did so… because Ultimecia had only that one fleeting sliver of her consciousness for reference, the rest of her mind could potentially remain uninhibited by the possession. From her perspective, it might have been as though Mrs. Kramer already had two separate consciousnesses, only one of which she could exercise control over."
"So, let me see if I'm getting this straight," Zell interrupted, stumbling back to his feet and throwing his hands out on the table to steady himself. "Matron's mind separated from her power when she passed it onto Rinoa because Ultimecia was controlling her. And that's the reason Ultimecia couldn't get a solid grip on her mind when she first started controlling her? So, in the future… because in the past… she… I just… what the fuck?!"
He looked to be on the verge of blowing a fuse. However technically minded he could be, Zell had apparently met his match.
"It is a genuine paradox," Odine surmised. "And merely a hypothesis, I must remind you. But if true, it would be another piece of evidence to show this has all been predetermined. It will be interesting to see if Adel fares the same once she has been dealt with. And that brings us nicely to our plan."
"Which is?" Kiros prodded.
"To begin with, we must first unify the line of inheritance in the present for time compression to be achieved. It is for that reason Ultimecia intends to awaken Adel from her containment. But to successfully do so, there is still one crucial ingredient missing from the equation. Miss Tilmitt, if you will?"
All eyes swiveled to Selphie. As instructed, she procured Xu's GF sphere from her outfit and placed it on the tabletop. With a press of the switches, the gleaming white energy within began seeping out.
"That sphere is the very first one we ever produced," Odine explained. "For years, I wondered why it was the only one to ever embody that specific facet of Adel's power. It seems the holy energy contained within is the linchpin which kept her power stabilized. Without it, her body is naught but an immobile wellspring of power, uncontrollable and unsustainable. And because, as we know, a sorceress' consciousness is tied to her power-"
"Ultimecia won't be able to fully exercise control over Adel?" Quistis finished for him.
"Precisely. And beyond that, Adel wouldn't even be able to control her own body. Were we to unseal her without first returning that sphere's power to her… I shudder to consider the destruction her unchecked energy might wreak on everything around her."
As he expounded, Squall recalled his encounter with the skeletal sorceress from the deep. The power visibly radiating from her had been almost too intense for him, Quistis, and the White SeeDs to contend with. Provided Selphie's old sphere she'd received from her father were the first ever produced from that woman's energy, Odine's theory seemed to hold water.
But then… where did her power…?
"Thus, Ultimecia requires that sphere to fully revive Adel, whereby she may inherit Sorceress Rinoa's power. Although considering how keen Mr. Leonhart seems to be on keeping her around, I'm guessing he'd prefer she be the one to inherit Adel's power instead."
Wow, it's like you can read my mind…
He willed himself to ignore Selphie and Quistis' shared giggling. He instead glanced to the side. The smile curling up her own lips was all the merriment he cared to see.
"And so, that is our first step," Odine said. "Kill Adel, and force her to pass her power on to Sorceress Rinoa. After that, she will be the last known sorceress of this era, thereby forcing Ultimecia to possess her again."
Squall half expected Rinoa to shudder at the prospect. Instead, she looked determined to face it head on. Stranger still, her stare had pivoted to Quistis of all people.
"Then, it falls to Ellone. She must use her power to send Rinoa, and by extension Ultimecia, into Adel's mind at a point further in the past."
"But why Adel?" Edea spoke up again. "Wouldn't I be just as fit for that role, given the line I share with Rinoa and Ultimecia?"
"Perhaps. But please, ask yourself this, Mrs. Kramer: do you ever recall being possessed by Ultimecia prior to six months ago? I'd wager not. Therefore, it can logically only be Adel who Ellone will end up choosing. And more than that, it absolutely must be her. Think about it: how could Adel have possibly known about Ellone's power to begin with? Or where to find her all those years ago?"
In a heartbeat, the answer revealed itself to Squall.
"The same way we've learned about all this," he responded. "Because Ellone will choose Adel to play host to Ultimecia's mind in the past…"
"She will unwittingly give Adel the knowledge she needs to find her as a child in Winhill," Odine finished for him. "A perfect causal loop in the time stream, once again."
"You've gotta be shittin' me!" Laguna raged, slamming his fist on the table. "So, the whole reason she was targeted all those years ago… the whole reason her parents were…"
He trailed off to nothing but a whisper, inaudible even to Squall right beside him. Even so, the sentiment rang loudly enough in his ears.
"I understand your frustration, Mr. President, but you must realize how vital it is that the timeline remain preserved. It is for this reason I ask nothing of this leave the room once we have adjourned. That goes for everyone here. Do we have an agreement?"
Squall reluctantly nodded. Though he did not relish the thought of deceiving Ellone even further, to refuse would do so much more damage, whether to her personally or their impending plot.
If that's how fate says it has to happen, then…
"Splendid!" Odine exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Needless to say, this extends not only to Ellone. Not a single other trooper aboard this vessel, whether SeeD or Esthar, is to know about any of this. Once everything is hopefully all over, I'll have to see a strict moratorium placed on all information about this affair. We must leave as little as possible for Ultimecia to take advantage of the next time around."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Zell moaned; his forehead lay pressed to the table, as if it were all he could do to keep himself grounded in place. "Someone get me off this ride!"
"Ah, but this is where the fun starts!" the doctor cackled with schadenfreude. "Once Ellone plays her role in the proceedings, that is when time compression will commence. There's no telling what kind of effects we'll see manifest in our immediate vicinity, but I'm sure it's bound to be a treat. The world's landscape will supposedly coalesce into a jumbled mixture of all eras. Reflections of how it once was, how it is, and how it someday will be, all stitched together into one garish mess. Or at least, that's what the survivors' accounts detail."
"Survivors," Kiros repeated in relief. "Isn't that the most beautiful word I've heard all day."
"Yes, but remember that this particular future is one not yet set in stone. The time compressed world is a place where the hands of fate cannot intervene. Should we fail, there will be no future to come. For there will be no future at all."
"And what about us?" Quistis pivoted. "If the land itself is a jumbled mess, what about the people living in it?"
"An excellent question, Miss Trepe! And I believe the answer hinges on how the ritual functions. From what Ultimecia herself knows of it, her own place in the future and Adel's in the past are merely to serve as anchor points to keep the incantation stabilized, with Sorceress Rinoa as the catalyst in the middle. It is here, in this time period, that the epicenter will take shape, and spread out across all time and space. That being the case, I suspect only those of us alive at the moment of compression will pass into that world, with two exceptions: Ultimecia as she is in the future, and Adel as she was in the past."
"But otherwise, only people who are alive today?" Laguna asked for clarification. "No one else?"
"I highly doubt it. At what other point in human history has anything like this been spoken of, much less documented? I've been in Esthar's service since before Adel was even born. Nothing like it ever happened in her time. Only she would have experienced it back then, and then likely returned to her own time from the ordeal as if waking from a nightmare."
This whole thing is a nightmare I've been wanting to wake up from for months.
"We will be all that can exist in that world. And all that ever will exist if Ultimecia has her way. Though, perhaps 'exist' isn't even the right word. We will be but sentient reflections of ourselves as we are at the moment the compression commences. More than that, no one can say. From there, we must seek out Ultimecia, and destroy her. Only by doing so will the world be returned to its natural state."
"It's… too much."
Squall looked to Selphie. She sat shaking like a leaf, looking nearly as nauseated as Zell.
"I can't even imagine what it's like to be stuck in that kind of world. Not even being able to tell if you're really alive, dead, or something else in between. How can you go on like that? I don't think… I could…"
"And that's why you have to believe!" Laguna shouted out.
Squall jumped in his seat. Every other head in the room, Selphie's included, snapped to him as he stood up straight.
"There's only one way to exist in a world like that!" he proudly declared with his fist to his heart. "And that's to keep on believing you do! As friends, don't forget one another! As friends, believe in one another! Believe in your friends' existence, and they'll also believe in yours! And if you find yourself faltering… just think of the place you want to see again more than anything else. The people you want to be with when you get there. Let those hopes and dreams guide you. That's what I'm gonna do, anyway. Love, friendship, and the courage to believe. That's how we're gonna win this fight!"
For the first time, Squall had no difficulty believing his father was the world leader he claimed to be. He'd spoken straight from the heart, with more passion than he'd ever pictured him capable of. And despite how vapid and void of substance his message might have been, it was impossible to deny the refreshing change in atmosphere he'd brought blowing into the conference room.
He is a politician, I suppose.
"Sounds pretty corny," he scoffed. Still, he rose from his own seat and mirrored the gesture, placing his fist over his heart. "But I'll roll with it. Anyone else?"
One by one, the rest of the table save for Odine stood up and mirrored the two of them. Squall met each of their eyes in turn, lingering on Rinoa's longest of all. To his delight they showed none of the fear he'd seen in them the previous day.
"Well, as long as it makes you all feel better," the doctor cynically quipped, rising himself. "And with that, I would say we're finished here. Just remember: not a word of what we've discussed here to anyone else. Beyond that, make your preparations as you see fit, and be sure to get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, at first light, we set out for the Lunatic Pandora. And then… it begins."
No. Tomorrow, it all ends. One way or another…
"You read me okay?"
"Yep," Irvine replied as he strapped himself into the hover mech. "A little static, but it'll do."
That he could understand Biggs at all over the headset was a marked improvement from where radio technology had stood for the last 17 years. Were they any further removed from Adel's containment unit, there likely would have been no interference left at all.
"You sure flying one of these things is gonna be that easy?"
"Like we've got a choice now," the soldier spoke back.
"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve, just in case," Fujin assured the two of them.
Irvine turned his head back across the hangar to see her fumbling with her own mech's harness. Raijin mirrored her a short ways off. However skeptical he was of his own ability to operate such a piece of machinery, he didn't expect the two of them to fare any better. But then, if Squall had managed to pilot one in the midst of the Battle of the Gardens without difficulty, perhaps there was hope for them yet.
Guys, you'd all better appreciate how far we're sticking our necks out for you right now.
Their present ploy was one born out of desperation. By Biggs' account, they'd still not yet received any response from the Esthar government. The question was no longer whether they were capable of compliance; the bridge crew had already picked up a fleeting blip on the radar two days earlier, belonging to an airship arcing wide en route to the capital city. Nothing further had materialized since.
Irvine took Fujin and Raijin at their word that the others had been taken in by the president and his retinue. It had given him satisfaction enough to expect the cavalry's imminent arrival. Biggs had allowed him to make use of his private quarters, and ensured their two co-conspirators received better treatment in the brig than any other grunt would have provided. And so, he'd been content to bide his time. Seifer's snap decision to start moving the Lunatic Pandora into position over the city had changed everything; they no longer had the leisure to stand idly by.
With a raucous klaxon, the bay doors gradually slid open at Biggs' behest. In the morning sun shone across the steel plated floor. Far below awaited the Great Plains, vast, beckoning them to go leaping into freedom's embrace just as the morning he'd broken his friends out of the D-District Prison. The height differential alone forced any further reckless thoughts out of his mind. Neither did they yet have a clue where to eventually touch down; legions of ravenous monsters still roamed the plains. Even so, it was a risk both he and Biggs deemed worth taking. Seifer hopefully wouldn't be so quick to unleash the Pandora's payload again with risk of his prize being lost amid the devastation. Adel's containment unit was plenty durable to have survived the descent from space, but that didn't discount what might become of her body were they to unseal her from it. Not that Irvine had any intention of doing so. He'd been on scene the first time to witness the error of Seifer's indiscretion.
Well, lets give her a whirl…
He ran his left hand up and down the joystick, pivoting it to and fro to get a feel for its sensitivity. His right hand took hold of the throttle opposite; with a rev, the engine sputtered to life atop the last blaring wails of the loudspeaker.
"Cool your jets, kid," Biggs' voice rang in his ear. "We're not going anywhere until Wedge gets the shield down."
His body language reflected none of the complacency in his words; across the hangar's length he bolted back to the lone remaining tethered mech. They would still need to be ready to fly at a moment's notice. There was no guaranteeing how long Biggs' accomplice would be able to keep the system down for. The move would immediately alert the bridge crew, prompting a quick correction order issued to the generator team. There was also their own ruse to consider. Biggs had managed to get the lot of them into the hangar and the assigned security out on the pretense of a diagnostics check ordered by Seifer. The risk of exposure weighed heavily against them should any one of the squad double back, or take the matter straight to the man himself.
"Gotta walk before you can run, y'know?" Raijin shot back. "An' here you're up an' askin' us to sprout wings jus' like that."
He revved his own mech, only for it to abruptly shoot upwards. It settled into a hover as he eased off on the throttle.
"Damn, this thing's a bucking boco, y'know?"
"A poor craftsman always blames his tools," Fujin calmly said. Her mech ascended much more gingerly, as if drawn up by a wire not unlike the one trailing from the rear to Adel's unit.
"Fujin, I'm real glad you're finally talkin' like you used to. But that don't mean you've still gotta be so harsh all the time, y'know?"
"Guess some things never change," Irvine said.
He smiled at the ensuing shenanigans shared between the two. Though his prior experience with them extended no further than the time they'd met in Balamb, they were just as tightly knit a unit as he and the others. How Seifer could throw it all away was something he would perhaps never understand.
"Oh, shit! There it goes!"
He carefully swiveled his mech back as Biggs' exclamation crackled in his headset. Beyond the bay doors, a shimmering forcefield of neon green had materialized. It gradually dimmed before phasing out completely. The way was clear at last. He'd barely prodded the joystick forward when a gunshot rang out. The bullet whizzing by his face stalled him in mid flight. He abruptly swiveled to the side as yet more peppered across the hull.
"We're busted, y'know?!" Raijin yelled, taking evasive maneuvers.
"Working on it!" Biggs shouted back.
No sooner had his mech sputtered to life, a missile blasted off from its arm attachment. It soared across the hangar's width to the entryway where the interlopers stood at arms. Their pot shots ceased as they scattered in all directions. The explosion to follow blew a hole clear through the wall, sending chunks of metal shrapnel flying.
"Time to book it, y'know?!" Raijin raged.
Unsteadily his mech bobbed forward to the door, picking up speed. Irvine prepared to follow suit; one alone would never be sufficient to haul along the full weight of Adel's containment unit. A flash of light averted his attention before he could manage to reorient himself however. He craned his neck in its direction, on the far side of the hangar to the rear of the unit.
Attempting to draw any kind of parallel to the summoned creature's appearance was futile; it resembled no species he'd ever seen before. Its general figure was humanoid, standing upright on two legs. Pastel lavender with lighter flourishes of yellow and muted green ran across its muscular upper body. What accounted for its head was practically a slight upward protrusion from the torso, its bulbous eyes clustered together like an insect's. Just beside, a set of three large funnel like orifices extended out from its right shoulder. Irvine could barely make sense of any part of its anatomy. Its sheer size was all he could gauge for certain; it was nearly as tall as the containment unit.
"Brace yourselves!" Fujin's voice came in over the headset.
The pastel giant reared back as she spoke. It was only then Irvine took notice of what appeared to be a rapidly ballooning sack of air to its rear; it swelled to eventually rival the creature's own dimensions, practically bursting at the seams. And then, the air shot loose from its three funnels. He gripped hard onto the throttle and joystick as the gale wind blew him through the air and out the bay doors. He tumbled all the way, whirling from side to side as Biggs and Raijin likewise roared in his ear.
Shit!
The moment Irvine's mech stopped gyrating wildly, he jammed hard on the accelerator and tilted the joystick straight up. The ascent lasted only a few short seconds before something caught him from behind. It dragged him down, smoke now seeping from the turbine engines as they fought against the dead weight. He craned his neck straight down to see the containment unit dangling below. Biggs, Fujin, and Raijin all hovered around its level, yet to recover, leaving him to support the full brunt of it himself.
"Guys, fly up!" he screamed into the receiver. "There's no way I'm gonna hold this thing much longer!"
"Gotta figure out which way up is, first!" Biggs raged.
A sickly metal groaning reached his ears next. With it, Irvine's heart began sinking in tandem with the mech. For however sturdy the cable was, the chassis was clearly at its breaking point. Just then, a tornado whipped out of the hangar bay. He fought against its bluster with the joystick for but a moment. The next, it dipped down along the Lunatic Pandora's exterior to where the others and the containment unit idled. He squinted into the eye as it descended, catching a glimpse of the same lavender hue situated in the middle. It kept going until it had come to a rest just beneath their position. And then, he felt the wind come rushing up with significantly less ferocity than before, bringing the three other mechs along with it. The tomb remained comfortably tethered in place below. More comforting still was the reduced level of strain upon his own tether; he could finally move upward again himself.
"Holy hell!" Raijin swore as the tornado dissipated in a flash of light. "Thanks, Fujin! You really saved our butts again, y'know?"
"No need," she responded, rising up to Irvine's level. "We'd better get moving before they send out reinforcements."
"Any ideas where?" he asked. A quick scan of the horizon provided none for him; wherever he looked, there was nothing but open, arid wasteland teeming with ferocious wildlife.
"Let's head for that plateau over there!" Biggs suggested.
Irvine turned his attention due northeast, to where the soldier's mech had already started off. There stood a looming cliff-side. From his vantage point, the plateau atop trailed further still towards a vast stretch of woodland, presumably the Grandidi Forest if he recalled his geography studies correctly. With no other options, he acceded with a push of the lever. The elevation alone would give them a place to settle out of the creatures' reach. So too was the distance from the city ample enough should another Lunar Cry come falling down. The only question was whether they would be able to clear it before Seifer's forces got a bead on their heading.
Within minutes, they had their answer. The tomb's weight, while manageable, slowed their approach considerably. They had many miles further to go, and as Biggs was quick to inform them, nowhere near the time to close the gap.
"More bogeys incoming!"
"You guys jus' keep us movin' forward!" Raijin said. "I got this one, y'know?"
Irvine obeyed, fully engaging the accelerator. Fujin and Biggs mirrored him to either side, hauling the unit and Raijin's mech along to the designated landing zone. Out of the corner of his eye, another flash of light like the first Guardian Force summoning registered to him. He paid no heed to whatever creature had materialized this time; there was no longer any margin for inattentiveness.
He'd desperately hoped for them to have gotten much further away before Adel's disappearance went noticed. The best they could hope for now was to repel the incoming formation and make their landing as soon as possible. From there, they might be able to negotiate with Seifer. Exactly how and on what terms, he didn't yet know. With Fujin and Raijin's own plea having fallen on deaf ears, he doubted one of his would so easily sway him. Certainly not on his own, at least.
Come on, guys! I could really use your help right about now…
"Holy…!" Biggs spluttered over the headset. "What the fuck is that?!"