Part 6 – Sweet, Sweet Revenge
Squall and Quistis returned to Balamb Garden later the same day where the repairs had been going well. Unaware to the local attack, the SeeDs that were remaining in the Garden were working hard to try and hide the fact of the recent attack they had suffered themselves. The men and women all seemed emotionless as they rushed around working to restore what was once a beautiful miracle of a building. The elevator had been fixed so Squall and Quistis went up to the Bridge of the Garden and saw Xu sitting down in the corner just staring out of the window. As soon as she saw the two approach her, she leapt onto her feet and addressed them both with a proud salute and a large grin.
"Glad to see you back, Sir…" Squall nodded, "…Quistis." She smiled and walked towards Quistis with open arms as they gave each other a welcome back hug.
"Xu, I can honestly say that I'm glad to be back and to see your face again. I was sure that I wasn't going to make it earlier until Squall found me." Xu looked at Quistis in a puzzled way.
"What do ya mean Quisty? What happened?" Quistis looked at Squall with the question of 'Shall I tell her?' in her eyes. Squall mumbled.
"Go ahead. We need all the help we can get…" He pointed towards the elevator, "…just tell her down there, I need to think about a few things."
"Okay." With arms linked and friendly eyes full of joy through seeing each other again, Xu and Quistis made their way down the level below.
Squall looked out to sea and saw the cumulus clouds race across the sky in a furious race to see which one could reach land first and shed their tears of life across the land. The looked down and saw the balcony where he had shared his first kiss with Rinoa—His first real kiss, the others were just to show that they were together—the memories came rushing back but he placed them to the back of his mind to make way for more…more important things; like Seifer. Squall lifted his hand and tapped the microphone and the dull knock rang through the whole Garden across the intercom.
"This is Squall. I'm glad to see that you have stayed with the Garden and I'd like to say that you are doing a good job with the restoration. Yet that is not why I'm talking to you now. Cid has gone missing making me the headmaster until he comes back…if he comes back. As some of you might know, Seifer is back with vengeance and I doubt he will stop until he gets what he wants. He wants to break me down piece by piece, taking away what means most to me. He wants me and I'm not going to let him get me…"
Squall took a deep breath and the heavy sigh was felt by the entirety of the students left.
"…What I am going to ask of you is going to be hard, it's going to be tough and there is no guarantee that we will make it…I need you to help me stop Seifer before he destroys everything close to us and anything else he fancies destroying. This is a big favour to ask of you, but I believe in every single one of you and if I didn't, I wouldn't be saying this now. If you want to leave now, I understand, but if you decide to stay I will be eternally grateful." The students all stopped what they were doing and stared at the intercom speakers waiting for his last words.
"Are you all with me?"
A humungous cheer penetrated the deadly silence that had engulfed the Garden and filled every last empty space. The looks of glee, anticipation and loyalty ran throughout the corridors and the flushed faces emitted the homely glow that could tame even the wildest of hearts. These people were loyal to the Garden.
They were SeeD's.
They were Squall's SeeDs.
The harmonious sound of the hustle and bustle below Squall as the SeeDs prepared the Garden for travel and the eventual final battle with Seifer was comforting in the sense that people were on his side; nothing was going to stop them now. Squall lifted his head and looked out across the ocean and as the sun reflected it's potent rays from the azure water his spirit was filled with hope. Xu and Quistis were downstairs catching up on what had happened so he was alone on the bridge—he wasn't completely alone, not anymore, he knew that now. He had Rinoa with him—A draft circulated around the room and a whisper brushed up against Squall's ear which made the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand up to attention. The voice continued to whisper the same words.
"He's out there. He's where he always is. He's out there. He's where he always is."
Squall whipped his head around and the rest of his body followed him. He knew the voice. It was Rinoa. She was there, embracing him with her words and settling his soul to the peaceful soul that she once knew and Squall could feel the compassion inside him. A tingle emanated from his hearts and raced through the rest of his body as he was once again filled with new confidence.
"Where? Rinoa, dear, where is he?" He closed his eyes and relaxed his body and fell into a trance of deep meditation as the voices merged in his head.
"He's where he always is. He is loyal. He's where he always is…and always will be."
The words sank deep into his mind and suddenly he knew where Seifer was. The voice faded and the tingle dissipated. He yelled towards the elevator.
"Xu! Quistis! I know where we have to go!" The elevator produced two smartly clad women in SeeD uniform. Squall stood there and saluted to the pair and urged them to come closer. "I know where Seifer is." Xu looked at him in amazement.
"How? How do you know?" she looked around the room then back at Squall, "is there something I should know?" Squall replied with a genuine excitement smile on his face.
"It's a long story, it isn't time to ask questions now so I'll tell you later. All I know is that Seifer is in the most obvious place that we overlooked." Quistis and Xu looked at each other and started to think. The concentration in their faces was like a painted picture and captured the situation perfectly. Quistis shifted her glance to Squall and mumbled.
"Squall, I haven't got a clue, just tell us." Squall's smile grew bigger and he paraded around the bridge.
"Well, where has Seifer been most of the times we have seen him?"
"Balamb?" Xu replied with a questioning tone in her voice.
"No, not quite." Squall looked at Quistis. "You know him better than most people, you know that Seifer is loyal to whatever he sets his mind to. What is he most loyal to?" Quistis almost jumped out of her skin when she found the answer.
"Of course! Galbadia! He'll be in Galbadia Garden!" Quistis ran towards the window on the bridge, "he can't get away this time, we have him right where we want him." Squall and Xu walked over to where Quistis was standing and all three of them looked out to sea. Squall placed one hand on Quistis' shoulder and the other on Xu's and quietly said,
"Exactly…now lets get going…I have revenge to complete." Quistis looked at him and saw the anticipation in his facial expression. Whatever happened to him has changed him. It's like he's a totally different person…what did happen…?
