A/N: Ok, so this isn't the final chapter after all. Rejoice! Thank you all for the reviews and support, hope you enjoy the chapter. Please review!

Chapter Thirty Seven

"It's multiplying," General Caraway said before there was even a chance to say hello. Squall nodded, he was always happy when people skipped over the unnecessary talk in order to get to the point. He was even gladder today, since General Caraway was the last man he wanted to be making small talk to. Especially since there would soon come a point when he would have to talk about Rinoa. He wasn't sure how recent events were going to be received, so business was a welcome distraction.

"Multiplying?" Squall questioned. He pressed play on the CCTV recording and watched what had been happening since his departure.

"It appears to spawn its own offspring from its self, without the need of a mate," Caraway explained, leaning next to Squall so that he could see the same recording. Squall narrowed his eyes as the monster appeared to be regurgitating its stomach content, only it wasn't food it was expelling, but a miniature version of its self. Squall had never been squeamish, but the images on the screen were making him feel unwell. He looked away.

"How many are there now?" he asked, hoping that the footage would soon run out of gruesome images.

"Five."

Squall stared at Caraway. Five? How were they going to cope with five? One had been hard work; keeping it contained was almost as hard as the T-Rex, so five would be verging on impossible.

"They grow quickly too, it's a matter of hours…" Caraway added, fast-forwarding the tape so that the monster ran around the enclosure, growing bigger with every second. "Commander the view of the Galbadian army is that they should be terminated."

Squall nodded, but he was still staring at the tape. No wonder, Squall thought, that no one had wanted the final say on this. Terminating the monster was going to be a big operation. They still didn't know fully its weaknesses and strengths, and from the injuries it had caused SeeD cadet Clari, they knew that it was capable for large amounts of damage. It was going to be a task for the most experienced SeeDs, and unluckily for him, the majority were elsewhere deployed.

"We have to stall for time," Squall said. He turned to see that both Quistis and Xu were waiting in the background. He felt a portion of the responsibility lift from his shoulders. If there was anyone in this Garden that he could trust to be rational about things, it was those two. "How does it react to magic?"

The question hadn't been to either of them in particular, but it seemed that Quistis had been compiling a file in his absence. She flipped through her papers.

"Any particular magic, Sir?" she asked, but continued to look through the papers until she found the chart. "We've pretty much hit it with everything we've got. It responds to magic attacks, and some are more effective than others as you'd expect. We know that its own defensive spells are very advanced, however it alternates between only two high-level attack spells. We believe that the key to defeating this monster lies in discovering their counter-attacks."

Squall nodded.

"Xu, form a team of the best magic casters we have here in the Garden. I want teams to rotate during the day and throughout the night. Perhaps General, your soldiers can help with this?" Squall asked.

"Certainly," Caraway replied, impressed with how fast things were moving. He knew he had made the right choice now by insisting on speaking to Commander Leonhart.

"Anything that you've got to slow it down… Slows, Drains…Sleep… Just anything you think will help," Squall added.

"Of course Sir," Xu said saluting.

"Quistis, begin calling back anyone that can be spared from the field, I don't want to take any chances."

Quistis nodded, saluted and followed Xu out of the room. Although she had been prepared to take on the responsibility, she had to confess that things always seemed to feel right when Squall gave the orders. Maybe it was because she agreed with what he had ordered, and being the one on the outside looking in, it was easier to be practical about situations. She looked through the glass at the two high-ranking military men, left alone with only the recording of the monster to break the silence.

Rinoa knocked on Selphie's door and waited. Although Selphie had told her to come and find her, Rinoa couldn't help but be worried that she wouldn't be welcomed. Eventually the door opened, and Selphie stepped aside so that Rinoa could go in. She was still wearing the SeeD uniform.

"Calmed down now?" Selphie asked with a touch of sarcasm. "Or are you going to shout at me again?"

Rinoa sat on the end of the bed and stared at her feet.

"I'm really sorry Selphie," she mumbled, then looked up with the same sad expression she had been wearing in the cafeteria. "It's just I wasn't expecting this… why did… just how did this happen?"

Selphie shrugged and then walked to the window. She wasn't really sure why becoming a SeeD seemed so appealing, it certainly wasn't anything she had ever considered before. All she knew was that the moment she had stepped foot in Garden, she had looked at all the students, wearing their uniforms proudly, and had wanted to be a part of that.

"Well… when you left, Seifer went mental…"

Rinoa frowned.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Hey, I'm getting to it!" Selphie said impatiently. "Anyway…he went mental, saying all this stuff about how'd you led him on, and how girls were good for nothing…" Selphie paused as she took a deep breath to steady her voice. "He was just saying stuff because he was angry, but he made me so mad! I suddenly wondered whether he saw me as nothing but Irvine's girlfriend, what if everyone else thought that too? I can't just be someone's girlfriend Rin, I want my own life! SeeD is a chance to prove myself… lets face it Rin, I'm rubbish at school, I'm failing everything."

"But being a SeeD is dangerous…" Rinoa said meekly. She knew she couldn't say too much to Selphie about her reasoning, because she had come to a similar conclusion about herself only a few days ago. She'd had decided what she wanted to do, and it was just like Selphie wanting a chance to join a team and be apart of something, and to be valued. She hadn't told anyone yet, she had been stalling, wondering how things would go with Squall.

"I can't believe Seifer…" Rinoa said shaking her head.

"He didn't mean it, he was just sounding off. He apologised after. But you understand don't you Rin, that I need to do something with my life. This is the best chance someone like me is going to get. I can see the world, and make a difference!"

Rinoa smiled and stood so that she could hug her friend. She understood, and it was time to discuss with Selphie her own choices, and where she intended her life to take her.

In just a day of his absence, Squall noticed that others picking up the work in his absence had hijacked his office. Since he was still officially off duty, Squall wasn't going to evict them. Dealing with the monster was enough for now, and he didn't have any desire to begin looking through new applications for SeeD aid. As far as he was concerned if it was all running smoothly without him, then they could keep it. He much preferred being out in the field than stuck in the office, and a lot of the time he felt as if some of the decisions he was being asked to make, could have been made with a lot more comprehension by someone with more experience. Maybe this was one of the negatives of hanging out with Rinoa, he was beginning to question the responsibility on his shoulders, suddenly wishing for a little less, and a little more fun. No, not a negative, asking questions could never be a negative.

He couldn't remember the time when he had last been on a mission, or when he had not been the one in command. Sometimes he wished he could just join a mission, and when things went wrong, he could look to someone else for the answer. He knew that it would never happen, not in Balamb Garden. To voluntarily step down in rank, he knew that his only choice would to be transfer Gardens. But how could he leave Balamb behind? It was his home, and the institution had been good to him. He nodded at the people in his office, and then turned and left. He didn't want eyes on him whilst he was thinking. If he were lucky the classroom on the second floor would be empty.

Before he could call the elevator, it opened to reveal Ellone. She looked harassed, and her eyes narrowed when she saw him.

"Where have you been?" she snapped. "I had to go to the doctor for more pain meds, and I think one of them may well have been a tranquilliser, because I'm seeing double. But… you missed Rinoa going nuts in the cafeteria. You could have told her that her friend had joined SeeD, I assume you knew."

"I did know," Squall said, his first concern the state his sister had gotten herself into. "Are you OK?"

Ellone shrugged.

"Yeah, just my arm was hurting… Have you sorted your business?"

"Mostly."

"Then you should check on Rinoa, I think she was pretty upset. Seriously, you could have said something to her…"

"Selphie promised she would," Squall said frowning. "Where is she?"

"At the dorms, come on you can walk me there. I expect you'll find her with her friend."