A Knight's Destiny

Chapter 3: The Fall of Galbadia

By Anonymous

Seifer

"Alright everyone, today we're heading to Galbadia."

Seifer led the way into the Ragnarok and quickly sat down.

After the little fiasco during the night, he wasn't able to get back to sleep, so he looked worse than he did the day before.

"Seifer, you look like shit."

He looked up to see Zell with a look of concern on his face.

"Something wrong man?"

"I'm fine Zell."

The little blonde plopped down next to him.

"Okay, spill it."

"What?"

"You called me Zell and the only time you call me that instead of Chicken Wuss is when something is really bugging you."

Seifer sighed in defeat.

"Last night, I had this dream, it was about me and Squall."

Zell smirked

"Nothing wrong with that, knowing you it was probably an erotic sex dream."

"Well Chicken Wuss if the dream I had last night was hentai, worrying about it would be the last thing on my mind."

Seifer held his head in his hands.

"I won't hesitate to tell you that it scared the hell out of me. Shit, even now I'm still wary of it.

"The thing is, with me, I only have dreams that vivid when they are premonitions. That one last night qualifies as one."

Zell nodded.

"What was it about?"

Seifer proceded to recite his dream to Zell.

Zell was silent for a second.

"Damn Seifer, I don't know what to say to that."

"You know something Zell, the thing that scares me the most about that dream is Squall's eyes. It was incredible the way his eyes burned, almost like they were on fire, and the way he looked at me, it was like he didn't recognize me at all."

The smaller blonde pondered for a moment.

"And, how often do these premonitions come true?"

"Ninety five percent of the time."

"Shit, been nice knowing ya Seifer."

"Thanks Chicken Wuss, you really know how to make a person feel good."

"Anytime, besides, we're all beside you in the off chance that Squall wants to kill you."

"Yeah, well hopefully this will be one of the times that my dream is completly off target of reality."

The martial artist nodded as he began jabbing and punching the air.

"Don't you ever stand still?"

He shrugged back at Seifer.

"Save some of it for any enemies we come across."

"You don't have to worry about, there's plenty more where this came from."

Seifer rolled his eyes and left the smaller blonde to abuse the air.

Squall

"You called for me Cennaire?"

Squall bowed to the sorceress in front of him.

"Yes, in just a couple of hours we will begin an attack on the planet. Since you are my knight, I wanted your intake on it."

Squall walked over and looked at the map she had.

"How large is our army?"

"Six thousand."

He nodded, his eyes scanned the map briefly.

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Well, since our army isn't to the mass we want it to be, how about we start with an easier target, if you catch my meaning."

"Start out small and work our way up."

"Yes, it wouldn't be very smart to try and take over a country such as Esthar right now."

Cennaire nodded in agreement.

"What do you suggest?"

"I say, let's turn our eyes to Galbadia."

Seifer

They had left Winhill later, much later, than planned due to engine trouble. In short, they were five hours behind schedule.

"I don't believe this shit." said Seifer angrily.

Selphie sighed.

"Calm down Seifer, we'll get to Galbadia soon enough."

"Three hours isn't soon enough for me."

Irvine walked over and sat in front of Seifer.

"Look Seifer, I know you're anxious to find Squall, but acting like a total jackass isn't going to get us there any faster."

He hated to admit it, but Irvine had a point. Bitching about everything wasn't going to bring Squall back to him.

Seifer felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Quistis.

"Don't worry so much Seifer. Squall's a big boy, he knows how to handle himself."

"That's not exactly what I'm worried about Quisty."

"Then what are you worried about?"

He shook his head.

"It's nothing really."

"We've reached the Galbadian borders." announced Selphie.

Quistis looked at Seifer sardonically and would have said something had Xu not interrupted them.

"Quistis, can you come here for a moment?"

As she left, Seifer reclined in his chair. Just as he was closing his eyes, he felt a tug at the edge of his mind and a pair of grey eyes stared at him through the darkness.

Seifers eyes shot open.

"Squall"

Irvine looked over at him.

"What?"

"It's Squall, he's in Galbadia."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Is he close?"

"Give me a minute."

Seifer strained his senses and desperatly sought out his lover.

"He's in Deling."

Quistis then busted into the room.

"Nice entrance Quisty." said Irvine.

She ignored him.

"Guys, we have a problem. We've just recieved a transmission from Deling. They are under attack and are in serious need of some help."

"Who's attacking them?" asked Zell.

"They don't know."

"What the hell you mean they don't know!?!"

"What did I just say Seifer. Whoever they are came out of nowhere, took over the other parts of

Galbadia during the night, and have already destroyed over half of the defenses in Deling."

"Shit"

Selphie looked to Quistis.

"On a semi-happier note, we know where Squall is."

"Where?"

"Deling."

"Hyne help him." Irvine said while shaking his head.

Quistis was at a lose for words.

"This can't be a coincidence."

Selphie piped in.

"Maybe Squall somehow knew about it and went to help out?"

Seifer scowled.

"Selphie, Squall is many things, but stupid isn't one of them. Even if he knew about it he wouldn't have gone in without some backup."

Zell began to punch the air.

"So what do we do?"

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do Chicken Wuss. We are going to get our asses over there, find

Squall, and take care of whoever is attacking the Galbadians."

"Though, probably not in that order."

Seifer sighed and walked over to the window. His pulse was racing for fear of what they'd find when they reached their destination.

Cennaire

Everything was perfect. The way things were going, they would have complete control of Galbadia in little over an hour.

Cennaire smiled as her army swept through Galbadia's capital like a hurricane.

Squall was beside her as they looked on from their ship. She noticed her knight jump, his aura changing drastically afterwards.

"I'm wondering, what is it that troubles my knight so?"

The sorceress stared at him as she said this.

He turned to her.

"We are not alone."

She frowned slightly.

"Our company will be arriving shortly."

"Who?"

"Seed, from Balamb Garden."

She looked back out on the scene below.

"How long?"

"Their speed has accelerated tenfold, so I'd say little over an hour."

Cennaire looked back at him, a dark expression on her face.

"Take care of them."

Squall bowed, an evil glint appeared in his eyes as he left.

Cennaire smiled as she watched him leave, confident that her knight would follow through with her orders.

"You actually trust him enough to destroy them?"

Galen came sauntering out of the shadows, a look of disbelief on his face.

"I'm doing this for two reasons Galen. One, to see to what extent his loyalties lie. Two, he's been wanting to use that gunblade of his for a while, I figured I'd let him have some fun."

He snorted.

"You're jealous."

Galen's head snapped up.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. I can see it manifesting itself around your heart and seeping through your aura like water through a sieve."

He stared at her as she stared back.

"Be careful Galen, don't let your jealousy lead you to an untimely end, and believe me, I've seen it happen."

She walked away and left him to his thoughts. As she left, Cennaire silently hoped that Galen wouldn't try anything stupid, such as trying to fight Squall. The sorceress knew that Galen was a great fighter, but she also knew that Squall was, by far, the better of the two.

Cennaire pushed her emotions away and focused her mind on more important issues, such as the country which she was about to rule.

Seifer

They arrived at Deling faster than they anticipated. Selphie landed the Rag in the outskirts of the city.

Seifer brandished Hyperion and covered for the others as they disembarked from the aircraft.

"Everyone, get yourselves into groups of three and listen up. Our main target is in the center of the city."

As Quistis was speaking, she produced a map of Deling.

"Once there, you will eliminate any enemies you happen to come upon. After we clear the town square, we will make our way to the top of this buildiing."

Nida handed her architectural plans to what seemed to be a fifty story building.

"We believe the leader is located there. Be careful, this is the real thing. Move out!"

Seifer grouped himself with Zell and Irvine. As they made their way through the city, they encountered few to no enemies at all.

Seifer scowled.

"What the hell, did they all just decide to run away?"

"Well, we're supposed to clear the square, but I think it cleared itself." Irvine muttered.

"Fuck this, c'mon."

"Where the hell are you going Seifer?"

Seifer stopped and peered up at the giant building in front of him.

"I'm going up there."

He began walking towards the skyscraper.

Zell rolled his eyes.

"It's official, we're gonna die."

"That, or get demoted a few ranks."

They both ran off in pursuit of Seifer.

"Seifer, wait up man!"

The tall blonde stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Irvine asked as he came up beside him.

Seifer looked at them and uttered a single word.

"Squall"

Squall

Squall walked down the corridor as soldiers were rushing past him. He walked into a dark room where some soldiers were talking.

"Captain, I assume you followed my orders."

"Yes sir, we've removed all troops from the streets and town square."

"Good"

"Your orders sir."

Squall paused for a moment.

"Send soldiers to the outskirts of the city and have them posted at all exits of Deling."

"Yes sir."

Squall left them and began to walk towards the elevators.

'Time to go and welcome our guests.'

Seifer

The trio made their way into the lobby of the building, and were attacked five seconds later.

"So, this is where they've been hiding." Seifer said to Irvine as they ducked behind the columns to avoid the flying bullets.

"It's time to teach these guys not to mess with Seed."

Irvine loaded his gun and began firing, taking out six of them with ease.

"You still with us Chicken Wuss!?!" Seifer shouted over the gunshots.

"Shut up Seifer!"

Irvine smiled at him.

"Yep, he's still there."

"You better cover our asses Kinneas."

With that said, Seifer charged towards the enemy, taking out anyone who strayed into his path.

Zell soon joined in as well.

Between the three of them, the battle was soon won and was ended with a finishing combo by Zell.

The small blonde wiped his forehead.

"Well, that was fun."

"That was just a preparation for the real thing."

"Well ladies, shall we make haste?"

As Irvine said this, he wrapped an arm around their shoulders and was grinning like a fool.

"Get off me Kinneas."

Seifer pushed Irvine off of him and walked towards the elevators.

"Seifer, wait!"

He turned to them, annoyance visible on his face.

"What is it now Chicken Wuss?"

Zell pointed to the numbers above the elevator that indicated what floor it was on. The elevator was currently on level six and descending.

"Get ready."

They all raised their weapons and were ready to attack. Zell began to bounce lightly in anticipation.

As the elevator reached ground level, Irvine aimed his gun at the door and prepared to fire.

When the door opened, Seifer swung Hyperion back and was about to bring it down in a deadly arc when he saw who was in the elevator.

"Squall!"

"Squall?" said Irvine and Zell in unison as they peered into the elevator.

"Holy shit, it is Squall!"

Seifer dropped Hyperion and scooped the brunette up into a hug, his dream the previous night forgotten.

"What the hell are you doing here! You had us scared shitless!"

Seifer recieved no response from Squall.

"Squall?"

The tall blonde looked into his eyes and saw nothing but souless, grey orbs. Seifer began to back away from Squall when a smirk appeared on the brunettes face.

Squall then hitch kicked Seifer in the jaw and sent him sprawling on the floor.

"What the hell was that for!?!" yelled Zell as he grabbed Squall by the arm.

The gunblader looked lazily at Zell, then cast blizzaga on him.

"You two okay?" asked Irvine as he aimed his gun at Squall.

"Do I fucking look okay?"

Zell moaned as he dragged himself from the ground.

"Damn, that hurt."

Seifer was on his feet shortly after.

"Be careful guys, he's not himself."

"The hell's wrong with you Squall?"

Squalls eyes never left them as he unsheathed Lionheart and ran at Seifer. The blonde barely had time to block when Squalls gunblade came down.

The brunette jumped back and began to circle him.

Seifer was ready for him the second time he attacked.

They began a pattern of pary, block, attack. It didn't take long until Squall had Seifer against a wall.

'Shit, he's gotten stronger since we last dueled.'

A gunshot sang through the air as a hole appeared in Squalls arm. Squall looked back to see the sniper aiming his gun at his chest.

Seifer took the initiative and smacked Squall upside his head while he was distracted, which knocked the brunette unconcious.

They all released a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Seifer leaned against a wall with the tip of Hyperion in the ground.

"Well that took the fight out of me."

"You okay Seifer?" asked Irvine.

"I'm fucking peachy."

Zell looked at the still form on the ground.

"So, what do we do with him?"

"That's simple Chicken Wuss, we take him back to Balamb G and try to figure out how big the stick is he's got stuck up his ass."

Zell rolled his eyes.

"And what if we can't cure him?"

Seifer shook his head.

"I don't want to think about it."

"Um, guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have a problem."

"What is it now Kinneas?"

Irvine just stared and pointed towards Squall. Seifer and Zell paled.

Squall, who was now standing, was glowing and his eyes had gone as dark as the night sky.

He then dissappeared.

"Uh, Seifer. . ."

"Yeah Zell."

"Do you by any chance know if Squall had a GF junctioned to him?"

"Yep, he has two."

"And who would they be?" asked Irvine.

"The first one is Shiva."

"Well, that's not too bad, at least it isn't Bahamut or something." said Zell.

Irvine looked skeptical.

"And the other?"

A roar ripped through the air as they all turned to see their new foe. In front of them stood the lord of the dragons.

"Bahamut"

Cennaire

She smiled as she watched the battle going on downstairs on the security system.

"This is going better than I expected."

Cennaire smirked as she watched the Seeds get pummled by the immense dragon.

"Galen"

"Yes Cennaire."

"Have some of our troops ready to surround them once Squall has finished having his fun."

"It shall be done."

With that, he left.

The sorceress turned to look out the window, sure enough, her soldiers were preparing to crush their unsuspecting enemies.

'Today is turning out to be a very good day.'

Seifer

"Fucking hell!"

Seifer used his seventh and last curaga on himself.

They had been fighting Bahamut for about ten minutes and any damage inflicted upon him only fueled his rage.

"Irvine, please tell me that you have a high stock of curagas on you."

"Sorry Seifer, this is my last one."

"Zell?"

"I'm with Irvine on that one."

'Shit, at this rate, we'll be dead before the dragon even breaks a sweat.'

"Try casting blizzaga on him again!"

"I've casted blizzaga, thundaga, waterga, firaga, even ultima and holy on that bastard and you know what Irvine, it didn't do shit to him."

"We've got to try something!" Zell squeaked as he barely dodged a fireball aimed at his head.

"How far are you two from your limit breaks?"

"I'm pretty close, how 'bout you Zell?"

"Just a little more."

Seifer thought for a moment.

"Okay you two, I'm gonna try to get him to direct his strongest attacks at me while you two work up your limits."

Irvine and Zell nodded.

Seifer lunged at Bahamut and dug Hyperion into his torso. The dragon let out a terrible wail as his blood spilled onto the floor.

The blonde lept away from Bahamut only a milisecond before he would have been roasted.

"C'mon, is that the best you can do!?!"

As if on cue, Bahamut literaly filled the room with fire and then absorbed it.

Seifer was thrown against a wall.

"Damn, that really hurt."

A growl came from his left as Bahamut closed in on him.

"Not good."

He tried to reach Hyperion, but his body was exhausted.

Just as Bahamut was about to attack, he heard a clicking noise on the other side of the room. The dragon turned just in time to see Irvine unload a barrage of exploding bullets into his face and torso.

As the sniper finished, Zell began a number of furrious attacks and combos.

Bahamut let out a final roar and fell.

"Can we go home now?" asked a weary Zell.

"Sorry, but that's not an option."

The trio turned to see Squall, fully healed and ready for another round.

"We'll be right with you Squally, just give us a few minutes to recover from that last battle." said

Seifer as he forced himself from the floor.

"That won't be necessary." replied a voice.

Zell spun around.

"Who the hell was that?"

A figure appeared behind Squall.

Irvine smirked.

"Hey Squall, who's the dame?"

She smiled at him.

"My name is of no concern of yours, but if you really must know, I am Sorceress Cennaire, daughter of Ultimecia."

Zell almost fell over.

"A sorceress!"

"Shit, this isn't good." Irvine muttered.

Seifer frowned.

"So, it was you who took Squall."

Cennaire laughed.

"Every sorceress needs her knight."

"You brainwashed him didn't you? That's the only way Squall would have ever become your knight."

"He came willingly, I only had to do a little 'persuading' before he accepted my offer."

"You bitch."

Seifer gathered all of the strength left in him and lunged at the sorceress. Unfortunatly, he forgot that Squall was there. The brunette blocked his attack and sliced his arm open to the bone.

Seifer clutched his wounded arm and looked up to see Squall standing over him with Lionheart in one hand, and Hyperion in the other.

"I'm afraid you have no say in the matter, Squall now belongs to me."

As she spoke, the room filled with soldiers.

"Seifer, please tell me you have something up your sleeve, 'cause if not, we're kinda screwed."

"Does it look like I have a plan Chicken Wuss?"

"Irvine?"

"Quistis!"

"Huh?" both Seifer and Zell said in unison.

"Quistis and the others are still out there. Once they realize we've been captuered, they'll come and save us."

"Hey, you're right Irvine."

Zell looked at the sorceress.

"Once our friends get here, they're gonna kick all of your asses."

Cennaire looked towards the door then back at Zell.

"You mean your friends over there?"

The three of them turned to see Quistis, Selphie, and everyone else being led in by more guards.

Seifer and Zell looked at Irvine.

"Well, scratch that idea."

Cennaire looked to Squall.

"What shall we do with them my knight?"

"Let's lock them up for now, until we think of a better use for them."

She turned to Galen.

"Lock them up and confiscate their weapons."

He bowed and turned towards the guards.

"You heard her."

They seized Seifer, Zell, and Irvine and began to lead them away. Seifer began to struggle with all of his might, but to no avail.

"Wait"

Squall walked up to the guards who had Seifer.

"I believe I owe you from earlier."

He then hit Seifer on the head with the barrel of his gunblade. The blonde fell unconcious.

"Give him his own private cell, I'd like to have a word with him later."

With that, they led away the prisoners.

Cennaire walked up to her knight and put an arm around him.

"Galbadia is ours."

Squall just smirked.

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