Chapter 5-The Interlopers
Squall stood silent inside the elevator as it took them to the first floor of Balamb Garden. How could Zell not understand their situation? He looked at the floor and sighed heavily. He felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"Squall.....?" Rinoa said plainly. He turned to look at her, expecting to see a soft expression on the raven haired girl. What he got was a sour-faced, unhappy Rinoa Heartilly. There was a loud pop in the elevator as Rinoa slapped Squall, leaving a scarlet hand print on his right cheek. He flinched, but didn't dare rub his cheek. She shouldn't have been able to hit him so hard. There wasn't enough room in the elevator for her to strike him that hard. She put her hands on her hips. She said nothing.
Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie knew why she had done that. Squall, on the other hand....
"What was that for....?!!" he exclaimed.
"You know good and well what that was for, Squall!! I don't believe you back at the bridge!! *How* could you *say* that to him??!" she asked incredulously. She was more angry than she had ever been with him.
".........He needed to be put in his place, Rinoa," Squall said, not making eye contact with her.
"Needed to be--?!!! *That's* the best excuse you can come up with??? [scoffs] You tore him *apart*!!! There is *no* excuse for what you said back there!" she said to him. Squall leaned up against the wall and looked at the floor. "Look at me and stop being that way to everything anybody tells you! You can't run away from me now," she said, spreading her arms wide, indicating the elevator.
".............."
Squall continued to look at the floor of the elevator. He didn't need anybody questioning or correcting his methods. Not now, at least. He had enough on his mind as it was and didn't need anyone telling him what was right and what was wrong. He loved Rinoa, but she got on his nerves about things like that. He didn't know what to do sometimes. He wanted to listen to her and her opinion, but she just expressed it at the wrong times. Like now. Here they were about to go to war again with something that they had no experience with, a sorcerer, and she was chiding him about putting Zell in his place? She needed to get her priorities straight and stop worrying about what he did as commander. That job belonged to him.
Selphie stepped up beside Rinoa, tired of watching her be ignored. She looked up at the number on the elevator as it finally read '1'. The elevator dinged and the door started to open, but Selphie pressed the 'close' button on the small control panel. The doors shut again, leaving a tempered Squall Leonhart facing two even more tempered females.
"Let me out of here," he demanded in a quiet tone, moving his hand to the 'open' button. Rinoa held his hand to his chest to keep him from pressing the button. They stared each other down, both with eyes that were as cold and hard as ice.
"You're going to listen to us, one way or the other. You're not running away from us this time," she stated. She glared up at him. "You had no right to say what you did to Zell. No right whatsoever."
"'You're not going to mess this up' and 'this isn't going to end like Timber did'?" Selphie said, imitating Squall as if she were the one who had stood over Zell. "You made him feel about this big." She squeezed her thumb and index finger together.
"He already feels that it's his fault that happened to Trabia, Squall! You didn't have to tell him that it was!! We know he needs to stay here, but you didn't have to put it in the tone of voice that you did!" Selphie chided. Squall stalked toward her, but the brunette held her ground. He towered over her, but she stood firmly, head held high.
"Yes, I did, Selphie! Or he would have argued with me for an hour! An hour *we* don't have!"
"I don't totally agree with either of you, but I will say this," Irvine said from underneath his hat," we don't have time to argue over it now. We've got a mission to get underway and a world to save. Personally, I don't think this is more important than that at the moment."
"Me, either. I'm not saying who I agree with, that would only make things worse, but we have to get going," Quistis said to the group. She pressed the 'open' button on the control panel and the elevator doors slid open. Squall stepped out and fled the scene as quickly as he could without letting it be known that he was running away. Rinoa caught up with him.
"We're not finished, Squall, by a long shot," she stated coldly.
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Zell had returned to his dorm room to wait.
Wait.
Such an ugly word. A short, ugly word that just....stopped.
Wait.
He rolled over in his bed and turned on the radio. "Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple. He turned the song up, thankful for any distraction he could get his hands on. Squall and the others had only been gone for a little over an hour and a half. He was going to go insane waiting. He couldn't stand not knowing if they were going to be alright.
He got up out of his bed and stood in front of his giant red punching bag. It hung from the ceiling, it almost as big as he. He began to punch at it furiously, without his gloves. He hit the bag until the man-made fabric began to make burns on his knuckles. He stopped and rubbed the top of his fists, pacing around the room in frustration.
He wanted to take it all out on something. The training center was closed. The Alcauld Plains held no monsters with a challenge. Neither did the Fire Cavern to the east of Garden, on the other side of the forest. His fists were itching for something that fought back. He wished he could go to the Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell by himself. Chimeras were a decent challenge and so were Grendels. Malboros and Tri-Faces. He needed something to let out his frustration.
He wondered if his friends were going to be alright. He wanted so bad to leave and make sure. But, then he would be disobeying Squall's orders. He didn't want to do that.
He sat back down on the bed and slouched over. He wanted to leave. His adrenaline was flowing; his fists were itching for some kind of action. But, still there was a voice in the back of his head that told him to wait.
{You must wait, Zell,} Bahamut said to him in his deep voice. The dragon Guardian Force spoke to him through telepathy. {I know you are frustrated, but still you must wait. There is a right time for everything.}
"I can't stand this waiting, Bahamut. They could be dead right now and I wouldn't know it!!" Zell said.
{This sorcerer will not kill them. You saw this in your vision,} the black dragon said. He would have appeared before Zell, had there been enough space in the dorm room. But, there wasn't.
"I don't *want* this job!!! Or this kind of responsibility!!" Zell exclaimed, spreading his arms wide, seemingly talking to the ceiling.
{You were chosen for this,} the GF said. {But, by whom...? [sigh] What's the saying....? 'Your guess is as good as mine'.}
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Seifer Almasy took another practice swing with his upgraded gunblade, Destiny's Eraser. The bright red blade was the exact opposite of Squall's Lionheart gunblade. (Just like I like it,) he thought. He and Squall were direct opposites and he wanted it to look that way.
"How much was that upgrade again?" he asked the weapons shopkeeper while he examined the blade. Raijin and Fujin stood behind him patiently. Well, one was patient.
"C'mon, Seifer, I'm hungry!! Let's go get something to eat!" he said, holding his stomach. Fujin kicked him in the back of the knee.
"QUIET," she said in her robotic voice. Raijin howled in pain and Seifer rolled his eyes. The white haired shopkeeper looked at Seifer, stroking his beard.
"That took me nearly two hours to forge from those items you gave me. Four adamantines, three energy crystals, two cactuar thorns, and 1 dragon skin. How long did it take you to get up all those items? Energy crystals and adamantines are hard to come by, not to mention danged near impossible," he said, brushing off his tattered apron that was covered with soot. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It took a while," Seifer said. "How much is the upgrade?"
"It's about 3,000 Gil," the shopkeeper replied. Seifer took out the leather pouch he hung inside his jacket and counted out 3,000 Gil from what was there. He took out the gold coins and put them on the counter. The old man eyed them and then counted them for himself.
"Gold coins, huh?" he said suspiciously. "I ain't ever had anybody pay me with *gold* coins before, 'cept that one kid in the leather jacket..... and he had a gunblade, too. I always been paid with silver. Where'd you get these?"
"That's none of your business," Seifer said, pushing the coins toward the man. "Take the money before I take it back and get outta here without paying you. You don't look like you can afford to let me do that."
The old man grunted. "Alright, get outta here."
Seifer sheathed his new gunblade and opened the shop door. He left, with Raijin and Fujin in tow. Fujin stepped out into the sunlight that engulfed the city of Dollet. She adjusted her eyes, having been inside the weapons shop for the past two hours. They continued down the street down town to rent a car that would take them back to Timber. They were wandering aimlessly around the globe, fighting monsters and living as well as they could, considering they couldn't go back to Garden. Well, Seifer couldn't go back to Garden.
Raijin and Fujin could return anytime they wished, but they would not abandon their friend. Together, the three of them had once made up the Dicipinary Committee of Balamb Garden. But, now that all three of them could not return, they wandered, building up their strength for the next battle. That would come soon. Seifer had sensed this for some reason and had acted on instinct. There was nothing wrong with preparing for something that he was sure of. He wasn't sure about what kind of battle it would be, but he knew that the war wasn't over by far.
He had been on the wrong side of the fence in the first battle. He would not let anyone manipulate him again. Anyone who would be stupid enough to try had a death wish. He would not be controlled.
They finally reached the car rental shop and he went inside. He walked up to the counter and behind it stood a brunette woman with shoulder length hair. Her name tag read 'Krystal'. There was a teenage redheaded girl sitting behind the counter watching a movie. The girl was dressed in over-alls and a red T-shirt, with a necklace with an yellow stone set in silver.
"May I help you?" Krystal said kindly.
"Yeah, I want to rent a car with enough fuel to get me to Timber," Seifer said. "Just something to get me an' my friends to Timber. Lowest price vehicle you got."
"Lowest price we have.....that would be the Ford pickup. Will that do?" she asked. "It'll get you where you need to go, but it doesn't look like it. 350 Gil."
"Just give me the keys and I'll give you the money," Seifer said, taking out the leather pouch again. He started counting silver coins this time. Krystal hollered back behind her.
"Naomi! Get me the keys to the old Ford pickup truck," she said. Naomi pressed 'stop' on the remote control and got up from her seat.
"Okay, Mom," she said, disappearing into the back room.
The girl returned a few moments later with a key in her hand. She strode up to the counter and handed it to her mother. Krystal handed the key to Seifer as he put the money on the counter. Krystal counted it to make sure it was all there.
"Alrighty, you're ready to go. All I need you to do is sign this release form, stating that you're responsible for damages if you get in a wreck. Sign here," she said, pushing the form to him on the counter. Seifer took up the pen and signed his name. He handed the form back to her. "That's all I need from you. The car's around the back in the garage."
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Squall and the others arrived in Timber by train. Squall saw no sense in taking the Ragnarok, seeing as how fuel costed so much for it. Laguna, being President of Esthar, would have given them any amount of fuel they needed, but Squall didn't feel like talking to his father at the moment. He and Laguna weren't that close, now that the war with Ultimecia was over. He hardly saw his father at all anymore, and he wanted to keep it that way. As far as he was concerned, he had no father. Only his mother Raine he accepted as a parent, and she died after giving birth to him in Winhill. Laguna hadn't even been there for her on her deathbed. He had been out in Deling City flirting with Julia Heartilly, Rinoa's late mother, who had died in a car accident when Rinoa was only five years old.
Not that he hated Julia for it, it wasn't her fault, but Laguna had had a woman and a new child that he had not even seen. Squall hated his father, just as Rinoa hated hers. She didn't get along with her father, General Caraway of the Galbadian Armed Forces. He was overprotective of her, prefering her not to be hanging around 'riff-raff' such as Squall and his friends. She was 17, not a legal adult, but she did as she pleased, with or without his consent. She needed nothing from him, but for him to leave her to live her life as she saw fit. He obviously wanted nothing to do with her or he would have sent someone to bring her back home to Deling City. Even then, she would not be taken against her will, and Squall would make sure that she wasn't.
They all stepped off the train, only to be greeted by Seifer, Raijin, Fujin coming down the street in a rusted, brown pickup truck that had half of the side of the front missing, exposing the engine. The truck looked like it was about to fall apart. (I wonder what those three are up to, now,) Squall thought.
"Let's get out of here, Squall," Selphie said uneasily, tugging on his jacket sleeve. "We don't need a fight with them right now."
Squall looked down the road. He was partially hidden by the stairs that led to the train platform, but he knew if they got any closer, they would see him. "Okay, you guys hide behind the pet shop," he said. They ducked behind the building as the pickup truck went by with Seifer at the wheel. To their dismay, the truck pulled over. Seifer got out of the truck, followed by Raijin and Fujin. Raijin stretched his legs, being the big person that he was. He was as big as, if not bigger than Seifer in height and width. The truck was cramped with him squeezed next to the door and Fujin in the middle.
Seifer spied his rival hiding behind the pet shop and walked over. (Oh, perfect.......) Squall thought to himself.
"Hello, Squall," Seifer said, smirking. "Hiding, are we?"
"No, we just have business to take care of and getting into a fight with you is not on our priority list," Squall retorted, wanting out of this situation.
"Hmm? Business....? What kind of business?" Seifer asked curiously.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Squall said. Seifer's attitude turned hostile.
"You getting fancy with me, SeeD? You think you're smart, just because Headmaster Cid made you Commander and I didn't make it to SeeD? Using fancy phrases like 'not at liberty to discuss it'," Seifer smarted off. Seifer knew Squall had always thought himself better than him. Now that Squall was a SeeD and Seifer still nothing, he had an advantage.
But, Seifer didn't care about SeeD anymore, or the military life. He wouldn't mind being among the ranks of SeeD, but he wasn't losing any sleep over it. He had his posse, Raijin and Fujin, and that was all he needed.
"Get out of my way, Seifer," Squall said, trying to move around him. Seifer blocked his path.
"I wanna know what kind of business you got here," he said. Squall looked up at him as the others moved out from behind the building going the opposite direction.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get out of there without a fight unless he gave Seifer the information he wanted, he spoke. "We've got business at Galbadia Garden. It's been taken over, in case you haven't heard. Student's have been kicked out by a sorcerer, all with some kind of injury, etc. Are you satisfied now?"
"I won't believe it until I see it," Seifer said, smoothing back his short blonde hair. They heard a clap of thunder in the distance. Seifer looked up at the cloudy sky that loomed over the horizon, forgetting about Squall. "Somethin's comin'. Don't know what it is, but somethin's comin'."
Squall looked up. "You're right." He looked back at Seifer. "[sigh] Will you let me by? We've got business to take care of." Seifer laughed.
"So do I. I'm on my way to that Garden, too," he said. Squall turned gravely serious.
"No." The prophecy Zell saw mentioned nothing about Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin. If they were there it would mess everything up. This was going to get complicated.
"You're not gonna stop me, puberty boy.
"And why not?"
"Look, it's complicated. Normally, I'd welcome the help, but not now. We can't afford to have anyone else there, but me and the others that are with me. Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Rinoa," he said. He didn't have time to explain everything to Seifer. Odds were he was going to do as he wished anyway.
"Explain," Seifer said, crossing his arms. Their friends were standing behind Seifer, all eyes on Squall.
"I don't have *time* to explain, Seifer, get that in your head!!" Squall declared, slightly stomping his foot on the ground.
"Gettin' tense?" Seifer asked casually. Squall returned a howl of frustration.
"Yes, I am very tense! I have been for the past day and a half! I'll explain everything to you later if you will just leave us to do what we came to do," Squall said.
"One last question: where's the chicken wuss at? He usually follows you around on missions like a dog follows a car. He 'chicken out' or something?" Seifer asked, laughing.
"I made him stay at Garden for reasons I will *tell* you about *later*, when I *see* you again. Let me by, Seifer."
The blonde 18 year old boy stepped aside to let Squall by. Squall rejoined his friends. "God, he irritates me to no end....." he whispered, almost inaudible.
"Hey, puberty boy!!"
Squall turned around to face his rival once more. "What *now*?"
"How exactly do you plan on getting there? Walking from East Side Station? Again?"
Raijin spoke up. "We could take 'em in the truck, ya know!!" Fujin kicked him again. "Yowwwww!!! Fujin, darn it, why you gotta kick me all the time??!!! I just said-" She gave him a warning glance. Raijin held up his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up, just don't kick me no mo'."
"That was exactly what I had in mind, Raijin," Seifer said, spawning a confused look from all around him. Squall lifted an eyebrow.
"You're gonna give us a ride to Galbadia Garden? In that thing?" he said, looking the black rusted truck up and down. (Something isn't kosher about this....I don't like it,) Squall thought to himself.
"C'mon, Squall," Seifer said, smirking. "It's the quickest way to get there. Don't worry about us staying, if that's it. I got no business there," he lied. He would eventually have business there. Seifer's curiosity often got the best of him and this was going to prove to be no different. He just wanted to see what was going on. That was the only reason he was giving them a ride. If there was a sorcerer, he was probably just sitting in Galbadia Garden's master room, biding his time. But, he wouldn't stay while Squall and the others were there. Squall had his reasons, and Seifer respected them now, even if he had never respected Squall as a person. He knew Squall and he looked pretty desperate to have him and his posse stay in Timber.
He wasn't ready for a battle like that, anyway. At least, Raijin and Fujin weren't. And he wasn't going to battle without them by his side. He just needed to get their weapons upgraded and then 'sorcerer, here comes the Diciplinary Committee'.
"What are you waiting for?" Seifer asked impatiently. "Get in the back of the truck!"
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Was this chapter disappointing? I had a lot of doubts when I posted this, but don't worry. Chapter 6 is where all the action is. Hopefully, I'll get it up before June 18th. If it's not up by the 17, it won't be up until the 25th. This Sergeant will be gone to a leadership school for 6 days as apart of her training. Just thought I'd let you know I won't be around June 18-24. Wish me luck, you guys!
Sergeant Phoenix
Squall stood silent inside the elevator as it took them to the first floor of Balamb Garden. How could Zell not understand their situation? He looked at the floor and sighed heavily. He felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"Squall.....?" Rinoa said plainly. He turned to look at her, expecting to see a soft expression on the raven haired girl. What he got was a sour-faced, unhappy Rinoa Heartilly. There was a loud pop in the elevator as Rinoa slapped Squall, leaving a scarlet hand print on his right cheek. He flinched, but didn't dare rub his cheek. She shouldn't have been able to hit him so hard. There wasn't enough room in the elevator for her to strike him that hard. She put her hands on her hips. She said nothing.
Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie knew why she had done that. Squall, on the other hand....
"What was that for....?!!" he exclaimed.
"You know good and well what that was for, Squall!! I don't believe you back at the bridge!! *How* could you *say* that to him??!" she asked incredulously. She was more angry than she had ever been with him.
".........He needed to be put in his place, Rinoa," Squall said, not making eye contact with her.
"Needed to be--?!!! *That's* the best excuse you can come up with??? [scoffs] You tore him *apart*!!! There is *no* excuse for what you said back there!" she said to him. Squall leaned up against the wall and looked at the floor. "Look at me and stop being that way to everything anybody tells you! You can't run away from me now," she said, spreading her arms wide, indicating the elevator.
".............."
Squall continued to look at the floor of the elevator. He didn't need anybody questioning or correcting his methods. Not now, at least. He had enough on his mind as it was and didn't need anyone telling him what was right and what was wrong. He loved Rinoa, but she got on his nerves about things like that. He didn't know what to do sometimes. He wanted to listen to her and her opinion, but she just expressed it at the wrong times. Like now. Here they were about to go to war again with something that they had no experience with, a sorcerer, and she was chiding him about putting Zell in his place? She needed to get her priorities straight and stop worrying about what he did as commander. That job belonged to him.
Selphie stepped up beside Rinoa, tired of watching her be ignored. She looked up at the number on the elevator as it finally read '1'. The elevator dinged and the door started to open, but Selphie pressed the 'close' button on the small control panel. The doors shut again, leaving a tempered Squall Leonhart facing two even more tempered females.
"Let me out of here," he demanded in a quiet tone, moving his hand to the 'open' button. Rinoa held his hand to his chest to keep him from pressing the button. They stared each other down, both with eyes that were as cold and hard as ice.
"You're going to listen to us, one way or the other. You're not running away from us this time," she stated. She glared up at him. "You had no right to say what you did to Zell. No right whatsoever."
"'You're not going to mess this up' and 'this isn't going to end like Timber did'?" Selphie said, imitating Squall as if she were the one who had stood over Zell. "You made him feel about this big." She squeezed her thumb and index finger together.
"He already feels that it's his fault that happened to Trabia, Squall! You didn't have to tell him that it was!! We know he needs to stay here, but you didn't have to put it in the tone of voice that you did!" Selphie chided. Squall stalked toward her, but the brunette held her ground. He towered over her, but she stood firmly, head held high.
"Yes, I did, Selphie! Or he would have argued with me for an hour! An hour *we* don't have!"
"I don't totally agree with either of you, but I will say this," Irvine said from underneath his hat," we don't have time to argue over it now. We've got a mission to get underway and a world to save. Personally, I don't think this is more important than that at the moment."
"Me, either. I'm not saying who I agree with, that would only make things worse, but we have to get going," Quistis said to the group. She pressed the 'open' button on the control panel and the elevator doors slid open. Squall stepped out and fled the scene as quickly as he could without letting it be known that he was running away. Rinoa caught up with him.
"We're not finished, Squall, by a long shot," she stated coldly.
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Zell had returned to his dorm room to wait.
Wait.
Such an ugly word. A short, ugly word that just....stopped.
Wait.
He rolled over in his bed and turned on the radio. "Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple. He turned the song up, thankful for any distraction he could get his hands on. Squall and the others had only been gone for a little over an hour and a half. He was going to go insane waiting. He couldn't stand not knowing if they were going to be alright.
He got up out of his bed and stood in front of his giant red punching bag. It hung from the ceiling, it almost as big as he. He began to punch at it furiously, without his gloves. He hit the bag until the man-made fabric began to make burns on his knuckles. He stopped and rubbed the top of his fists, pacing around the room in frustration.
He wanted to take it all out on something. The training center was closed. The Alcauld Plains held no monsters with a challenge. Neither did the Fire Cavern to the east of Garden, on the other side of the forest. His fists were itching for something that fought back. He wished he could go to the Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell by himself. Chimeras were a decent challenge and so were Grendels. Malboros and Tri-Faces. He needed something to let out his frustration.
He wondered if his friends were going to be alright. He wanted so bad to leave and make sure. But, then he would be disobeying Squall's orders. He didn't want to do that.
He sat back down on the bed and slouched over. He wanted to leave. His adrenaline was flowing; his fists were itching for some kind of action. But, still there was a voice in the back of his head that told him to wait.
{You must wait, Zell,} Bahamut said to him in his deep voice. The dragon Guardian Force spoke to him through telepathy. {I know you are frustrated, but still you must wait. There is a right time for everything.}
"I can't stand this waiting, Bahamut. They could be dead right now and I wouldn't know it!!" Zell said.
{This sorcerer will not kill them. You saw this in your vision,} the black dragon said. He would have appeared before Zell, had there been enough space in the dorm room. But, there wasn't.
"I don't *want* this job!!! Or this kind of responsibility!!" Zell exclaimed, spreading his arms wide, seemingly talking to the ceiling.
{You were chosen for this,} the GF said. {But, by whom...? [sigh] What's the saying....? 'Your guess is as good as mine'.}
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Seifer Almasy took another practice swing with his upgraded gunblade, Destiny's Eraser. The bright red blade was the exact opposite of Squall's Lionheart gunblade. (Just like I like it,) he thought. He and Squall were direct opposites and he wanted it to look that way.
"How much was that upgrade again?" he asked the weapons shopkeeper while he examined the blade. Raijin and Fujin stood behind him patiently. Well, one was patient.
"C'mon, Seifer, I'm hungry!! Let's go get something to eat!" he said, holding his stomach. Fujin kicked him in the back of the knee.
"QUIET," she said in her robotic voice. Raijin howled in pain and Seifer rolled his eyes. The white haired shopkeeper looked at Seifer, stroking his beard.
"That took me nearly two hours to forge from those items you gave me. Four adamantines, three energy crystals, two cactuar thorns, and 1 dragon skin. How long did it take you to get up all those items? Energy crystals and adamantines are hard to come by, not to mention danged near impossible," he said, brushing off his tattered apron that was covered with soot. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It took a while," Seifer said. "How much is the upgrade?"
"It's about 3,000 Gil," the shopkeeper replied. Seifer took out the leather pouch he hung inside his jacket and counted out 3,000 Gil from what was there. He took out the gold coins and put them on the counter. The old man eyed them and then counted them for himself.
"Gold coins, huh?" he said suspiciously. "I ain't ever had anybody pay me with *gold* coins before, 'cept that one kid in the leather jacket..... and he had a gunblade, too. I always been paid with silver. Where'd you get these?"
"That's none of your business," Seifer said, pushing the coins toward the man. "Take the money before I take it back and get outta here without paying you. You don't look like you can afford to let me do that."
The old man grunted. "Alright, get outta here."
Seifer sheathed his new gunblade and opened the shop door. He left, with Raijin and Fujin in tow. Fujin stepped out into the sunlight that engulfed the city of Dollet. She adjusted her eyes, having been inside the weapons shop for the past two hours. They continued down the street down town to rent a car that would take them back to Timber. They were wandering aimlessly around the globe, fighting monsters and living as well as they could, considering they couldn't go back to Garden. Well, Seifer couldn't go back to Garden.
Raijin and Fujin could return anytime they wished, but they would not abandon their friend. Together, the three of them had once made up the Dicipinary Committee of Balamb Garden. But, now that all three of them could not return, they wandered, building up their strength for the next battle. That would come soon. Seifer had sensed this for some reason and had acted on instinct. There was nothing wrong with preparing for something that he was sure of. He wasn't sure about what kind of battle it would be, but he knew that the war wasn't over by far.
He had been on the wrong side of the fence in the first battle. He would not let anyone manipulate him again. Anyone who would be stupid enough to try had a death wish. He would not be controlled.
They finally reached the car rental shop and he went inside. He walked up to the counter and behind it stood a brunette woman with shoulder length hair. Her name tag read 'Krystal'. There was a teenage redheaded girl sitting behind the counter watching a movie. The girl was dressed in over-alls and a red T-shirt, with a necklace with an yellow stone set in silver.
"May I help you?" Krystal said kindly.
"Yeah, I want to rent a car with enough fuel to get me to Timber," Seifer said. "Just something to get me an' my friends to Timber. Lowest price vehicle you got."
"Lowest price we have.....that would be the Ford pickup. Will that do?" she asked. "It'll get you where you need to go, but it doesn't look like it. 350 Gil."
"Just give me the keys and I'll give you the money," Seifer said, taking out the leather pouch again. He started counting silver coins this time. Krystal hollered back behind her.
"Naomi! Get me the keys to the old Ford pickup truck," she said. Naomi pressed 'stop' on the remote control and got up from her seat.
"Okay, Mom," she said, disappearing into the back room.
The girl returned a few moments later with a key in her hand. She strode up to the counter and handed it to her mother. Krystal handed the key to Seifer as he put the money on the counter. Krystal counted it to make sure it was all there.
"Alrighty, you're ready to go. All I need you to do is sign this release form, stating that you're responsible for damages if you get in a wreck. Sign here," she said, pushing the form to him on the counter. Seifer took up the pen and signed his name. He handed the form back to her. "That's all I need from you. The car's around the back in the garage."
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Squall and the others arrived in Timber by train. Squall saw no sense in taking the Ragnarok, seeing as how fuel costed so much for it. Laguna, being President of Esthar, would have given them any amount of fuel they needed, but Squall didn't feel like talking to his father at the moment. He and Laguna weren't that close, now that the war with Ultimecia was over. He hardly saw his father at all anymore, and he wanted to keep it that way. As far as he was concerned, he had no father. Only his mother Raine he accepted as a parent, and she died after giving birth to him in Winhill. Laguna hadn't even been there for her on her deathbed. He had been out in Deling City flirting with Julia Heartilly, Rinoa's late mother, who had died in a car accident when Rinoa was only five years old.
Not that he hated Julia for it, it wasn't her fault, but Laguna had had a woman and a new child that he had not even seen. Squall hated his father, just as Rinoa hated hers. She didn't get along with her father, General Caraway of the Galbadian Armed Forces. He was overprotective of her, prefering her not to be hanging around 'riff-raff' such as Squall and his friends. She was 17, not a legal adult, but she did as she pleased, with or without his consent. She needed nothing from him, but for him to leave her to live her life as she saw fit. He obviously wanted nothing to do with her or he would have sent someone to bring her back home to Deling City. Even then, she would not be taken against her will, and Squall would make sure that she wasn't.
They all stepped off the train, only to be greeted by Seifer, Raijin, Fujin coming down the street in a rusted, brown pickup truck that had half of the side of the front missing, exposing the engine. The truck looked like it was about to fall apart. (I wonder what those three are up to, now,) Squall thought.
"Let's get out of here, Squall," Selphie said uneasily, tugging on his jacket sleeve. "We don't need a fight with them right now."
Squall looked down the road. He was partially hidden by the stairs that led to the train platform, but he knew if they got any closer, they would see him. "Okay, you guys hide behind the pet shop," he said. They ducked behind the building as the pickup truck went by with Seifer at the wheel. To their dismay, the truck pulled over. Seifer got out of the truck, followed by Raijin and Fujin. Raijin stretched his legs, being the big person that he was. He was as big as, if not bigger than Seifer in height and width. The truck was cramped with him squeezed next to the door and Fujin in the middle.
Seifer spied his rival hiding behind the pet shop and walked over. (Oh, perfect.......) Squall thought to himself.
"Hello, Squall," Seifer said, smirking. "Hiding, are we?"
"No, we just have business to take care of and getting into a fight with you is not on our priority list," Squall retorted, wanting out of this situation.
"Hmm? Business....? What kind of business?" Seifer asked curiously.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Squall said. Seifer's attitude turned hostile.
"You getting fancy with me, SeeD? You think you're smart, just because Headmaster Cid made you Commander and I didn't make it to SeeD? Using fancy phrases like 'not at liberty to discuss it'," Seifer smarted off. Seifer knew Squall had always thought himself better than him. Now that Squall was a SeeD and Seifer still nothing, he had an advantage.
But, Seifer didn't care about SeeD anymore, or the military life. He wouldn't mind being among the ranks of SeeD, but he wasn't losing any sleep over it. He had his posse, Raijin and Fujin, and that was all he needed.
"Get out of my way, Seifer," Squall said, trying to move around him. Seifer blocked his path.
"I wanna know what kind of business you got here," he said. Squall looked up at him as the others moved out from behind the building going the opposite direction.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get out of there without a fight unless he gave Seifer the information he wanted, he spoke. "We've got business at Galbadia Garden. It's been taken over, in case you haven't heard. Student's have been kicked out by a sorcerer, all with some kind of injury, etc. Are you satisfied now?"
"I won't believe it until I see it," Seifer said, smoothing back his short blonde hair. They heard a clap of thunder in the distance. Seifer looked up at the cloudy sky that loomed over the horizon, forgetting about Squall. "Somethin's comin'. Don't know what it is, but somethin's comin'."
Squall looked up. "You're right." He looked back at Seifer. "[sigh] Will you let me by? We've got business to take care of." Seifer laughed.
"So do I. I'm on my way to that Garden, too," he said. Squall turned gravely serious.
"No." The prophecy Zell saw mentioned nothing about Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin. If they were there it would mess everything up. This was going to get complicated.
"You're not gonna stop me, puberty boy.
"And why not?"
"Look, it's complicated. Normally, I'd welcome the help, but not now. We can't afford to have anyone else there, but me and the others that are with me. Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Rinoa," he said. He didn't have time to explain everything to Seifer. Odds were he was going to do as he wished anyway.
"Explain," Seifer said, crossing his arms. Their friends were standing behind Seifer, all eyes on Squall.
"I don't have *time* to explain, Seifer, get that in your head!!" Squall declared, slightly stomping his foot on the ground.
"Gettin' tense?" Seifer asked casually. Squall returned a howl of frustration.
"Yes, I am very tense! I have been for the past day and a half! I'll explain everything to you later if you will just leave us to do what we came to do," Squall said.
"One last question: where's the chicken wuss at? He usually follows you around on missions like a dog follows a car. He 'chicken out' or something?" Seifer asked, laughing.
"I made him stay at Garden for reasons I will *tell* you about *later*, when I *see* you again. Let me by, Seifer."
The blonde 18 year old boy stepped aside to let Squall by. Squall rejoined his friends. "God, he irritates me to no end....." he whispered, almost inaudible.
"Hey, puberty boy!!"
Squall turned around to face his rival once more. "What *now*?"
"How exactly do you plan on getting there? Walking from East Side Station? Again?"
Raijin spoke up. "We could take 'em in the truck, ya know!!" Fujin kicked him again. "Yowwwww!!! Fujin, darn it, why you gotta kick me all the time??!!! I just said-" She gave him a warning glance. Raijin held up his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up, just don't kick me no mo'."
"That was exactly what I had in mind, Raijin," Seifer said, spawning a confused look from all around him. Squall lifted an eyebrow.
"You're gonna give us a ride to Galbadia Garden? In that thing?" he said, looking the black rusted truck up and down. (Something isn't kosher about this....I don't like it,) Squall thought to himself.
"C'mon, Squall," Seifer said, smirking. "It's the quickest way to get there. Don't worry about us staying, if that's it. I got no business there," he lied. He would eventually have business there. Seifer's curiosity often got the best of him and this was going to prove to be no different. He just wanted to see what was going on. That was the only reason he was giving them a ride. If there was a sorcerer, he was probably just sitting in Galbadia Garden's master room, biding his time. But, he wouldn't stay while Squall and the others were there. Squall had his reasons, and Seifer respected them now, even if he had never respected Squall as a person. He knew Squall and he looked pretty desperate to have him and his posse stay in Timber.
He wasn't ready for a battle like that, anyway. At least, Raijin and Fujin weren't. And he wasn't going to battle without them by his side. He just needed to get their weapons upgraded and then 'sorcerer, here comes the Diciplinary Committee'.
"What are you waiting for?" Seifer asked impatiently. "Get in the back of the truck!"
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Was this chapter disappointing? I had a lot of doubts when I posted this, but don't worry. Chapter 6 is where all the action is. Hopefully, I'll get it up before June 18th. If it's not up by the 17, it won't be up until the 25th. This Sergeant will be gone to a leadership school for 6 days as apart of her training. Just thought I'd let you know I won't be around June 18-24. Wish me luck, you guys!
Sergeant Phoenix