Patrol Abroad Chapter 9
By Captain Gaul
Up in Leene Square, Imperial soldiers fell from the air, and one by one gained a sense of their surroundings, and started about their work of pillaging and looting. Recognizing the guards present as agents of local security, they quickly slaughtered them, and started tearing down booths, snatching valuables from civilians, and generally wreaking havoc.
The few surviving guards ran off to Guardia castle to call for reinforcements. The non-combatant civilians fled the city in terror, while Crono, Marle, Lucca, and Captain Gaul dashed up to meet the invaders.
“King Guardia! King Guardia! Invaders in Leene Square—hundreds of them! Get the soldiers, quickly!!”
By the time Kefka and Leo came through, the generals realized that the locals would soon raise a more organized resistance, and so they rallied the troops and reformed the army. It was at that point that the four arrived.
Fireballs, ice crystals, thunderbolts, and shadow beams flew into the imperial lines, and the Emperor’s soldiers were dropping like flies.
“Lucca, we can’t keep using magic forever! There’s gotta be hundreds of these guys!”
“Don’t worry, Marle! Soon, your dad’s army will be here, and besides, we’re more than a match for these thugs!”
“One on one, maybe, but there’s still way too many of these guys!”
Lucca was right, though; soon the army arrived, ready for battle, along with Guardia’s Finest in heavy riot gear. Still, the imperial soldiers outnumbered the Guardians almost three to one, and though the Guardians were better fighters, things still weren’t looking good.
Suddenly, there was a screech. “DEATH TO THE MYSTIC’S ENEMIES—AND THE HUMAN’S, TOO!” Magus showed up, with Moe and Chi, as well as a hoard of about three hundred mystics. Not great soldiers, but still excellent at what they do, and imperial soldiers were used to fighting humans, not imps, gargoyles, or anything from the assortment of creatures that Magus employed.
The ground was strewn with the fallen of both sides, when Kefka stepped back from the lines and muttered. “The locals sure react fast…I’m gonna need something BIG to get ‘em.”
“What was that, Kefka?” Leo shouted over the din. He slashed through four Guardia patrolmen with his sword, and then shocked a half-dozen mystics.
“Nothing, Leo!” Kefka shouted back. Kefka pondered a bit, then chanted a half dozen magic syllables. Then he spoke: “Atmaweapon, I call on thee!”
Kefka exchanged the life force of every imperial soldier present for that which he summoned, and then Atma appeared, an immense beast of indescribable terror. Neither Guardians nor Mystics faltered for an instant, and started to attack it, when Atma cast Merton. A wave of heat hit everyone nearby, and then a huge storm of fire blazed about them. Anything exposed that could readily burn, did. Marle screamed as her crossbow caught fire, and Crono’s sword started to melt in places.
Dozens of Mystics popped into non-existence, and many of the Guardians died at once. Moe hurled battlewrench after battlewrench, Magus detonated DarkBombs all around Atma, and Chi screamed an encouraging battlecry—all the while, the Guardians kept up their fight.
Atma, seeming none the weaker, swung out with it’s claws, smashed it’s tail around, and snatched up a whole squad of soldiers in it’s mandibles. The battle raged on, until finally, Gaul got an idea.
He looked inside himself for the right spells, and then, finding the right ones, he came forward. He chanted three dozen syllables, and then screamed “VANISH!”. Atma disappeared. Unaware of this, it kept attacking the soldiers, and they were unable to fight back. He then chanted another couple dozen syllables, and screamed “DOOM!” A shadow of skull appeared before his eyes, and he could see Atma again briefly before the creature exploded.
The Guardians and Mystics, at first, didn’t realize what happened. When what had happened dawned on them, they started to cheer. Gaul joined them in their shouting, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye….
Kefka and Leo were standing back by the blue gate, looking around and looking nervous, when all of the sudden the chancellor came running out of nowhere, crashed into Kefka, knocking him down and Leo into the gate. Gaul ran over to Kefka and the chancellor in a flash.
“Where do you think you’re going? I’ve got a score to settle with both of you.”
Kefka and Chancellor Randini stood nervously as Gaul held them both at gunpoint. While they were sweating, the Captain deliberated as to which of them to shoot with the one bullet left in his gun. Finally, after three minutes, he seemed to arrive at an answer.
Pointing the gun at Kefka, he said “Logic says I kill you.” Kefka started shaking, and the chancellor took a step back. “But screw logic.” And he whipped the pistol over to the chancellor, and without further word, shot him.
Kefka fell backwards through the gate in a faint, the chancellor’s various particles floated to the ground on the breeze, and yet another flash of blue light hit Gaul.
.