Chapter 2 : Problems

'What do you want? I don't know what you're looking for!' The man backed up against the wall. Crippled with fear, he knew he was going to die next.

There was nothing his guards could do against him. Their bullets seemed to bounce of his armour magically, as if some barrier shielded him. The spear he carried had been deadly, piercing and slashing through the guards as though they were paper, 8 of them all lay dead on the floor, their blood splattered all over his mansion.

'Oh yes u know what we want. The vials, that's what we want. Give them to us and u live.' Claudius walked up towards the man, whom Sakon had his large spear pointed at.

'What vials are you talking about? Who are you people?' He had no idea who these eight crazy people were. But the moment they turned up, he knew what they were looking for. It had been entrusted from generation to generation, to keep the box safe. No one knew what was in the box, but they all swore an oath to keep it secret. The Galbadian Merchant knew that whether or not he told them where it was he was still going to die.

'ARRGH!!!!' The man screamed as Sakon plunged his spear deep into his thigh. Blood poured out from the wound like a burst pipe, but Sakon wasn't done, he twisted the spear back and forth for maximum pain, leaving the man screaming his lungs out.

'Now now, no need to go through all this. Why suffer when all you have to do is surrender the vials?' Claudius bent forward to come face to face with the man.

As the man looked up, he stared right into his face. It was greyish, not a normal colour, but it was his eyes that terrified him. They were so dark that no light seemed to be reflected, two mini black holes sucking in all life around it. He looked to his side, where his wife and daughter were both being guarded by two twins. In his mind, he knew this great evil will soon use his family against him, but he had no choice, they all swore the oath, his family would understand, although it pained him greatly to come to that conclusion.

'Yes Yes! I have found it! Haha, come have a drink everyone.' Rosencrantz stepped out of a room with a wooden box in his hands.

The man was shocked at seeing the box in the enemy's hands. He had placed the box in a safe guaranteed to withstand all kinds of breaking open attempts and only he knew the password to open the safe. Yet, that little man had the box in his hands.

'How did you open the safe?' the man said astonishingly.

'There is nothing that I do not know' Chuckled Rosencrantz.

'I applaud your attempts but as you can see, it is all in vain.' With that Claudius stood up and walked toward Rosencrantz. With his back facing the man, he lifted his hand and flicked open his fan. With another deft flick, he flung the fan. It was a movement of grace, the black fan spun in the air forming a blurry circle, drawing out a beautiful smooth arc in the air. It flew straight for the man and made one round back into the hands of its master. It all happened in a blink of an eye. Death came swiftly for the man for he never felt anything. His head popped loose as blood sprayed from his neck like a fountain.

His wife and daughter screamed and cried at the sight of this, but they were ignored. Claudius looked at the vials that Rosencrantz was handing out and smiled.

'We now have our Guardian Forces back.'

'I left Sakon's GF to guard the tomb, the rest of them were unfortunate to be encapsulated by the Magi. But of course they cannot hide them from me.' Rosencrantz said softly.

'Good good, now we can proceed with our next plan. Ben, Bill, eliminate that noisy nuisance.'

Having showered and changed into clean clothes, Squall walked out of his room and headed to the second floor of Balamb Garden. A few hours had passed since winning the race between Zell and most of Garden was already up and running. Students walked around the compound, some SeeDs could be seen giving pointers to budding cadets who yearned to one day become SeeDs themselves, instructors training students on new combat moves; it was again another lively day in garden, another routine day for Squall.

'Hey Squall!' Squall turned his head to see Selphie rushing up to greet him, with Irvine following behind her.

Just like Zell, the War didn't change Selphie much. She was still the bubbly and cheerful girl that everyone knew her to be. But only a few could tell that there was some regret deep within her. The many lives lost by Trabia Garden due to the Galbadian missile attack is a scar that was marked deep within Selphie. Although it wasn't her fault to begin with, Selphie had always blamed herself, her inability to do more to protect the people she loved. Squall was one of the few who could tell, although she never told him how she felt, but everything was evident through her eyes.

Of course Irvine knew about it too. Ever since the War, Irvine and Selphie had gotten very close to each other. Everyone knew that they were more than just war buddies, but they denied that there was something going on between them. Irvine himself however changed quite a lot. Before the war, he used to flirt openly, being the ladies man didn't help. Never sticking to the same girl were just some of his mottos that had all been dumped after the War. Although most of that has changed, he was still the same cool guy that the gang once knew, always speaking when needed, and saying the right things at the right time.

'Hey Selphie. Where are you two heading?'

'Irvine and me are going over to the Quad to lie out the stuff nicely for President Laguna's arrival. Tomorrow's quite a big day, so better make sure all the stuff are ready. Can't rely on the juniors not to screw things up.' Selphie did a cheeky wink at Irvine, who smiled back.

'I thought Irvine has other things to tend to? He isn't in the welcoming committee.'

'Awww come on, he's just helping out that's all. No worries Squally, everything will be ok.'

'Alright then, I'll leave things to you two.'

Irvine tipped his hat and the two of them left, with Selphie making a lot more noise as they went down to the Quad. Squall went up the lift, the lift doors slid open and a beautiful woman stood in front of him. With blond hair, frameless glasses, fine features, wearing her full SeeD uniform, she was a sight to behold. Quistis was still the calculative, meticulous planner among them. The student had now become the superior, but Squall still trusted Quistis with his life. He would discuss important matters and seek for her opinions on various issues before coming up with his own judgments. For Quistis, seeing her protégé achieve great heights made her a proud teacher, but they were all overshadowed by the one thing she could never do, the fact that Rinoa had been the one, where she had failed, to break down Squall's protective barrier and open up had made her sore. There even came a point of time when she despised Rinoa for taking Squall away from her. But while going through the War together as a team, she started to accept Rinoa into the group. When the War ended, she accepted the fact that she just wasn't made for Squall, and they weren't meant to be together. It was a hard and painful fact, but she learned to live with it. She always did, and that was what made her the strong and capable woman that she was. Locking her feelings in a corner of her heart, till all that was left was the great friendship that she had with everyone else had been her response. 'Morning Squall, committee has arrived, all 3 headmasters are waiting in the conference room.'

'Will u be there too?'

'Of course. As Vice-Commander, I can't just leave all the decision making to you can I? Too risky I must say.'

'Wadever.' Squall muttered his famous one word answer and walked into the conference room with Quistis.

The room already had several key members in it. Seated at the round table was Headmaster Cid from Balamb Garden, Headmaster Vinche from Galbadia Garden, Headmaster Krall from Trabia Garden, and a young charming girl. Squall greeted the Headmasters and took his seat beside the young girl who had long black hair with a streak of caramel. He looked over and she gave him a wink. Squall smiled. It was a genuine smile, one he reserved especially for this girl, his greatest love, Rinoa.

Squall first met Rinoa at the SeeD graduating ceremony in Balamb Garden. He had just passed the exam and was pulled by this girl to dance with her. Just when he was starting to enjoy it, she left. Only did he know later that he was being contracted to her by Garden to help assist her resistance group gain independence for Timber from the Galbadian Regime. At first he couldn't stand the girl's antics, how she was so unorganised and pampered, wanting to do the impossible, and in other words, pissing him off. But as time passed, he realized that Rinoa just acted like this in front of him, in a way trying to get his attention. He started to be attracted to her kind and warm heart, her genuine feelings. He could feel her love for him, and it was suddenly clear to him, he couldn't live without this girl. Their feelings for one another had started and blossomed during the Sorceress War, what happened after was adding on to the strong feelings they had for one another. Although she was a sorceress and was well capable of heading a Garden division on magic combat training, Squall had left the job to someone else and assigned Rinoa to be his personal secretary. It was the perfect job as they could be together and see each other more often. Rinoa took the job up without any complaints.

Quistis sat down at the last remaining seat. 'Since everyone is here, we can start the meeting.'

'Are all the preparations for tomorrow's summit ready?' Headmaster Cid was clearly concerned about the summit. He was the one who came up with the idea of the summit in the first place and thus saw it as his duty to ensure things remained well for it.

'Everything is going according to plan. Final preparations are underway and on schedule.' Quisits checked her electronic pad to ensure everything was settled.

'If that's settled, maybe we can discuss some of the interesting issues Trabia is facing.' Headmaster Krall spoke up. 'We have confirmed the existence of this creature. After that first sighting, we increased our scouts and their patrol radius, and managed to obtain more images. Some of these are frightfully clear.'

He passed a file around which contained the pictures of the sightings. First viewed by the other two Headmasters, their expression became one of shock. Quistis looked at it once and her mouth opened a little, but she quickly closed it. Apparently she was caught unprepared for the sight she saw. Finally it was passed to Squall. Just like Headmaster Krall had mentioned, the pictures were crystal clear, the creature lay in front of him in its full grandeur. It was a White Dragon. Squall had never encountered one in his life, but there was no doubt about it. The dragon was flying in the picture. It had a dome-shaped head and large wings. From the specs indicated in the picture, the White Dragon was easily 1.5 times larger than a Ruby Dragon. It was a majestic sight to behold. Looking at the picture made him think about the earlier conversation he had with Zell in the morning. 'How coincidental' he thought to himself.

'As u can see,' Headmaster Krall continued, 'these are sightings of a White Dragon. Although thought to be extinct, it appears legend has become reality.'

'Can you confirm the numbers of the dragons?' Quistis enquired.

'No. But I don't suppose that's the only one. My concern is the dragon is very close to Trabia territory. Not only does it pose a danger to the townspeople, it might even pose a threat to Garden.'

'But we have no way of confirming the hostility of this dragon.'

'If the legend is true, these creatures are extremely powerful and dangerous. Garden should send a strike team to Trabia to eliminate this possible threat. If not, I suggest more experienced personnel be stationed at Trabia in case of an eminent attack. Trabia does not have the power to stop this dragon.'

Krall finally hit home on his main point. Squall could see where this was going. He wasn't overly concerned about the dragon, but he wanted more manpower from the other Gardens. Ever since the missile attack two years ago, Trabia Garden had spent much effort on rebuilding. Compared to the other Gardens, it was lagging behind a lot in terms of technology, manpower and capabilities. The SeeDs it trained were of a lower calibre than the other two Gardens. Squall knew that Krall had been doing everything in his power to heighten the status of Trabia Garden and has always been demanding for funds and staff. They had given in to his demands the first few times, but apparently Krall never got satisfied. Quistis had constantly reminded Squall that although they were called Gardens, they functioned individually as a unit, where each Garden managed their own finances and students. In her opinion, Krall was going overboard.

'I understand your concerns Headmaster Krall, but the other Gardens also have pressing issues to attend to. This meeting is to consolidate the problems faced by Garden and come up with an effective strategy to deal with them all. If that's all of your concerns, I suggest we move on to Headmaster Vinche.' Squall spoke for the first time in the meeting. Headmaster Krall lay back into his seat, indicating that he had nothing more to say, but it was evident that he wasn't happy.

'Don't worry about Galbadia, Commander Squall. Things have been pretty quiet over in the Western Continent. Ever since the major crackdown ordered by President Caraway, the Galbadian Government is as clean as it gets. Working with them has made security easy to maintain. Caraway's a great man.' At the mention of her father, Rinoa giggled but quickly covered her mouth when Vinche eyed at her surprisingly as though he said something wrong. 'Well, if there really is something worth mentioning, I guess it would be the report I got in the morning. Heard some rich merchant in Galbadia City got murdered. Whole family and 8 guards killed brutally. House was ransacked and stuff. Whole of Galbadia is pretty shocked and worried as the criminals haven't been caught yet. No info on them yet, but we are working on it. Soon they will all be in prison.'

'It doesn't sound like a normal robbery case. Who ever did this must be a professional, 8 guards killed is rather alarming.' Quistis sounded her suspicions.

'It's nothing of Gardens concern anyway. So Cid, do u have anything to add?'

'Nothing about Balamb, but I have new reports on the Sorceress Extremists. Their recent acts have been rather disturbing.' Cid's expression was serious, and everyone else at the table suddenly switched to a grave expression.

The Sorceress Extremists or SE was a group of radicals who started to become rather active after the Sorceress War. They were a group who were anti-magic and anti-sorceress. They were people who had suffered greatly during the Adel Regime and during the period where Edea ruled over Galbadia. Scientists, soldiers, workers, civilians who had suffered due to the evil sorceress in their times. At first they sought to convert people into their ranks, brewing rage and anger against the Sorceress whom they labelled as evil. However as fewer people joined them due to the end of the Sorceress era, they have lashed out against the few parties, mainly Garden, who protects the current sorceress, Rinoa. Garden has defended Rinoa with Squall stating that Rinoa was part of their team that defeated the Sorceress Ultimecia, hence is rightfully a member of Garden. They have even taken action against President Caraway of Galbadia, stating that as the father of the sorceress, he should not be in charge of Galbadia. However Governments of various nations have backed Rinoa, stating that she is not a power-hungry sorceress, with Laguna and Caraway being the main backers. The Extremists have not been successful in their political campaign, and have thus reverted to acts of terror and guerrilla warfare. Over the past year, they have carried out hit and run campaigns on major Esthar military bases, they have also stole Estharian weapons as well as staged mini assaults on Balamb Garden. Their attacks they carried out would be considered to be a mere nuisance, but Squall was more worried that they were planning something big, something that would endanger Rinoa's life.

'What do you mean by disturbing?' Squall immediately sounded his concern, which was due to his worry over Rinoa's safety.

'During their last raid two days ago on Esthar's Eastern Naval Base, they managed to steal a Class-3 Underwater Transport.'

'How about weapons? Did they steal anything else?' Already in Squall's mind, he was already formulating a list of things that the SE might try and pull off with the ship they stole. Esthar's Class-3 Underwater Transport could house 100 soldiers, and was capable of moving massive objects in water. It was built solely for the purpose of placing the Lunatic Pandora deep within the ocean so it will never be found again. However Squall was certain it wasn't for this purpose as the Lunatic Pandora was currently guarded at a secret location in Esthar, and it was not underwater. Could the SE be establishing an underwater base since their bases on land were difficult to conceal from Garden and Government authorities? Or could they have found something underwater?

'Nothing else. The Estharian Navy has already released search probes to scour the ocean bed. But without an exact location, we might never be able to find them quick enough.'

Headmaster Vinche shifted in his seat 'The SE's last few moves have been highly confusing. First they fire a few cluster missiles at Balamb Garden that were easily intercepted and destroyed. Kidnap a few old scientists whom they return unharmed a few days later. Then they steal a huge underwater transport that is practically useless. Wads next, take control of Galbadia Garden?' Vinche started laughing but shut himself when nobody did.

'Headmaster Vinche, is there any possibility that SE is involved with that murder you mentioned earlier? If they are, that means they were looking for something and we need to know what they took.' Quistis suddenly broke out from her deep thought. What she just said had caught the interest of everyone in the room.

'Uh, I'm not sure. There wasn't much info about the case when I left my office. I'll go back and check on it.'

'That concludes our meeting for the day. I will see you gentleman soon.' Squall stood up signalling the end of the meeting.

The Headmasters started to take their leave when Headmaster Krall spoke out. 'So have you come up with an effective strategy to deal with the problem faced by Trabia Garden, Commander?' There was great sarcasm in Krall's tone, for he was clearly unhappy against Squall rejecting his proposal flat.

'Of course I have, and I assure you that the best Balamb Garden has to offer will assist your Garden. I will go to Trabia Garden today and solve your threat personally.' Squall replied Krall in a simple manner.

Krall was stunned for he never expected such an answer. In fact, he had no reply to Squall for the Commander had answered his request of providing personnel assistance, in fact the best. He muttered something below his breath and left the room.

When all three Headmasters left the room, Quistis closed the door and with her hands across her hips, turned around and faced Squall, 'I suppose you think you just made a smart move, Commander. But how are you going to rush back in time for the Esthar-Garden summit tomorrow? '

'Shit! I forgot about it.' He smacked his hand on his forehead. 'I guess I have to take the Ragnarok to make up for the lost time.'

'That's if you solve the "threat" in a day. You obviously sound like you have more than twenty-four hours a day. Laguna's going to miss you.'

'I'll make it in time.' It had been a long time since Squall last saw Laguna. Upon knowing that Laguna was his father, Squall had hated the man for leaving him and his mother behind. His mother had died without him beside her. Laguna never asked for his forgiveness. He knew he didn't deserve it, he was just happy now that he had a son and seeing his son was more than enough to make him stay happy. It had taken Squall a long time to accept Laguna, the dreams that Ellone had brought him through had shown him what kind of man Laguna was. He was proud of his father, the extent he went to save a little girl showed him that he was a man with a big heart. He also learned that Laguna had never once forgot about Raine. After the War, Laguna, Ellone and Squall finally managed to come together and patch up the family that they once had. Father, sister and brother were all brought together again.

'Are you sure you're going alone? You could bring along someone else to help you?' Rinoa spoke for the first time. Her voice was soft and sweet, but her eyes carried great concern.

'Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll come back as soon as I settle things, ok?' He placed his hand on hers and gently gave them a squeeze. The two locked gazes as they were in their own world.

'Ahem,' Quistis cleared her throat to get the attention of the two lovers. She adjusted her glasses, clearly uncomfortable for being the odd one out in the room. 'You better make a move Squall if u intend to make it on time.'

'Sorry Quistis,' Squall got up and hurried himself lest he makes Quistis more annoyed. 'I'll get ready my equipment; Help me get the Ragnarok up and running. And yes, I need a good pilot.'

Squall made his way back to his room. A familiar figure walked towards him. He had blonde hair and was well built. But what was striking about him was the scar that ran between his eyes across his face, exactly identical to the one Squall had. 'Hey Squall, heard your leaving on a mission?'

'My… Word sure does travel fast.'

The two of them had gone through a lot. Seifer and Squall, both had travelled such a different path, yet in terms of calibre, they were almost equal. After the War, Seifer was trialled for all kinds of war crimes, for Garden, Galbadia and even Esthar. The amount of blood shed on his account was uncountable. Yet he was shown the greatest mercy by one man, Squall. Squall had argued and defended Seifer from the various nations hunting for his head, even within Garden itself, many could not accept Seifer's re-acceptance into Garden, some treated him with great disrespect and hatred for the things that he had done. Squall argued that Seifer was never in control of his life, it was Ultimecia whom had sadistically tortured and twisted his mind and soul, and what that was left of Seifer was just an empty shell to do Ultimecia's bidding. He issued an ultimatum, demanding Seifer be given a chance. No one understood why Squall did all this to help Seifer, but the one person who could ever understand why was Seifer himself. When he first heard that Squall was fighting for him, he thought Squall was out to humiliate him; his fiercest rival saving him from impending doom was a bitter pill to swallow. But when he finally got face to face with Squall, he knew he was wrong. The look in Squall's eyes told Seifer everything. For all these years, Squall's eyes had always sparkled with a desire to win and compete with Seifer, something that Seifer took up gladly, hence their bitter rivalry. Even during his mad days, Seifer could remember the burning fire in Squall's eyes, the will to bring him down and defeat him. Yet when he finally met Squall, it was a desire to help Seifer, a genuine acceptance of Seifer as a friend that filled those eyes, a sight no one has ever given him. In the end, all the insults and anger that he was ready to throw at Squall disappeared, and all he had was one question. 'Why did you help me?'

'Because I've been there.' Seifer would never forget what he said that day. From that moment, the proud and arrogant knight that once resided in Seifer was no longer present. He was re-accepted into Garden, the crimes that he was trialled for lifted, but punishment was still issued. He was to work in the Garden Cafeteria, not come into contact with any form of weapons are magic for 10 years and not get involved in any kind of trouble. Seifer accepted it willingly, for he knew he deserved worse.

'Hehe, you hear all kinds of rumours in the cafeteria.'

'Well it's kind of a wild goose chase. Anyway why are you here?'

'Oh, was doing delivery service.'

'But that's not your job.' Squall knew that Seifer was being pushed around doing all kinds of odd jobs. The other cafeteria workers often sent Seifer to run errands they were lazy to do. Knowing that he couldn't get into trouble, they forced him to do everything.

'Nah, its ok Squall, I'm used to it.'

'I'm sorry Seifer, I wish I could do something…'

'Squall, you have done more than I could ever have wished for. Ever since u guys accepted me into the gang, I have become a changed man. Gone was the Seifer of the old. It's all because of the chance you gave me and I will treasure it always.'

Squall could see the determination in Seifer's eyes. It had taken time for the rest of the gang to accept him, but they could all see that Seifer was different and eventually became friends with him willingly, even Zell had stood up for Seifer once or twice when he was being bullied.

'I'll see what I can do about it when I get back. Need to rush for time now. Take care Seifer.'

Squall went straight to his room. He intended to go light, and the Lion Heart was all he needed for the mission. Taking the weapon out of the case where he usually kept it, he made a few swings with it. The beautifully crafted weapon flowed smoothly in his grip with deft precision and accuracy. The blue crystalline blade hummed softly, its energies resonating deep within the blade. Only a gunblade master like Squall could expertly channel the energies and strike it with power, giving the Lion Heart an extra cutting edge and power that a normal gunblade could never achieve. Squall attached the Lion Heart to his side; he always felt a sense of serenity when he was one with his blade. Just as he was about to leave his room, a voice spoke out.

'You are the one that I have been looking for.'

The voice caught Squall off guard, it was impossible that an intruder could make it into his room undetected, let alone with him in the room. Lion Heart was drawn quickly and Squall positioned himself in a combat stance while facing the intruder. But to his surprise, there was no one to be seen.

'Show yourself!' Squall was certain the man was using a very powerful cloaking device for Squall could detect no trace of the intruder.

'Your heart is disturbed. Calm down and you shall see me.' Squall closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. He felt a cooling sensation wash over him. He opened his eyes.

A young teenage boy faced him. The boy could not have been older than 15. He wore very plain clothes, and smiled calmly at him.

'Squall Leonhart, the Seal of the Magi has been broken. The Triumvirate has returned and I need your help to stop them. U must come to…'

'Wait, I don't understand a word your saying. Who are you?'

'Be patient my child. I will answer your queries when the time comes.'

Who the hell is he calling a child? It was evident Squall was the older one. 'I have no time for your childish games. I have to rush back after dealing with a dragon to attend a summit tomorrow.'

'There won't be a summit.' The boy suddenly looked saddened as he said his final words before fading into existence.

'Wait! What do u mean there won't be a summit?' The mysterious boy's last words triggered Squall's interests, but he was alone in the room again.

'Stupid boy… Fading in and out of my room like nobody's business. Who the hell does he think he is?' Squall was clearly pissed at what just happened. He didn't like being in the dark and under the control of higher beings. But he was determined to get to the bottom of things. The summit will go on according to plan and he will personally see to it.

'What's the status?'

'Motion sensors read that the "package" is finally stable. We are ready to proceed to the next level, Extraction.' The operator tapped a few more keys and brought up more display windows. 'Extraction vessel in place, we are good to go.'

'I want 100 percent confirmation that the "package" is stable enough for extraction. There is no room for failure. Run the tests again.'

The operator hesitated for a moment. This was the second time he was running the tests, and it looks like he was going to have to do it again. He hoped it was the last time for he didn't like it down in the ocean one bit.

Hojo moved from his commanding post to the front portion of the ship. Estharian technology was required for this operation. Looking out of the ship, he saw the "package". It seemed to pulsate with life, emitting a soft green glow. Hojo smiled to himself, the sacrifices and the waiting was all worth it. All the pieces have been set in place and Garden was too stupid to realize the trap he had set. Soon full-scale war shall begin and the SE will crush garden like a fly with this weapon they possess. The thought only made him happier and Hojo started to laugh maniacally. The crew members all spun around in surprise, but continued their work silently, ignoring their leader's sudden outburst that happened more often for the past few days.