Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Great! I'm still here! I guess I have no other choice but to try to get home. If I run away back into my nightmares, I will never see Rinoa again. Squall stood up and began to walk to where his instincts told him to walk. Then suddenly, the whir of Lunatic Pandora hovering past him caught him off guard, off guard enough to not notice that a body was on a collision course with him. THUD!

"My feet hurt." complained Selphie as she limped towards the Timber hotel. "We're almost there" groaned Edea. By dawn, they had entered Timber and were limping their way to the hotel. Quistis said, "Matron, we, umm, have a problem. You see, we spent all our gil on the disguises, and our SeeD salary is still with Squall". "No problem," said Irvine, "we'll win our way in through a card game." "Our cards are with Zell," replied Selphie. "Let's card some monsters outside Timber," said Quistis. "Forget it. There is no way we will survive a fight without rest. We can't rest without gil. Besides, I'm the only one who knows how to play cards among us. And Squall already drained me of all my cards" said Edea. "Hey, I've an idea," said Selphie, "Quistis, remember on our first SeeD mission, we stayed in the house of that friend of Rinoa who's also a freedom fighter."

"Yeah, why?"

"Why don't we stay at her place first."

:"Why not"

"Lead the way, I forgot where the house was."

Stupid lake! thought Zell angrily, How the hell do I get across? As Zell stood looking at the impassable Great Salt Lake, he saw something hover towards him. Hey! It's that GTG thingy Matron told us about. I think I saw it docked in FH. They might be going to Esthar, so maybe I oughtta sneak aboard. He hid behind a clump of snow and watched Galbadia-Trabia Garden land nearby. A bunch of students stepped out and began searching for footprints. Good thing I read all those detective novels in Garden's library. They're not gonna find my wiped out footprints there. One student checked an area close to Zell's clump of snow. Perfect! Zell attacked him and KO'd him instantly. He then shed his merchant outfit and wore the student's clothes. The leader of the student's signaled them to return to GTG. Zell happily stepped aboard with the others.

"You're coming with us!" said the Galbadian soldier to Rinoa as she awoke. "Where are you taking me!" shrieked Rinoa. "You're gonna be interrogated, you b****" Rinoa then released a flash of red light, which streaked across Lunatic Pandora, KO'ing everyone else aboard. She now had complete control of Lunatic Pandora.

A Galbadian helicopter hovering over Edea's house shattered to bits as an energy field surrounded it. A puff of gray smoke appeared inside, releasing Sorceress Ultimecia!

"Aaaaaaaaah" screamed the Galbadian soldiers as a puff of blue smoke released Sorceress Adel. She then omitted a flash of radiant energy, killing everyone aboard who isn't a sorceress. Just then, a force field surrounded Lunatic Pandora

"Mommmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyy" screamed a couple of kids who where playing near the fire cavern. They ran away as the force field which scared them surrounded all of Balamb. A mysterious glow then glinted off the magma in the cavern as NORG was released.

It then began to rain…all over the planet!

Chapter 12

"She's gone?" muttered poor Zone repeatedly. "Aww, come on Zone," reassured Watts, "I'm sure she's fine." The newly installed radar dish on the White SeeD ship received the news of Rinoa's disappearance, to Zone's utter dismay. The two comrades sat under the in the cabin, watching the heavy rain fall everywhere, contemplating their situation. "I'm so sorry, Zone" said the leader as he entered their cabin, "I wish there was something I could do." And for the first time since he heard the news, Zone smiled. He then said, "Yes, sir, there is something you can do. I am gonna find Rinoa, and bring her back home. Sir, I would like to leave you and begin my quest, but I shall return to repay the favors you have done for me and my friend Watts."

"I think it would be best for me to accompany Zone" added Watts

"Zone and Watts, you have been invaluable to our crew ever since you have been with us. There is no favor to repay. Good luck on your mission" said the leader as he performed a SeeD salute to Zone and Watts, who quickly saluted back.

The White SeeDs stood in the rain, waving at their departing comrades, who waved back before walking deeper into the Kashkabald desert. I'm really gonna miss those guys. When I find Rinoa, I'm gonna bring her with me to the White SeeDs and stay with them permanently. Zone's train of thought was interrupted by Watts exclamation, "Whoa, cool spaceship!"

Laguna walked into Lunar Gate, hoping for any trace of Squall's whereabouts. He entered the radar viewing room and asked the technician, "Has anything changed since last night?"

"Great timing, your Excellency, the green dot I identified last night is currently moving towards Timber." Laguna looked at the dot wide-eyed. Who the hell could possibly be flying Ragnarok? Could it be…Squall!?

"Sir, we have received several Galbadia-wide complaints about the temporary shut-down of train service to Balamb" Great! More problems, just what I need. "Dismissed" Don't they ever learn that what leaders do is for their own good? All of Galbadia has been in frenzy since we recovered Biggs' cadaver and placed it in Deling's Mausoleum in Tomb of the Unknown King. I can't call of the hunt for those SeeDs because the people think he was also responsible for Biggs' death. Now I cannot even have a moment to myself to grieve for the disappearance of my daughter. Now…I am no longer General Caraway, I am now President Caraway, and if the trend is continued, my life is in grave danger. I just took my oath and now I have to give a speech and make my first decree, as all former Galbadian Presidents have. I don't want to make a speech! Why don't they just let me wallow in my utter sadness for the rest of my days? "Sir," spoke the Galbadian soldier, "we are ready to hear your speech now." Caraway stood up from his seat not having a clue on what to say. Then, he smiled. I cannot save Rinoa, I'll do the next best thing, I will make her proud! He then stepped into the balcony of the Presidential Residence. He straightened his tie and looked at the video cameras, which will dispatch what he will say throughout the world. Here goes nothing. "My fellow Galbadians, I stand before you as the newly appointed president of this fine country, I would like to inform you of my first decree, I shall now grant the fine cities of Timber and Dollet, complete independence and autonomy to Winhill village." There were cheers and there were boos, the rest were silent with awe. I love you Rinoa, my only wish is for you to know that I love you…

While all that took place, Wedge was holding his sniper rifle, waiting for the perfect moment to squeeze the trigger….

Chapter 13

"Woo hoo!" shouted the women partying at the Dollet Communications Center on the mountain beside Dollet. "Isn't it great they've freed Dollet and Timber?" said Cid happily to Dr. Odine as the jet landed. "Hmph," said Odine rudely. There goes my plan! "Thanks for everything!" said Cid as he walked towards into Dollet itself. Unfortunately, all access to Dollet had been denied because of their street party. Everyone arriving by train or on DCC would have to wait four or so hours for the partying to subside.

"Let's paahtay!" shouted Selphie as they said their goodbyes to the leader of the Forest Fox. "I'm sorry, I just found out that the trains have shut down for today" said Edea as she ran back to the group from the ticket booth.

"Let's walk to Deling instead" said Irvine

"If we do, we oughtta leave now, because they're closing the gates of Timber like they did in Dollet in…two minutes"

"Then let's leave now". After the goodbyes, they ran towards the gate, making it just in time.

"Ahhhhhhh, Dammit!" shouted Martine, "return to your dorm"

"Yes sir" The students scrambled out of his office, giving Martine some time to contemplate his next move. I see that I've miscalculated their destination. They will most likely be somewhere in Galbadia. "Set course for Timber." "Yes sir!"

Zell got off GTG in Esthar and...

"Aww, come on" said a frustrated Zell, " I'll pay you back when I have the money."

"No can do" replied the car salesman, "You pay now, or you don't get the car."

Zell lit up, "I have another idea, why don't we play a card game."

"I want money, not-"

"Yo, I doubt you have these cards" said Zell as he flashed his cards to the salesman.

"Indeed, these are rare. But-"

"I'll make you a deal you can't refuse. If you win, you get to keep all of my cards. If I win, I get the car and you get to keep yours. And the best part is that you get to choose the cards I will use."

"Deal!" said the salesman, his mouth watering just thinking of getting all those cards, "Mind you, the only person in all of Esthar who has ever beat me at cards is President Laguna. Your cards will be…all Gespers. You can never crush my all Jumbo Cactuar deck!

"Damn, that's nasty." said Zell

Let the card game begin!

The rules are Same and Plus. I will refer to the upper-left portion as UL, upper as U, C as center, and so on. The score will follow. In the order, Zell-Salesman

"You go first," said the salesman. Zell placed his card at UR. Score 1-0

"Take this!" said the salesman who placed his card at R flipping UR. Score 0-2

"Oh yeah? Zell placed his card at C flipping R and UR. Score 3-0

"Amateurs, Hmph" the salesman placed his card at U flipping C, R, UR. Score 0-4

Zell smiled and placed his card at LR. Score 1-4

"Hah, I know what you've got planned. Forget it!" the salesman placed his card at LL. Score 1-5

"Guess I can't fool you." Zell placed his card at D. Score 2-5

"Forget it. You lost! Hahaha!" the salesman placed his final card at L. Score 2-6

"Oh really?" Zell placed his final card at UL flipping U, UR, R, C. Score 7-2. Zell wins!

"Yeah, baby!!!"

"Fine, you win. Take the stupid car."

"Thanks man, and see ya around" said Zell as he drove his car into the rainy, Esthar highways.

Zone and Watts were flying towards Timber, jumping and screaming when they're not piloting. On their way, a concentration of magic from the south shot past their right.

Another from the bottom shot past their left. In addition, another from above shot behind them.

"What the hell…?" said a bewildered Zone. "Who cares?" said Watts. Zone shrugged and continued flying the Ragnarok

Ultimecia, NORG, and Adel simultaneously said, "Damn, missed."

Rinoa did not expect to see Adel roaming around Lunatic Pandora. What is she doing here? She tried walking up to her and got repelled away.

Ow! My head! What the, Squall? SQUALL! "SQUALL!" screamed Seifer. Squall came to, yawned, and then focused his eyes. "Seifer?" said Squall as he stood up and grabbed his gunblade. "Whoa Squall, I'm not here to kill you, man. I'm free again and I want to help you. And, I'm…sorry". Squall, shocked with Seifer's words, stared at Seifer, who was sitting down covering his face with his arm. Squall offered his hand to Seifer. Seifer stood up and shook hands with Squall. Then, they hugged.

Chapter 14

"Open the gates!" shouted the head Galbadian soldier to the subordinates, who reopened the gates of Dollet to the outsiders and trains once more. "At last" said Cid, bored insane from the three hour wait. Cid walked into Dollet Square and started observing. Apparently, they've moved the party into they're homes. The Card Queen's father, eh. Better do some research at the pub. So Cid walked into the pub and saw the last people he expected to see going upstairs. What're they doing here? Maybe I'll surprise them! Cid had a mischievous grin on his face as he followed them upstairs. He went upstairs and saw Fujin in a card game with Raijin intently watching. Cid slowly crept behind them and patted the two on their shoulders. They turned around and saw Cid smiling at them. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" screamed the two simultaneously while Cid laughed like he never laughed before. When the laughing and screaming subsided, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Looking for you," said Raijin shyly, "ya see we wanna go back ta Garden and become SeeDs, ya know."

"I'd love to have you back, but I can't right now. I have my own mission to accomplish first." Cid explained Laguna's instructions to them. Fujin then looked at Raijin, who then looked back at Fujin. They nodded at each other simultaneously. "Sir," said Fujin, "we wanna help you in your mission."

"I don't think I can-"

"But sir, you'll need a bodyguard and we can be those bodyguards"

Cid hesitated, "Are you sure?

"Yup"

"Fine then, I'd love to have your help."

"Ya need ta go ta the Card Queen's father, right? I'll show ya where he lives" said Raijin as he left with Cid and Fujin following behind him.

A moment later, Cid, Fujin, and Raijin arrived at the residence of the Card Queen's father. Cid knocked on the open door and peeped inside. He saw the Card Queen talking with her father. The Card Queen blushed and said, "Come in, how can I help you."

"I'd like to speak with your father." Cid handed him the document and explained the situation. The father nodded and said, "I would be delighted to help. Here are the keys to my yacht, it is beached at the beach and it hasn't been christened yet so call it whatever you want."

"Thanks" said Cid as he walked outside with the two following closely.

"That was pretty nice of you, father" Said the Card Queen

"Kind? I put a radar receptor in there in case someone steals it. Now we can track down his location and give it to Pres. Caraway. Think of it with me daughter, 20 million gil!"

As the trio arrived at the beach, Raijin saw an empty bottle, picked it up, and said, "Let's christen it."

"Go ahead"

"Let's call it Fujin, Raijin and Cid"

"Fine with me" said Cid, who gave the bottle to Raijin to do the honors. He smashed the bottle on the left side of the boat, breaking the wood, and revealing a gizmo hidden inside.

"A radar receptor, eh. Why that rotten son-of-a-b****." Cid then threw the receptor on the back of a dolphin leaving Dollet.

"Whoa, good one, sir" said Raijin as he helped Cid and Fujin aboard.

They left in 3 minutes.

Dr. Odine had a new plan. As he stepped off the truck from Galbadia Missile Base where his jet was parked, he walked into the Presidential Residence. The guards escorted him to Caraway's suite, where he was intently looking at a picture of Rinoa. From the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Odine looking at his watch. He placed the picture in his desk drawer.

"Have a seat"

"Thank you," the doctor went straight to the point, "I know how to get your daughter back"

"How!?" said Caraway, his eyes gleaming.

"Ah, ah, ah, not yet. First you must give me ze sole permission to capture ze fugitives."

"You have my permission, now how will-"

"Give me 20 million gil in advance." Caraway wrote something in a piece of paper and said, "Present this to the treasurer, he will give you the gil. Now will you tell me how you will save Rinoa?"

"Sure" smiled Dr. Odine.

Chapter 15

Balamb Garden's radio frequency has been flooded with questions from the journalists; some even flew to Cactuar Island just for an interview. Dr. Kadowaki had no choice. "Nida, I want you to set course for the Deep Sea Research Center. We will leave at 1100 hours." "Sure."

It's a good thing I know how to operate all kinds of machines. I still don't get those laserlike thingies that missed us by just an inch. It was a fluke that I made it here even through all that damn rain! "Yo, Zone. What happened? Let's party" said Watts. Zone put his thought down for the moment and continued dancing.

"This rain is really slowing us down" said Selphie. She and the party were resting near Obel Lake. "Yeah, we even went the wrong way" added Irvine. Edea brushed the rainwater off her hair and motioned them to follow her. It was going to be a long walk.

It began to rain harder.

Cid had a hard time steering the FRC through the stormy seas. Fujin and Raijin were bailing the water from the boat to keep it from capsizing. "I see land, ya know!" said Raijin happily. Cid barely managed to dock it at the Eldbeak Peninsula. They ran to the nearest Chocobo Forest. Since it was devoid of any humans, Cid decided to make himself at home, well, sort of.

"Damn car!" Zell was really pissed off, "Great, now I have to walk the rest of the way!" Zell ran into the huge forest and found his way into the Chocobo Holy Forest. "Where's Chocoboy?" wondered Zell, "Never mind, I don't think the Chocobos will mind"

"How's the messenger service?" asked the Shumi.

"It's great" replied the frustrated Chocoboy. He had been the messenger for the Shumis since the rain had begun. He begged the Head Shumi to let him stay down here. He was allowed to, on the condition that he would serve as the Shumis' messenger boy until the rain stopped. "Another errand, I'm a messenger boy not a gopher" muttered Chocoboy as he sealed the elevator to the Village.

It's a good thing Ward sealed Esthar proper. I can't believe that I am stranded here in Lunar Gate, and now that Squall is in Timber, or so I hope, I can't do a damn thing! I hope Kiros is still staying with Ellone. "Sir, we have the report of our meteorology department. The cause of the rain is apparently unknown."

"How is the accessibility of the other places?"

"Sir, Tears Point is under water and is only accessible by helicopter. Lunatic Pandora Research has been evacuated and is under water and is completely inaccessible. Sorceress Memorial is under water, locked up tight, and is completely inaccessible. Lunar Gate's force seal will last a few more days."

"Thank you."

Come to think of it, why the hell is Squall in Timber?

"Head for Balamb!" shouted Martine to the pilot. GTG barely made it past Esthar. They had had a horrible time out at sea trying to keep the Garden from capsizing. What the fuck…wondered Martine as GTG stood adjacent to an impenetrable force field surrounding Balamb.

"We have to go to Dollet!" screamed Edea. They were almost there when they ran into a Wendigo. I can't take this rain! Die you fuckin monster! DIE!!! Irvine went insane and summoned Quezacotl to destroy the Wendigo. "Irvine, NOOOOO!!"

Four bodies lay afloat drifting towards the shore.

"What in hell…!?" wondered Laguna as Tears Point hovered above the water and flew towards Centra Ruins.

Chapter 16

How much longer do I have to wait until this asshole comes into range? Wedge sat there, still waiting for the perfect moment. Not too far away at the tomb of the Unknown King, the Deling Presidential Mausoleum lay devoid of corpses and surrounded by reporters. "What must have happened?…. Who stole their bodies?…. What does President Caraway have to say about this?" The flurry of camera flashes and heavy rain was not a splendid sight.

This forest is going to be underwater soon. I have to keep going! Earlier, Zell had found one of the Chocobos familiar. Turns out, that chocobo was Boko. "Come on, Boko, we're going north"

That Caraway is a fool. Only a fool would be such an idiot. Ha! Dr. Odine was given permission to find the fugitives. That idiot actually believes I will turn in those morons. I have another use for them. Lucky for him, I may be able to save his daughter. However, I probably won't. Gwahahahaha! Dr. Odine set aside his thoughts as his jet neared Winhill, his next destination.

There is something terribly wrong, why is Tears Point hovering above Centra Ruins? And how do I get to Squall. Laguna was in a risky situation. "Sir," said a technician, "we need to relieve our barrier immediately or it may collapse, we have 5 minutes and counting til the barrier collapses." Damn! Now we need to be evacuated. "Is there a way to relieve the barriers without flooding us?"

"Its risky, but possible"

"How?"

"By generating a tremendous amount of potential energy then loading it to our barrier, we can gain as much as a week's worth of barrier energy."

"Like I said, how?"

"By launching a projectile, unfortunately, the other country we may hit might declare war with us. For the sake of national security, we must not launch any projectiles. Besides, it is against the law"

Damn oversight committee! Then it hit him. "What about a capsule"

"A capsule is still a projectile, sir"

"Launch me to Timber"

"WHAT!"

"I am ordering you to launch me to Timber"

"Your Excellency, that would be violating three of our laws: the projectile launching act, the capsule usage code, and the most recent of the three, the presidential exit restraint law, which forbids you to leave Esthar."

"Your loyalty and integrity to your nation is admirable, young man, but what about your loyalty and integrity to your planet, your kind, your very existence. I have seen none of that mentioned in what you have just said. I have not been wrong before. When I smelled something fishy, I got down to the bottom of things and fixed everything. Now as your leader and comrade I am asking for your cooperation"

"Yes sir, you have my cooperation"

"Good, now prepare for the launching"

"Yes sir" Within 2 minutes the projectile was ready for launch.

"Are all the coordinates ready?" asked the head technician

"Yes sir" replied the subordinate

"Let the countdown begin"

5…4…3…2…1…Launch!

Meanwhile, in deep space…

"Sir, there seems to be a dead monster floating towards the ship."

"What! Take it in and have it dissected."

Three engineers from Esthar's Communications Spatial Base were sent to recover the body of the floating propagator. They did not have a hard time bringing it back for observation.

"Sir, apparently this creature seemed to have been "haunting" Esthar's former flagship, the Ragnarok."

"Place it under tight surveillance immediately"

"Yes sir" Unfortunately, the Propagator was only asleep and it woke up while being transported to the surveillance room. It feasted on its transporters and consumed everyone else on board the satellite. They were not able to send a distress signal in time.

"D-Don't! P-Please! I have a w-w-wife and three k-kids! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"*Gobble* *Burp*" It even consumed the people who were going to escape through the escape pods.

It also managed to set the satellite on a collision course with the Deep Sea Research Center and escape the way it came in before the satellite even began falling.

Now where do we go? Martine was in a huge mess. He had to save his students. I've got it! "Set course for Centra Ruins"

"Yes sir"

"Doctor, we have confirmed that Esthar's communications satellite is on a collision course with Deep Sea Research Center. Doctor? Damn! She fainted! Hey you, you're her apprentice right? Take her to the infirmary and take care of her. Nida kept replaying the situation repeatedly. The satellite is going to destroy us in about 3 hours, and Xu, the "Queen of Gung-ho" is doing absolutely nothing. It's time to take matters into my own hands! Nida immediately steered the Garden westward. Xu is gonna kill me, but I have no choice.

"You incompetent buffoon!! You screwed up the coordinates and now our President is heading to Fisherman's Horizon instead of Timber!!!"

"Sorry sir"

"YOU'RE SUSPENDED!!!"

"Isn't there another form of transportation we can use?" asked Cid. The two just sat under the chicobo scented shade while shaking their heads.

"Maybe we can fly, or glide! I've always wanted ta go around the world with a hang glider. That's one of my dreams, ya know!" said Raijin. Fujin groaned, while Cid seemed immersed in thought. Then…

"Raijin! You're a genius"

"Really? Thanks!"

"We can build add fins to our boat so it can glide over water."

"I think we can get those from the Grendels I saw nearby, ya know"

"Great, Let's get a move on!"

What's wrong with her? Thought Rinoa as she followed Adel to the top of Lunatic Pandora. She tried once to communicate with Adel, who then flung her past the shield, far away…

Squall and Seifer were busy talking when a projectile hit them. It came to and looked them straight in the eye. "RINOA!!"

"SQUALL, SEIFER!!!"

Rinoa kissed the two boys' cheeks while Squall and Seifer hugged her.

She's back! No more are my nightmares; my life is whole once more!

Never since birth, had Squall experienced such joy, such happiness in his heart and soul.

Squall tried to stifle a smile, but failed miserably.

Whoa, check out Squall's pearly whites. I have got to borrow his toothpaste!

Chapter 17

"Zone," said Watts, refreshed from his post-party nap, "Isn't it time we began looking for Rinoa?"

"You're right. Meet me in the Ragnarok in ten minutes"

"Don't forget your acidity pills" replied Watts coyly

"Ha Ha, very funny"

Fifteen minutes later, the Ragnarok was flying over Centra when…

"Whoa! Watts, check this out"

"Whoa"

"What is it"

"I think its Tears Point, I read about it in a book once"

"Is it supposed to fly?"

"No"

"Then why is it flying?"

"You don't think"

"RINOA?" said the two in unison

Zone revved up Ragnarok to the max and clawed its way through the shield.

Tremendous sized waves began to travel in all directions from the impact of the satellite. One wave reportedly splashed its way into Winhill. Another wave completely surrounded Edea's house. GTG was north of Centra and barely evaded the tsunami. Balamb Garden was safe from the waves in Cactuar Island. Unfortunately, since there was a lot of flooding in Esthar, several tsunamis traveled above Esthar and dissipated in the icy Trabia region.

"NIDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Xu, "You idiot! Your instructions were too remain still while we evacuate. Thanks to you, our plan failed!"

"Umm, actually, if not for me, we would have lost Garden, our home, to your goddamn ignorance" I then walked out of the room leaving Xu dazed.

Nida replayed the scenes in the past few hours in his head again. That was his version of analysis. "By popular vote, our pilot Nida has been elected to lead Balamb Garden in the stead of our beloved Dr. Kadowaki." *applause*

"I want to…apologize for my, err, gung-ho way of doing things"

"No problem"

"I was too immersed in my power. Like the saying goes 'Absolute Power Corrupts…'" Oh God, not another one of Xu's speeches!

"Nida, the first tsunami is coming from the West!"

"I'm heading north of Cactuar Island"

10 minutes later

"Evasion successful. Another tsunami is coming from the East"

"I'm staying here"

10 minutes later

"Evasion successful once more. I believe that the last tsunami is coming from East once more. Unfortunately, this one is big enough to pass on top of Cactuar Island"

"I'm going back to Deep Sea Research"

"WHAT?!"

"That is an executive decision, Xu, and you cannot stop me."

"F-Fine"

Fortunately for Nida, the tsunami was, as predicted, toppled by the waves and passing islands. He was whistling a happy tune, piloting Balamb Garden to its destination, to investigate.

Martine had had enough trouble already. He did not need this. "What is that?"

"Sir, it appears to be Esthar's Tears Point, should we dock and investigate?"

"No, we are going back to Esthar to investigate"

"But the weather-"

"No buts, get moving"

"Daddy"

"Yes"

"What are those people doing"

"What the…?" The father and daughter, who were bonding at Balamb Harbor, stared at the four bodies floating outside the energy field.

"What's happening now, Daddy."

"It seems the four bodies are getting sucked down a whirlpool"

"Wow!"

Upon waking up…

"Ahhhhhhh! This isn't Timber!"
"Of course it isn't," replied the master fisherman, "Mayor Dobe is expecting you"

"Oh, thanks"

Laguna then stood up and walked away from the angry crowd of people surrounding his capsule. Laguna then looked up and saw why. My capsule must have caused that huge hole in FH's barrier. It's a good thing FH has several amazing engineers or I would be in deep shit! I'm gonna personally fire the person responsible for this screw-up. It must've been that guy I gave a speech to. It's been years since I have given a formal speech. I've still got knack for it! Laguna arrived at the mayoral residence with a smile on his face. He then knocked on the door. Mayor Dobe opened the door without any expression on his face. "Are these your weapons?" said Dobe in a condescending tone. I like this guy's tact. "Yes they are, thanks for recovering them"

"When can you leave"

Okay, a little tact is good, but this guy is a nutcase. "I don't know really"

"I'll give you one of our boats and open the dock for your passage"

"Fine, thanks for your hospitality."

Dobe slammed the door on the foreigner.

Like I said, he's a complete nutcase. He reminds me of Squall, though.

"Ohh", groaned Edea as she woke up. She focused her eyes and saw Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis fighting NORG in the Fire Cavern. "Matron! Help!"

"I-I'm coming" replied Edea, her children were fighting a losing battle. I need to gain the upper hand. She scooped up some magma with a spoon shaped rock and tossed it to NORG. NORG then grabbed the four in his hands and threw them towards Balamb; they crash landed through a roof and into Zell's room.

NORG then spoke into a gamma wave radio, "I had some intruders a while ago"

"Did you get rid of them" replied a deep voice

"They did not pose any challenge at all"

"Whoa, Boko, you can stop now" said Zell. He and Boko were high atop a mountain, the only part of Trabia which was not covered in water. Shumi Village was in sight an under water. Zell had no idea on how to get across. I need to float my way to the mountain on top of Shumi Village. How do I do that? I've got it! Zell KO'd a Snow Lion with two consecutive summonings of Eden. He stole some Mesmerize blades from a Mesmerize and used them as oars to use while floating on the carcass of the Snow Lion. After a while, he and Boko landed above the mountain next to Shumi Village. Man…I-Its cold. I can't take the cold any…lon-ger. Zell's teeth chattered as he drifted to unconsciousness…

Seen in the latest issue of Tim. Mani: Four new leaders elected: Balamb's Mrs. Dincht,

Timber's own editor of the periodical Tim. Mani,

Winhill's own flower shop owner,

Dollet's own Card Queen.

These people are the new elected leaders of their respective countries, or villages

Perfect! Breathe…Relax…Aim…Squeeze…Shoot! The bullet was shot directly at Caraway's chest.

At the same time in FH…

Perfect! Breathe…Relax…Aim…Squeeze…Shoot! The bullet hit the same location as Caraway's bullet.

Both leaders were rushed to their respective hospitals, and were declared comatose.

Biggs and Wedge spoke into their gamma wave radios in unison, "2 down, 8 to go"

The deep voice replied, "Excellent, continue your mission"

Chapter 18

Dr. Odine had a difficult time getting to sleep; he was too excited. The Winhill search was futile, but I discovered the perfect person to be my patsy. That will be useful later, for now, I need to begin construction at Galbadia Missile Base tomorrow. Only one person will perform this suicide mission at will. With the right bait, I can make Cid Kramer my very own patsy. Mwahahahahahaha!

Now, to test my plan. Squall was atop a cliff facing Lunatic Pandora. He threw a rock at the energy barrier to test its strength.

The rock disintegrated into dust.

"Nice one, Squall, I just love your little ideas" retorted Seifer.

Zone lurched into Tears Point clutching his Bio Blaster™, with Watts behind him. Zone saw the statue with a tear in one eye and motioned Watts to follow. Watts brought out his weapon, which he built by himself, the Dirkblaster™, and walked behind Zone. The Bio Blaster™ was a cheap weapon, constructed to inflict heavy doses of Bio damage. On the other hand, the Dirkblaster™ was a fine weapon, truly innovative. It fired daggers which were attached to the gun by the very sturdy Marlboro tentacles Watts saw lying in the White SeeD ship one morning. The two slowly entered the door at the bottom of the statue. Strange, when I read that book, it said nothing about a door at the bottom of the statue. Watts peeked in and saw a grand throne room. The throne itself was made of gold and streaked with veins of ruby. There were sapphire veins on the floor, which was made of opals. The walls and ceiling were composed of emeralds. The upper half of a body was seen on the throne. Watts and Zone presumed it was dead. The body's face was too difficult to make out. Its hand was clutching a bronze scepter; a garnet was placed on top of it. The body then began to move, it seemed to smile. It then raised the scepter and launched a ball of energy on to the unsuspecting duo. They were petrified in fear and hit by the glowing ball, sending them spiraling into time and space…

The Shumi stared at the body he found above Shumi Village. He touched the body's nose, which twitched in turn. The Shumi then knocked on its skull and it woke up.

"YES!!" screamed the body, "I'm finally here"

Zell then remembered, "Oh no! What about Boko?"

"Do you mean the chocobo, we are taking care of it."

"Thanks, do you mind if I stayed here."

The Head Shumi replied, "I won't, but our personal messenger boy has been harassed from all his work recently."

"I'll help him"

"Good, you may begin as soon as you feel better. Hmmm"

"What?"

"No, no. You just remind me of someone. You may not know him-"

"Laguna?"

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"My friend and I helped Sculptor make his statue."

"Oh. Well then I will give you our best hotel suite, the very same Laguna used when he was recuperating."

"Thanks"

Laguna managed to get to Timber before they sealed it from flooding. I really need some rest. Laguna went to the hotel and fell asleep as soon as he hit his bed. All the while, a shadowy creature flitted from room to room in the Timber Maniacs building and tossed a grenade into the editor-in-chief/mayor's quarters.

Ah, some peace and relaxation. Dollet's mayor, the Card Queen, who had a barrier built around Dollet just recently, was walking at the beach relaxing a bit. She then saw a card lying on the shore. She picked it up and saw a wire attached to a mercury switch activated bomb buried beneath the shore.

KABOOM!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 19

The FRC headed south as the night winds and heavy rain fell enveloped the planet. Cid, the insomniac that he was, stayed awake, trying to keep the boat on course. It glided above the rising water with ease and its windbreakers kept the vessel from capsizing as the other two rested. It had slithered past the Balamb energy field and the FH barrier in no time flat. By dawn, they were nearing the Esthar continent when Cid saw something hovering nearby. Well, well, well, if it isn't the GTG. Martine may be able to help, assuming he notices such a tiny vessel.

Fortunately, Martine did notice the boat and had his pilot do an infrared scan on it. "Well, what are your findings?"

"There are three people on board, two of them, one young male and one young female, are asleep. While the other person, a middle aged male, is awake."

"Can you magnify the readings on the middle aged male?"

"Yes sir………………the middle aged male has bifocals on and his stature his short, his hair is brown, just like his eyes. He seems to be under heavy amounts of stress and his heart rate is normal. Should I add more details, sir"

"No thank you" That could only have been one person, Cid Kramer, and I want nothing to do with him. That glory hound and his beloved SeeD are the only things that stand in my path to glory. What the hell is he doing here anyway? What do I care; he is too much of an imbecile to divulge any information of use. To hell with Cid!

"Ignore the vessel" ordered Martine

"Yes, sir" replied the cadet, happy to oblige his headmaster. That man may need our help. I wonder what Headmaster Martine is up to.

Balamb Garden was docked to the Deep Sea Research Facility, where the fuselage of the Estharian Satellite lay a complete wreck. The rain and ocean waves had completely rusted the facilities' communication receptors. We owe Esthar a lot because of their donations. It's about time we returned the favor. Nida, Xu, and several chosen SeeDs made their way into the wreckage to investigate the crash. "AHHHHHHHHHHH" screamed the female SeeDs to Xu's disgust. Welcome to the world of SeeD. They were screaming at the sight of the skeletons. The abhorrent skeletons were then analyzed by a DNA scanner. "Sir," replied the SeeD, rank 22, "there seems to be salivatory and bilic traces on these bones"

Nida said, "Take samples of those traces and have it analyzed in Garden upon our return"

"Yes, sir" said rank 22 as he brought out several vials and began collecting the DNA from the skeletons. The team began to spelunk deeper into the wreckage. Xu noticed something strange about one of the devices on board. "Nida, this device seems to have been tampered. It appears to be the destination input module, the device which allows input of coordinates to serve as the destination"

"I'm guessing this is what caused the crash" speculated Nida

"That's right" As Xu replied, one of the SeeDs, an expert data recovery technician, rank 18, brought out her laptop and booted up the data entry files of the module.
"Well?"

Rank 18 then said, "This device's final data entry was set to our current coordinates"
"Was it accidental or sabotage", asked Xu.

"It could be either of the two" said rank 18. She pointed at the numeric keypad and said, "Notice that if you were to pound the keypad with a flat hand, these coordinates, our coordinates, would be inputted into the engine, causing it to crash here."

"On the other hand," added another SeeD, rank 16, trained in criminal psychology, "if someone intended to shut down the device, but not get Esthar in trouble, like say a high ranking official, he or she may pick a destination which is not likely to cause any trouble. Yet be too hasty to check if anyone, or in this case, Balamb Garden, was in the vicinity"

Rank 18 nodded her head as Nida began to speculate once more. "Why would a high ranking official risk his life like that?"

"He or she would probably hire a patsy to do it for him"

"Hmmm, but then why the skeletons, and the, err, digestive acids"

"I don't quite know, sir, but-" Their conversation was interrupted by the return of rank 22. "Sir, the saliva seems to be that of a Propagator"

"You mean, the monster depicted on the Propagator card?" asked Xu, the card club queen.

"That's right, that monster was added to our bestiary by our leader Squall, who defeated several aboard the Ragnarok, the former Esthar flagship which was floating in space for the past 16 years. The monster is of alien origin, sir"

"I guess that solves our mystery," said Nida, "one last question, do you guys think this satellite could be rebuilt?"

"Nida, has the alien dust gone to your head?" asked Xu

"Just answer my question" said the stern acting-headmaster

The SeeDs began to murmur, "Yeah…why not?… it would be expensive though…it is possible…"

"So I guess you all think it is possible, then?" asked Nida

"Yes" said the SeeDs in unison

"Well then, let's make this satellite our little, err, big project"
"Yeah, Whoohoo!" said the SeeDs aboard the fuselage.

"The frustration begins" muttered Xu

Ellone, when are you gonna get better? All Kiros could think about was his "niece" Ellone. He decided to worry about other things. I hope Ward is doing a good job in leading Esthar. What the fuck was up with Laguna? Where is he? I can't even find out because of the shutdown of that damn satellite! What's happening up there? Ahhhhhhh, Dammit! I can't stop worrying about Ellone. If Squall's presence is the only thing that will revive her, I'll do anything in my power to get to Squall. Kiros moved out of the hospital immediately, hopped on a groundwater submarine, and headed to Lunar Gate. Before he left, he wrote a letter to be sent to Ward.

Dear Ward, I have gone on my own mission to find Squall. I need you to lead Esthar in Laguna's absence and take care of Ellone from me. Good luck to you.

Your comrade

Kiros

"Ohh, my head" said Zone as he awoke to find Seifer staring at him. "Sir Seifer?"

"Rinoa, your pal is awake." Rinoa then ran to Zone and hugged him. Watts also woke up and said, "Rinoa, Sir Seifer?" The three hugged as Seifer watched them, completely emotionless.

"How did you guys end up here?" asked Squall, who joined the reunion.

"We went to find you guys in Tears Point-"

"Hold on…Tears Point?"

Zone and Watts explained the events of the past two days.

"Matron, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie…killed someone?" wondered Seifer, "Hahaha. You guys are horrible liars"

"I don't think they're lying" retorted Squall

"My dad is…president"

"Yeah, and he set free Timber and Dollet"

"Oh my God! You mean my dad, achieved our dream"

"I think he did it all for you, Rinoa"

Rinoa sat there, with mixed feelings in her heart. Thank you, father. I miss you

"Umm, I forgot to mention something" added Zone, "you tell her Watts"

"Rinoa, I'm sorry, President Caraway was shot in the chest"

Rinoa gasped and seemed petrified at Watts' words. I never got a chance to thank him. I'm sorry I was such a brat, father. I'm so…sorry. Rinoa began to weep heavily. Seifer and Zone sat down and attempted to comfort her. Squall did not seem to show much concern, "Is he alive?"

"We don't know, sir" replied Watts, "Mayor Dobe of FH was shot as well"

Squall, can't you see that I'm in pain? Why don't you comfort me?

You idiot, this is the girl you love and she is in pain. Comfort her you ninny!

Squall, as though on impulse, sat beside Rinoa and hugged her. Seifer then took this as a sign to stand aside, "Any other info, Watts?"

"Negative, sir, nothing of importance."

As Squall hugged Rinoa, he completely forgot his earlier question.

Biggs and Wedge spoke into the gamma wave radio, "4 down, 6 to go"

"Excellent! Keep going"

Chapter 20

Ohh, my head! Edea woke up in Zell's room. She looked above her. The hole we made in the roof has been patched. Look at them, sound asleep. It reminds me of back when we were- "Finally, one of you woke up" interrupted Mrs. Dincht, "you should be happy that you are Zell's friends or I would have turned you in. I do not appreciate havin' a bunch a homicidal maniacs in my home"

The other three woke up when they heard the cold voice of Zell's mother. "Didn't we save Balamb, twice?" said Irvine

"They don't care, I will, if you prove yourselves innocent"

Matron explained the situation to Mrs. Dincht.

"Zell did that to save me, I'm so sorry for the disgrace this has cost you"

Zell's mother was puzzled by her words, "Why would my son do that for a stranger, I know these people, but I have never met you. Hey, you-you're Edea, the sorceress!"

"I used to be a sorceress, I am not a stranger to Zell, and in fact I am his matron from his orphanage"

"Cid Kramer was there when we adopted Zell," recalled Mrs. Dincht

"My name is Edea Kramer" Then it became clear to her

"I'm sorry about my previous bluntness, please, stay here, while I bring you something to eat, who wants Peach Jelly?"

The thought of more Peach Jelly alone made them feel sick once more.

Squall then remembered his ignored question, "When do you guys intend to tell me how you ended up here?"

Zone stood up and said, "Right now, Watts, care to explain the situation"

"Okay, we gained control of the Ragnarok and used it to fly to Tears Point, which was floating above Centra Ruins. We entered the statue inside and saw this grand throne room, and there was this guy whose bottom half is missing and he used his scepter to launch a ball of light at us and we ended up here"
"Did you say a guy with no bottom half?" asked Rinoa

"That's right, do you know who or what he is?"

"I think so. Let me tell you guys a story my mom told me when I was a little girl. There was this being called the great Hyne; he was the Supreme Being. Then, one day monsters appeared and they were too many for him to kill at once. He decided to create people to keep the monsters at bay. Pleased with his creation, he went to sleep for thirty years. When he woke up, the people had multiplied and their population was growing at tremendous rates. He decided to kidnap all the children. Fortunately, some people defeated him; he gave them the weaker half of his body and disappeared. THE END. Until now, I thought the whole story was just a myth or legend"

"I guess we now know that it isn't" said Squall, "We will have to wait and see if he poses a bigger threat later"

Laguna somehow managed to sleep through the hullabaloo, when he woke up; he was clueless in terms of the events while he slept. I need a walk. He left the hotel room and walked the dusty streets of Timber, as he neared the Timber Maniacs building, a sharpshooter shot a poison dart at his neck. His unconscious body was sent to the hospital, and was given 7 days to live. Until someone gave them the antidote, Laguna would die.

At Shumi Village, Zell found himself staring at the unconscious body of the Head Shumi. Apparently, someone dressed as a Shumi entered and shot the Head Shumi in the head. Zell panicked and asked the other Shumis, "What should we do?"

"Take this boat to Fisherman's Horizon and have him admitted into the hospital. Then, avenge him!" Vengeance was not a concept the Shumis permitted, but the humans had gone too far!

"Yes, I promise" Zell took the boat and left immediately. He saved my life, now I must avenge him! As Zell was about to leave, he saw a piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up and read it:

Loire

Martine

Kramer

Dobe

Caraway

Editor of Tim. Mani.

Card Queen

Flower Vendor

Dincht

Head Shumi

Zell scanned the list and noticed the people whose names were crossed out have already been killed. Omigod, this is a hit list. They already got Laguna! Oh no! My mom is on that list! I have to save her!!! Zell hopped into the boat and rode.

Biggs and Wedge spoke into the Gamma Wave Radio once more, "only four people remain, sir. Unfortunately, we lost our list"

Hyne replied, "I will have another copy teleported to you. DO NOT LOSE IT!!!!!"