PART ONE
By TempestXtreme
Ruby jumped aboard the vessel turned back. Her SeeD exam was over, and her mission was complete. Her squad had to infiltrate and destroy Galbadia’s new Advanced Military Research Lab. Esthar had hired SeeD to do the job, but as Garden’s next Exam was coming up, Headmistress Quistis had decided to make it a SeeD exam instead. Only three people had qualified for the exam this year: Herself, Emerald Kinneas and Crystal Dincht. The three girls were best friends, and were overjoyed to be on the same squad.
“Hey, Ruby?”
Ruby turned. Her brown eyes met Emerald’s green eyes.
“Are you OK? That explosion sent you flying pretty far!” Emerald said.
Ruby smiled, brightening her beautiful face. “Of course! It takes a lot more than one explosion to knock me down!” she said.
“You’re sounding more and more like your mother everyday, Ruby Leonhart!”
Ruby and Emerald turned.
“Oh! Principle Trepe! Hello!” Ruby said, saluting.
Quistis shook her head and looked at two of the best students in Garden.
“You two amaze me sometimes. You two and Crystal, you three are so much like your parents it’s frightening,” she said.
“Yeah, and the fact that Emerald is more like her mother is really frightening!” Crystal said from behind Quistis.
“Oh…be quiet Crystal!” Emerald said, pouting.
A black-haired girl with piercing blue eyes came out from behind Quistis. She was quite attractive. Like her friends, she was 17 years old. And like her father Zell, she was one of the best martial artist’s in Garden. But Crystal had an innocent personality like her mother, Julia, the Library Girl with a pigtail, and didn’t believe in fighting unless it was really necessary.
Boarded the Ragnarok and headed back to Garden to receive the results of the Exam.
Chapter
1-The SeeD Inauguration Dance
Ruby stared at her SeeD Rank report. “I…can’t believe it! I’m a SeeD!” she thought.
And on top of that, her SeeD Rank was 15!
“How did I get such a good rank?” she thought.
Ruby had no time to think about it, because she was going to be late for the SeeD Inauguration Dance. She quickly got dressed into her SeeD uniform and made her way to the ballroom. She noticed that she turned quite a few male heads as she walked.
“Am I that attractive?” she thought to herself.
Ruby, despite what guys said about her, never really considered herself an attractive girl. She never wore makeup, and her normal clothes were plain: jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers. She had a sheath for her gunblade, the Omega Star Gunblade, on her back. Of course she didn’t have her weapon with her now, since she was attending the inauguration ball, but she knew that she would need it some time in the near future.
She reached the ballroom…
**********
Ruby stood at the wall, watching everybody dance. Although Ruby had many admirers, none of them dared to come near her for some reason.
“Am I cold toward people? Nah…that can’t be it,” she thought.
“And a fairer lady I have never seen.”
Ruby turned to see a tall, dark haired, black-eyed teenager standing there in a black tuxedo. He was smiling and holding his hand out to her.
“May I have the honour of this dance, m’lady?” he asked.
Ruby smiled. “Sure,” she said, taking his hand.
The music started, and they danced.
“You have beautiful eyes, Ruby,” he said.
Ruby looked up at him in shock. “H-how do you know my name?” she asked.
“Your father told me,” he said, smiling.
“You know my father?” Ruby asked, “Just who are you?”
He smiled. “My name is Onyx Heartilly,” he said.
“And how do you know my father?” Ruby asked.
“Ah, that’s for me to know and you to find out I’m afraid,” Onyx said.
The music ended, and so did their dance. Onyx looked at her and smiled.
“I guess I have to go now,” he said, “You’re a SeeD, right?”
Ruby nodded.
“Then perhaps we will meet again,” Onyx said, walking away.
Ruby watched him leave. She was also going to leave, but somebody stopped her.
“What? You’re not going to say hello to your own father?”
Ruby turned around and saw her father Squall standing with her mother Rebecca.
“Mom, dad!” she said, hugging the two of them, “How long have you been here?”
Squall grinned. “Ever since your dance with Onyx. You two looked good together.”
“Dad! We just danced! And I don’t even know him! But how do you know him?” Ruby replied.
“He’s the son of Rinoa Heartilly, my old girlfriend from when I was in Garden. Unfortunately, we broke up several years ago. My work as a SeeD got in the way of our marriage. By the time I got out of SeeD, I had fallen in love with you mother and we married. Two years later, you were born,” Squall explained.
Ruby looked at her father. “Rinoa Heartilly? I’ve heard that name before somewhere,” she said.
Squall was about to answer, but Rebecca stopped him.
“Come on Squall, let’s dance,” she said.
Squall smiled at his wife. “Sure,” he said.
They walked off to dance. Leaving Ruby alone. She was about to leave, but a voice stopped her.
“Heey! Ruby! How’re you doing?” a familiar said.
It was Selphie, Emerald’s mother.
“Oh, hello Mrs. Kinneas,” Ruby said, “What are you doing here?”
Selphie frowned. “How many times have I asked you to call me Selphie?” she said.
“I’m sorry. I guess that’s my training speaking,” Ruby said.
Selphie placed her hands together, tilted her head to the side and said: “You’re too much like you dad! C’mon! Cheer up, you’re a SeeD!”
Ruby had to smile. For a 37-year-old woman, Selphie was really spunky.
“That’s better! You just keep on smiling, and everything will go your way! Bye!” Selphie said, walking away with a wave.
Ruby waved back and began to walk out. That’s when Zell and Linda Dincht stepped in.
“S’up Ruby? How’s it going?” Zell asked.
Again, Ruby smiled. “Fine, Zell. How are you doing, Julia?” she said.
Julia smiled. “I’m doing fine. Have you seen Crystal?” she said.
“She’s probably somewhere near the hotdog stand. She can’t seem to get enough of them,” Ruby replied, “Hey, Zell, would you like to…”
Ruby didn’t have to say anything, because Zell was off the second she had mentioned the hotdogs.
“Some things never change,” said Julia, “I just hope he gets some hotdogs!”
A few minutes later, Crystal and Zell came back, each with their own plate of hotdogs.
“These hotdogs are still as good as ever!” Zell said, taking a bite out of one.
Julia giggled. “Do you mind if I have one, Zell?”
Zell took one off his plate. “Sure, go ahead.”
Julia thanked him and took the hotdog.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go. Good night,” Ruby said.
They said goodnight, and Ruby left the ballroom and was on her way to her dorm when Quistis came up beside her.
“I just wanted to congratulate you,” she said.
“For what?” Ruby asked.
“For passing your SeeD exam with such a good rank. Your father’s rank was only 6, whereas yours is 15,” Quistis said.
Ruby looked at Quistis with a curious look on her face.
“Why have you been so interested in me since I transferred from Trabia Garden?” she asked.
Quistis smiled. “Do you really want to know?”
Ruby nodded.
“Fine then, I’ll tell you. You see, Squall told me that you were one of the best students in Trabia Garden besides a certain girl named Sapphire Almasy,” Quistis said.
Ruby frowned. “My rival and fellow SeeD,” she said.
Quistis nodded. “Yes. Do you want to know what the odd thing is about your rival?”
“What odd thing?” Ruby asked.
“Sapphire’s father is your father’s rival, Seifer Almasy,” Quistis said.
Ruby looked surprised. “Seifer Almasy? The one who was the knight to Sorceress Edea a few years ago?”
Quistis laughed. “It was more than just ‘a few’ years but, yes, Seifer did become a knight for Sorceress Edea. The ironic thing is: Edea raised your father, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Seifer and myself. We all called her ‘Matron’, and had a difficult time fighting her. But, we had to fight her and defeat her. After that…well, it’s a long story and I’m sure you want to go to bed.”
Ruby looked blankly at her. “That’s one of the most ironic things I’ve ever heard. A sorceress raised you and your friends? Interesting…” she said.
Quistis smiled again. “Yes, it is very interesting. But right now I have to get some sleep. I have to meet an old friend of mine tomorrow,”
Ruby nodded. “All right. Good night.”
“Good night, Ruby.”
They went to their separate rooms and went to sleep.
Chapter
2-Ruby’s first mission
Two weeks passed, and Ruby had spent that time revising her studies and training in the training center. While she was going through some old school newspapers, she found something interesting.
Young
girl dies in Balamb Garden Training Center
Yesterday,
Rinoa Ruby Heartilly (19) was attacked and killed by a T-Rexuar. Rinoa was a key
player in the defeat of the Sorceress Ultimecia a year ago, even though Rinoa
herself was not a SeeD or Garden student. All will miss her. Our sincere
condolences go out to her friends and family. Rinoa leaves behind a husband and
son.
There was a picture of Rinoa next to the text. Ruby noticed how beautiful Rinoa was, and how young.
“But dad told me that… Why did he lie?” Ruby thought.
Ruby packed the report back onto the shelves and left the Library, full of questions.
********
The
following day
“Will Ruby Leonhart, Emerald Kinneas and Crystal Dincht please report to my office immediately.”
They were in the hall when they heard the announcement, and quickly went to the elevator and pressed the button for the deck of the Garden. When they got there, they walked in and saluted.
“Ah, you’re here. Good,” Quistis said, “I’ve got your first mission lined up.”
They stood to attention.
“We are currently travelling toward FH. When you get there, you are to get on the first train to Esthar. Once you are in Esthar, you will meet some Esthar Soldiers. Follow these soldiers to the Esthar Sorceress Memorial. Within the memorial, you will meet a sorceress. She claims not to want to cause any trouble, and has requested that you three come. You and nobody else. Now, when you meet this sorceress, you are to take her back to the Airstation where the Ragnarok will be waiting for you. Once you board the Ragnarok, you are to land outside the town of Balamb and escort the sorceress to a boat that will take her to Dollet. After that, your mission will be complete and you can spend a few nights in the Balamb Hotel. Garden will pay for your stay in the hotel. And Ruby, you’ll be the Squad leader,” Quistis said, “Any questions?”
Ruby raised her hand.
“Yes, Ruby?”
“Does this sorceress have a name?” Ruby asked.
“Yes. She calls herself Diamond, but we don’t know much more than that,” Quistis said.
“OK,” Ruby said, “When do we leave?”
“In two hours when we reach FH,” Quistis said, “You’re free until then.”
They saluted again and left.
******
“Our first mission, this is so exciting!” Emerald said.
They were in Ruby’s dorm, all dressed in their travelling clothes. Emerald wore black jeans, a crop-top and a black jacket. Emerald’s weapon was her mother’s Shinobou, the Strange Vision. Crystal wore navy-blue tracksuit pants and a loose-fitting, crimson-red tank top. Her father’s old fighting gloves covered her hands all the time.
Ruby put her gunblade into its sheath on her back.
“We’re going to be at FH in five minutes, we’d better get to the 2nd floor deck,” she said.
Emerald and Crystal nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, we don’t wanna be late for our first mission!” said Crystal, punching her palm.
They agreed and went to the 2nd floor deck, and entered FH.
“Hey, why don’t we go see Mayor Taylor?” Emerald said.
“Yeah, why not? I want to win my dad’s card back from him too,” Ruby said.
Since Mayor Dobe had died 3 years ago, Mayor Biggs had taken over, and he hated SeeD as much as Dobe did. The odd thing was, Biggs was a former Galbadian Soldier that had lost twice to SeeD.
They went down the ramp and entered the mayor’s house. When Biggs saw them he nearly jumped.
“What the hell are you three doing here?!” he said.
“We’re on our way to our first mission and decided to drop in,” Ruby said.
“First mission? Hey, are you three SeeD’s?” Biggs asked.
“As of two weeks ago,” Crystal said.
Biggs sighed. “And I suppose you want your dad’s card back too, right Ruby?”
Ruby smiled and took out her pack of cards and chose five of them.
“Shall we?” she asked.
“Yes.”
They placed down their cards and played with the Open and Same rules. Ruby won, and took back her father’s card.
“OK then, we must be going. We have somebody to meet in Esthar,” Ruby said.
Biggs looked at her. “Esthar? Why Esthar?” he asked.
“Sorry, we can’t tell you that,” Crystal said, “Come on guys, we have a train to catch.”
They left Biggs alone and went to the train station.
********
Two
hours later
“Last stop: Esthar train station. Will all passengers getting off please remember to take all your personal belongings with you.”
“That’s us,” Ruby said, “Come on guys, let’s go.”
They got off the train and were greeted by an awesome sight.
“Wow!” Ruby said, “This place is beautiful!”
Crystal was speechless, but said: “This is where you were raised, Emerald?”
Emerald nodded. “Yeah. You should see the Presidential Palace, it’s bigger than Balamb Garden, and ten times more beautiful,” she said.
“Have you ever been inside the Palace?” Crystal asked.
Emerald shook her head. “No, the new president doesn’t seem to like SeeD. To him, we’re all a bunch of war-loving terrorists,” she said.
“You mean President ‘O Brian?” Crystal said.
“Yeah.”
Ruby shook her head. “No time to talk now, our escort is here.”
Five Esthar Soldiers were coming toward them.
“Are the SeeDs that Diamond requested?” the leader of the group said.
Ruby nodded. “Yes. I’m the squad leader Ruby. This is Emerald, and Crystal.”
Emerald and Crystal nodded.
“Good. If you will please come with us, we’ll escort you to the Sorceress Memorial,” the soldier said.
“Umm…do you mind if I visit somebody in the residential district first?” Emerald asked.
The lead-soldier looked at her. “Sure. We don’t have to be at the Memorial for two hours. Who do you want to visit?”
“My mother and father. They live here,” Emerald said.
The soldier nodded. “Sure thing,” he said.
Emerald smiled. “Thank you,” she said.
The soldier showed them the way to the Lifter that would take them to the Residential Zone. The three SeeD’s got on and waited while they were taken to Selphie and Irvine’s address. When they got there, Emerald jumped off and ran to the door. She opened it with her own key and rushed in.
“Mom, dad!” she shouted.
Irvine and Selphie came around the corner.
“Heey! Emerald! What’re you doing here?” Selphie said, hugging her daughter.
“Hello, Selphie, Irvine,” Ruby said.
“Hi!” Crystal said.
“Hello girls,” Irvine said, “What are you three doing in Esthar?”
“Our first SeeD mission happens to be here in Esthar,” Ruby said, “Emerald wanted to visit you, and I just couldn’t say no.”
Selphie looked at Ruby. “And I suppose you’re the squad leader,” she said.
Ruby nodded. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“On our first mission, Squall was our squad leader. After a while, he got promoted to being the leader of SeeD,” Selphie said.
“I heard about that from Mom,” Ruby said, “How did my dad get promoted anyway?”
Irvine laughed. “I dunno. I think Headmaster Cid was getting senile when he made that decision,” he said.
Selphie slapped Irvine on the shoulder. “Hey! Don’t say such horrible things about Cid! He was a nice man!” she said.
Irvine rubbed his shoulder. “Gees, sorry,” he said.
Ruby looked at the wall, thinking. Cid Kramer had died 5 years ago, 2 years after his wife Edea. The poor man was inconsolable after Edea had died, and had retired from being Headmaster of Balamb Garden, leaving Quistis in charge of everything. Now Squall and Rebecca lived in Edea’s house. Squall often said he wanted to start his own orphanage, but Rebecca always disagreed saying: “One child is good enough for me!”
Emerald’s voice snapped Ruby back into reality.
“Come on Ruby! We have to go!” she said.
Ruby blinked her eyes and looked at her friend.
“Oh, yeah. Bye Selphie, Irvine!” she said, waving and walking out.
“Bye guys!” Selphie said, “See you around!”
They left the house and got onto the Lifter that would take them back to their escort.
“Are you ready to go?” the leader said when they got there.
“Yes,” Ruby said.
The got into a nearby car and drove to the Sorceress Memorial, the drive took them about 20 minutes, and the guards greeted them at the gate.
“Are these the SeeD’s?” the guard asked.
“Yes,” the leader of the escort replied.
“Good. Diamond is waiting inside.”
The guards let them through, and they went inside. Inside, they saw a woman wearing a black over-coat over black clothing. She had long black hair with a few brown highlights and wore a mask that only showed her deep, dark black eyes. When she saw Ruby, she smiled, even though nobody saw it under her mask. Ruby looked at Diamond, a serious look on her face.
“Are you Diamond?” she asked.
Diamond nodded. “Yes I am,” she said.
Ruby was surprised at how sweet Diamond’s voice was.
“We are the SeeD’s sent here to take you to Balamb so that you may go to Dollet,” Ruby said.
Diamond nodded. “And if I may ask, what are your names?”
“My name is Ruby Leonhart, and I’m the Squad Leader. This is Emerald Kinneas, and Crystal Dincht,” Ruby replied.
Diamond seemed surprised at their names, but Ruby didn’t ask any questions. Instead, she said:
“Why is a Sorceress asking for a SeeD escort?”
Diamond chuckled. “Once, long ago, a SeeD saved me from death more than once, so I feel safe when I’m around SeeD,” she said.
Ruby looked at her quizzically. “Oh really?” she asked.
Diamond looked into her eyes. “Yes,” was all she said, before walking toward the exit.
Ruby and her friends followed Diamond and they went back to the car. They drove back into the city and walked to the Airstation. The Ragnarok, the former flagship of Esthar, was waiting for them. Diamond smiled underneath her mask.
“So they became SeeD’s like their parents after all,” she thought.
Diamond boarded the Ragnarok and they flew off in the direction of Balamb.
Chapter
3-A disaster
The Ragnarok reached the small island-country of Balamb two hours later. The huge dragon ship landed outside the small town and went inside toward the harbour. They saw the ship waiting for them. Diamond turned toward her escort.
“I have one last request,” she said.
“What?” Emerald asked.
“I want Ruby to escort me on the boat. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to her, I promise.”
Emerald and Crystal looked at Ruby uneasily.
“OK, I’ll come along if it makes you feel better,” Ruby said.
Underneath her mask, Diamond smiled. “Thank you,” she said, “Shall we be going?”
Ruby nodded, and they went aboard the ship. A minute later, the ship left the port.
“Do think it was a good idea for us to let her go like that?” Emerald asked.
“Oh, she’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t think that Diamond would do anything stupid,” Crystal replied.
“I guess you’re right,” Emerald replied, “Come on, let’s go visit your parents.”
Crystal smiled, “Sure, why not?” she said.
They turned and left. The next second, they heard an explosion behind them and turned around. The boat that Diamond and Ruby had been on had exploded!
“Ruby!!!!” Crystal and Emerald yelled at the same time.
*******
10
minutes later
“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t find any trace of you daughter, Mr. Leonhart,” the rescue worker said.
Squall closed his eyes. Tears flowed down his cheeks. First Rinoa, and now Ruby. Why did these things have to happen to him? Rebecca put her arms around her husbands shoulder. There were tears in her eyes, too.
“Squall…” she said. But Squall wasn’t listening; he was inconsolable. He just got up and walked out of Balamb Hotel. Emerald, Crystal, Rebecca and the rescue worker watched him leave, but nobody made a move.
Chapter
4- 5 years later
In the
Forest near Timber
Ruby put the wood down on the ground and went inside. Rinoa was inside reading. Amazing as it sounded, Rinoa’s face showed no sign of age. Rinoa had said that sorceress’s didn’t show age like normal people because of their strong magical power. Rinoa and Ruby had been thrown clear of the boat by the blast of the bomb. It was when they had landed on the beach that Ruby had seen who ‘Diamond’ really was. The mask had come off when they had landed in the water, and Ruby had seen the face behind it. But, Rinoa was out cold, and they were stranded on a beach. Ruby knew that the explosion was no accident; somebody had tried to kill them. While they were walking, Rinoa had regained consciousness. Ruby had looked at her and smiled.
“So you’re awake, Rinoa?” she had said.
Rinoa had looked at her with a shocked expression. Then she realized that her mask was gone.
“Oh…how did you know it was me?” she had asked.
At that point Ruby had smiled and said: “In the Balamb Garden Newspaper there was an article about your ‘death’ with a picture of you next to it.”
But, that was 5 years ago, and they had been living in the forest near Timber, waiting and planning. Ruby wanted to know who had tried to kill her, and she was going to get revenge….
Chapter
5 – An old friend
Ruby was out in the forest collecting firewood, when she heard sounds of a battle nearby. She ran in the direction the noises were coming from. She gasped as she saw who it was. It was Crystal, and she was in trouble! She was about to be killed by a Wendigo, and couldn’t fight anymore. Ruby grabbed her gunblade from her back and jumped out from behind the bushes.
“Omega Ruby Flash!” she yelled using her Limit Break and cutting an Omega symbol around the Wendigo. The symbol began to glow, its colour going from white to ruby-red. Red energy rose from the ground around the Wendigo, and turned the monster into ashes in a few seconds.
Ruby put her gunblade back into its sheath and turned to a very surprised Crystal.
“Ruby!” Crystal yelled, jumping up and hugging her friend, “You’re alive!”
Ruby pulled Crystal off her body. “Good to see you too,” she said, smiling, “But what were you doing way out here?”
Crystal looked at the ground. “Is the sorceress with you?” she asked.
Ruby suddenly looked suspicious. “Yes? Why?”
Crystal sighed and looked at her friend. She started to cry.
“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked, “Why are you crying?”
“Esthar stormed in and took over Balamb Garden. A lot of students were wounded and killed…we didn’t stand a chance. ‘O Brian said that if we didn’t bring the Sorceress to him, he would destroy the entire Garden. He…sent me to fetch her and to kill anybody that got in my way. I never expected that you would be alive too, Ruby. I’m sorry,” Crystal said.
Ruby smiled as she spoke. “Don’t worry. I was planning on paying a visit to Garden, and now your situation has given me an idea,” she said.
Crystal looked at her friend with a quizzical look on her face. “Huh?”
Ruby smiled and said: “Come on, we’ll have lunch before we go over the plan with Rinoa.”
“Huh? Rinoa? As in…?” Crystal said.
Ruby nodded. “Uh-huh. The Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly, otherwise known as Diamond,” she said.
Crystal
nearly choked. “You mean that the sorceress we escorted to Balamb was the
Sorceress Rinoa?! The one that helped defeat Ultimecia with SeeD?”
Ruby
nodded. “She’s a really nice person. Doesn’t look a day over 30 either.
Something to do with her sorceress powers keeping her young.”
“So,
how far until your home?” Crystal asked.
“Why
go to the house, when I can come to you?” a voice said.
Rinoa
came out from behind the bushes, surprising the both of them.
“Hi,
Crystal, it’s good to see you again,” Rinoa said.
Crystal’s
eyes opened wide. “Wow…I’d never thought that I’d meet you…” she
said.
Rinoa
smiled. “The Hand of Fate works in mysterious ways,” she said, “Now,
what’s this plan of yours, Ruby?”
Ruby
let out a deep breath. “OK…” she began.
Chapter
6 – A plan, a mission, and a psychotic president
“This
is Crystal calling President ‘O Brian. I’ve got the sorceress, and somebody
else,” Crystal said into her radio.
“Good.
But…who else do you have that might interest me?” ‘O Brian’s voice
replied.
“Ruby
Leonhart. She was living with the Sorceress all these years,” Crystal replied.
“Good!
Bring them both here! We can be rid of the entire Leonhart family in one foul
swoop!”
“Will
do, sir,” Crystal said.
She
cut the transmission and turned to her friends.
“It’s
all set. We’ll leave now and get to the Garden by sunset,” she said.
Ruby
and Rinoa nodded.
“Let’s
go,” Ruby said.
************
They
got to the Garden by sunset and found ‘O Brian waiting for them. He grinned
when he saw Ruby and Rinoa.
“You’ve
done your job brilliantly, Crystal,” he said.
‘O
Brian turned to the guards. “Arrest all three of them and put them in with the
others. Then set the bombs and we’ll leave.”
“What?!”
Crystal yelled, “But you said..!?”
‘O
Brian grinned again. “I lied,” he said, “Take them away.”
The
guards seized the three of them and tossed them into the elevator. The guard
pushed the button for the Master Room and tossed them in.
“Enjoy
your last hour together,” he said, before closing the door.
Crystal
quickly got up.
“OK,
get all the hand-to-hand fighters together!” she said, “I’m going to find
your parents, Ruby!”
Ruby
rushed off to organise all the martial artists while Crystal went to find Squall
and Rebecca.
“Squall!”
Crystal said, “Rebecca! Ruby and Rinoa are both alive! And we’re planning an
escape! Come on, get everybody together!”
Squall
was surprised, “What?! Ruby and Rinoa are alive?! Where are they?”
“They’re
getting the other’s ready! Come on! We’ll need your help, you know this
Garden better than any of us!” Crystal said.
Squall
nodded. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, “Come on, let’s get everybody
together.”
**************
“Sapphire!?”
Ruby said, “What are you doing down here?”
The
tall blonde girl smiled. “I refused to cooperate when they asked me to help
them find the sorceress, so they tossed me down here. In the end it was your
friend Crystal that went to help them. And now I see that they lied to her,”
Sapphire said.
Ruby
frowned. “Yes. They’re going to destroy the Garden, that’s why I’m
getting all the students together so that we can take back our Garden.”
Sapphire
looked at her former rival, “Ha, I should have known you were going to say
that,” she said, “Come on, I’ll help you.”
Ruby
smiled, “But…you don’t seem that surprised to see me alive,” she said.
“Oh…I
knew you were alive,” Sapphire said.
Ruby
looked at her, “How?” she asked.
“I
know the forest around Timber like the back of my hand. I saw you and the
sorceress there and decided to leave you alone. I didn’t think that you would
come back here though,” replied Sapphire.
Ruby
sighed. “Great. And here I thought we were rivals,” she said.
Sapphire
laughed. “That rivalry is between our fathers, not us! There’s no reason why
we can’t be friends, right?” she said.
“Yeah,
I guess you’re right. Come on, let’s get everybody together,” Ruby
replied.
************
Ten
minutes later, they were all ready. Ruby pushed the emergency button next to the
elevator, and a minute later the guard came down.
“What
is it?” he asked, before getting KO’d by Crystal’s rock-hard punch.
“OK,
let’s go,” Ruby said, getting into the elevator, “OK, Sapphire, Crystal,
come with me. I’ll send down the elevator when it’s clear.”
The
three of them got into the elevator and went up. Five minutes later the elevator
came down and Rinoa, Rebecca and Squall got in. Eventually, all the students
were up.
“OK,
Crystal, Sapphire and I will find the weapons. Some of you must come with us to
carry them, the rest of you stay here,” Ruby said.
They
agreed and Ruby, Crystal, Sapphire and a few SeeD’s went to find the weapons.
Five minutes passed and they still hadn’t returned.
“OK,
I can’t wait any longer. I’m going to get the weapons back and bring the
others back the easy way,” Rinoa said.
Rinoa
closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later, the weapons appeared, along
with Ruby and the others.
“Uh…what
happened?” Ruby asked, “One second we were collecting the weapons, the next
second we’re here!”
Rinoa
smiled. “I used a teleport spell to get you here. Now, everybody get their
weapon and let’s hurry before they finish setting the bomb!” she said.
Everybody
grabbed their weapon and separated into groups.
It
wasn’t long before they encountered ‘O Brian, and his entire army.
“So
you escaped did you?” ‘O Brian said, “Well…let’s finish it then! The
bomb hasn’t been set, but that doesn’t matter…I’ll destroy Garden after
I kill all of you!”
Ruby
took out her gunblade and stepped forward. A soldier rushed at her, but she cut
him down before he could do anything.
“Come
on, ‘O Brian! You and I will finish this, one-on-one, or are you afraid?”
she said.
‘O
Brian laughed and pulled out a sword. “Yes, let’s finish this!” he said.
They
rushed at each other and began to fight viciously. For several minutes, neither
opponent could best each the other. That’s when Ruby decided to use the magic
skills that Rinoa had taught her. She leapt back and raised her palm.
“Angel’s
Judgement!” she yelled, summoning her GF, Alexandria.
‘O
Brian was engulfed by multi-coloured energy. Lights sparkled around him, and his
sword was flung from his hands. The next second, a large white angel appeared
before him with scales in her hands. The scales tipped…and the judgement was
passed. Beams of energy collected in front of ‘O Brian, and shot straight at
him! The energy beams passed through ‘O Brian, and he collapsed, too drained
of energy and in too much pain to fight back.
“You…won,”
he said, “But I will not be denied! Soldier’s, attack and kill them! They
are a threat to us all!”
With
that, ‘O Brian jumped up and ran, leaving the army of Garden to face off
against the Esthar Army. Ruby dropped her gunblade and stood in-between the two
sides.
“Are
you really going to fight us? I mean…your president is a psycho! SeeD and
Garden aren’t a threat! We’re here to help you!” she said.
The
commander of the army stepped forward. “Relax, we aren’t going to kill
you,” he said, “In fact…we’re going to help you. We just need two of
your best fighters to come back with us to Esthar so that we can defeat our
psychotic president. Isn’t that right, Sapphire?”
Sapphire
stepped out of the crowd. “Dad?!” she said, “What are you doing in
Esthar’s Army?”
The
leading soldier removed his mask. It was Seifer!
“Like
I’m going to stand by and let a psycho like ‘O Brian destroy my home!”
Seifer said. He turned to Ruby.
“You’re
a lot like you dad, you know that?” he asked, “But one thing confuses me.”
“And
what’s that?” Ruby asked.
“Where
the hell did you find that GF?” Seifer said, “That was incredible! It only
took a single blast and ‘O Brian was down!”
“Alexandria
only hurts an enemy if that enemy is evil, or corrupted. If the enemy I use her
on has a good soul, then she won’t do anything,” Ruby said, “But ‘O
Brian is completely insane, so she took him down in one shot.”
“Ha…Garden
can only teach you so much, but what you used there…wasn’t from any
instructor’s from Garden, was it?” Seifer said.
“No,
I taught her how to channel her energy like that. It’s good to see you again,
Seifer,” Rinoa said, coming out from the crowd, “Where are Raijin and
Onyx?”
Two
more people came out from the army and took off their masks. One of them was
Onyx, and the other was Raijin. Raijin smiled, ran to Rinoa and kissed her.
“Good
to see you again, honey!” he said, “I thought that you would never come out
of hiding, ya know?”
Ruby’s,
Squall’s and Rebecca’s jaws dropped.
“Wait…you
two were married?” Squall asked.
“Of
course they were,” said a female voice from the army.
Fujin
came out from the crowd and took off the mask.
“Those
two fell in love after Rinoa broke up with you,” she said, “But they had to
fake Rinoa’s death because ‘O Brian was after her. It seems that ‘O Brian
didn’t like Rinoa’s father, and was going to kill Rinoa because of his
hatred for General Caraway. To this day, we still can’t figure out why he
wanted to kill her.”
Fujin
turned to Ruby.
“You
look just like Rebecca,” she said, “But you have your father’s fighting
skill and his determination.”
Ruby
blushed. “Uh, thank you,” she said.
Seifer
interrupted. “Excuse me! We have a psycho to catch! Ruby, just choose two
party members and get up to the Ragnarok!” he said.
Ruby
shook her head. “Just like dad said,” she said, “You really are an
egotistic man.”
Seifer
glared at Squall. “Why you little…” he said, but didn’t finish the
sentence. The last thing he needed was to get into a fight with Squall,
especially with the situation that they were in.
“OK,
Sapphire, Crystal, come with me. Emerald, you take two more SeeD’s and get to
Deling City,” Ruby said, “And before you ask, I know somebody in Deling City
that owes me a favour. Just tell him that the Angel of Vengeance has come.
He’ll know what you mean. Here’s the address…”
Emerald
took the address and chose two SeeD’s. She left for Deling City while Ruby,
Seifer, Crystal and Sapphire left for Esthar.
Chapter
7- Esthar
The
Airstation was being guarded by anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles, so they
couldn’t land there. They landed outside the city, and ran towards the city.
They destroyed any monster that got in their way, and reached the city in just
under an hour. The main entrance was still open, so they went into the city.
“Everybody
be on guard,” Ruby said, “That psycho ‘O Brian probably has every single
robo-soldier in the city on the look out for us.”
They
all agreed and took out their weapons. They proceeded cautiously along the roads
to the palace. Oddly enough, there were no patrols out for them. It was as if
‘O Brian wanted them to get to the palace safely. If he did, he succeeded,
because they reached the entrance to the palace and went inside. The interior
was also deserted. They made it to the office without resistance, and opened the
door and went inside. ‘O Brian wasn’t there; instead, there was a hologram
projector on his desk. Ruby pressed the play button, and an image of an evil
looking ‘O Brian stood there. The image spoke:
“Well,
well, well. If you’re watching this then you’re in the office. Too bad you
won’t make it out alive. Good bye!” he said.
“What
does he mean?” Ruby asked.
Her
question was answered as the entire office and most of the palace exploded….
End
of Part One-in other words: TO BE CONTINUED
