"Timber"
An announcement came over the intercom of the train.
"We will be arriving in Timber shortly."
Squall looked up at it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the bed in the cabin.
"So we were all asleep?" Zell asked.
Squall nodded. "Maybe it was knockout gas. SeeD has many enemies."
They all sat in silence for a while. Selfie looked at them.
"Hee," she said, "I had such a wonderful dream."
I dreamt too, Squall thought, but it wasn't wonderful. I dreamt I was a moron.
"But seriously," Selfie said, "That Sir Laguna guy was so cool,"
Huh!? Squall thought.
"Wait a minute," Zell said, "There was a Laguna in my dream too. He's a Galbadian Soldier right?"
Squall looked around and then stared at the floor. Was it possible? "Laguna, Kiros, and Ward," he said.
"That's it!" Zell said.
"That's what?" Squall asked.
"Look," Selfie said, "There's no way we can figure this out. Let's just concentrate on our mission."
"Right," Squall said, "Let's put this incident on hold. I'll report it to the Headmaster when we get back."
The all nodded. Then, as if planned on time, the train eased to a stop. They had arrived in Timber. Squall got off the train and the others followed. He looked around. The color blue stood out to him. He proceeded down the steps. Suddenly, a man in an orange jacket came up.
"Oh," the man said, "The Forests of Timber sure have changed."
What was the answer? Squall thought. He looked at them and then back to the guy.
"But the owls are still around," he answered.
The guy nodded. "Welcome to Timber sir. Please, this way."
The guy ran across the train tracks, followed by Squall and the others. The came upon a platform and waited. Soon, a weird looking train came along. It was definitely not one of the usual trains that made their way through Timber.
They boarded the train. Immediately, a guy with black hair wearing a Blue jacket greeted them. "Thank you for accepting this mission," he said, "I'm Zone."
Zone looked over to the guy in the orange jacket and said, "You've already met Watts. I guess that only leaves our Princess."
Princess? Squall thought, Are these guys on something?
"It's the Princess' naptime sir," Watts said.
"Oh geeze," Zone said slumping, "Look I'm sorry about this, but could you go get her?"
Squall looked at the man as if he were an idiot. "Excuse me?"
Zone jumped back. Squall had raised his voice and had an annoyed look on his face. "Are you mad?" he asked.
"We're SeeD's," he said, "Not gophers. Were we hired just to run errands?"
Zone backed up. Watts looked over at him and sighed heavily.
Squall shook his head. "This is the last time for this kinda thing," Squall said.
He walked past Zell and Selfie. "You tell 'em," Selfie said, "They can't treat us like that."
"The Princess is in the last room down that hallway," Watts said, "If you need help, our guys in the back should be able to help you."
Squall walked off without saying anything. He looked around the small train. These guys just don't have it together, he thought.
He passed by what he thought to be the control room for the train. A few guys were crowded around in there. Deciding he didn't need their assistance, he walked on past .He came to the end of the corridor where an exit sign stood. He turned to the right and came into view of a large room. It was so pink it sickened him.
He walked into the room, looking around. His attention was drawn over to the bed where a figure slept soundly. She was dressed in a light blue outfit and hard dark black hair. Suddenly the train came to a screeching halt. Squall tried as best he could to steady himself, but resulted in crashing to the floor.
The girl turned over and sat up sleepily. Squall crawled to his feet dusting himself off. He stood and turned to look at the girl.
No way! He thought. There in front of him was the girl from the dance.
"Hey," she said, "You're, you know, from the party."
She smiled warmly. A vision of his clumsy dancing filled her head. "So does that mean you're a SeeD?"
He nodded. "So that's why you were at the party. To speak to Headmaster Cid."
She shook her head, biting her lip a bit. "You know Seifer?"
Yeah, I know him Squall thought bitterly. He nodded in silence.
"He introduced me to Cid," she said happily, "Cid is such a nice man."
Squall nodded. The girl looked around thoughtfully. She looked behind Squall with an anxious look.
"Is he here?" she asked.
Squall looked at her. How was he supposed to know who "he" was?
"Seifer," the girl said, as if reading his mind.
"No," Squall said, "He's not a SeeD."
"Oh," the girl said. She looked as if that upset her some. She walked over to a vanity near a wall. She started looking through her perfumes and makeup. Squall wondered if she was close to Seifer somehow. What else would explain the way she was acting?
He walked over to her. "I'm going back to the others now," he said.
"Okay," the girl said, "Let's go."
She walked out of the room. Suddenly she came running back in, "Oh yeah, my name's Rinoa."
"I'm Squall," he said. She smiled that same smile of hers. She turned around to see a collie dog walking into the room. Squall looked down at it and shook his head.
"Oh," Rinoa said, "This is my partner, Angelo. He's really smart. Here, let me show you,"
She fell down and acted injured. Suddenly the dog ran and the came back in and threw a potion to her. She got back to her feet.
"See," she said, "I told you."
He nodded. They walked out of the room and headed down the hall. Then a thought struck Squall.
"Hey Rinoa," he said.
She turned around to look at him. "Yes?"
"I thought you might like to have this," he said, pulling out a magazine. It was the Pet Pals that Zell had given him.
"Oh cool!" Rinoa said, "Thanks."
She took the magazine and started flipping though it. Happy, she put it in her room and they continued down the hall. They reached the front end of the train where the group was waiting patiently. Squall led Rinoa into the room.
"This is Selfie," Squall said pointing to her, "and this is Zell."
"Hi guys," Rinoa said, "Well, shall we get started? The Conference room is just through here. Talk to Watts when you're ready."
She walked through a door beside the stairs. Squall and the group looked at each other. Selfie shrugged and Zell looked down at the floor. This was truly an unprofessional group they were working with.
The talked to Watts and then entered the conference room. Inside, Rinoa was looking over a table. A model train set was set atop it. Zone was standing near a bulletin board posting up clippings of some man.
"Okay," Rinoa said. "Here's our problem. President Dieling is oppressing Timber and keeping it occupied with soldiers. Our plan is to kidnap the President and..err...talk him in to relinquishing his rule."
"The president is planning to come to Timber to make a live T.V. announcement," Watts said, "but we believe there is more to it than that."
The group nodded. "Do how do you plan on going about this?" Squall asked.
"Come over here," Rinoa said,
Squall walked over to the table. He was now looking closer at the train model.
"This," Rinoa said, pointing to a yellow train car at the top, "Is our base. And this is the dummy car designed to looked like the President's car."
She pointed to a train car attached to the yellow Base. The she moved over to a much longer train at the bottom.
"This is the train the president will be on. It consists of the locomotive, 2 guard cars, and the president's car." She pointed out each as she said them.
"The guard cars are connected to the rest of the train by coupling. We have codes located on an access panel at the bottom of each. By uncoupling each car, we can separate the train and move in."
The group nodded, absorbing the information she had just given them. She looked at each, and after confirming their understanding, she continued.
"First we uncouple the second guard car. Squall, you and me will do this."
On the model, she unhooked the second guard car from the train.
"After the first uncoupling, our base and the dummy car will move in at the first junction point."
She moved in the base and the dummy car and connected it to the rest of the train.
"Our base has a special arm that will grab the second guard car and keep it moving with the rest of the train."
She pushed the second guard car up to the base.
"Then we will move across the president's car to the first guard car. We will uncouple that one as well."
She took apart the first guard car.
"The locomotive will move that car and our base will be powering the rest of the train. Now comes the tricky part. At the second junction, Selfie and Zell will need to be ready to flip the switch for the tracks. The locomotive and the first guard car will pass straight through. Then they should flip the switch. Our base will detach it self from the second guard car which is then attached to the dummy car. It will turn right at the junction escaping with the president's car. Then the second guard car's momentum will connect it with the rest of the train."
"It's very complicated," Squall said.
"And we have a limited time allotment too," Watts said.
"Wait," Zell said, "What about the guards? Won't they know the dummy car's a fake? And shouldn't security be high?"
"That's where I come in," Rinoa said, "While Squall uncouples each guard car, I'll be keeping a lookout for him and warn him when a guard is approaching. Also, for the dummy car, we had a mechanic design a dummy president. It even talks when someone nears it."
Zell nodded. These guys had really thought this out. Maybe they weren't as disorganized of a team as they seemed.
The brakes on the Base initiated suddenly. "We're stopping," Rinoa said, "I'll go check it out."
She ran out of the room. Zone and Watts stood by the door patiently awaiting her return. Selfie and Zell looked at Squall and he walked over to join them.
"Isn't this kinda risky?" Selfie asked.
Squall shrugged. "We are SeeDs. Many of our missions will be risky. We have to always be prepared for the worst."
They both nodded. They all turned as Rinoa came in.
"We're going to be coming up on the President's car soon. Talk to Watts when you're ready. Please hurry."
The group looked at each other and nodded. They went over to Watts.
"Good luck sir," Watts said.
Squall and the others followed Rinoa back to the end of the hallway, next to her bedroom. Angelo came running out.
"No," Rinoa said, "You stay here."
The dog whimpered a bit and walked off. Rinoa nodded to the rest of the group and opened the door that said exit. They went out onto the deck of the base and turned. A ladder was beside the door. Rinoa climbed up and the others followed.
The walked across the roof of the train.
"Okay," Rinoa said, watching as the other train traveled beside theirs, "We're gonna jump across. Time your jumps well."
She readied herself and leaped across as the other train neared. Squall and Zell jumped as well. Zell's foot hit the edge a little and he gasped, but made it safely to the other train. Selfie backed up a bit. She ran and leapt.
Suddenly, the train pulled ahead. Selfie shrieked as she vanished from the others' sights.
"No!" Squall said.
Suddenly, he saw fingertips clinging to the edge. Selfie was holding on. Zell and Squall ran over and helped her up. She gasped and was visibly shaken.
"I'm alright," she said as Zell stooped over her, "Let's continue the mission."
The ran up the guard car.
"Zell, Selfie," Rinoa said, "Watch for guards as I relay the codes to Squall."
The nodded. They ran over to the windows. A guard dressed in blue and a larger guard dressed in red stood in the cabin. They each watched one.
Squall pulled out the cable Rinoa had given him and climbed down the side of the car. He held on to the cable with one hand and opened a panel just below the door with the other. The panel had shapes instead of numbers, but Rinoa had already explained:
Circle1
Crisscross2
Square3
Triangle4
Squall waited patiently as Rinoa looked at her paper.
"The code is 2234," Rinoa said. Squall punched it in. A beep insued and the screen read:
Two Codes Remaining
"4213," Rinoa said.
Squall entered in the number.
Two Codes Remaining
Suddenly, Selfie shouted, "Hey, the red!!!"
Squall pulled on the cable and was hoisted back to the roof of the car. He and Rinoa watched as the guard came to the window of the door. He held a gun in his hand. He looked out the window and looked around. Then he returned to his post.
Squall was just about to go back down when Zell said, "The blue!"
Squall waited as the guard came and repeated the other's actions. After the guard left, Squall went back down to put in the last code.
"3421," Rinoa said. He punched it in. The screen read Confirmed. Squall hoisted himself back up onto the roof. He and the others watched as the mechanism between the cars released the locks and the train began to leave the guard car behind. The Base flew by beside them. The tracks were already switched ahead and the Based sped onto the track in front of them. It braked a little to let the guard car connect and then sped up to attach to the rest of the train.
"Let's move," Rinoa said. They crawled across the front of the car.
"Okay," Rinoa said, "Selfie, Zell, I want you to reenter the base. Watts has a cable car ready for you. Get on it and drive ahead to the next junction."
They both nodded. They climbed back down the ladder on the base. Rinoa nodded to Squall and they crossed the President's car. The went across the other Guard Car.
"Okay," Rinoa said, "This one takes 5 codes to uncouple. I'll try to look out for you as best as I can."
Squall nodded. He threw the cable down and slid down.
"2222," Rinoa said. Squall entered it as fast as possible. He looked up to the windows. He didn't see any guards.
"1342," Rinoa called down. He punched it in quickly.
Rinoa looked over. "Squall, the guards are coming."
He pulled the cable and then went up to the roof. Rinoa looked at him and nodded. He watched as both guards came to the window, looked around, and then disappared again. He went back down the cable.
"4321," Rinoa said. He entered the code and waited for another.
"1234," she said. He punched the number in. He heard footsteps, but Rinoa wasn't paying attention. He pulled the cable and shot past the window just as the guard got there. Luckily though, the guard didn't see him. The guard took a moment to light a cigarette.
"We don't have much time left," Rinoa said.
The guard looked out the window and then walked away.
"Go," Rinoa said.
Squall flew down the cable.
"3321," she said. He punched it in. The screen blinked and there was a small click. Squall climbed back up the cable. The mechanism once again unlocked. The locomotive plowed ahead with the guard car and Rinoa and Squall leapt from it to the President's car.
The tracks moved into place as Zell hit the switch. The Base and The President's car moved over to the other track. The base released its mechanical arm and the other guard car, now attached to the dummy car flew past. The tracks had been switched back over just in time by Selfie.
The other train sped down the tracks and the base braked to allow Zell and Selfie to get back on. Rinoa and Squall climbed off of the roof and entered the base.
"Now," Rinoa said, "After all these years. It's time to start negotiations with the President."
Squall nodded. He checked to make sure his GF's were equipped and followed Rinoa through the door. She walked down the hallway with ease.
This girl's very headstrong Squall thought.
She opened the door and burst into the room. The president sat at a table drinking a coffee.
"Who are you?" he asked turning around.
Immediately Squall knew something was wrong. The "president" was acting way too comfortable for a group of strangers to have just busted into his private train.
"President Vinzer Dieling," Rinoa said, "We have something to talk about. Don't make any sudden moves and you wont be hurt."
The president sighed and set his coffee cup down. "And what would you do," he said, standing to his feet, "if I did, young lady?"
Rinoa caught sight of his face then. It was marred on one side by a sickening scar.
"Who are you?" Rinoa said backing away. Squall and the others moved to stand between her and the false president.
"Ah," the man said, "my butt hurts after all this sitting."
"Where is the president?" Rinoa asked from behind the SeeDs.
"It's amazing what people will listen to," the man said, "especially after rumors of resistance groups spreading all over Timber. You pass a little false information along and they are bound to reveal themselves."
Rinoa looked at the group before her. They now had there weapons drawn.
"I've had enough of this," the man said, "How dare you insult the president!?"
He launched forward and latched onto Selfie. She shrieked as he tried to bite her. She shoved him off and a bolt of lightning struck the train's floor near his feet.
She turned to Zell who had just cast the magic. Squall ran up and swung his gunblade at the man. He hit his arm and the limb fell off. Suddenly, it smoked up and dissipated into goo. Rinoa looked up in horror as the man's skin started melting off.
It smoked as it hit the floor and soon the whole car was filled with the sickening stench. Rinoa coughed and tried to see through the smoke. Suddenly, it cleared and before them was a horrible sight. A zombie looking creature stood before them. It had a deformed hand and foot, both like clubs. It roared and acid dripped from its mouth.
Rinoa gasped and backed into a wall.
"What...is...it?" Selfie asked. The thing lurched forward and they all took a battle stance.