Squall stood in the doorway of the train car, staring blankly out the window at the underwater tunnel walls. Selphie and Zell were with him. They had all been given orders that morning by Cid to help a Timber resistance group called the Forest Owls. Squall had been appointed leader of the operation. When they had left for Balamb train station, Squall noticed that Cid had been staring at him. He had a look of fear and anticipation on his face. That expression was what Squall was thinking about.
(He's scared… Cid is stared of me, that I'll do something to screw up, or hurt someone… Like he doesn't trust me… But if he doesn't trust me, why am I here? The leader of the whole operation? …I'm just going to have to get the job done quickly and efficiently to prove that I'm reliable…) Squall's thoughts were interrupted by Zell, who was standing with Selphie, rather impatiently next to the door leading into the cabins.
"What?" Squall asked looking from one person to the other. Zell pointed toward the door.
"You have to use the ticket to get into the cabins…" Zell said. Squall pulled the ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Zell. Zell took it and walked to a console next to the door. He punched in a few numbers and a small beep registered, affirming them access to the cabins. Selphie squealed in glee and ran into the hallway, stood on her tiptoes and peeked out the window. Zell walked after her, with Squall following slowly behind. Zell opened the door of the only cabin in the hallway.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed entering the room. Squall glanced at Selphie who was contentedly singing a song about trains, and walked in after Zell. Zell was bouncing lightly on a couch in the room. There were three bunks and a desk as well. "Man! A personal cabin for SeeD! Damn it pays to be SeeD!!" Squall rolled his eyes and walked toward the couch.
"…I'm glad you're impressed…" Zell glared at Squall and stopped bouncing. Squall sat down next to Zell and leaned forward, thinking about that morning with Cid again.
"…Um… So, Squall… What do you know about Timber?" Zell asked politely. Squall sighed, would Zell ever shut up?
"Enough…"
"Come on Squall… really, what do you know?"
"Zell, I don't wanna hear it…" Squall said. Zell, however, was not deterred.
"But I wanna tell you!!" Zell whined. Squall looked up at Zell and glared at him.
"Zell… if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to tell you what hot dogs are really made of…" Zell swallowed. He didn't want to know what hot dogs were made of, he liked not knowing. Squall turned his head back toward the floor. A few seconds later, Selphie entered, holding her head.
"…I don't feel so well…" she said, sitting on the couch, next to Zell. Squall stood up and looked at her.
"If you're not feeling well, you should lie down. We'll wake you up when we get to Timber…" Squall's voice trailed off as Zell stretched and yawned.
"AAAAhhhhhmmmm… I'm kinda sleepy too…" Zell said, as he and Selphie faded off into a deep sleep. Squall stared at the two of them as a high pitched buzz started ringing in his ears. His head started hurting and he suddenly felt very tired.
"…What's… happening…" Squall moaned as he fell slowly to the ground.
***
"…Uh, Laguna… Isn't the war the other way?" asked the soldier as the they slid to a stop. Laguna Loire stopped and looked around.
(…Where the hell am I?) Laguna put his hand to his head and blinked. He suddenly didn't feel very well. He shook his head and ignored the soldier's question.
"…I'm sure it's around here somewhere…" Laguna mumbled, running ahead. The two other soldiers looked at each other and shrugged, running after him.
(…What the??) Laguna slid to a halt again, next to a small log bridge. He put his hand to his head.
(Why does my head hurt?) he thought closing his eyes and leaning against a tree. Kiros and Ward came up behind him.
"Are you alright?" Ward asked, looking at Laguna. "…You don't look so hot…" Laguna pulled himself off of the tree and crossed the bridge uncertainly. Kiros and Ward glanced at each other again and followed him across. They walked a little further to find their Galbadian vehicle parked in the middle of the forest.
"What is this doing here? …Laguna, we just came full circle!!" Kiros said, slapping his forehead. Laguna stared at the vehicle and suddenly felt sick again. He shrugged at Kiros and got into the car. Ward and Kiros rolled their eyes and jumped in after him.
***
"What can I get for you gentlemen?" the waitress asked as the three soldiers sat down.
"The usual…" Laguna answered, leaning back in his seat.
"Me too…" Kiros agreed.
"Yeah, same…" Ward said. The waitress smiled and left.
(Huh? What?) Laguna looked up.
"What?" he asked Ward. Ward looked around, confused.
"Huh?"
"…I… uh… nevermind…" Laguna looked down at the table.
(Ack! My head hurts so much!!) Kiros shook his head and blinked.
"Hey, is anyone else's head buzzing?" he asked.
"Hey, yeah… Mine's buzzing… Ever since Timber…" Ward answered. Laguna closed his eyes.
"I feel like the whole Galbadian army is doing laps in my head…" Kiros looked over at Laguna.
"Yeah, you don't look so well either…" Kiros looked up and saw a woman walk down the staircase. He nudged Laguna. "Hey man, there's Julia…" Laguna opened his eyes and looked at the woman. She had on a long, elegant, black and red dress. She sat down at a piano in the corner and started to play.
"So, you gonna do it? You gonna go talk to her?" Laguna ignored Kiros and closed his eyes, listening to the piano music waft through the air. The sound calmed him, and the pain in his head didn't seem so important anymore. Laguna smiled to himself and ignored everything around him, just focusing upon the music. The music slowly faded and Laguna opened his eyes again. Kiros and Ward snickered as Laguna's eyes widened. Julia was walking toward them. Laguna stood up and immediately regretted it. Kiros watched as Laguna sat back down again quickly and leaned forward, his head in his hands.
(…Dammit, my head!!) The two men stood up and pat Laguna on the back. "Good luck, my man…"
"You go Laguna!" Ward said, smiling. Then the two men walked toward the bar, leaving Laguna alone. Julia walked up to him and stopped. Laguna stood up again, a little more slowly this time. She smiled at him and he felt his heart jump into his throat.
"…Um… hi…" he said shyly, scratching his head.
"May I sit with you?" Julia asked softly. Laguna swallowed and nodded. He limped a few steps to the left and sat back down again. Julia sat next to him. "Is there something wrong with your leg?"
"Um… no… It's j-just cramping up… It d-does that when I'm …n-nervous…" Julia smiled.
"Nervous? You don't have to be nervous around me…" Laguna swallowed again and stared at her.
(I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…) (This is a dream, it has to be…)
"Hmm?" Laguna said, looking at her. Julia looked puzzled.
"I was wondering if maybe we could talk… In my room?" she asked slowly. Laguna stood up again. His head started hurting more.
"Y-your r-room??" Julia nodded.
"There are too many people around here, I would like to talk a little more privately…" she whispered to him. "Just ask for my room at the front desk…" She smiled, stood up, and walked away, leaving Laguna in a state of shock. He limped numbly to the bar and ordered another drink.
"…So? What happened?" Kiros asked as Laguna downed the shot. "I mean besides you hitting negative two on the manliness scale with the whole leg thing…" Laguna glared at Kiros.
"She wants to talk to me privately…" Laguna answered, drinking another shot. Kiros dropped his glass with a loud shatter.
"…WHAT?" Laguna shrugged and turned to go up stairs.
"You're the man, Laguna!!" Ward shouted after him. Laguna waved his hand, feigning indifference at the two other men.
"Whatever…" he answered. Next to them, a bottle of alcohol exploded. Laguna ignored the sound and walked up the stairs.
***
Squall moaned as he pulled himself off of the ground. His head was pounding and he felt absolutely exhausted.
"Next stop… Timber… We will be arriving in ten minutes…" the intercom said. Squall pulled himself slowly off of the floor and sat with his back against the couch, breathing heavily. A few moments later, Zell and Selphie awoke, shaking their heads.
"Whoa… were we all asleep?" Zell asked standing up slowly. Selphie stretched.
"…Yeah… I had such a nice dream too…" Squall stayed on the floor.
(…I dreamt I was a moron…)
"Um… I had a pretty weird dream…" Zell said.
"…Sir Laguna is sooooo hot…" Selphie sighed. The two boys stared at Selphie.
"…Did you say, Laguna?" Selphie nodded. "…He was a Galbadian soldier, right?" Zell asked.
"Yup, that's him!" Selphie said. "You dreamt about him too?" Zell nodded.
"Was there a Kiros and a Ward in your dreams?" Squall asked, slowly standing up. He leaned against the edge of the couch, tryin' to keep himself from falling over. The two other SeeDs nodded.
"…Squall… Are you alright?" Selphie asked stepping closer to him.
"I'm fine… Just a little groggy…" Squall said, standing up straight. Selphie eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. "This is strange… I'll report it to the Headmaster when we get back…" Squall said as they felt the train come to a halt.
***
The three SeeDs exited the train station at Timber and looked at their surroundings. Zell and Selphie were pretty comfortable with the atmosphere.
"Hey, this is nice! A pretty little town," Selphie exclaimed. Squall shuddered, there were too many people here.
"Yeah, kinda like Balamb…" Zell said, nodding.
(…I don't like it…) Squall thought, glancing around at the people and soldiers. In front of them, Squall noticed a teenager standing on the staircase, seemingly waiting for someone. The boy looked at him and smiled.
"The forests of Timber sure have changed…" the boy said to Squall.
"…But the Owls are still around…" Squall answered, completing the code. The boy nodded and turned, walking down the stairs.
"Welcome to Timber, sir. Follow me please." The three SeeDs followed the boy off of the platform and onto the adjacent one. Shortly after that, a large, yellow train pulled in and the door opened. "This is it, sir… Please step aboard…" Squall, Zell, Selphie, and the man all boarded the train and it pulled away from the station. Inside the train, there was another person waiting for them. "Here they are sir!" the first boy said.
"Great Watts! So, you guys are SeeD?" the second boy asked. Squall nodded.
"I'm Squall, this is Selphie and Zell…" Squall said gesturing vaguely at the other two. The second boy put his hand out for Squall to shake.
"I'm Zone, the leader of the Timber Owls, this is Watts…" Squall stared at his hand. Zone let it fall and then offered it to Selphie, then to Zell. "Well, I guess the only other person left to meet is the Princess…" Watts leaned over and whispered something in Zone's ear. "What? …Oh, she's sleeping…" Zone turned to Squall. "Hey, can you go wake up the Princess please?" Squall crossed his arms.
"What?" Zone suddenly looked like a scared rabbit. "…We were hired to do errands?" Squall said irritably through his fatigue. Zone swallowed.
"Is there a problem?" he stuttered. Squall sighed and uncrossed his arms.
(I'm too tired to argue…)
"…Fine, but this is the last time for this sort of thing…" Zone swallowed as he stared at Squall's passive, but stern face, then glanced at the large gunblade sheath hanging on Squall's belt. He looked back at Squall's face and nodded.
"She's in the last room on the left…" Squall nodded and walked up a small staircase into the hallway. Zone exhaled when Squall left the room. "Aahhhh!! My stomach!" he exclaimed suddenly and sat down, wrapping his arms around his waist.
Squall walked down the hallway slowly, he felt so tired. He passed one doorway and saw four people in the room talking and planning.
(Must be further down…) he thought, continuing on. He got to the end of the hall and leaned against the wall outside of the door.
(…Why am I so tired?) Squall closed his eyes and stood against the wall for a few seconds, trying to regain some semblance of readiness before entering the room. He took a few deep breaths and walked into the room. Lying on the bed was a girl. She had on a blue cloak and black clothing underneath. The train jerked, causing her to roll over sleepily and sit up.
"…Who? …Hey, you're that guy! …From the dance… Does that mean that you're… SeeD?" Squall nodded.
"My name is Squall, there are two others with me…" he answered. The girl stood up and jumped at Squall, throwing her arms around him.
"YES! SeeD is here!!!" She caught Squall unexpectedly and knocked him off balance. They both crashed to the floor, with her lying on top of him. She flushed red, "Oops…" she giggled, looking into Squall's eyes. "Are you okay?" Squall scrambled out from under her and took a few steps back. He turned away from her and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! I've been sending requests to SeeD for a dog's age and kept getting rejected. I'm glad that I spoke to Headmaster Cid directly… He such a nice man… I really am sorry…" she repeated.
"…You spoke to the Headmaster?" Squall asked, turning slowly back around.
"Yeah… Do you know Seifer?" Squall frowned and nodded. "He introduced me to the Headmaster. I didn't think that they'd actually help us out, being as small as we are, but as soon as I spoke to the Headmaster, he gave the go ahead, and here you are!"
"Oh, well… Um… I'm going back to the others now…" Squall said, turning to the door.
"Oh! Okay, I'm ready… Um… Squall?" Squall turned back to her. "Is he here?"
"…Seifer?" The girl nodded. "…No, he's not a SeeD yet…"
"Oh…" she said, disappointed. Squall turned again. "Hey! Wait, my name is Rinoa… I forgot to tell you that…" she said, smiling. Squall raised an eyebrow and left the room, Rinoa following closely behind him.
***
"Okay, here's the plan…" Zone said, pointing to a small-scale map in the centre of what the Owl's called the Strategy Room. "There's a VIP from Galbadia coming to Timber. The guy's name is Vinzer Deling! Our arch-enemy, and the President of Galbadia."
"President Deling is taking a private train from the Galbadian capital," Rinoa continued. "Our plan is to..."
"Blow it up!?" Selphie asked enthusiastically. Zone, Rinoa and Watts were a little taken aback by Selphie's interjection.
"Um... Nothing so drastic..." Zone answered. "Will everyone please come closer and look at the model?" The three SeeDs took a few steps forward.
"The yellow train on the top right is our 'base'. We're riding in it right now," Rinoa began. "Right next to it is the 'dummy car'. We made it to look just like the president's car. Their train has three cars. First, there's the engine followed by the 'first escort'. The red car is the 'president's car'… Deling should be inside that one."
"The last car is the '2nd escort'. Once we get on this one, we begin the operation." Zone continued. "Our ultimate goal is to seize the president in his car using our 'base'. We'll switch our 'dummy car' with their 'president's car'. We will also use the 2 switch points leading up to Timber to carry out this operation."
"The '2nd escort' car is equipped with sensors, sir." Watts said, glancing at the SeeDs.
"We can move across the roof to the 'president's car' without worrying too much. We'll have to complete the uncoupling before the 1st switch point. If we don't..."
"BOOM!... The End, right?" Selphie said.
"...Yeah. So we'll have to move fast." Rinoa said. "After the car is uncoupled... We'll have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' will move in… At this point, our train and their train will be linked and be moving together. This is the last uncoupling. The process will probably be similar to the first one… If all goes well, we should be able to escape with the 'president's car'. After that, we'll return to our base and prepare to confront Deling… We have exactly 5 minutes to complete the procedures. If we fail, our train will collide with theirs at the switch point and it'll be all over… Don't forget that."
"5 minutes...? You sure that's enough?" Zell asked.
"Well, according to the simulation that we ran, it should only take 3 minutes to complete the operation. Piece of cake for you guys, right?" Zone said.
"..." Squall stared at the model in front of them. What had Cid gotten them into?
"As for uncoupling the cars, we have to unlock them manually by use of codes. I will be in charge of these codes. You have to watch out though that we don't get caught by the guards…" Rinoa said. "That's it… Do you have any questions? …Good, let's go…"
***
"Mission successful, sir!!" Watts greeted the SeeDs and Rinoa as they re-entered the train. "Great job!"
"Alright, now we are going to go confront President Deling… Time for some serious negotiations…" Rinoa said, walking toward the President's car.
(…'Serious negotiations'?) Squall rolled his eyes.
"Zell, stay here…" Squall ordered. Zell nodded as Squall followed slowly after Rinoa, with Selphie bringing up the rear. Squall leaned up against the door that led to President Deling's car and put his head in his hand.
(…I'm… so… tired…).
"Are you okay, Squall?" Selphie asked. Squall stood up straight again and shrugged.
"I'm fine…" he said, shaking his head and blinking to stay awake. They followed Rinoa into the Presidents car and stopped at the door.
"…President Deling? …If you co-operate, you will not be harmed…" she started. The President turned to her.
"…And what if I resist?" he asked maliciously. Rinoa took a few steps backward. "Young… lady?" The President stood up slowly. Squall drew his gunblade... there was something wrong... he could feel it. Everything in his body told him that this person was not really a person at all. "…I'm afraid that I am not President Deling… I'm what you would call a 'body double'… Too bad…" The "President" walked awkwardly toward Rinoa who screamed and ran back to Squall and Selphie. "Well youNG laDy… It seeMs thaT yOU feLL for It… This iS quItE AmuSiNg! YeS, QuiTe aMusInG!!" The "President" ran forward and grabbed Rinoa, biting at the flesh on her shoulder. Rinoa screamed in pain and hit the monster in the face with her hand. He let go of her and stood back, cackling loudly. Selphie pulled out her nunchaku and ran forward, smacking the "President" on the side of the head with them. Squall shook his head, he couldn't focus on anything.
(…Sleep… I just want to sleep…) Squall thought, his eyelids drooping. He pulled himself together again at the sound of Selphie screaming. The "President" was chewing on her this time. Squall ran to him and pulled the monster off of Selphie, throwing him on the ground. The "President" screamed in anger and pain, and pulled himself upright. His skin and clothing stripped away to reveal a Gerogero. Squall fell onto his knees on the floor. He was too tired to fight, he just wanted to sleep. Rinoa took a few steps back, the Gerogero was horrifying. She had not expected this to happen at all, it wasn't part of the plan... She didn't know what to do.
"Oh!!! How do you defeat a Gerogero!! We learned this in class!!!" Selphie said frantically, searching her mind for the answer. Squall raised his head and looked at the monster advancing upon him. He didn't seem afraid at all, he just stared at the monster with his passive stare, pulling himself off of the floor slowly, never taking his grey eyes off of the monster.
"Squall! Get out of the way! You're gonna get yourself killed!!" Rinoa shouted to him, backing up. Squall didn't care, the Gerogero was about five feet in front of him now, and moving faster. In a few seconds, Squall would be within the monster's arm reach. Squall just stared at the monster and raised his hand.
"Squall!" Rinoa and Selphie yelled at the same time. Squall closed his eyes and the two girls watched in surprise and awe as a beautiful purple light surrounded Squall. Suddenly, the purple light flashed and shot itself at the Gerogero. The monster screamed in pain and fell to the ground, dissolving in front of Squall. Squall hit the ground, falling on his knees. He just sat there for a few seconds before Rinoa and Selphie came near him.
"…Squall?" Selphie said quietly, advancing. Squall looked up at her blankly, and blinked slowly. "…Squall? Are you alright?" She asked kneeling next to him. Rinoa walked up behind Selphie and knelt down too.
"…How did you do that?" she asked in awe.
"…Life spell…" Squall said quietly. He seemed a bit dazed, like he wasn't all there. Selphie stared at Squall.
"Where did you get a life spell?" she asked incredulously. Squall didn't answer, he just turned his head back toward the floor and closed his eyes.
"Come on Squall, get up…" Selphie ordered, standing. She and Rinoa helped Squall onto his feet and walked him out of the room. They walked into the strategy room and made Squall sit down.
"Whoa… What happened?" Zell asked, looking at Squall, whom had started to doze. Selphie looked up at Zell.
"…You don't wanna know…" she answered. Watts rushing into the room interrupted them.
"Big news, sir!!! President Deling is in Timber right now, sir! He's at the TV Station!" Everyone turned to Watts, except Squall who was too exhausted to lift his head.
"What? Why would he use the TV Station in Timber when they can broadcast just as easily from Deling City?" Zone asked, puzzled.
"Hey! Maybe this has something to do with the Dollet Communication Tower!" Zell said. Selphie nodded in agreement.
"What?" Rinoa asked.
"…It's a communication tower that transmits radio waves… The Galbadians got is working yesterday…" Squall said, his soft voice carrying surprisingly far. Zone snapped his fingers.
"Hey… The TV Station is the only one in the world that can handle broadcasts over the air… Everywhere else is for online transmissions… They must have something really important to say to go through all that trouble…"
"…Wouldn't it be nice for the first broadcast in over seventeen years, to be a declaration of Timber's independence?" Rinoa mused. Zone and Watts looked at each other, then at Rinoa.
"…Actually… I think that could be arranged…" Zone said smiling.
***
Author's Note: Disclaimer shite… Um… bored out of my friggin' skull…Okay, you guys get the idea and all. R&R… I still haven't stolen Laguna's Deed yet, but it WILL be MINE! ^_~
-Rhyein