Laguna stood with Kiros and Ward, watching the technicians preparing to freeze Seifer. Systematically, they clamped restraints onto the young man, restraints that Odine developed with the specific purpose of dampening the power of Sorceresses.

Those who built the Sorceress Memorial had no intention to commemorate the life or death of any Sorceress. Rather, it employed numerous measures to ensure that a Sorceress, once frozen, would remain that way forever, and would no longer be a threat to the world. Following Adel's release -- engineered in part by Seifer -- Laguna insisted on installing even more strict countermeasures for such an occasion.

The first level would desensitize Seifer -- a relatively uncomplicated technique. The technicians at the Memorial would place Seifer into a deep hibernation, strong enough to shut off the majority of his senses and allow him to focus his mind on the battle with Ultimecia, a battle that he seemed destined to lose.

In the event of that loss, the technicians had instructions to remove all life support from Seifer's body. By pulling a lever, the technicians released a large quantity of cement, which would fill Seifer's chamber and encase him in a layer of concrete. Following that, the Esthar military would supervise his transfer to the launching facility, whereupon the staff there would launch him into the furthest reaches of space, hopefully never to return.

Laguna glanced up at the clock, wishing, not for the first time, that they'd picked a more reasonable hour to begin the procedure.

"Kiros?" Laguna asked, knowing that Kiros wouldn't have gone very far.

"Yeah, boss?" Kiros replied.

"I'm gonna go outside for awhile. Take in the sunrise. Sort out my thoughts. Take up smoking and then have a cigarette. Page me if anything important happens."

As Kiros acknowledged the request, Laguna stood up and exited the Memorial. All around him, technicians bustled and scurried, anxious to complete their tasks, nervous at the presence of both Odine and the President of Esthar.

As Laguna opened the door to the Memorial, his heart sank. Half a dozen news agencies had sent representatives, all eager to obtain a quote, much less the full story. He groaned internally.

Aww, come on! The whole point of getting up this early was to avoid you guys.

"Mister President…Can you confirm…Is it true that…What do you make of the allegations…" The voices all blended in Laguna's sleep-deprived brain.

"Go home, guys. Get some sleep. There's no story here."

The chorus of voices started up again, all demanding a claim on Laguna's time, all claiming to have information, but wanting more of it. And at the core of their concerns, he knew, was the issue of Seifer Almasy, and whether or not Laguna was trying to rescue him.

"Ward," Laguna said, feeling the presence of the giant man behind him, "as of 30 seconds from now, this is an A-level secure facility. Anyone present without the proper clearance is to be shot on sight. Anyone recording, whether in pictures, sound, or words, anything that happened here, will also be shot. Understood?"

Laguna turned to see a slow smile creep over Ward's massive face. Ward nodded slowly, and reached for the button summoning all armed personnel to the front of the Memorial.

By the time the 30 seconds elapsed, the phalanx of reporters shrank in size to a small speck of dust on the horizon. Laguna leaned against the wall and sighed, deeply. The sun had barely risen, and already he could tell it would be a long day -- the throbbing on the left side of his head told him that.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced up to see Ward regarding him with a look of infinite compassion. Laguna could see the message of friendship and support in the giant's face.

"Thanks, old friend," Laguna said. Ward's features darkened and he nodded curtly at Laguna, who interpreted the signal immediately.

"Right. Let's go."

Back inside the facility, the technicians were busy making the final preparations and adjustments. Seifer hung suspended by a series of wires over a vat of a viscous light green liquid. Cobalt blue metal bands encircled his body, restraining his arms and legs, and wrapping around his torso. Laguna couldn't help but notice how loosely Seifer's skin hung on his body; Seifer's tortuous struggle made it nearly impossible to consume any food. They'd done their best to keep Seifer nourished, feeding him intravenously while he lingered under the influence of sedatives, but it was not enough to maintain his muscular form.

Everything seemed to grind to a stop as one of Odine's chief assistants fixed an oxygen mask to Seifer's face. This final step completed, everyone stepped back and appraised the morning's work. They all knew the danger inherent in the experiment and most of them very clearly wished to vacate the building. Laguna didn't know how he felt. Nervous? Scared? Hopeful? The only one who displayed a single clear emotion was Odine, who clapped his hands together with glee and giggled periodically. Once again, Laguna burned with the urge to assault the demented little creep. Wanting to get the project underway, Laguna stepped forward.

"Okay, everyone. Thank you for your work today. As you know, we're taking a big risk with this, but we are doing the right thing. Never lose sight of that. Never lose sight that Seifer is a person, not a lab animal, and we are here to save him, not to study him."

This said, Laguna sat back down and nodded to the technicians, who began manipulating the various controls needed to start the process. The wires lowered Seifer into the vat. The clamps holding him by the shoulders unlocked and retracted. Bubbles rose from the oxygen mask to the surface. Metal plates slid down around the vat, blocking it from outside light and sound.

And Seifer's war began.