The entire group stood there, frozen, jaws dropped, stunned by the words of this odd looking woman. She then continued, "First you entrap my mother, then kill after she finally reawakens, have you no honor?" One of the more experienced Esthar soldiers stepped forward and said, "Your mother? Entrapped and killed..." He then froze with fear, he knew exactly who she was referring to. He then took a hesitant step back and began to slide away as fast as possible, never taking his eyes off of the woman. The other men stared at him confused, then one spoke up, "Who are you, and what is all this gibberish you're gabbing on about?"

Meanwhile, in Esthar, Laguna had gotten the news of the firing of the strange plasma cannon, and the decimation of his Fleet. He stodd from his chair, and thought carefully. (How can this be??? I personally monitored their army. How could they have developed something that powerful so fast?) He suddenly felt a thought pulse into his head like an arrow. He cringed slightly and turned to Kiros, who was also standing, and watching Laguna closely. Laguna gulped a dry gulp, and muttered a single word...

Squall and Rinoa arrived in the Presidential Residence in the heart of Deling, surprised to find it empty, all except two soldiers they recognized. Squall walked up behind one of them, who was wearing a red uniform, and tapped his shoulder. "Well, if it isn't Major Biggs, and his trusty sidekick, Wedge," Squall said sarcastically. Rinoa chuckled slightly, and General Biggs gulped hard, recognizing the voice. Squall then continued, "I thought you guys quit this army and moved on... what's the deal?" Biggs took a deep breath and turned, with chills running up and down his spine. "I.. I... uh.... we got a..uh... the army gave us an offer we couldn't refuse... so to speak," Biggs stuttered. Wedge had also turned by now, and nodded to Biggs' reply. Rinoa then hopped in front of them, and giggled a little more. "Now you boys could just, get out of here, and forget you saw us... that is, if you know what's good for you," Rinoa said in a cocky voice. Wedge tugged on Biggs' arm and tried to walk off, but Biggs didn't move. Wedge tugged a littlr harder, nearly falling over himself, and cried "Come on Biggs!" General Biggs stood there, staring off into space as if in a trance, with a burning evil in his eyes. "No," he said, "Andora gave us our orders, we must carry them out," he said in a drone like voice. Rinoa felt a twing in her mind. She felt the presence of another Hyne's Descendant, like herself, in Biggs' mind. She put her hand on Squall's shoulder, and warned him of the Sorceress' control over Biggs. Squall suddenly paused, and then quickly drew his gunblade, the Lionheart. Squall stanced himself, prepared for anything.

The group of attackers on the Galbadia Garden were awaiting a reply from the strange woman, when the other group of SeeDs came rushing in, with Seifer and Zell at the helm. Seifer had his Hyperion out, swinging it madly around as usual. "What are you morons doing?" Seifer exclaimed, before noticing the woman. The woman, still gazing at the first group of soldiers, spoke in an eerie voice, "Adel... Adel was my mother... and you miserable Esthar took her from me... along with those kursed SeeDs..." Zell and Seifer froze in surprise, as Selphie rushed in, late as usual. She looked at Seifer and Zell, and shrugged, then saw the woman. "Hey guys, who's this?" she said, in a cheery voice. She bounced up and down impatiently waiting for a reply. Zell slowly regained himself, and turned to Selphie, who was now getting somewhat angry at them. Zell walked to Selphie, and whispered into her ear what he had heard. Selphie nearly fainted in shock. She grabbed Zell and Seifer, who was adeptly afraid of Sorceresses after being possessed by one for so long, and ran off, yelling at the SeeDs and Esthar to do the same. Most of them ran off, except for the one who stepped forward before to confront the Sorceress. He seemed captivated by her strange aura, as she blankly stared back at him, with a blank expression. One SeeD saw him, and grabbed him, carrying his stiff, stunned body back to the their respective Garden. Seifer looked back only once, for a brief second, before running back to Balamb Garden.

The Shumi Crawlers had been since called back, as The Elder heard the news of a Sorceress. Although they had little knowledge of them, the Shumi feared Sorceresses, and knew they only meant trouble.

"Sorceress..." Laguna said, "Kiros, it has to be the work of a Sorceress." Ward stood up shocked, and Kiros bowed his head, knowing the eminent fate of those who confront Sorceresses. Ellone had been told by a guard that there was trouble, and ran into the room with Laguna, scooping him into a hug. "Dad, what's going on?" she asked. Ellone knew about Laguna marrying Raine before her death, and still called him "Dad". Laguna hugged her momentarily, and then held her from the shoulders at arms length. "Ellone," he said," I need Squall, tell him I need him now, please." Ellone nodded, and proceeded to use her Connection ability to speak with Squall.

Biggs finally snapped out of it, and he and Wedge ran off. Rinoa put her arms around Squall, and hugged him. Squall smiled slightly, and then began to pass out. Rinoa worried for a second, but remembered what was going on. "Squall... Squall... can you hear me?" Ellone said to Squall's mind. Squall could hear the sorrow in her voice and immediately asked what was wrong. Ellone told Squall that Laguna needed him right away, and disconnected. Squall awoke and told Rinoa what Ellone had said. Rinoa gasped, fearing something had happened to Laguna, Kiros, or Ward, grabbed Squall. "Let's go!," she said, as she pulled him with her and proceeded out of the room.

When the Balamb attack group returned to the Garden, Irvine greeted them at the entrance. He expected a report of success, but he was wrong. Selphie flusteredly stumbled into Irvine's arms, holding him for comfort. Irvine grinned slightly, and shrugged at the same time. Seifer explained what happened to Xu, and she dispatched it to the rest of the Garden over the intercom. The Garden Force pulled back simultaneously, all of them completely stunned by the incurring events.

Squall quickly arrived in the Esthar Air Station, flying in a small pod like aircraft that he had prepared for an escape. He and Rinoa got out of the craft, greeted by the entire Presidential crowd. Laguna immediately walked up to Squall and hugged him, then hugged Rinoa as well. He then led them to the Board Room once again. After a long discussion, Rinoa and Squall emerged from the pressurized doors of the Presidential Palace. They went to Dr. Odine's lab, to seek instruction on what to do next.

The Centra Army was now underway, heading to Esthar in their fastest transports. This Army consisted of some people, who came from all over the world, and from the few small towns in Centra, and many genetically engineered monsters that were taken from the area around the Centra Ruins. This now huge army, generated from unknown forces, now headed towards Esthar, consumed by a massive hatred... driven by pain.