ARMY OF SHADOWS a FF8 fanfic by SiLeNcEr

PART 2

DAY 4 03:23:20

"Entrance secure. Moving to hostage point" One of my men reported.
"Negative!" I answered. "Hostages on the move to exit. Hold position and 
intercept." I said to my microphone. I was watching a small group of rebels move 
two G-Army Commanders through a hall of a small building in Timber. My act of 
violence on the rebel three days ago seems to have triggered some kind of open 
rebellion. 23 of the 26 rebel groups have become active. The G-Army reinforced 
their position in Timber as a reply to the kidnapping yesterday. As part of 
those reinforcements a group of 15 BO's arrived. I was supposed only to 
supervise their arrival and head back to Deling, but the General of the Army 
that arrived, a fellow named Biggs, asked me to handle the extraction of the 
hostages. We moved in quickly. The rebels that survived tried to trade in the 
hostages for their own lives. I agreed, but my men were supposed to kill the 
rebels once all hostages are safe. We moved quickly. We entered a small room 
that led out. Three of my men were standing there. The other five that went on 
this mission were hid all over the room. The rebels entered. They did not know I 
was going behind them; we did our deal by radio. The rebels kept the door open, 
to make sure that they have a way out if the deal goes wrong. I kneeled and 
aimed my gun at the door.
I did not wait long. A series of muffled noises reached my ears as well as thuds 
of falling bodies. Two men tried to escape through the door. They fell down a 
moment later, cut down by a spree from my gun.

DAY 4 4:14:22

I was back in my civilian clothes, riding a train back to Deling. From boredom I 
switched on the TV. I hit the late night news.
"…earlier today. The terrorists held the quad for five and a half hours, to 
finally give up to the assaulting SeeD cadets present. The two hostages - Squall 
and Zell were not hurt." I was no fool. That was another assault on the saviors. 
The last one also would last for about six hours if it weren't for our 
interference. Something was going on. I lit a cigarette and watched the 
landscape go by behind the window.

DAY 4 14:35:12

It was the end all my lessons and the end of the week. Those cadets that were 
going home for the weekend were already packing and leaving. Some went out to 
Deling for a night of drinking or whatever. I was going to the nightclub under 
the hotel for a quiet night. I took one pistol and three clips of ammo with me. 
I always do, in case I need them in a hurry. I left the Garden around 1600. It 
was a quiet day at the club. It was a favorite place for G-Army soldiers. None 
were in yet. Actually only a few people besides me occupied the club. I hated 
crowds so I had nothing against that. I sat at my usual place. The waitress 
immediately recognized me and brought me my usual drink. I drank slowly thinking 
about the day. Then five or six people entered the club. I saw at least three 
others waiting on the top of the stairs. They were dressed exactly the same as 
the ones in the train. I continued to drink as I checked if my gun was loaded 
and ready. The black-dressed people went towards the bar. I looked around again. 
Then I saw the leader of the Timber resistance faction that I was supposed to 
wipe out - Rinoa, sitting in on one of the couches. She had an escort of two 
soldiers, but I knew that it was not enough to protect her against those guys. I 
finished my drink and went up to the bar. One of the men looked at me. I looked 
back and smiled to him.
"How's it going?" I said loudly enough for most of the guests to turn around to 
look at me. The guy did not reply. I smiled and turned to the waitress. I 
mentioned her to come closer to me. She did so and looked at me.
"Listen to me." I said quietly, so that the black-dressed men do not hear me. 
"These men in black are terrorists. Go now and calmly call the police and tell 
them that these people are responsible for the train takeover three days ago."
She looked at me frightened, but seemed to get the idea. I turned back to the 
man that looked at me. Two others were obviously interested in me. The more the 
better, the less chance they will be able to do any damage… I knew that they 
were after Rinoa… First Quistis, then Squall and Zell… Irvine and Rinoa were 
probably next. I had to warn my men to evacuate him out of the garden into one 
of the many BO safe houses. But right now I had bigger problems. Three men 
remained at the bar, watching me, while two others approached Rinoa's escort. I 
had to act soon, but I couldn't do anything until they proved their hostile 
intentions. I watched the two men. One of the men stood in my line of sight. I 
looked at him for a moment. Then I saw his hand going out of his pocket with a 
gun. I reacted immediately. I grabbed the hand in witch he was holding the gun 
and pulled it, while hitting it from below. I heard the bone break and the man's 
scream. I kicked another of the man in the face, while grabbing my victim by the 
neck and positioning him in a way so that he is a living shield. The kicked man 
went over the counter. The last man was so surprised he only watched me taking 
out my gun and shooting one of those that went for Rinoa. The other one managed 
to draw his gun, but he was to slow. I heard shots coming from above and felt my 
shield receive a couple strong blows. The three men that remained upstairs 
obviously heard the shooting and tried to intervene. I dropped my shield and 
bounced of the bar. As I flew, one of the guards was hit and fell down. The one 
by the bar came to his senses at last, but he didn't live much longer. I ducked 
behind one of the couches, in time to avoid a series from a machine gun. The 
second guard grabbed Rinoa and also took cover behind one of the couches. The 
attackers seemed to be focused on me, as I was probably not expected here. Two 
of them came closer to the sofa I was behind. One of them fell down, as he came 
into view of Rinoa's guard. The other turned around and died a second later, 
along with his buddy who stayed behind. They looked like amateurs, however it 
seems that the same group managed to get into Balamb and hold it for a while. I 
reached into my pocket and took the small communicator all BO's have.
'Attention. This is the commander. All BO's at Galbadia Garden. Order priority 
01. Find a "Irvine Kinneas" a student of Garden 1. Bring him to place no. 155.' 
I said. The guard was checking out if Rinoa was OK. She bursted into tears. I 
walked up to them.
'My father will hear of this' she sobbed. 'Why do the army keep sending people 
after me? They did make me go see him… And they scared of my men well enough.'
'Please… We have to get out of here miss…' The guard said. 'I don't think the 
army would send anyone after you…'
He did not finish. A shot from my gun ended his life. As he fell down he let go 
of the small syringe he was holding in one of his hands. Rinoa backed off 
suddenly and hit the wall behind her. She sat on the ground, nearly paralyzed.
'Calm down.' I said. 'I am a friend. That man was with them…'
'What??? He was one of my fathers…'
'No.' I interrupted. There was no time for talking. 'He was not. We have to get 
out of here… They will be back for you.'
'How do you know… Who are you??'
'They will, trust me. You will find out who I am in due time. Right now I have 
to get you to someplace safer.'
'Are you… From the army?'
'Not exactly. I mean you no harm however.' I held out my hand to her. 'Please… 
We have to go. I cannot fight all of them alone.'
She hesitated. I did not. Not waiting for any more questions I grabbed her hand 
and pulled her out of the nightclub. We ran out of the hotel. She did not resist 
much.

DAY 4 23:13:29 SMALL HOUSE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DELING CITY

All the BO's that were available were here. I was dressed in my BO uniform. 
Irvine was here as well. When I entered, Rinoa shouted at me.
'You!' She was furious. 'It was you and your men who attacked us…'
'Yes.' I said is as calm as I could. This was no time for lies. 'And I was the 
one who shot your friend as well, if that is what you want to know.'
Both Irvine and Rinoa were shocked by my boldness. I looked at them as calmly as 
I could.
'You…' Rinoa started to cry again. 'Who are you?'
'That should not concern you. My orders were to kill all of the resistance 
except you. You should be thankful that I did not hunt the rest down.'
'You're that teacher… Kaede…' Irvine spoke.
'Yes, I am.' I answered. He figured it out, but right now that was not 
important. 'Enough questions. We have to find out what those guys want from 
you.'
'What guys?' Irvine asked.
I filled him in on what has happened. I also told him about the incident in the 
railway and Garden.'
'Yes… I heard about Garden.' Irvine nodded. 'But not about that train.'
'So… Who is the last SeeD that defeated Ultimecia?'
'You should know that.' Irvine said. 'Listen, I don't care what you do with her, 
what is going to happen to us?' He sat down next to the still sobbing Rinoa.
'You two and myself are going to see General Carnaway. I have a feeling he is 
holding back something.' I turned around. 'The rest of you will go to Timber. 
Secure the last of the heroes.'
'All of us?' One of them asked.
'Yes. I want to minimalize the chance that you fail. Don't worry about me, I'll 
be safe. I expect us to meet back here in 24h.'
'Yes sir!' The group said and scattered. A few seconds later they were gone.
'Let's go.' I said to the two heroes. 'We have to find out what the hell is 
going on here.'
'I guess you're right.' Rinoa said.

DAY 5 00:23:53 GENERAL CARNAWAY'S MANSION, DELING CITY

The way to the mansion took us some time, as we crept using side streets and 
alleys. I did not want to meet any friends of the people I shot in the club. 
Finally we reached the mansion. The light in one of the rooms was on, indicating 
that someone was still awake. Or so I hoped. Rinoa knocked on the door. I pulled 
down my mask; there was no reason to wear it. The door was not locked.
'Go on ahead' I said. I felt something unusual.
They walked up the stairs and I followed close behind. We entered the room in 
witch the general usually received guests. As soon as we were inside, the doors 
slid shut. Two people stood up from behind the General's desk. They were armed. 
One of them immediately fell down, a red trail went out of his head.
'It's a trap!' I screamed, as three other people went into the room through the 
window. I threw myself to the desk and shot the second person there. Irvine 
managed to draw his gun and shot at one of the people that went through the 
window. The other two opened fire. They were shooting darts. One of them hit 
Rinoa. She fell down to the ground.
'Irvine! Don't let them take Rinoa!' I shouted as I shot another guy by the 
broken window. The last one tried to shoot Irvine, but he ducked. My shot ended 
his life. Irvine dragged Rinoa and placed her on a seat next to the desk. The 
doors opened. General Carnaway entered, with a man holding a gun behind his 
head. That man did not have a mask. He had short, gray hair. A small scar ran 
from under his left eye to his lips. He looked at me.
'Hand over both of them and Ill make sure that the General lives through.'
He had me. Whoever that guy was, he seemed to know that if Carnaway dies, Ill 
lose my support. Even though the General opposed the creation of the BO's, he 
has been our support ever since we were created. Without him all of us would be 
drafted to the army… And that was bad. I aimed my gun at the guy, but if I was 
to shoot, I risked much. Irvine also aimed at the guy. We remained motionless.
'I think you did not he…' The man started to speak, but I did not let him 
finish.
'I heard what you said. Who the hell are you?'
'That should not concern you, boy!' The man spoke. Three other guys flew through 
the shattered window. I turned and aimed at one of them.
'Drop the friggin' gun!' The man ordered.
I dropped my gun. This was something I could not win. The man pushed the General 
away. The last thing I remembered was the three guys opening fire…

DAY 6 10:12:44 SOMEWHERE NEAR DELING CITY

The drugs were pretty strong. I woke up somewhere on the outskirts of Deling, 
abandoned in a pit. I was extremely lucky - they left me to be eaten by the many 
animals that roamed the area. None came to me however. My head was killing me. 
My guns and sword were gone, taken by those who put me here. I stood up, 
wondering where the hell I was and how long I was out. I saw the city to the 
west. I started walking there. The sun was already up. I must have been asleep 
the whole night. Then I reached for my pocket. My watch was still there. I was 
not asleep the whole night… But a whole day! I made my way to the garden. Surely 
my men were back to the Garden by now, since I did not show up at the meeting 
point. That was the standard procedure.

DAY 6 15:23:39, GALBADIA GARDEN

I walked into the Garden. I visited one of my secret places near Deling to put 
my civilian clothes on and to get a new set o weapons. As I entered the garden, 
it was pretty quiet. I looked around and went to my room. I dreamt of taking a 
hot shower right now. On my way there I met a couple of students. I wanted to 
know where everyone was.
'Students. Where is everyone?' I asked. The pair looked like me like some kind 
of alien.
'Haven't you heard?' One of them said after a moment.
'Heard what? I kindda was away for the day.'
'The BO's are dead! All of them. Half of them got plastered in Timber the others 
got shot in Trabia Garden, during a supposed sabotage attempt.'
'What???' I stopped for a moment. This was no coincidence. Someone wanted us 
dead. 'But why is the Garden empty?'
'Timber is revolting! The fight has been raging for the last 12 hours. 
Supposedly Timber has received aid from some other, non-SeeD organization.'
'And all of Garden has been sent there?'
'No. Galbadia's attempt to silent the revolution had a wide echo among the 
students… Irvine, one of the heroes took all those that listened to him and went 
to Deling… To take over the country…'
'What??!?!' I screamed. 'How many?'
'90% of the students… The faculty and those that did not listen remained here… 
We are going to get the Garden's propulsion system working and leave this 
place.'
'Damn! Do something for me! Find the headmaster. Tell him to contact the 
commander at frequency SP-01.'
'Sir?' The student had a hard time understanding me.
'He'll understand! Go!' I shouted as I ran of.

DAY 6 18:01:22 NEARING CARNAWAY'S MANSION, DELING CITY

I ran as fast as I could. I was dressed back in my BO outfit. It seemed that I'm 
not going to part with it for a long time. I did not bother to put on my mask, 
it did not make a difference now. I jumped along the roofs of buildings, trying 
to reach the General's mansion. The capital was in turmoil. The G-army was 
locked down in the presidential palace and some other hot spots all around the 
city. The population was in chaos. Most of them went along the students and 
helped in throwing off the current government of their places. The students 
looked like possessed by something. I already saw public executions made on some 
army officials. This was bad; the general might have already been dead. I 
reached his mansion. The window was still broken. The general stood, looking at 
the scene in front of him. He was a little frightened when I dropped in.
'It's you… Thank god… I thought that they killed you.' The general said.
'I managed to live through. Is it true all my men are…'
'Yes. The unknown black group that stormed my place killed both squads… At least 
that's what I know.'
'General, the garden is leaving the place… I want you to go…'
'No… I will remain. Don't worry, they won't hurt me. But if you want to evacuate 
somebody, go to Tiber. Find General Biggs or Major Wedge. Tell them what has 
happened here. Evacuate as many soldiers as you can, the civilians should not be 
hurt. Disappear when you are done. Go to Cetra or even the Eastern continent. Do 
not seek the help of Balamb or Trabia.
'Why?'
'Trabia… Trabia is locked down. No one may go in or out. The faculty has been 
scared by the recent events and closed the gates. I heard that the students 
opposed to that law… Led by another of the heroes… Selphie. Balamb has 
disappeared. Supposedly about 6 hours ago the garden took of and headed for the 
Island closest to hell. I have received no information on what has happened to 
it.'
'What the hell has happened… It seems that the revolutions are all led by the 
heroes of the past… And all of them were taken hostage in the past week…'
'Listen. The students will be here in a moment. Get out of here… Ill try to 
contact you if I learn anything about the current situation.'
'Yes… I guess that's logical. Good-bye sir.'
'Good luck. You will need it.'

DAY 6 20:22:21 NEAR TIMBER

The car I stole was pretty fast. I was nearing timber when my communicator came 
alive.
'Kaede??? Is that you?'
'Finally… I thought you would not believe the students.'
'I had otter matters. Where are you?'
'Near Tiber. Listen to me. I'm going to rally as much G-Army as I can. We'll 
mass about 2 km north of Timber. When the garden takes off, come to get us.'
'The garden is already up. We'll be there in about an hour. Is that enough 
time?'
'More than enough.'
'Be careful.'

DAY 6 20:41:22

The army was retreating. As I suspected the Tiber resistance did not follow. 
There were about 500 men left alive of the 2000 soldiers stationed in Timber. 
The losses were heavy but we managed. I was in one of the command vehicles, the 
general was filling me on what exactly happened there.
'It stared when the resistance faction you guys were sent to flatter… You know 
the ones with the train came out and rallied as much members of other 
resistances as they could. They were not armed… But something else came a few 
hours later… A whole army of men dressed in black. They killed 500 soldiers in 
15 minutes. The battle than raged, as the resistance joined in. We had no chance 
against such a force.'
'I understand. So Timber is in control of the rebellion now?'
'Yes… Sir how many people have you got out of the capital.'
'None. They are sealed in. This is all we have.'
'Damn…'

DAY 6 23:13:33 GALBADIA GADREN, ORVER SEA SOUTH OF THE GALBADIA CONTINENT

Galbadia garden was slowly hovering over the sea. We were away from the Galbadia 
continent. In about 4 hours we would reach the Cetra continent. Afterwards we 
will try to reach the Eastern continent to see if anything has happened in 
Eshtar. The infirmary was full of wounded soldiers, but the situation was in 
control. We had time to talk now. High atop the garden, in the headmaster's 
office, a meeting was held. The headmaster, General Biggs and myself were 
attending. Everyone told everything they knew about the recent crisis. I learnt 
nothing new. We had to make a plan of action now.
'As soon as we reach the Eastern Continent.' I started. 'I will depart the 
garden. I'll take a vehicle with me and try to reach the city itself. Once 
inside I'll try to find out what is Eshtar's stand in the current situation.'
'Will you be okay alone?' The general asked.
'Yes, I'm used to handling that sort of situations.'
'General, what is the status of your men?'
'About 150 are lightly wounded. 50 will not be able to fight for the next week. 
The rest are just tired.'
'Very well. After we drop you off, Kaede, we'll cruise around the sea southward 
of the continent to avoid detection.'
'Right.'
'Get some sleep, all of you. This has been a hard day for all of us.'
He was right.

DAY 7 11:23:11 1KM SOUTH OF ESTHAR OUTSKIRTS

I drove across the southern wastelands of the Eshtar Continent. The car was 
equipped with a pretty strong sensor, so if someone would be following me I 
would know it. A bleep appeared on the radar screen. I stopped the car. Whatever 
the radar picked up, it was also stationary. I was still to far away form Eshtar 
to pick up any of its buildings. I decided to check it out. I left the car 
hidden and preceded on foot. After about half an hour I saw the thing that my 
radar picked up The Ragnarok. Damn. The SeeD was here as well. I took out my 
vision enchantment lens and put it to my left eye. I could see three people in 
front of it. All of them were dressed in black. I recognized one of them. It was 
the guy from Carnaway's mansion. They were talking about something. I tried to 
get closer, so that my sound amplifier would work. It was not easy but after 
some time I was able to hear what they were talking about.
'…assassin is already there.' One of the men spoke.
'Good.' The man I already met answered. 'President Laguna will make his official 
statement about Eshtar involvement… When he is out of the way, Eshtar will 
probably attack.'
'And the whole blame will be on garden.'
'Exactly. What about those Galbadian survivors?'
'They fled for Cetra. It will be days till we find them, but we will.'
'Good.'
I left. I had to reach Eshtar and save the president.

DAY 7 14:54:22 ESHTAR, PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

I made it in time. The president was supposed to make his statement in about 
five minutes. He was in a large room with TV cameras and some people invited by 
the president. I watched from a catwalk above. Nothing seemed to be out of order 
for now. I felt someone behind me. I turned around in time to see a fist hit me 
in the face. I fell down and looked at the person who hit me. Quistis. The one I 
shot.
'I should have known it was you!' she screamed and took her whip into her hand.
'Excuse me?' I answered and jumped to my feet.
'What have you done to them?' She shouted, completely ignoring my last question.
'Listen to me!' I screamed. 'Galbadia is a victim as…'
A shot interrupted me. The catwalk shook. Another shot. This time the catwalk 
did not hold out. It started to fall down. I jumped to grab a pipe. I managed 
just in time. Quistis looked at me as she started to fall down with the catwalk. 
I held out my hand to catch hers. The catwalk fell down on the place in witch 
the president was supposed to be talking. We hanged from the pipe. The 
president's guards took the president out of the room. I looked for the 
assassin. I found him, standing in the crowd with a gun. Another shot. This time 
I felt pain in me chest as the bullet hit my bulletproof vest. I made a silent 
sound of pain. Both of my hands were occupied, I could not fight back. Another 
shot. The pain started to weaken me. I knew that one more shot and I'll let go 
either of Quistis or the pipe. And she seemed to be on our side. There was a 
third shot. This time I felt no pain. The assassin must have shot Quistis. I 
looked at him. He was lying on the floor. On the far side of the room the 
president was standing with a sub-machine gun.

DAY 7 15:27:21 ESHTAR, PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Quistis and I stood before the desk of president Laguna. I had just finished 
filling him in on what I knew. The assassin that was killed today was Irvine, 
the hero from Galbadia. It was Quistis' turn.
'When you guys stormed the train… I was not on it.'
'Say what? I saw you on it.'
'No. Those people in black… They use some kind of doppelgangers. They used some 
kind of fluid to make an ideal copy of me. I was lucky. I managed to get away 
and hide beneath the train. When you guys cleared the way, I silently got back 
onto the train. My clone was pretty surprised to see me, mind you. I was taken 
as if I was that clone for sometime. Not for long though. It seems that those 
people control the clones mentally. That is why the sudden unrests were raised 
all around the world. I managed to get out of Balamb Garden before it took off. 
And I learnt of the assassination attempt, I went here to prevent it.'
'Hmm…' President Laguna looked like he was really worried. 'This is… Disturbing. 
Someone wants to throw off the current governments. And it seems the technology 
they posses comes from Eshtar itself…'
'President Laguna!' A comm. on Laguna's desk crackled. 'Balamb Garden is 
approaching form the West! It looks like they are armed and ready to attack, 
sir!'
'Shit.' Was the only thing I was able to say.

TO BE CONTINUED

Blarg! I'm back! After I get back from vacation, expect more of the Army of 
Shadows (Ill be back around the 20th of July. Greetings to all my readers J

silencer@poland.com