After Rinoa and Celestia were done
healing the soldiers, they joined Squall and the others in formulating a plan.
“We can sneak
in through the North-Western gateway and head straight to the Presidential
Palace. Once there, we may have to fight a few cyborg guards to gain entrance.
Once inside, just watch for more guards. I don’t know which room she is in…”
Squall nodded, then he looked at Rinoa
and Celestia.
“What do you
think?”
Rinoa thought about the plan for a
moment.
“Well, it
sounds good, but what if the fight outside of the Presidential Residence alarms
every guard in the city. We would have a serious force chasing us…”
“That is
true, but there may be a way inside, without anyone knowing except Adel. She
already knows that we are here.”
Squall and Laguna turned to Celestia.
“So, what do
you propose?”
“I can get
everyone inside with little interference…we need a distraction though. It can
really help.”
“Kiros! Ward!
Come here for a moment please.”
Kiros and Ward ran over to the group.
“?”
“Ward wants
to know why you called us.”
Laguna stood up.
“We need a
distraction. Do you think that you two and the soldiers can pull one off for
us?”
“…”
“Ward says
that he thinks so. I agree. What will be the signal to stop and retreat?”
“I don’t
know.”
Celestia stood up.
“I’ll let you
know telepathically when to go. We only need a short distraction.”
“!”
“Ward says
that he’ll do his best and that all of you should be careful. I’ll do my best
as well.”
Laguna smiled at his two friends.
“You guys be
careful too. Okay?”
“!”
“Okay.”
Kiros and Ward went off to notify the
troops of the plan. Squall, Rinoa, and Zell stood up.
“So, how
exactly are we going to enter the residence?”
“I’m going to
teleport us there.”
Rinoa looked at Celestia.
“Isn’t that
taxing on your energy?”
“Only a
little. Not much.”
Zell pondered about the situation
again.
“Wait…which
room is Adel in? I mean, it won’t be very good if we use most of our energy
searching room after room full of guards.”
Everyone agreed. Celestia closed her
eyes and she gave off a faint glow. Laguna looked at Squall and then at Rinoa.
“Rinoa, what
is she doing?”
“She is
searching for Adel.”
Celestia opened her eyes, a slight
hint of fatigue on her face. Apparently Adel had fought against her as she
searched.
“She is in
the President’s Office. It has been merged with another dimension, making it
look like a throne room. She said that she is waiting for us…and that she will
have your heads.”
Zell shuddered slightly, but he
regained his composure quickly. Kiros and Ward came back over to notify them
that the troops were ready when they were.
“We’re ready
to go Laguna.”
“Good. You
and Ward go on ahead of us and create the diversion.”
“Right!”
Kiros went over to Ward and they
headed over to the group of battle-ready troops. Celestia followed them.
“I’ll
teleport you to the outside of Odine’s lab. Be ready to fight. If you can, draw
the guards away from the Presidential Palace. Good luck!”
Celestia teleported the troops and ran
back over to the others.
“Alright…they
are in the city. You guys ready to go?”
Everyone nodded and stated that they
were ready.
“Okay! Here
we go…”
The scenery faded around them and it
changed to the main hallway in the palace. There was no sign of any guards.
Celestia telepathed the okay to Kiros.
«Okay…we’re
in. Go ahead and retreat to our previous position!»
***
Kiros
signaled the troops for a retreat. They fought their way out of the city and
headed back to Tear’s Point, waiting for any more instructions.
***
The group cautiously made their way to
the President’s Office. Once there, a couple Toramas and an un-named Sorceress
greeted them.
“I didn’t
think that we would reach her without fighting at least one battle.”
Squall glanced at Zell and Zell shut
his mouth. One of the Toramas attacked with Berserk. The spell failed to work
on Rinoa and she countered with Break. The Torama was encased with stone and
frozen in place. The Sorceress cast Ultima, leaving the entire party with
medium damage. Celestia cast Meteor on the enemy while Zell used Recover on
everyone. The other Torama stood up and used its blaster attack. Everyone
absorbed the thunder damage and Laguna cast Aura on Squall and Celestia. Squall
immediately used his limit break, Renzokuken against the Sorceress. He finished
with Lionheart and finished the Sorceress off. Celestia did the same against
the remaining Torama and finished with Rough Divide. The battle ended and they
approached the door. The door opened on its own and Adel stood up from her
chair.
“Cursed
SeeDs…ah, yes…and the King of Idiots…I see you have come to challenge me.”
‹Adel…›
“Hm…what’s
the matter Laguna? Afraid?”
Adel laughed evilly and then her face
hardened into an expression of hate.
“You will pay
for sealing me away so many years ago. You all will pay!”
She cast Meteor and then Quake. As
Zell healed everyone, Adel approached them and used some magic to lift Celestia
up into the air.
“Cetra…you
dare challenge me with these fools?! You and your people were idiots to
challenge the Sorceresses.”
“Adel, the
Sorceress power came from my people…and it was never meant for people like
you!”
Celestia countered Adel’s levitation
spell and fell to the floor, landing on her feet. She then charged at Adel,
casting Aura on herself. She used Renzokuken and Fated Circle before she was
blown backward by Adel. Celestia flew into the wall, landing with a loud thud
from the force of the blast. Laguna
whirled around and rushed over to her. When he reached her, he tried to help
her up, but she pushed him away.
«Don’t
be stupid…she’ll use one of us against each other. You don’t want that now do
you?»
‹No…you’re
right…but I just…›
«I
know…I know Laguna…»
Celestia stood up and brushed herself
off.
“Not bad
Adel…but not good enough.”
Adel sneered and glared hatefully at
Celestia and then Laguna.
~Hm…Could it
be? Perhaps I should aim at that fool Laguna first…~
Adel began to gather her strength and
Celestia felt the magical energy in the room build.
«Wait…Adel…she
is getting ready for a strong assault…»
Celestia cast Regen on everyone in the
party, including herself. She then used some special magic to cast Wall on
everyone as well. At that point, Adel cast triple on herself then meltdown on
Laguna. She then let loose with three consecutive, focused Ultima attacks. The
group survived the attacks, but Laguna was seriously injured. The meltdown,
even with Wall in effect, had seriously weakened him and the three Ultima
attacks were focused right at him. He fell to his knees and then fell forward.
The force of the blasts had knocked him out, on the verge of death. As Zell was
trying to heal everyone and Celestia was in the process of treating Laguna with
Revive, Adel smirked and then cast Shockwave Pulsar to everyone’s surprise.
