Galbadia 500 Endurance
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters, nor do I own any of the other final fantasy's or there characters that may make a cameo appearance here and there.
Summary: 2 months after the Final battle with Ultamecia everything is fairly calm and quiet for our heroes and then Rinoa leaves the garden without saying anything to anyone but everyone suspects Squall knows where she's gone to, but he starts acting strange and leaves the garden every weekend too. So what's really going on?
Chapter 1: Strange Letters
Balamb Garden was a relatively calm and quite place most weekends with students out of classes for two days and staff and faculty relaxing for a few days. Most ventured out to the City of Balamb or down to the beach to relax on their time off, leaving the Garden fairly quite. Or at least that how most weekends went, this particular Friday evening was an exception to the norm as the settling quite was disturbed as a very excitable burnette went running through the corridors in search of her usual companions.
"Quistis! Hey, Quisty!" The very excited brunette ran up to a tall blonde woman, exiting her class room for the weekend, both of them were wearing there SeeD uniforms, having only just gotten off duty.
"Selphie slow down before you run someone over." Called a tall man wearing a cowboy hat from down the hallway, who was actually in hot pursuit after her.
"Quisty have you seen Squall?" Selphie asked skidding to a halt, out of breath. Quistis thought a moment, when was the last time she'd seen the Commander in question? Breakfast maybe?
"No I haven't seen him since early this morning, why?" she answered leaning against the doorframe behind her as the other man finally caught up to them.
"I got a letter from my friend Luce in Trabia this morning. I really think Squall needs to read it." Selphie said still struggling for breath as she waved a green envelope in Quitis' face.
"Selphie slow down. You want the Garden Commander and our rather reserved friend to read a personal letter from one of your girlfriends from your old school?" The man said not quite as out of breath.
"Yes I do Irvine." Selphie said to her boyfriend, then turned back to Quistis to actually explain herself a little better.
"Luce wrote to me this week to tell me that there was a girl arrested in Trabia city two days ago, the city doesn't have a detention center but the garden does so the girl was brought there. Luce says that Garden went on lock down when the girl was brought in, under grounds that she's a sorceress, she also says that she looks like Rinoa. People aren't to kind to Sorceress' in Trabia after what the last one did. If it is Rin, without Squall she could be in serious trouble." Selphie rushed out.
"Selphie have you thought about this? I mean Squall's a SeeD too and not just any SeeD either, he's Garden Commander and up for promotion." Quistis said with a heavy sigh. She never quite liked Rinoa, but that was because she'd had a crush on Squall herself. However that didn't mean that she disliked the girl either, and though she'd never admit it she was actually greatful that the young sorceress was actually on their side.
"Yes, I know that but he's also her knight, and thats gotta count for something." Selphie exclaimed, it was clear that the girl was distressed at the thought of closest friend she'd had in Balamb being in trouble of any kind.
"She's got a point there Quistis." Irvine agreed with Selphie with a thoughtful look on his face. Quistis heaved another sigh punctuated with an eye roll.
"The Headmaster would know where he is, Squall tends to disappear on weekends when he's not on assignment." Quistis said
"Great can you take the letter to the Headmaster, I'm sure he'll get it to Squall." Selphie asked holding out a pale green envelope. She never went up to the headmasters office without Squall.
"May I read it to back up my case to the headmaster?" Quistis asked agreeing to take the letter up but not promising any hasty results, as she accepted the letter
"Yeah, go ahead. Thanks Quisty." Selphie said bouncing off down the hallway with Irvine in tow.
Quistis shook her head and read Selphie's letter on her way up to the Headmasters office. She managed to read it twice before arriving at the office andfound herself agreeing with Selphie, that Rinoa really could be in trouble and Squall would probably be the only one able to help her regardless of what may have occurred monthes before. The question now was, where was Commander Squall Leonhart, and why did Rinoa Heartilly Caraway leave the garden three months ago without saying anything to anyone. The only person who could possibly know anything about it was Squall, her knight, a SeeD and her boyfriend as far as any of them still in lay the problem, Squall was always working and disturbing him was like signing your own death warrant, he was known for his rather chilly personality. When he wasn't working he more often than not, couldn't be found anywhere in the Garden, or on its external grounds, so where was he?
Quistis walked into the reception area of the Headmasters office and the secretary Xu, a long time friend of hers looked up, and offered a smile in greeting.
"Instructor Trepe, business I assume?" the woman with short brown hair asked pleasantly.
"Yes Xu, I need to speak to the Headmaster, its urgent." She said revealing no details.
"Just a moment please, he was just about finished for the day." Xu said picking up the telephone on her desk and hitting the speed dial for her bosses line.
"Sir Instructor Trepe to see you, she says its urgent."Xu said then waited for a response. Quistis already knew that the Head master would see her, she was considered one of his own children and next to the missing commander, his favorite SeeD.
"Okay you can go right in Quistis." She told Quistis putting the phone back in its cradle.
"Thanks Xu, I'll see you later." Quistis said disappearing into the office with a small wave over her shoulder at her friend.
"Ah Instructor Trepe, what can I do for you today?" the Kind old headmaster asked. Quistis saluted and then wasted no time getting to the reason she was there, Selphies letter.
"Headmaster Cid, I need to find Commander Leonhart, regarding a letter Ms. Tilmitt received this morning." She said. Then took a breath. Squall was probably going to kill them for disturbing his weekend, whatever he was doing.
"Sir, we've looked all over the garden, well Selphie and Irvine looked allover the Garden and could not find him, and it is of utmost importance that we speak with him immediately."
"Squall, isn't at the Garden at the moment I'm afraid. He's away on personal business for the weekend. If I may ask what has a letter Selphie received got to do with Squall?" Cid asked thoroughly confused by the thought. Squall tended not to socialize a whole lot, and while he did consider the hyper brunette a friend, Cid highly doubted that he'd met any of the girls other friends outside the circle of his usual companions and teammates.
"Sir, the letter states that a girl was arrested in Trabia the other day she's being held in the Trabia Garden detention center, Selphie's friend is concerned and even convienced that the girl is Squall's…. Um… girlfriend…. Rinoa, and after reading the letter myself, I'm almost positive it is her. Selphie, Irvine, and myself believe that if this girl is in fact Rinoa then she's in danger because of …. Well…. You know, she is actually a sorceress." Quistis said as calmly as she could.
Cid was obviously thinking hard about what she's said. He leaned forward on his desk in a flustered sort of gesture, as if conflicted about disturbing the young commander while he was away, but caught in the same notion that Squall would be upset so to speak if Rinoa was infact in trouble and he didnt know.
"Unfortunately, I cannot contact Squall directly where he is, mobile phones don't work out there, but I can send a messenger in to him in a matter of hours. Let me have the letter, I'll send it out to him immediately." Cid said reaching for a pen and piece of paper to write his own note explaining what was going on. Quistis put the letter in the green envelope on the desk.
"Sir, where may I ask, is Squall?" she asked mostly out of curiosity.
"I am not at liberty to tell you that Instructor, if he has not told you himself, then he doesn't want anyone to know just yet, where it is he spends his time away from Garden."
"Understood sir, has he… has Squall ever mentioned anything about Rinoa leaving out garden three months ago? I mean everyone here and in the city loved her despite her… condition. There was really no reason for her sudden departure that any of us know of." Quistis asked the question that had been on everyones mind since Rinoa left and Squall turned into an overworked shadow. Cid looked up at her.
"No he's never mentioned anything to me about her reason for leaving, I'm not even sure if he knew why she left, there are are of course suspicions as to why. Anyway let me finish wirting this and get it sent off to Squall." Cid said and dismissed Quistis.
2 hours later at the Balamb Speedway
A man with spiked blonde hair was watching the time clock as another man on a black and blue race bike flew by him at break neck speeds. Something was off with the bike itself and the rider was trying to compensate for it, causing him to loose time on his laps.
"Hey Strife! Theres a messenger from Balamb Garder here to see Leonhart!" A rather large colored man with a gun arm called out from the tower over looking the track. The blonde man man no notion that he'd heard the other man calling to him, as he shook his head checking the clock again and making a notation on the clipboard in his hand.
"Cloud!" the big man tried again to get the other mans attention as he noticed the rider out on the track slowing down.
"Yeah Barret, I'll be right there." Cloud called over his shoulder flagging the racer in. There was something off and he needed to deal with it. Until the issue was fixed with the bike itself, there was no point doing time trials.
The biker came to a stop mere inches from Cloud. He pulled off his helmet, his dark hair wet with sweat fell into his eyes. His stormy blue eyes confused as to why he was being called in, he had at least ten more laps to go, unless he'd lost count.
"What did you call me in for I still have another lap?" He exclaimed, he didnt want to stop early, yes the bike was lagging alittle, but Barret and Cid had just finished with a top end rebuild earlier that day, it just needed to be worked in. Or so he felt anyway.
"You're done for today Squall. I wanna check out your bike, something seems strange about that last lap you ran. You'll do time trials tomorrow. For now head up to the tower office with Barret, theres a Messenger from Balamb Garden here to see you." Cloud told him waving at the big man on the tower balcony looking down at them. Squall directed his attention up towards the tower away from his crew chief, as he snapped the kick stand down into place and shut the bike off handing Cloud the key.
"A messenger from the Garden? Did something happen?" Squall asked dismounting and heading up the steps to the tower with his helmet in one hand and unzipping his jacket with the other. Cloud just shrugged and went to attend Squalls bike.
In the tower office the messenger from the Garden looked at the back door nervously as the big man that had taken his messenge down to the track below came back with his commander in a black and blue practise suit with his helmet in one hand and a accepting a bottle of water from the other man with the other.
"Commander Leonhart." The Messenger saluted. Squall waved him off, he was off duty out here the last thing he wanted was to be saluted at this second.
"I didn't know you race motorcycles, Sir." The messenger said relaxing slightly at the sight of Squall setting his helmet down on a table beside a row of lockers, before he stripped off his jacket. Squall rolled his eyes readjusting his t-shirt which had ridden up underneath his jacket before taking a long drink from his water bottle
"Race motorcycles… Kid this young man is the youngest fastest racer this side of the world. He just won the Timber 15 and the Centra Inter City races. As well as some other exhibitions." Barret exclaimed. Squall glared at the big man, he did not want the Garden knowing what it was he was doing in his off time.
"You'll say nothing about any of this to anyone Cadet." Squall said with a pointed glare.
"Yes, Sir." The Cadet said straightening up again.
"Why has the Garden sent a messenger out here to find me?" Squall asked suspicious. The cadet handed Squall the letter from the headmaster.
"A letter from the headmaster, you're to call him as soon as you read it Sir." Squall nodded, taking the envelope, making a mentle note to see about getting a phone put into his room out here so that this wouldnt happen again.
"You're dismissed, remember not a word to anyone, it may just cost you your job." Squall said, not really meaning it, but it did deliver his point.
"Yes Sir." The Cadet saluted and hurried off. Squall took the letter and headed to the locker room to get cleaned up and changed before heading to his room in the Team Complex at the speedway. in the last couple of months Squall had come to think of the place as his home away from home, the place he went when he needed to unwind from a long week.