Chapter 5: Battle - Part 2 Squall ran through the alleyway. After the attack, he had gotten his weapon and immediately set out to decrease the number of soldiers in the immediate vicinity of the hotel they were staying in. So far he had killed four soldiers, and none had seen it coming.
Zell and Irvine went to wake up the others. Sefany would start their plan, and they would collect in front of the hotel to begin the removal of Galbadian troops. With some help, they could rid the city of soldiers in about 3-4 minutes. But, as they had no backup, and could not risk separating, it would take them 10-15 minute, enough time for the soldiers to radio for backup.
The odds were against them, as usual. Squall tried to keep that thought out of his mind. He saw two soldiers up ahead, and readied his blade as he ran forward.
Joi was a soldier in the Galbadian army. He didn�t choose that particular career because he liked it. He was kind of forced into it. His family had suffered a huge financial blow when his father died and left his mother with three kids and no job. At the earliest age possible, he entered the Galbadian army. Since then he regretted his decision many times.
When he was assigned to protect Timber from rebellions that might occur, he thought that it would be an easy job. �Turns out I�m wrong.� Joi laughed. In a sudden fit of insanity he decided to goof off.
�You know man, we should be doing something fun. Why the hell are we just sitting here on our asses?!� Joi started to laugh again. �We always get stuck with the shit jobs don�t we? Why is this any different from anything that we do in Galbadia.�
The other soldier turned to look at Joi. �Why are you complaining about the job? It�s easy and it pays well.� Unlike the rough bass from Joi, the other soldier had a voice so sweet and high that it could only be a woman.
Joi face changed to an expression of shock. �My partner is a woman!? Since when does the army let women becomes grunts?�
The man laughed. �Joi, you idiot! I am a man, but I�m not a soldier, I�m a sorcerer!�
Squall reached the end of the alleyway in time to hear the man say he was a sorcerer. He stopped suddenly, then thought about turning back and calling for reinforcements, but thought the better of it. He aimed his gunblade toward the sorcerer and pulled the trigger.
The bullet flew out with a crack, and Squall�s arm was jerked back with the recoil. He looked and saw the bullet slow down and stop in midair, right before the man. The metal became red and started to bulge. All of a sudden, it went black, then imploded on itself.
Joi looked at Squall desperately. �Help m-Aaaaaaaaaagh!� Lightning danced over his body, even filling up the empty places, such as the inside of his mouth. It leapt from his lower teeth to his upper, and then into his skull. Squall stood back and watched this all with a sense of not really being there.
�Wait, I know you. Your name is Que. You were a noble in Centra before it collapsed. You died trying to save the city. What in the hell are you still doing alive?!� Squalls face took on a horrified look. His eyes widened slightly, and his breathing quickened. �How the hell did you escape the city�s collapse, then live for several thousand years!�
�Who cares how he lived that long, help me! The guys a fuckin nutcase!� Lightning soared through Joi�s body, and he screamed in pain once again. He face caught on fire and burned a hole through his cheek. Squall noticed none of this.
�Who did you say I was?� The rough gravelly voice that came from Que was not the same voice that he had when he was alive. Que pulled out a sword. �This is how I am alive. The life stealing sword, one of the only ones left. Sinra Deling brought me back, and so I must serve him.� Que paused for a moment and looked at Squall with a gaze so intense that it seemed to pass right through him. �Now, you answer my question! Who am I?� Que eyes held a look of desperation in them. The look of a man that has found hope when he thought that there was none to be found, only to realize that the way to save his life was to take it. �You said you knew me. How? I have been dead a long time. Now answer my questions.�
Squall opened his mouth to talk and was hit in the legs by Joi, who was rolling in one last vain attempt to save his own life. Squall finally realized what was happening, but before he could go to help put out the torturous flames, Que knelt down and started whispering to Joi. Squall could not here what was being said, but Joi did not have much time left, so he did not interrupt.
Abruptly the fire stopped, leaving a bloody, brownish-black pile of flesh and bones in place of what should have been a man. Squalls stomach lurched when the pile started to talk. There was no discernable mouth, but it talked anyways.
�Thank you�. I give you- my soul- so that you- may live- on.� Joi breathed out. Squall guessed that the lump with what looked like hair was his head. Que however just looked at Joi and sighed deeply.
�I am sorry, however I cannot take you soul for my own nourishment. Your soul is too good. There is not enough evil. I am sorry, but I cannot heal you either. The magic has not been created that could do that.� Que turned back to Squall, and Squall heard pants and whimpers come from the thing on the floor. He realized that Joi was trying to cry.
�Will you not even put him out of his misery! Are you such a beast now that you will not even help him! I loathe you. You disgust me. If you weren�t so much stronger than me I would kill you now.�
Que laughed. �You couldn�t kill me even if you were more powerful than I. I am a lich, the undead. And no, I won�t put him out of his misery. You see, I benefit from pain and torture as well as death and destruction. You should know that.�
Squall swung the blade in a high arc, not at Que, but at Joi. A shockwave flew through his arm as his blade hit an invisible barrier and rebounded off. The Lionheart flared blue and lit up the alley in spite of it being about midnight. Squall moved the blade so fast that the barrier was shattered instantly, and his blade cleaved the lump of charred flesh in two.
Blood flew up at Squall as the Lionheart slammed into Joi. As the blade sank home, what was left of Joi�s face smiled at Squall. Squall turned around to face Que. �Now it�s your turn.�
The power flowed through Squall and all of his senses heightened. Lionheart blazed blue in his hands and seemed to call for blood. A ball of light appeared on its tip. Only once before had Squall wielded such power, and dared to unleash it all upon his opponent.
The first time was when he fought Ultimecia. The energy burst that he unleashed was incredible. After only three blows, Ultimecia fell to the ground exhausted and defeated.
This time, his opponent was smaller and faster, so could avoid the blows. Squall swung to the left and down. Que slid out of the way before the blade even came close to him. Squall sped up his attacks, but every time he got faster Que matched his speed. Soon Squall was sweating.
He slashed right, then left. Up, then down. The end result of all the blows was nothing. The Lionheart released the energy it had stored up, and Squall stepped back and shot the gun. A beam of reddish-yellow light flew out and engulfed Que.
The beam spilt in two and buildings exploded on both sides of Squall. Shrapnel flew everywhere. A huge piece of metal flew into Squalls stomach and lodged itself there. He fell to the ground and just barely avoided being hit by Que�s attack.
The attack slammed into the ground right by Squalls head, and he rolled over, pushing the foot long piece of almost barbed metal the rest of the way out of his back. He felt a huge wave of power fly over his head, and was barely aware of the sword that came crashing down towards him. The power flying over him was Quetzacotl, and was there to help him fight off Que.
Lightning flew from Quetzacotl and into the sorcerer. Que shrieked in agony. It was an inhuman sound, and filled with not only pain but also annoyance. Squall felt a quick shocking sensation as the GF flew back into his mind.
Que reached out and grabbed Squall by the neck, the cold flesh finding easy grips. In one move, he had Squall lifted clear off of the ground, and threw him against the wall, right on to a piece of jutting rock. Squall screamed for only a moment, then the world went black.
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Zell knew something was wrong instantly. �Listen, Squalls in trouble. I�m gonna go help him. Everybody stay here and start the plan as we agreed, got it!� Zell was made the leader of the group by Sefany, since he was the best rounded of the six of them.
Sefany spoke up. �Wait! I�m coming with you.� Her face was a mask of concern for Squall. �Well,� she said when Zell just stared at her, �Aren�t we going to go help him?� Zell shook himself back into awareness, then nodded his head and ran out of the room. Sefany grabbed her spear then ran out after him.
On the way to the Alley that Zell knew Squall was in, they heard an explosion. All this time there had been screams then when they stopped suddenly, Zell got worried. One thing still bugged him though: What was in the city that would threaten Squall�s life like that. He didn�t know, and didn�t think that his friends did either.
�You felt it too.� Sefany�s voice told Zell that it wasn�t a question.
�Yeah, I did. I don�t know what it was, but- Holy shit!�
�What?�
�Quetzacotl just left me! I don�t know what the hell is going on, but I didn�t do it.�
Sefany smiled. �That�s how we knew. Our GF�s were in touch and they alerted us when one of their own kind was about to die for good.�
�That�s all nice and good and all, but what the hell does that mean. Quetzacotl just entered Squall.� Zell�s voice took on an edge of panic. �Great, now I have to readjust the way I fight.�
Zell and Sefany came to the alley as Squall slammed into the wall and blacked out.
�Squall!� Both of them screamed in unison. Zell ran straight for Que and slammed into an invisible wall. �Owwwww! Goddamn that stings. Sefany, can you do something about that wall!�
�Not really. You see, that thing has the power of a sorceress. I don�t know what he is.� Unlike Zell, her voice was calm and without a tremor. Zell looked at her in amazement. �Grab your friend and let�s get out of here.
Zell jumped back. �What the hell do you mean get him and get out of here! We need to kill this thing before it destroys Timber.�
�No need. Timber already dead anyways.�
�What the fuck are you talking about. Timber will be fine if we can kill this guy. You don�t understand that our enemy is right in front of us. Or are you the enemy? That�s an explanation that makes sense as to why you know Timber is to be destroyed.�
Que started walking towards Squall, intending to finish off his prey this time. Zell saw this out of the corner of his eye. He knew something was wrong though about the way that Squall was laying there, with one hand still resting on his sword, the other on his chest. It was about the way his jacket fell just so you couldn�t see if he was injured or not. It was all the little things like that that told Zell that Squall would not get up again of his own will for quite a while.
�Leave him the fuck alone you bastard!� The Ergheiz flew towards Que and slammed into his chest, launching him backwards. Que slammed into the wall, causing the building to become even more demolished. Squall laid there, still not moving, even as bricks came raining down on him.
Sefany jumped high into the air and came down on top of Que, spear point first directly through his chest. Que jumped up and threw Sefany off of him, then pulled the spear out of his chest like it was a child�s toy.
�Sorry I can�t stay, but the city is about to be destroyed. I advise you to get out of here. I have no quarrel with you or your friend, but he picked the fight. If you make it out of here alive, you must find me, or I will find you. It doesn�t matter which, but when we meet I will explain everything.�
�Who are you?� Sefany�s voice was strong and firm even though the blow had almost broken her spine.
�My name good lady is Que� With that, Que made a series of gestures and disappeared with a pop.
The four SeeDs that were still in the hotel were beginning to get worried. It was about ten minutes since Zell and Sefany disappeared out into the night. Almost an hour since the guards had attacked Squall.
Rinoa stood up and looked out of the window. Her expression quickly changed from boredom to shock. �We got trouble guys. An airship is heading right this way. Galbadia has decided to use the ultimate attack strategy: kamikaze. We don�t stand much of a chance unless we get out of here.�
The other three looked out of the window. All three quickly started talking at once, and Rinoa couldn�t understand a word they were saying.
�Slow down so I know what you�re saying. Wait� No, forget that. Everybody just be quiet and let�s find Squall, Zell, and Sefany. Once we have them, then we can worry about leaving Timber.�
Nobody had to go anywhere, because at that second, Zell burst through the door telling everyone to leave. Outside, they had a stolen Galbadia combat transport vehicle (CTV) and were all in it. Within seconds everybody was on board and Sefany jumped back in the driver position.
On the front deck of the airship Taran, the captain was pacing back and forth. The only thing going through his head was the thought that he wouldn�t get to see his wife and kids again so he could tell them he loved them. The last of the engines gave way about 10 minutes earlier, and the troops had already jumped and landed. Each and every one of the crew had left with the exception of the captain.
�So now it�s my time to die.� The captain spoke out loud to no one. �I never imagined that I would die alone. At least I will go down a hero in the history books.� The joyful thought didn�t even manage to bring a smile to his face.
He sat back down, dealt himself a hand of cards, and began to play solitaire.
Rinoa jumped into the CTV and looked for Squall. She saw him lying in the back on a stretcher and was torn between two different impulses. The first was to cry for the one she loved because he had to undergo such torture during the ride. The other was hate for Sefany and Zell. She hated them impersonally, because she knew hey both meant the best, but she just couldn�t stand them. They had thrown Squall into the CTV without bothering to patch up his wounds.
�Listen up everybody.� Zell spoke up with all of the control a leader should have. �We�ve got to go. The most important reason is that Timber is about to be leveled by that flying hunk of metal up there. Also, Squall needs to get to some sort of doctor. That thing hit him with some sort of spell so we can�t heal him, but if we can get him to a mundane doctor he might not die.� Zell�s face, which normally had a smile on it, was serious and sober. If one looked at him just right, one might think that he was trying to hold back tears.
�The other bad thing is that to get him to a doctor of any sort we need to move fast and take the road out of here. However, the road will take us right through the heart of a Galbadian army camp. So we have two choices: Plow through the camp, or radio Galbadia Garden to help.�
Rinoa spoke up. �Why Galbadia? Why can�t we radio Balamb Garden for help?�
�We can�t get them because they are still at Balamb. Now, which one do you five want to do? If even one of you says call, we call Galbadia Garden.�
Sefany, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa all voted immediately to go through the army camp. Quistis stopped for a moment the looked Zell. �We need to radio for help.�
Zell visibly relaxed. �At least one of you didn�t lose your mind. Alright, Sefany, get on the radio and contact Galbadia Garden. Tell them to meet us on the road to FH. I�ll drive.� Every body got into position and began to do what they had to do.
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About ten minutes later they were loading Squall into Galbadia Garden�s infirmary, The Taran inched closer and closer towards Timber, and Laguna disappeared from the palace in Esthar.