25. Where Loyalties Lie
Squall felt rotten when he woke up. This was the first time he'd ever gotten really drunk and it had certainly left its scars on him now. Hangovers were a new experience for him and he certainly didn't think he'd missed out on anything. Fortunately, due to his intense training, he always made sure he had some painkillers around. He dissolved a couple of them in water and knocked them back. He looked at his clock. 8 in the morning. That was his normal getting up time, but today he just didn't feel he could do anything, so he went back to sleep.
He needn't have bothered. An hour later the machinery all kicked into action outside. After a further half an hour, he decided he wasn't going to get anymore sleep, so he may as well try getting up. The painkillers were starting to have an effect now and a shower certainly helped things.
He'd heard greasy food was good for hangovers, so he went to the cafeteria and ordered a full fry-up. By now, the hangover was starting to disappear, but he still felt rotten. It was because of Rinoa, he decided. OK, so he didn't want to get too close to her, for fear of losing her. But that was ok, because he preferred being alone, he reminded himself. All the same, he got the feeling she wouldn't be too impressed with him. And he didn't want that he realised. He shook his head. Maybe he'd allowed himself to get too close to her already? Trying to take his mind off things, he looked down and continued with his breakfast.
Rinoa also wasn't feeling very well either. It was because of Squall, she thought. She'd been a bit drunk the night before and it had probably been a mistake inviting him back in. She quite liked him, she realised. When you could get through to him, he could be a really nice guy, and good to talk to. But the problem was getting him to open up. He always seemed scared of going too far or showing himself too much, and she'd probably scared him off, she thought miserably. She decided to get up and get some breakfast anyway. Maybe she'd feel better after having something to eat.
"Oh, hey Rinoa!" Zell saw her coming out of the dorms.
"Hi Zell!" she greeted him.
"So… what happened with you and Squall last night?" He was itching to know.
"Nothing. He walked me back and then went home himself." She shrugged, almost embarrassed to tell the truth.
"Oh, I see…"
"Sorry, Zell, no juicy gossip!" she grinned at him.
"You like him though, don't you?" Zell had worked that one out for himself.
"Yeah, he's…" she sort of blushed now. Well, there was no harm in saying anything. Everyone knew already anyway. "He's really cute!" she admitted. "And, well, there's just something about him. He just looks really cool, the way he dresses. And that ring he wears! I love that ring!"
"Huh? That one with some monster engraved on it?" Zell was puzzled.
"Yeah! It's really cool!" she enthused. "Do you know where he got it?"
Zell shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."
"Oh well…" she was a bit disappointed. "I'd really like one."
"Well… I could probably make you a copy of it." He offered. "If you can get hold of Squall's, I'll try and copy it for you."
"Really? Thanks!" She was pleased, but a little uncertain how she was going to be able to get hold of Squall's ring.
"Where were you off to anyway?"
"Just to the cafeteria for some breakfast" she told him.
"Same here. Let's go." He offered.
They walked into the cafeteria, just as Squall was leaving.
"Hey Squall!" Zell greeted him, then noticed there was definitely an air of awkwardness between Squall and Rinoa.
"Erm, morning Squall." Rinoa avoided his eyes.
"Hi." He looked away as well. "Listen, about last night. I'm sorry, I…"
"Oh, it's ok." She replied.
There was a moment of awkward silence, then Squall was saved by the intercom.
"Squall Leonheart! Please report to the bridge immediately!" Cid's voice rang out.
"Got to go. See you guys later." Squall ran off, grateful for the excuse to leave.
"Morning Commander!" Nida greeted him.
"Don't call me that!" Squall snapped at him.
This was met by a bout of laughter. Squall scanned the bridge and realised Quistis and Xu has also taken up position on the bridge, their stance ruined by them covering their mouths in mirth.
"Sorry, we know you don't like all this, but…" Xu apologised.
"Well, if it helps, sorry to carry things out on our own, but Xu and I assigned duties." Quistis informed him.
"I'll take care of all the supplies needed in the Garden." Xu offered.
"And I'll help take care of the students with Dr. Kadowaki." Quistis finished. "So you can just focus on our destination and battle plans. If that's ok with you."
"Fine." He agreed, glad to have some of the weight lifted from his shoulders
"Oh yes, and Selphie's requested to be able to take a breather. I think she's tired out from the Missile Base mission and organising the party. She could use some rest." Quistis remembered.
"OK, whatever." Squall didn't really care one way or the other here.
"Alright, I have some reports for you already!" Xu got down to business.
"The technicians have finished fixing the Garden, which means, we can leave anytime."
"Good." Squall nodded. "The sooner the better. I've a feeling we'll outstay our welcome if we stick around much longer."
Xu nodded in agreement.
"I'll be piloting the Garden." Nida informed him. "FH technicians taught me everything about piloting this thing. So just let me know when you want to go."
"Any suggestions on our destination?" Quistis asked him.
Squall dropped his head to think. This was where his job was beginning. He knew they should fight the Sorceress as soon as they could, but he didn't know where to find her. He sighed. Why couldn't he have more people who could perhaps… Then he had an idea. They needed more people, so…
"We'll go back to Balamb." He announced. "We'll pick up all the students and SeeDs who evacuated before Garden took off. We'll need as many people as we can get for this mission."
"Good plan!" Quistis nodded in agreement.
"We leave immediately! Announce the departure." Squall told Nida.
"Roger that!" Nida turned towards the intercom. "May I have your attention please? This is the bridge." He announced into the PA. "The Garden will be leaving FH shortly. Please prepare for the departure. I will now hand the mic over to our leader, Squall." He passed the mic over.
"A speech…? Forget it. Cut the mic!" he ordered.
Unseen to him, in the cafeteria, it was now the turn of his comrades, Zell, Rinoa, Selphie and Irvine to fall about with laughter.
The Garden rose up out of the water, pulling away from all the supports that had been put up against it. The boosters and propellers all kicked into life, slowly at first due to the centuries of neglect, but nonetheless bringing the enormous building airborne, and finally the Garden departed from FH
"I take it we're just heading north then?" Nida consulted the rest of them.
Xu studied the map that the technicians had given her. "Roughly, yes." She confirmed. "Well, the map's here if you want to look at it."
"I'd say we'd better head up on a bearing of about 003." He announced, then grinned at seeing their blank faces.
"Well, look who's showing off their new-found knowledge!" Quistis laughed.
"Hey, nothing wrong with it!" Nida went on the defensive.
"Just steer the Garden." Squall shook his head. "How long till we arrive?"
"I'd say about an hour or two." He gave a rough guess.
"So soon? It took us days to reach FH when we left Balamb." Xu was confused.
"That's because we were just drifting last time." Nida informed her. " This time, we'll be flying at full pelt. It can go quite quick, around 700 knots, which is over 150 knots faster than the fastest ship!"
"Please, no technical terms!" Quistis shook her head.
Squall gave up, and went back down to the main area.
After about an hour and a half, Nida summoned him back up to the bridge.
"Squall, we'll be reaching Balamb island in about half an hour, you can just see it on the horizon."
"Good." Squall nodded. "What's the problem?"
"There's something around the town, I can't tell what it is."
Squall squinted, but it was too far to see anything. "Call Quistis and Xu up to the bridge." He ordered.
Presently the elevator rose up, bringing with it Quistis and Xu.
"What's the problem?" Xu got straight down to business.
"There's something at the town." Squall gestured towards the skyline.
"It's the Galbadians!" Quistis recognised it immediately. "They've got their Garden mobile as well!"
"You sure?" Nida was hoping it wasn't the case.
"Positive." Xu agreed. "I've been there enough times to recognise it.
"Dammit! What are they doing there?" Squall cursed.
"Do you think they're waiting for us?" Nida asked. "Do you think it's a trap?"
"I don't know. Probably." Squall tried to think. "We can't risk fighting them there, not at the town."
"Shall we pull away then?" Nida asked him.
"No, we need our men back." Squall was adamant.
"Maybe they've captured them though." Xu had another thought.
"Baiting us." Squall said darkly.
"What's your plan Squall?" Nida inquired.
They were all interrupted by the sound of the elevator rising.
"What's going on?" Zell raced out of it. "That's Galbadia Garden at Balamb, isn't it?"
"Yes." Squall replied simply.
"Man, what are they doing there?" Zell panicked.
"We don't know." Squall confessed. "We think they're probably waiting for us."
"You're not thinking of fighting them at Balamb?" Zell was horrified. "There's people there. My mum lives there!"
"Zell, relax." Squall tried to calm him. "We're not fighting them, not here, don't worry."
"But what are they doing there?" Zell went back to his original point. "I need to know. I need to know if my family are safe."
"Zell's right. We should find out what they're up to." Xu agreed.
Squall nodded. "OK. Nida, is there any way we could get to the island un-noticed?"
Nida raised his eyebrow. "Are you serious? You've seen the size of this thing. We go any further, they'll see us for sure, if they haven't already."
"Arc around the island then." Squall reached a decision. "We'll land behind Fire Cavern. The mountains should shield us from their view. We'll take one of the cars and go in."
"Just one?" Xu inquired.
"Yes, we'll have a small party. A large one will arouse suspicion. Three will do. We'll call for backup if we need it."
"I'm coming!" Zell insisted. "I have to make sure my family's safe."
"Fine." Squall was ok with that. "So, it's me, Zell and…" he tried to think who was a suitable candidate.
"I don't mind going." Xu volunteered.
"No, they know you're Cid's number two." Squall shook his head. "If you're there, they'll know SeeD is here. Same for Quistis." His mind was racing. "Not Selphie because she's off today. Not Irvine because they'll recognise him as a former student…"
DAMN! That only left…
"It's Rinoa then is it?" Quistis spoke his thoughts.
"No. She's not a SeeD." Squall shook his head. It was awkward enough after last night as it was.
"Well then, she won't arouse suspicion." Xu pointed out.
It made sense, Squall realised. "I can't order her, because she's my client." He said. "But I can ask. Nida, summon her to the bridge." He turned to Zell. "Zell, make sure you're ready to go. DO NOT wear your uniform!"
"Right." Zell agreed and disappeared back down the lift to get changed.
Rinoa was enjoying acting as a SeeD by now, and instantly agreed to go to Balamb with them. Dressed in civvies, the three of them waited in the garage with a car, ready to drive out as soon as the Garden touched down.
"We'll leave our weapons in the car." Squall informed them. "They may suspect something otherwise."
The group were completely unprepared for the sight that greeted them as they arrived. Galbadian soldiers were perched on top of the town walls. There were military vehicles guarding all the entrances to the town. It was completely sealed off, they realised.
There were two people milling around outside. Zell recognised one of them as the hotel owner.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"The Galbadians have taken over Balamb!" the owner informed him. "They've sealed the whole area off. They're investigating something."
"Investigating what?" Zell was bewildered.
"I've no idea! Ask one of the guards if you want, but I doubt you'll get a better response."
Squall decided he'd better be the one to ask, in case Zell got too fired up.
"Excuse me, can I just come through?" he feigned complete lack of knowledge of the situation.
The guard shook his head. "This town is under the control of Sorceress Edea." He replied in a gruff voice. "The town is off-limits while we conduct our investigation. It will last for several days. Until then, no-one may enter or leave."
"Investigating what?" Squall took a bit of a meaner attitude now. "What are you doing here?"
"What's your problem?" the guard squared up to Squall. "Are you residents here or something?"
"YEAH, that's right!" Zell crashed the party. "At least residents should be allowed in!"
"It's OFF-LIMITS! You cannot enter or leave. Do you understand??" the guard was becoming increasingly angry at these youths.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Zell squared up as well.
"Look, the town's off-limits, right?" Rinoa decided to step in, before blood was spilt. "So does that mean we can't deliver a message, either?"
The guard went red "NO! NO-ONE can enter, or…"
"That's too bad." She interrupted him. "We have some info on Ellone. Oh well, never mind. Come on guys…" she winked at them and faked turning to leave.
But the reaction was just as she expected. The colour drained from the guard's face and he looked shell-shocked.
"W-What? Ellone? WAIT!" he rushed to stop them. "Tell me everything you know about her! Do you actually know who she is?"
"Well, kind of…" Zell picked up the game.
"But we need to get inside to confirm something." Squall finished it off.
They watched as the guard mentally ran through all the options in his head. He wasn't supposed to let anyone in, but they were here to try and gather info on Ellone. But what if they were lying? Still, how could they know what they were after… Finally he reached a decision.
"Go and give your information to the commander." He told them. "She's staying at the hotel. Oh, and…" he lowered his voice conspiratorially "… I DIDN'T let you in here!" he turned away from them and gazed solidly at the road out of Balamb.
"Genius!" Zell marvelled once they were safely out of earshot of the guards.
"Well, I didn't want any trouble. You said yourself we shouldn't arouse suspicion." She said, turning towards Squall.
"It was good thinking, yes." Squall agreed. "So now what?"
"Let's go to my house." Zell suggested. "Maybe my ma knows something."
Squall nodded in agreement and they headed for Zell's house.
They found Zell's mother in the backroom, looking after two children.
"Ma! You're safe!" Zell was relieved. His mother's jaw dropped.
"Zell! How on earth did you get into town!?"
Zell tapped the side of his head knowingly. "All in the brains, ma. We just said we had some info on Ellone. Piece o' cake!" he grinned, smugly. Relief flooded over his mother like a tidal wave.
"Thank god…" she breathed. "I was worried you might have beaten up one of the guards." She shook her head. "The soldiers have threatened that the Sorceress will burn the town to the ground, should there be any disturbance, and somehow I don't think they're bluffing."
"They're not!" Squall told her darkly, remembering the scene at FH when Mayor Dobe had tried to reason with them. The two children visibly squirmed in the background.
"Who are they?" Riona whispered to Squall
"I don't know." Squall was equally clueless.
"They live next door." Zell overheard them.
"Their parents were out of town, and now they can't get back in since Galbadia have taken over." Zell's mother offered the final piece.
Squall decided it was time to get down to business.
"What about Sorceress Edea? Is she here?" he was hoping to be able to end this nonsense here. Then he remembered he didn't have his gunblade with him.
Zell's mother paused for a brief moment. "There's a woman staying at the hotel… I don't know what she looks like though."
"What do you think Squall?" Rinoa turned to him.
"Let's find out." He decided.
"Be careful!" Zell's mother warned them.
The group headed straight for the hotel. They weren't surprised to see guards posted outside, but they were surprised to find out there were only two.
"We can take 'em!" Zell whispered to Squall.
"Try diplomatically first!" Squall shook his head.
The guards it seemed were on the ball, however.
"What do you want?" the guards readied their hands on their swords.
"We want to see…" Squall began.
"If you're after the commander, I have strict orders not to let anyone through." The guard shook his head.
"We have some information about Ellone." Squall decided to try the same trick. The guards looked taken aback, but they were a lot sharper than the one at the gate.
"…What? Information about Ellone?" the first guard sounded sceptical. He turned to his partner. "What do you reckon? More rumours?"
"I reckon we'll get a salary cut if we let 'em through without confirmation…" he considered.
Zell started to get impatient. "Yo listen! We have top secret info on Ellone! Bring the commander out here!" Squall nudged him to shut him up.
The two guards narrowed their eyes cynically. "These guys are kinda suspicious, huh?" the first one muttered.
"I agree." The two soldiers turned their backs so the group couldn't hear them talking. Finally, they turned back.
"Give your report to the captain!" they ordered. "The captain is on patrol!"
"Where?" Squall wanted to know.
"Somewhere around the town!" the guard told him, and refused to let anything else slip.
"What do you reckon?" Zell turned to Squall again.
"I think Edea's the commander, and… Seifer's the captain." Rinoa offered uncomfortably, not entirely happy about the prospect of another run-in with the latter.
"Makes sense." Zell agreed.
"I don't know…" Squall considered it. "I can't see the Sorceress staying in the hotel, but I can't think who else it could be. As for Seifer…"
It was more than likely Seifer was here, in which case, the fight would be inevitable. He cursed himself for not having his gunblade with him, but knew there was no way he could leave Balamb and be able to get back in.
"Let's take a look around." He decided. "There may also be some Garden students around to help us."
"Maybe some other soldiers know where Seifer is?" Rinoa offered.
"Let's try it. Just ask where the captain is, because we have info on Ellone!" Zell suggested.
"OK, but don't overdo it." Squall warned.
"There's three of them over there. Let's go ask." Zell head off.
"Zell, wait. Let us do the talking." Squall didn't want Zell to put his foot in it.
Zell briefly looked offended, but then agreed.
"S'cuse me. Do you know where I can find the captain?" Rinoa approached the nearest one.
"The captain? It's the captain's nap time right now." The soldier answered without thinking. Panicking, he picked himself up, "I mean, uh, the captain's out on patrol. Why, what business do you have with the captain?"
"We have some info on Ellone for him." Rinoa smiled innocently. The effect was instantaneous.
"What? Ellone? What is it?" the guards were eager.
"We were told we had to report to the captain only." Squall smiled, giving nothing away. "So, where does the captain take his nap?" he knew he had them where he wanted them now. But now the guards seemed to be confused.
"You know, I've been wondering that myself…" the first guard scratched his head.
"Well, with his bulky build, you won't find him on top of a building, or in the street…" the second one considered.
"Just look around, maybe someone else knows." The third offered, as they head back out on their patrol.
Zell raised his eyebrow. "Nap time?"
Squall shook his head. "Bulky build? Laziness? It isn't Seifer whoever it is."
"Who then?" Zell was curious.
Squall shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I know every high up person in the Galbadian military."
For a while, they just drifted round Balamb looking for some clues, until they came to the harbour. But it seemed the Captain, whoever he was, concealed his absence of duty well as all the soldiers were equally clueless as to his whereabouts, until by chance, the group stumbled across one who held some useful information
"Oh, the captain? Yeah, he was just fishing here." The guard replied. "He caught a few and got really excited. Said he was gonna eat 'em right away and went up to one of the houses to borrow an oven or something."
"Dammit! Does that mean we have to search every house?" Zell was frustrated.
"Looks like it. Come on." Squall sighed.
However, as they got back up towards the houses, Zell noticed smoke coming out of his house.
"Oh shit! Ma!" he cried and raced up towards it.
He was relieved to find everyone in the house was safe. But the kitchen was filled with a sickly-smelling smoke.
"Ma? What's gone on in here?" he asked her.
She seemed just as baffled as him though. "I don't know. Some man just came in and asked if he could use the kitchen. I think he cooked fish, but they must have been bad or something, because it smells terrible!"
"Where did he go afterwards?" Squall pressed.
"He headed up that way." She pointed up the road towards the train station. The group sighed and head out once more.
"This is just getting ridiculous! Zell grumbled. "We're just running around all over the place!"
All the same, they went inside the train station and stopped at what they saw. There were three soldiers all lying down on the ground, clutching their stomachs in agony, to the equal bewilderment of the train guard.
"Don't look at me!" he told the group, seeing their faces. "An important looking Galbadian man came and offered the soldiers some fish."
"Where is he now?" Zell was hoping this would be the last of it.
"He just went inside the train carriage there." The guard pointed.
"Got 'im!" Zell jumped up with delight as he kicked down the door.
"Zell! Calm down!" Squall shouted, but the racket had been enough.
"Shit, what's going on?" a voice came from the other end of the carriage as a large, dark-skinned man leapt out the train and ran out of the station.
"It's Raijin! Come on!" Squall recognised him instantly and the group ran after him until he got to the hotel. Raijin ran inside, and then came flying out again to the astonishment of the others.
"F-Fujin… Control your temper, ya know?" he was pleading. "I was patrolling, just like ya told me!"
Zell had finally had enough. "RAIJIN!" he yelled.
Raijin turned round and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw them.
"YEOW! W-What are you guys doing here."
"We're here to liberate Balamb! Ya know?" he added sarcastically.
Raijin looked uneasy. "Seifer told us to give you a whopping if we saw you, ya know?"
"Then bring it on!" Zell leapt into stance. "You'll pay for this Raijin!"
The two guards rushed out to attack the group, but Zell was too quick for them. Grabbing the first guard by the wrist, he lashed his body through and broke the man's arm at the elbow. He took the sword from the man's now limp grip and tossed it to Squall.
"Here, Squall. Use this."
Squall smiled, he was on familiar terms now. It wasn't his own gunblade, but it would do. He rammed the point home by ramming the blade into the stomach of the other guard who instantly dropped down.
Meanwhile, Raijin had drawn his own weapon, a huge metallic cudgel, with thick ends.
"Raijin, we don't want to have to hurt you, but if this is how you want it…" Squall tried to get him to see sense.
Raijin however, wasn't hearing any of it and took a massive swing at Squall, who managed to dive out of the way in time.
He raised his sword to counter, but it was knocked out of his hand by a flying pinwheel. He looked round. Fujin had joined in the fight.
"RAGE!" she snarled.
"So YOU'RE the commander huh?" Zell snarled back. "Pack your bags and get the hell outta Balamb!"
"No chance!" Raijin felt like he was getting warmed up. "We got work to do, ya know?"
"ELLONE, WHERE?" Fujin demanded.
"NOT TELLING!" Zell barked back, Fujin-style, to her obvious annoyance.
"MOCKING?" she yelled.
"Mock this!" Raijin swung at Zell this time, obviously forgetting his martial arts skills. Zell swung round the side, grabbed the cudgel at both ends and flipped it round with both hands, forcing Raijin to let go with one hand. Also it left him, very unbalanced and bent over. Zell kicked up and brought his foot directly into Raijin's nose. He finished him off by grabbing his hair and pulling him backwards down onto the floor and punched him hard in the kidneys, causing him to curl up in agony.
Meanwhile, Fujin had drawn another pinwheel to throw at Squall, who ducked this time, and retrieved his blade. He knew the closer he got to her, the more accurate her shot would be, and the harder it would be for him to dodge. Fujin knew this as well; she was a lot smarter than Raijin, and she held up another pinwheel to throw at him. But SHE hadn't banked on Rinoa's aim with a pinwheel.
Rinoa picked up one of the discs that had landed on the path and hurled it back at Fujin, where it embedded in her leg. Fujin was much too proud to scream, but her eyes visibly narrowed. She knew what would be coming next, and indeed leapt to the side as Squall came piling in. She wasn't quite quick enough though, and Squall left a huge gash down the side of her arm. From here, he turned round and kicked her in the side of the head, sending her reeling.
Fujin was also smart enough to know when to give up.
"DEFEATED…" she announced, and stood up, holding her hands up where they could see them, so they knew she wasn't going to pull anything. Raijin, got up, still clutching his side and stood by her, leaving his cudgel where it was.
The group also put down their weapons.
"Are you taking orders from the Sorceress?" Squall demanded.
"NEGATIVE!" Fujin denied.
"The Sorceress has nothin' to do with it, ya know? We're actin on our own!" Raijin told him.
"Own plan?" Zell narrowed his eyes sceptically.
"We're on Seifer's side, ya know?" Raijin put it simply.
Squall shook his head. "Fine, do what you want, but this is just getting ridiculous. He's screwed things up for himself, you really want him to bring you down with him?"
"We can't back out, ya know?" Raijin shook his head. "If we leave him, what's he got left then? Nothing, ya know? We're his only friends!"
Zell sighed. This had gone far enough. "If you guys stand behind him that much," he paused, then said with a fair amount of exasperation, "Tell frickin' Seifer to stop this nonsense!"
The duo looked at each other. It made sense to them.
"AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin agreed.
"We're behind him all the way. We'll do what's best for him." Raijin nodded.
"Understood, but…" Squall sighed, "I take it you're finished with Garden now?"
Avoiding his eyes, they both nodded.
"Like I say, we're with Seifer all the way, ya know?"
"That's your choice, but our mission is to kill the Sorceress. From now on, we're not holding back." Squall made sure they understood the situation. He turned to his comrades "Come on, let's go."
"You're just going to let them go?" Rinoa asked him.
"Don't wanna… talk anymore. Kinda painful… ya know…" Raijin wheezed.
"WIMP!" Fujin kicked him on the shin, sharply, giving him another pain to worry about. But before the group could do anything else, the pair of them ran off back to Galbadia Garden.
"…I feel sad." Rinoa said as she watched them go.
"Friend or foe… It all comes down to circumstance." Squall turned away "That's how we were raised, It's… nothing special."
However, he knew it was more than that as he said it. They'd been part of Garden for a long time, and now, they were just leaving like that. He wondered if the day would ever come when he would wash his hands of SeeD, Garden, and his entire life as he knew it.
He sighed. "Come on, let's go back to Garden."