Right, here we go again for chapter 11!!! Just a little side tangent beforehand however, I'd just like to thank all my fans and reviewers. When I first came up with the idea for this, I thought I was going to either be bombarded with harsh criticism or completely ignored and well I was wrong. I'm happy to say that since the first chapter was uploaded on July 10th, I've had over 1500 hits on my story. I am completely amazed at this and I hope I can continue to meet everyone's expectations. So, let's get on with it then, I'm sure you're as excited as I am
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Chapter 11- Gunblade vs. Pinwheel
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Rinoa stood there with her weapon locked and loaded and ready for a fight. From what she remembered, Seifer used a sword like when he fought Squall so if she could maintain distance, she should be fine. She quickly checked her peripherals to get a feel for how much room she had, and to her disappointment, it was a fairly tight fit with crates filling the room. She didn't have much more of a chance then that though because Seifer cut her thoughts off.
"Sure you wanna do this Heartilly?" he mockingly asked with a smug grin on his face.
"Just shut it Seifer!" Rinoa yelled in response as she launched the blaster edge point blank at the seemingly defenceless Seifer and she was sure it would be a direct hit but the sound of steal hitting steal send the blaster edge back to her. Seifer was standing there as if blocking was no effort at all holding the one handed sword she had remembered with something she hadn't known: the sword was actually a gunblade.
"Haha, is that the best you got?" Seifer asked tauntingly.
"Smug bastard…" "Pfft… hardly" Rinoa answered back feigning confidence. "This is bad… really, really bad…"
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Selphie had just finished taking care of the guards on the bridge on the airship when she decided to head back to meat everyone back at the main hallway. When she got there, only Zell and Irvine were there.
"Where's Rinny?" Selphie asked worried.
"Fuck if I know, I thought she was with you" Zell answered back.
"C'mon guys, I'm worried about her, we should look"
"Saving a damsel in distress is what I do best" Irvine said with a smirk.
"Not the time Irvine now c'mon" Selphie said as she motioned for the two of them to follow.
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Rinoa could barely stand, let alone fight now. The fight had taken a turn for the worst when Seifer hit her in the stomach with the blunt side of his gunblade and pulled the trigger, clearly breaking several ribs and causing Rinoa to cough up blood. Dropping to her knees, she had to fight just to maintain consciousness and looking up, she saw Seifer, resting his gunblade on his shoulder with the smirk that never seems to disappear, gloating over his victory
"Finally…" he began as he kicked Rinoa's blaster edge piece far out of her reach, "You put up quite the fight… I think I might be falling for you!" he finished with a roar a laughter.
"Shut…up" was all Rinoa managed to retort before she coughed up more blood.
"Shame you had to go with puberty boy though, I guess it's true what they about good looking women…" Seifer said with almost a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Wha…tever" Rinoa said mimicking Squall to annoy Seifer.
"He's got you trained well Heartilly, not that it matters, word on the street is saying he's gonna be executed in a week, good riddance I say".
Rinoa couldn't muster up anymore strength to say anything more or fight Seifer off as he came to pick Rinoa up to carry her off the airship. She could hear her heart beat in her head begin to slow as her vision began to fade. Before losing consciousness, she saw a hint of yellow behind a box and with the last of her strength, she managed to whisper, "…save Squall…"
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They had got there too late, just soon enough to hear Rinoa's last wishes, "save Squall". Seifer quickly joined up with soldiers in the hallway and he dismissed them as he took Rinoa off the airship. Now standing there in silence in the blood smiling room, Zell asked the obvious question, "…the fuck we do now?"
"Dunno…" Irvine replied in a whisper.
"We should do what Rinny wanted, let's go save Squall!" Selphie proclaimed.
"Fuck's the point? Rinoa is gone, Squall is gone, there's no fuckin' point" Zell muttered defeated.
"You two are NOT giving up on me. Look we know else Squall is and Seifer said he was gonna take her home, which is Deling City, and we know where that is. We save Squall, fly to Galbadia and spring Rinny, then we live happily ever after!" Selphie said excited and slightly bouncing.
"Uhh…Sefie, you even know how to fly this thing 'cause I'm sure Zell and I don't?" Irvine asked.
The grin that then sprung on Selphie's face scared Irvine to death and he immediately regretted asking.
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Private Wedge had just been assigned to guard the supply ship after the Commander came out with a bleeding girl and told him to. He didn't really want to be there at all but it was sure better than being on the frontlines in Trabia. Counting his blessings he sat on the airship stairs and flicked on his radio, hoping to get something a somewhat decent radio signal. What came on loud and clear was the Presidential Address that aired live last night and everyone was forced to listen.
"We Galbadian's are at a critical time in our history. The isolationists to the east are threatening our way of life as we know it. They are bloodthirsty fascist dictators that want nothing more than for your children to be learning Estharian while you sing their national anthem! Well, we are not going to stand idly by as they have their way, no! We Galbadian's are a strong people, pure born from Hyne's descendants of old. It is us that shall control them! They shall be singing OUR songs in OUR language. As I speak, your army fights valiantly in southern Trabia trying to break in Esther but alas, even with our surplus of volunteers…"
"More like conscripts…" Wedge thought to himself.
"…we cannot break through, which is why tonight I am enacting the Military Services Act Phase 2. Men between the ages of 18 to 45 MUST report to the nearest recruitment centre as of tomorrow. Failure to do this will be dealt with swiftly as by running, you are failing your country in its most dire need. So goodnight to you citizens of Galbadia, and remember, the stronger the people, the stronger the state!"
Wedge flicked his radio off and sighed. He wasn't even Galbadian, he was from Timber and he was forced to fight a war that was not his own. "Fate sure is cruel sometimes…uh, what's that?"
The airship began to shake as sounds from the engine were flaring around the camp, drawing everyone's attention. The airship began to leave the ground, with Wedge still sitting on the stairs. Now standing he tried to maintain his balance until he heard a girl's voice from inside yell something like, "Booyaka!" and then the velocity of the airship moving forward sent Wedge plummeting towards the ground.
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Squall was now back in his cell, alone. It had been two hours since he got back from the hearing and instead of sitting on the bed; he slouched up against a wall, never looking up. He heard the visor on the cell door slide open and he still didn't look up and only heard, "Visitor for the murderer". He didn't look up until the door opened and a familiar voice sounded in the small prison cell.
"Laguna…."
"Hiya Squall, boy do you look like crap" Laguna said cheerfully in a sad attempt to cheer him up.
"Being on death row has that effect on people…" Squall muttered back.
Laguna sighed and waited a moment like he was carefully choosing his next words, "Squall, I'm working on a plan, gimme six days and I'll have you out of here".
"It's what I deserve Laguna, don't interfere…" Squall said back.
"You can't expect me to just watch as my son gets the death penalty, do you?" Laguna asked, half serious, half pretending to be hurt.
"Your son, pfft… You mean the son you didn't even know even existed because you abandoned his mother and then discovered him by complete accident?" Squall asked as bitter as possible and watched as Laguna's normally cheerful face writhed in pain at those words.
"Squall…I…" Laguna tried to say something but he was at a loss for words.
"Get out Laguna, unless you're Rinoa I don't want ANY more visits got that?" Squall asked in anger.
"Fine… but one thing Squall, I know what I did was wrong but just 'cause you're getting screwed by the system doesn't mean you should take that anger out on me" Laguna said with his back turned towards Squall, pain and sadness drenched on in his every word.
"Whatever…" Squall just managed to mutter and Laguna left him alone again in his prison cell.
"What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I have to push away anyone who tries to help me?!? Is it because I know he couldn't help? Then why was I such an asshole to him? I…I don't know what to do anymore…I…I'm trying my best. Laguna… I'm sorry…"
"Laguna!" Squall cried out in vain, hoping that the man who was the closest thing to family he felt he had would come running but of course he didn't.
"I…can't do this alone…Laguna…Sis…Rinoa, all three of them I've pushed myself away from and for what? Is this what it feels like to lose people? I…it hurts. I wish I had been nicer, I wish I never pushed them away, especially Rinoa. What the hell did she do to deserve someone like me? She's better off without me, I… I just need to get on with it. I have to…do this alone; I have no one left…"
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"How far 'till Esther Sefie?" Irvine had to half yell over the roar of the airship.
"Gizmo-thing here is saying 7 hours" Selphie responded.
"We need a fuckin' plan once we're there" Zell chirped in.
"I know, I know, we'll think of something, we have seven hours, right?" Selphie answered.
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I know, I know that was a little on the short end of things but quality of quantity right? No? Alright then, how about good things come to those who wait? Maybe? Perfect, I'll have another one up min a few days, cheers!