Dynamo
Master of Plot Devices
Master of the Forum
Gender: 
Age: 18
Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 1651
Reviews: 75
Country: A wizard did it.
113 Points
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:52 am Post subject: A New Fan Fiction: Final Fantasy 8 (Chapter 34) |
 |
|
(Sorry for the wait. I try to write at least one chapter a week and do most of it on the weekend so I have my game for reference. It seems like I hardly have any time left for myself. Mondays and Fridays I go to karate with my father, Wednesdays I go to night school from 7 to 10, on the weekend I go with my father to my grandparent's house to help my grandmother get her house ready to sell, and on top of that I just got together with a girl I met before I left for Japan. I'm taking her to the mall this Friday. And don't even get me started with school work. So excuse me if I can't always keep my posts up to date.)
Chapter 34:
Squall had done what Cid told him and gave everyone in the Garden a report over the P.A. “That about covers the updates. Our task at hand is to find Ellone. Then we’ll deal with Ultimecia. I believe that Ellone is on the White SeeD ship. We’re setting out to look for it. We’ll gather information for a while. Be prepared for battle at any time. And… Sorceress Edea is back at her home. She’s probably not our enemy anymore. Let’s just leave her alone.” He turned off the P.A.
He turned and left the bridge without another word. Quistis turned to face Tylor and said, “Squall’s been acting like this ever since Rinoa went into a coma.”
“He blames himself for what happened,” Tylor said. He stepped onto the bridge’s lift. “He’s probably going to the Infirmary to check up on Rinoa. I’ll go see how he’s doing. Keep searching for the white SeeD ship.” Quistis and the others on the bridge saluted before Tylor rode the lift down.
Dr. Kadowaki wasn’t in the Infirmary. She must have had other business to attend to; otherwise she wouldn’t have left Squall alone. Tylor entered the small room where Rinoa slept and saw Squall kneeling over the bed. His hand was on Rinoa’s forehead, probably checking her temperature.
“Squall, are you OK?” Tylor asked. He knew it was a stupid question to ask, but he had to say something.
“…She feels so cold.” He buried his face in his arms. “Isn’t there anything I can do!?” His back rose and fell as he sobbed quietly.
“I’m sorry this had to happen, Squall,” Tylor said.
Squall stopped sobbing for a moment. His face was still pressed against his arms when he asked, “…You knew.” He stood up and stared at Tylor. A fresh tear trickled down his cheek. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you!?” Squall gave him the full force of the anger in his eyes.
Tylor closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. “…Yes. Yes, I did.”
Squall took an armful of stuff from the bedside table and threw it on the floor. Bottles smashed and medical equipment bounced off the smooth floor. “You knew this would happen and you didn’t stop it. You let this happen to her! Why didn’t you tell me!?”
“…I couldn’t,” Tylor said. “If I told you, you might not have fought the sorceress. It would have changed the future.”
Squall dropped to his knees and leaned against the bed. He buried his face against his arms again. “Leave, now.”
Tylor stood there for a moment, not sure of what to say. He finally decided that the best thing to say was nothing. He turned and left Squall to his sorrow.
Once Tylor had left the Infirmary he began to feel strange. His ears rang with a loud screech as his eyelids suddenly became heavy. He was suddenly dizzy. He put his hand on the closest wall to balance himself, but his legs gave in and he fell to the ground. The world around him slow faded away in a wave of darkness as he fell into a deep, deep sleep…
He awoke in a room on a large bed. The walls were made of metal and so was most of the furniture. It was the first time Tylor had seen this room, yet it felt like he had been sleeping in it every night. He scanned the room and found a window. Climbing off the bed, he walked over to it. Outside he saw the magnificent city of Esthar.
He saw his reflection in the window and knew he was in the “dream world” as Eric. He looked just like a knight in his white armour with a white cape.
There was a knock at the door. “Enter.” Three Esthar soldiers entered the room, dropping to their knees when they were in front of Eric. “What is it this time?” he asked, annoyed.
One of the soldiers lifted his head to look at Eric. “Queen Adel has a mission for you, Sir Eric.”
Eric sighed and crossed his arms in frustration. “I just went half-way around the world to bring her some kid and now she’s sending me off on another mission without so much as a nap?”
The soldier dropped his head again. “I- I’m sorry, but she just sent us to give you your mission.”
Eric sighed again. These guys are pathetic, he thought. I get a little mad and they start shitting bricks. He shook his head. “Give me the mission and get out of my face before I lose it.”
The soldier looked at Eric’s face again. The helmet hid the man’s face, but it did little to hide his fear. “Y-Your n-next mission is t-to intercept a group of men t-traveling through the desert.”
Eric raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Another soldier said, “Adel wants you to go because she said you knew who these people are.”
Eric’s gaze shifted to the other man, annoyance showing clearly in his eyes. He hadn’t said anything to this soldier, and he hated it when they spoke out of line. The man sensed Eric’s anger right away and quickly lowered his head.
Eric shook his head. He didn’t have to be yelling at these soldiers. All he wanted to do was to get the mission over with and get some rest. “Get a car and five men. I’ll be at the city border in ten minutes.”
The first soldier raised his head. “Sir, wouldn’t it be safer if you brought more men?”
Eric narrowed his eyes. If this was just a group of lowly travelers then he could handle them himself. “Are you questioning me, soldier?”
The soldier began to panic. “N-No, sir. I-I just thought-”
“You have ten seconds to get out of my sight before I break your spines.” The men got up and literally ran for the door once he started counting. They were gone when he made it to six.
Eric approached a metal cabinet on the far side of the room that held all his weapons. He stood in front of the metal doors, looking at the weapons through the glass. He couldn’t decide what he should bring with him, but finally decided on taking one of his old katanas.
Twenty minutes later Eric was in a car driving across the desert north of Esthar. Two other men rode in the car with him, one beside him in the driver’s seat and one in the back. The three other soldiers were following them in a truck designed for transporting prisoners.
During the trip Eric thought about what the soldier had said. Why did Adel think he would know these men? The only people he had ever associated himself with were all the way in Galbadia.
Three figures appeared on the horizon. As they got closer he could distinguish different features. This first man had a large body, the second had dark skin and the third had black, shoulder-length hair. When the car stopped he couldn’t see their faces. These men were somehow familiar, so Eric wanted to see their faces.
He ordered the other soldiers to stay in the vehicle before getting out. Eric had to shield his eyes from the sand in the wind. The three travelers stopped when they saw him. One of them called out, “Hey! Over here!”
The man’s voice was oddly familiar. For a moment Eric thought his ears were playing tricks on him. But once the wind died down and he could see the men clearly, he knew he wasn’t hallucinating.
“…Laguna?” Even face-to-face he still couldn’t believe his eyes. Laguna, Ward and Kiros were standing in front of them.
Their eyes widened when they saw Eric. Laguna took a step forward. “Eric? Is that you?” Eric smiled, and he took it as a good sign. “It is you! We all thought you were dead!”
Eric’s smile widened. “I thought you were all dead, too.” He lifted his hand toward Laguna. “What a shame.” He pushed his magic out from his hand in the form of a green fireball. It collided with Laguna’s chest, throwing him to the ground a few feet away.
Kiros and Ward helped him stand up. “What the hell are you doing, Eric!?” Kiros yelled.
Eric grabbed his katana and said, “Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
“Why are you doing this?” Laguna asked. “I thought we were friends.”
“Friends?” Eric laughed at the idea. “I never liked any of you. You were always slowing me down. I serve my lady, Sorceress Adel. She has given me powers you couldn’t imagine.”
“Eric, this isn’t you.” Laguna said, “She’s brainwashed you, this isn’t who you are!”
“You’re wrong, Laguna. This is who I’ve always wanted to be.” He pointed his sword at him. “And my lady wants you three in prison.”
At that moment Laguna grabbed his sub-machine gun from his back and began emptying rounds. Eric used his magic to erect a shield around his body to protect himself from the spray of bullets. Ward lifted his iron harpoon and threw it at Eric, who blasted it aside with his magic. The weapon was split into pieces from the magic, littering the ground with metal shards. Kiros rushed Eric, aiming to thrust his wrist-blades into his gut. Eric let the attack come because his suit of armour was too strong to be penetrated by any blade. Kiros’ blades cracked and shattered against the unbreakable metal just like he knew they would.
It was his turn to fight back. Eric clenched his fist and punched Kiros in the face. The force of the hit threw him to the ground. He spotted Ward charging from the corner of his eye. Even though he didn’t have a weapon, he was still determined to stop him. Eric grabbed him by the front of the shirt and used his momentum to lift him up and throw him into the side of the prison truck.
He turned to see Laguna fumbling to load another round into his gun. Eric used his magic to increase his speed and ran up to him. The round clicked into place, but Laguna didn’t have enough time to aim and shoot. Eric was already in front of him. Laguna started to move his gun, but Eric sliced it in half with one clean stroke of his sword. He grabbed Laguna by the throat and slowly lifted him until his feet dangled inches above the ground.
Eric felt no pity or shame as he held his old friend by the neck. If anything, he felt happy that he had the chance to get rid of him once and for all. He pulled him closer so Laguna could hear him. “You were never my friend. You were just a means to an end.” He threw Laguna into the sand and watched him gasp for air. Eric signalled to the men in the vehicles and smiled as they dragged them one-by-one into the truck. |
_________________
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. |
|
