The Forest Owls

The three SeeDs arrived at Timber shortly. As they departed, they looked around to see many small shops and traditional middle age style architecture on both buildings, bridges, and even the streets and side walks. Walking down the steps of the Timber station, they ran into a man wearing a blue cap, yellow vest, and dark combat pants and boots. "Oh, the forests of Timber sure has changed!"

"Oh, Squall, I wanna do it!" Selphie tugged on Squall's jacket until he sighed and nodded. "Yay! Ahem… 'But the Owls are still around'."

The man then nodded and looked to Squall who also nodded. "Welcome to Timber, sir. Come with me, sir." The man walked them over to another train pickup/ drop off platform, which was marked "Galbadia." "Please, please, this way, sir!" Only moments after, a yellow, bullet like, train appeared and they all boarded.

***

Inside, there was another man waiting at the entrance. He was only slightly taller than Squall, wore a blue jacket and dark shorts. The most unusual thing about him however was the way he held himself. He stood up tall and stuck his chest out. "So you guys are SeeDs?"

"I'm the squad leader, Squall. This is Zell, and Selphie."

"Nice to meet ya. I'm the leader of the Forest Owls." He extended his hand to Squall only to be denied a handshake and receive only a nod. Scanning his eyes left and right, Zone then walked over to Selphie to shake her hand. Zell patted his hands off on his shorts and went over to receive a shake, however, was cut off by Squall. A bit annoyed at that, Zell then walked over to the steps by the train's main hallway and threw a few punches before sitting.

"So let's get on with it. What do we do?"

"Just take it easy. Here, let me introduce you." He walked over and patted the man from earlier on the shoulder. "Looks like you already met watts." Watts gave a little wave. "I guess it's just our princess then."

Watts looked to Zone and spoke up. "It's the princess' nap time, sir."

Zone nearly collapsed. "Ahh, man…" Great… just great. The last time I tried to wake her up she nearly tore my face off… man does that girl have a bad temper sometimes. He then turned to Squall who had still been waiting. "Hey Squall, sorry, but could you go get the princess? She's in the last room up those stairs." He pointed down the hall with a desperate look. "Some of our others guys are in the room on the way. Ask'em if you get lost."

Squall sighed and placed a hand on his hip, his eyes burning coldly at Zone. "…Were we hired to run errands? Well?"

Zone backed off, fear striking within him. "A-Are you angry!?"

Shaking his head and placing his hand over his eyes Squall sighed deeply. We're not gophers… We're SeeD… special forces. "This is the last time for this kinda thing." Squall answered glaring back only to find Zone retreat and hold his stomach.

"OwOwOuccchhh."

Squall began walking getting praise from Selphie as he walked past. "Squall, way t'go! You tell'm! They can't treat us that way!"

Zell caught Squall on his way up the stairs, whispering. "These guys don't seem to have it together…" Squall nodded and continued down the hall.

Squall passed another room, which seemed to be a control room or radar room of some sorts. Inside were three men. Nope, not it… He walked on further and found one last room right before a door marked "exit to engine." As he peered inside, he saw the room nearly covered with a rose like color. Some door leading to a room to his right, a dresser to his right, a dresser, and finally a neat bed where a sleeping girl lay. It's her… from the party… He stood there for a while looking around until the train stopped, its breaks screeching, causing the girl to wake up.

"Hey… You're…! You know, from the party… So… does that mean… You're a SeeD!?"

Squall nodded and stepped forward. "I'm Squall, the squad leader. There's 2 others with me."

"YEEESSSS! SeeD is here!" With that, she suddenly jumped from her bed and wrapped her arms around Squall hugging him. Squall, surprised, road the momentum and set her gently down after the swing.

"Take it easy."

She walked away a bit, slightly embarrassed. "It's just that, I'm so happy! I've been sending requests to Garden forever, but nothing… I'm glad I spoke to Cid directly!"

"Oh…" Squall then walked over to her. She was staring at her stuffed animals and pictures. "So you were looking for the headmaster at the party?"

She waved her arms and smiled. "You know Seifer?"

Squall's face suddenly turned grim as he heard that name. He crossed his arms and sighed. "…Yeah."

"Well, he's the one who introduced me to Cid. Cid is such a nice man. I really didn't think SeeD would come out to help a measly little group like us. But after explaining our situation to him, Cid gave the go ahead right away!" The princess then began giggling happily. "Now that you guys are here, we'll be able to carry out all kinds of plans!" She walked over to the table by the bed and sprayed a few drops of perfume on herself then turned around to see Squall still waiting. "Yes?"

"I'm goin' back to the others."

"OK, let's go!" She started walking off then suddenly turned around. "Umm, Squall. Is 'he' here?"

'He'? Squall looked at her confused.

"Seifer."

"…… No, he's not a SeeD."

"…Oh." She turned around but once again turned back. "Oh yeah, my name's Rinoa Heartily. Very pleased to meet you, Squall." She smiled and stared up to him. "SeeD member dance quite well, don't they?"

"Approach your target inconspicuously at a dance party… There may be missions requiring this sort of subterfuge. It's expected of SeeD to learn various skills." Squall replied as firmly and professionally as he could.

"Ohhh… So it's work related. That's too bad…" She sighed and looked to the ground to find a dog walk up to her.

…Squall too sighed and shook his head. He stopped to see the dog walk up.

She knelt down and patted the dog's head. "Here, let me introduce you. This is my partner, Angelo. Angelo is really smart! He can do lots of neat tricks, like besides the basic roll over, play dead, sit, stay… you know… he's even a trained attack dog that actually knows some magic spells. Smart, huh?" Squall nodded as she went back to petting the dog. "I have some important work to do now. Be good, Angelo." She then turned to Squall and waved. "Ok, I'll meet you there." She gave Angelo one last pat and ran off.

***

She waited for Squall at the door right before where the group had been waiting. Squall walked through first and started introducing Rinoa to the SeeDs. "This is Zell… and Selphie."

"Hi everyone!" Said Rinoa happily. She then turned to Squall and waved him to follow. "This way." The door adjacent to the hallway opened and they all followed her through, Squall last.

Inside their "meeting room" There was a large table with a diorama set up. On the diorama was a few model trains on train tracks. Zone stood forward. "Just stand anywhere you want." To the rear of the room was a small locker and a bulletin board. "This is a full-scale operation. Our resistance, 'The Forest Owls', will be forever known in the pages of Timber's independence!" He looked to Squall and the other SeeDs as they just stood waiting. "Exciting, huh?" With that, the SeeDs then repositioned themselves to a more relaxed, yet annoyed, state. "It all started when we got a hold of top-secret info from Galbadia."

Watts followed through by yelling "I got the info, sir!"

"There's a VIP from Galbadia coming to Timber." Zone said, Watts again making a statement, "Super V-I-P!!!" "The Guy's name is Vinzer Deling! Our archenemy, and the President of Galbadia." Zell had already gotten tired and walked over to read the bulleting board. "Vinzer Deling is a scoundrel!!! He's a dictator, not a president. Not even popular in Galbadia, sir!" Yelled Watts.

Rinoa then spoke. "President Deling is taking a private train from the Galbadian capital."

Zone cleared his voice and went on. "Our plan is to…"

Suddenly, Selphie stepped forward and jumped up. "…Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher!?" She shot a fist in the air and started laughing.

"Ahh… not quite…"

Annoyed, Zell turned around and started shouting. "So get to the point! Just tell us what to do!"

Sighing, Rinoa then stepped forward. "Shall we begin?" She brought them all around the table to inspect the model trains. "First, I'll go over the model. The yellow train on the top right is our 'base'. We're riding in it right now. Right next to it is the 'dummy car'. We made it look just like the president's car. Their train has three cars. First, there's the 'locomotive' followed by the '1st escort'. The red car is the 'president's car'. Deling should be inside. The last car is the '2nd escort'. Once we get on this one, we begin the operation. Our ultimate goal is to seize the president in his car using our 'base'. That means, we'll have to switch our 'dummy car' with their 'president's car'. We'll use the 2 switch points leading up to Timber to carry out this operation.

"OK, now I'm going to explain the procedures in seven steps. 1) Sneak on board the '2nd escort'. We'll get on the roof of the '2nd escort' by jumping from our 'dummy car'. 2) Proceed cautiously actoss the roof of the '2nd escort'."

"The '2nd escort' car is the only one that is equipped with sensors, sir." Said Watts.

Rinoa then continued. "A high tech officer is onboard. I'll talk about the sensors later. 3) Proceed across the roof of the 'president's car'. We can move across the roof of the 'president's car' without worrying too much." "Deling hates the company of his guards and being surrounded by sensors, and keeps them away from his car." Mentioned Zone.

"4) Uncouple the '1st escort' car. We'll have to complete the uncoupling before the 1st switch point. If we don't…"

"BOOM! … Game over, right?" Asked Selphie.

"… Yeah, so we'll have to move fast. I'll explain the uncoupling process later. 5) Have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' move in after uncoupling. After the car is uncoupled, we'll have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' move in. At this point, our train and their train will be linked and moving together. 6) Uncouple the '2nd escort' car. This is the last uncoupling the process will probably be similar to the first one. 7) Escape with the 'president's car' and our 'base'. 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 7 procedures. If we fail, our train will collide with theirs at the switch point and it'll be all over. Don't forget that."

Zell raised a brow as he watched the simulation trains move down the tracks. "5 minutes…? You sure that's enough?"

Zone then stepped up holding some test records. "According to the simulation that we ran, it should take only 3 minutes to complete the operation. Piece of cake for SeeDs, right?"

Selphie jumped. "Of course! Too easy!" She looked to Zell, he pounding his fist giving thumbs up, while Squall remained silent.

"Ok, now let's talk about how to avoid the sensors on the '2nd escort'. …… Go ahead Watts."

"The guards have a 'sound sensor' and a 'temperature sensor', sir. Any sound will trigger the 'sound sensor' so move across very quietly, sir! There's a guard, usually a petty officer, he'll be wearing blue, carrying this sensor. The 'Temperature sensor' will go off if you remain stationary, sir! A higher officer, usually in red, is carrying this one, sir. When a guard opens the blind, that means he is checking the sensor, so be careful! The range on these sensors is equal to the length of one window. So keep an eye on the window below, sir."

"…So exactly how do you avoid 'em?" Asked Zell as he scratched his head.

"Umm… basically, run or stop, depending on which guard is below you. Stop if the guard in blue is below you, run if the one in red is below you."

"That's about it for the sensors." Said Rinoa as she stopped the trains for a while. "Next, let's talk about how to uncouple the escort cars."

"Question…!" Yelled Selphie. "How can you uncouple the cars from a moving train?"

"Umm… we can't uncouple the car's directly."

Zone stepped forward holding a little key pad and handing it to Rinoa. "Instead, we'll have to tamper with the control system that manages the coupling. If we temporarily disable the circuit for the connection, the car will uncouple automatically. To disable it, we have to enter several codes." He looked to Watts.

"…And we have the codes. Rinoa has them, sir!"

"I'll be in charge of relaying the codes to Squall. Squall, you'll slide down on the side of the train using a cable and enter the codes into the system. Now I need you to listen carefully. Each code is made up of numbers between 1-4 and has 4 digits: 2341 is an example." She stopped and showed the circular key pad to Squall. "But the keypad won't have numbers, instead, it'll have four buttons." The key pad had an X, circle, triangle, and square. "Circle is 1, X 2, Square 3, and triangle 4. For instance, if I relay the code 3124, you'll push square, circle, X, and triangle, in that order. You'll have to be quick and precise. You'll have about 5 seconds to enter each code. Otherwise, the code will change and the past entries will become invalid.

"So like we said, we have to enter all the codes to disable the connections. After we uncouple the cars, we'll wait for the others to operate the rail switch. Remember, we only have 5 minutes to do everything, so make sure that you're prepared. OK, let's try practicing entering the code. Enter 3 codes and you'll be finished." Squall nodded as she held out the key pad. She started yelling random numbers out. "1411!" Squall quickly tapped circle, triangle, circle, and circle buttons. "3412!" Squall once again began tapping. This went on until he gave a deep sigh. "You got it? In the real thing, there's a strict time limit leading up to the switch point. Don't forget that. Umm… that's all."

They finally all sighed until Selphie stepped up pointing at the president's car. "By the way… this model's nice but the president's car looks kinda shabby. …… Why is that?"

Watts chuckled and walked forward. "Yeah, Rinoa made it. That's why. We bought everything else at the gift store."

"Oh…" Said Zell. "I thought some kid made it. The paint job sucks, too."

Squall just gave it a glance and waited. …? Yeah… It kind of does.

"Oh, shut up! I made it look like that on purpose. It represents my hatred towards Deling." Said Rinoa pouting.

"Hatred, eh?…" Zell shrugged and went back to reading the articles. "Yeah… right."

Trying to make Rinoa feel better, Selphie spoke. "It's one of the… ugliest things that I've ever seen in my life. You must really hate him."

Selphie looked to Squall to try and help but he just said nothing.

"Are you guys finished!? Enough about the model! Can we get on with it now!?" She sighed and turned to Squall. "Do you guys understand?" He nodded. "Let's decide on the party!"

"Gathering information is my specialty, sir!" Yelled Watts, trying to give a salute, then running out the door.

Zone just plopped down to the corner once again holding his stomach. "OuuuucHHHH… My stomach!"

Rinoa shook her head and looked around. The train had started moving. "We're moving again… I'll go take a look. Talk to Watts when you're ready. The sooner the better." She then ran off.

Squall looked to Selphie and Zell and nodded. They too nodded confirming their readiness. "Oh wait, Squall, check this stuff out, it's kinda interesting." It was Zell pointing to the bulleting board. Squall sighed and walked over, Selphie following. They all read the few article together.

All the articles were from "Anarchist Monthly," a short journal that began only a few months ago, and ended only weeks ago. The first one's headlines read. "Galbadia's dictator, President Vinzer Deling Special! How does he stay in power!? We reveal his darkest secrets!!!" while a second one read "President Deling became the president after the 2nd Sorceress War ended. To gain support quickly, he carried out the invasion of Timber. It was only a ploy to decorate an already corrupt man's immoral career… our land Timber was brutally destroyed. Here began Vinzer Deling's road to dictatorship…"

They skimmed on, Zell pointing out some interesting ones. Selphie had been interested while Squall rolled his eyes, he still reading anyway. "To imprison anti-government sympathizers, the D-District Prison was built in the desert south of Deling City. Millions were spent to build the facility. The threat of being sent to the prison intensified Deling's unpopularity. The prison began imprisoning Galbadian anti-government sympathizers just as they did in Timber. Moreover, the leaders of the resistance movements faced the threat of having family members imprisoned as well. Around this time, Deling began surrounding himself only with loyalists, which turned him into an even more fierce dictator."

Squall went ahead and skipped on to the article marked 'Final Issue!!!' "With the exception of Esthar, the Galbadian Military possess the world's only long range missiles. Although never used in combat, their existence has become a worldwide threat. It is said that the missiles have the ability to hit any target with astounding accuracy even without using radio signals. Will the time come for the president to push the button!? When the time comes, Ti…" Squall sighed to find the print blurred out on the last part.

"If anything, this information is useful." Said Squall pointing to the last article. "Should this faction do anything… over zealous, that Deling and the rest of the Galbadian army might actually try to use one of these missiles on this 'base' to retaliate.

Zell nodded and walked off. "C'mon guys, let's do this!"

***

Watts waited by a ladder leading up to the trains roof. Zone was still in the corner holding his stomach. "Have you seen the dummy of the president, sir? If you haven't, please take a look-see! It's like a piece of art!"

Squall nodded and walked over to the control room area that Watts had pointed out. Four men were now sitting there, one sprawled against a corner. The man standing walked in and pointed the dummy to Squall. "I'm the one who made the dummy president. It talks when you get close enough. I hope this will trick the guards."

"We're gonna have the dummy hold a newspaper." Said the man in the chair watching some kind of monitor. "That way, his face is covered. No guard would dare look over the paper after what we programmed him to say."

Looking to the dummy, Squall then slowly walked up to it.

"I'm in a bad mood right now!" It yelled. "If there's nothing in particular, I order you to leave immediately!" Squall blinked at the lifelike dummy. It's not that bad either… even looks like that picture of him on that bulletin board.

The man on the bench chuckled as he saw Squall's eyes widen. "That dummy looks real, huh? No one will ever realize that it's a fake."

Giving one more nod, Squall then returned to the entrance where the rest waited. "Yo Squall, so how is it?" Asked Zell as he tightened a glove.

"It's actually not bad…"

"I know the kidnapping plan must be tough, but best of luck to you, sir! Are you ready, sir!?" Asked Watts as he opened the top hatch.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Alright sir! I'll inform the engineers right away. Go ahead and head up to the roof of the Dummy car. The princess will meet you there."

***

"Squall, over here!" Rinoa yelled from atop the dummy car. The Forest Owls' train barreled down the tracks, it quickly making approaching the president Deling's train. The Dummy Car was placed in front of the Forest Owls' locomotive. Squall, Selphie, and Zell, ran over the dummy car and over to where Rinoa had been crouching, they too crouching down to avoid falling. "We'll catch up with the 2nd escort soon. Let's get ready. We should time our jumps well after we catch up to them to save some time. From now on we have exactly......5 minutes to complete the operation. Let's try and use every second." With that, Rinoa made her jump, Squall and the others quickly following.

"Squall, over here!" Squall was the last over to make sure they all made it. Rinoa, Selphie, and Zell, waited as Squall rushed over the 2nd escort, he hearing Galbadian soldiers yelling "Activating sound sensor" and "Activating temperature sensor," from opened windows below. "This is the president's car. After we get across, we'll proceed with the first uncoupling." The SeeDs then nodded and ran over the President's car after Rinoa.

***

Inside the president's car, President Deling quietly sat trying to enjoy his train ride. The key word, trying. Although he could get anything he want and his car was fitted with nearly every luxury a train could offer, he was getting impatient with the guards constantly giving him an update every minute or so. "Sir, everything is in order, sir!" Yelled a Galbadian soldier that just entered, he saluting.

"You again...That's 27 times now." Deling turned around to see the soldier, his face looking irritated. "How many more times do you plan to disturb me with that meaningless report?"

The Galbadian soldier trembled. "Sir, I'm sorry sir....But it is my duty, sir!"

"…… It's hard to believe that anyone would put up with this nonsense." Deling then sighed and shook his head. "I guess it's none of my business. Dismissed."

"......! Sir, yes, sir!" The soldier saluted. Slowly walking away, he muttered something to himself. "(There goes next month's paycheck. How am I gonna propose to her now? I'm gonna have to put it off again...)" He then shook his head and walked off.

***

The four had already made it to the 1st escort. "This is the 1st escort. We're gonna uncouple this first. Like Watts said, there should be 2 guards on this car. Selphie and Zell, you guys keep an eye on the guards. Let us know early if you see them coming."

"Alright, I'll watch the blue guard." Said Zell. He ran over the 1st escort and knelt down to peer over to the windows. Selphie followed screaming "I'll take red."

"The red guard is closer." Rinoa said looking to Squall. "Squall you might wanna keep an eye on him, too. OK, are you ready to enter the codes?" Squall nodded. "We'll have to enter 3 codes to disable the circuit for this uncoupling. Ok, Squall. Get the cable ready. ." Squall nodded and secured his cable. He attached it to the top of the train where Rinoa carefully latched it. The system to enter the code is down there. You can't miss it." She looked to her watch and sighed. "Ok, let's do it. We have 4 minutes left! Good luck Squall!"

Squall slid down the cable and looked to the keypad. "Alright, give me the codes!"

"3124!" Yelled Rinoa. Let's see…Square, circle, X, triangle. "It's good… okay, next!"

"2122!" … X, circle, X, X… "Quick, next one!"

"Yo, the blue!" Yelled Zell.

"4311!" … okay don't need to worry about this guy just yet…

Selphie jumped. "And red!"

…What the hell? So soon? Damn… Triangle, square, circle, circle…

"Squall, this way!" As soon as Squall finished the last code, he dashed up the cable before the two guards activated their sensors and jumped back over to the president's car where the others waited. They all watched as the 1st escort and the president's car uncoupled and they slowly drifted away. Quickly making its way on the right, the base quickly rolled over from the parallel track and slid behind the 1st escort by means of the switch rail. It then slowed down and attached itself to the president's car and speed forward, it then attaching the dummy car to the 1st escort. All the train cars were then linked.

***

Once again the Galbadian soldier entered the President's car. What should I do...? I know he's not gonna like it. But it's my job. "S-Sir......Everything is in order, sir!" He waited for a few seconds expecting yelling but instead received silence. Huh......He's not angry. Phew. That's strange. Oh, he's reading the paper. I wonder where he got it?

"What!? Is there a problem!?" Rushed in a Galbadian officer. He had felt a slight jolt and rushed in to see if the president was okay. He walked up to president Deling to find himself getting yelled at.

"I'm in a bad mood right now! If there's nothing in particular, I order you to leave immediately!" Yelled the president from behind a newspaper.

"S-S-Sir aye aye...YESSIR!" Said the Galbadian officer. He then turned to the Galbadian soldier just waiting. "YOU! Don't just stand there! Get back to your station!"

"S-Sir, yessir!" There goes another paycheck. That's two in one day. The G-Soldier sighed and walked over to the door drooping his head down.

The officer walked out the door, but then rushed back in looking confused. "W-W-What the HECK!? Is this the right train?" The interior looks different. Looks shabbier. Maybe not. He then shrugged and again walked out the door leaving the other G-Soldier.

What am I gonna do? No ring, and now no more candlelight dinner. I'm never gonna be able to get married.

***

"This is the 2nd escort. After this, we're home free. I think there are 2 guards on this car, too. Zell and Selphie are up ahead, working on uncoupling our train from theirs, so you're on your own this time. Watch your right side. Let's get this over with. We'll have to enter 5 codes to disable the circuit for this connection. Are you ready, Squall?" Squall nodded as he fastened his cable to the car. "We have 2 minutes left! Good luck, Squall!"

Once again sliding down the cable, he popped the cover off the keypad and waited. "3123!" Square, circle, X, square… "2411!" X, triangle, circle, circle… "1112!" circle, circle, circle, X… uh oh, here comes the guy in Red… Quickly, Squall pulled himself up the cable and waited next to Rinoa. They watched as the Guard opened the window blinds, hold his scanner up, then close it and walk away. With that, Squall then slid back down. "2131!" X, circle, square, circle… "Alright… last one!" Yelled Squall. "And quick, here comes the blue guard!"

Rinoa shuffled to the next page only to find the codes fly from her hands. "OH NO!!!" …Oh no! I only saw it for a second… ohh… was it 1231, 1241, 1313? No, no, no!!!

"Rinoa, hurry!" Squall said as the blue guard opened his blind. He scanned the area then went off on his own way, Squall freezing still as during the process.

"Oh…." Gut instinct! "1231!"

Squall sighed and punched in circle, X, Square, circle. "Pass code confirmed…" With that, Squall once again pulled himself up to see a relieved Rinoa. "What? What's wrong?"

Rinoa sighed and smiled. "Nothing!" She then ran back over the presidents car and over to the Forest Owls' rear car. "Squall, this way!" Squall jumped ahead to see Zell and Selphie running towards them. They had uncoupled the Forest Owls' locomotive from the dummy car. The Forest Owls' train then slowed down a bit, giving some room behind the dummy car and then suddenly sped forward and rushed over the rail switch. The sudden dash forward gave the suddenly uncoupling 2nd escort car a burst of speed due to momentum, catapulting the 2nd escort car forward and attaching itself to the dummy car. The operation was a success.

"Let's head down everyone!" Rinoa shouted as she watched the president's ride roll away without the president.

***

"Finally...We've waited so long for this encounter with Vinzer." Zone said as he watched Rinoa and the three SeeDs file down the ladder.

"Was that perfect, sir!? Amazing, sir! You're the best, sir!" Said Watts to Squall. Squall took no notice and just looked to Rinoa waiting. "We'll call Garden and inform them of your progress…"

"Alright! Can you say 'Your SeeD rank went up by 1?!" Selphie shouted. Zell nodded giving a big grin.

"Well then..." Finally, Rinoa turned around, she holding her hand up to the rear exit heading into the president's car.

"Leave the intelligence to me, sir!" Said Watts. He obviously didn't want to go. Zone was feeling the same he curling up by the corner holding his stomach screaming "OwOwOuccchhh." Zone then shook his head and ran to the meeting room.

Narrowing her eyes and biting her lower lip, she then looked over to the SeeDs. "You 3! Tell me when you're ready to go. As soon as you're ready, I'll begin 'serious negotiations' with the president!"

'Serious negotiations'...Better make sure my GF's equipped... Squall then closed his eyes and once again summoned forth energies around him. Zell and Selphie looked to each other and shrugged, following Squall, and summoned GF's of their own. Squall junctioned his mind and body with Ifrit, Shiva, and Quezacotl. The other two did the same except Selphie had been the only one to junction the GF Siren. "We're ready."

"What was that?"

"Our GF's, Guardian Forces. They help us cast magic, get stronger, give us special abilities and stuff!" Said Selphie.

"Really!? You guys need to show me how to do that!"

"Oh, it's easy! You just need to…"

Squall then stepped forward. "Selphie can teach you later. Let's just get this over with." Rinoa just nodded.

"Uh wait Squall… I need to use the bathroom." Said Zell as he began flustering around.

"Oh, it's down the hall by the control room area." Said Rinoa. Zell then grinned and ran down the hall, he slamming a door behind him.

"Hey Rinoa, can we go and pet your dog while we wait!?" Asked Selphie excitedly.

"Sure, let's go!" With that, they both ran off leaving Squall behind.

Squall sighed and walked over to the control room to see if he could get a rag to clean his Gunblade. He received one however was also given a little history lesson. "Did you see the clipping on the board in the conference room?" Asked the man standing by the door as he handed Squall the rag. Squall nodded as he began wiping at the blade. "Anarchist Monthly used to write special reports about the president. I saw the guy who wrote for that magazine being taken away to prison. Being imprisoned for telling the truth...That's downright wrong!!!" He shook his head and went on, a gloomy look appearing on his face. "It's not just the men who are sent to the prison. Deling sends women, children, the elderly...Anyone who stands against him. What was once a thriving resistance movement died down because of this."

Handing back the rag, Squall was then about to walk out the door but stopped as a voice was seeming to try to catch his attention, the voice adding to the other man's story. "'The Forest Owls' are..." It was the man in the chair now watching one of the pressure gauges. Squall sighed and waited. "Watts and Zone's fathers founded 'The Forest Owls'. I wonder where the name 'Forest Owls came from?"

Squall then saw Zell running back down the hall. They all also noticed Rinoa and Selphie walking back to the main entrance area, Angelo following. Squall was about to leave until he heard one of the men whispering to the others. "(Hey...Don't you wanna know how Rinoa and Seifer know each other? I just joined 'The Forest Owls'...So, I don't really know everything yet. No one would tell me. Why is that? The mystery is killing me!)" Squall just shook his head and walked on.

"Best of luck, sir! I'll be keeping watch here!" Said Watts as Squall walked forward.

"...Ready?" Asked Rinoa. Squall said nothing and opened the door leading them all into the president's room.

***

The four slowly walked into the president's car finding president Deling sitting calmly at his seat. He sipped on a cup of coffee and sat there listening to approaching footsteps. Rinoa put on a determined face and walked forward. "...President Deling! As long as you...don't resist, you won't get hurt..."

"And if I do resist...What would you do...?" He then turned his head and looked at her. "Young lady?"

"!!!" Rinoa gasped and slowly took a few steps away from the president.

"What's wrong?" Squall asked as he gripped at his Gunblade's handle.

"Boo-hoo...Too bad..." He stood up and started laughing. "I'm not the president. I'm what they call...a body double." He then straightened his face and glared at Rinoa. "All these rumours about the many resistance groups in Timber... You pass along a little false information and they fall for it...How pathetic...Seems like there are only amateurs around here."

"Ama...teurs...!?" Screamed Rinoa as she held a weapon up. It was a sharp disk of some sort. Squall had seen it before from one of his weapons magazines. It was used like a boomerang but was fired by a crossbow like mechanism from the arms.

"Ahh...My butt hurts from all this sitting...Young...LADY... Ahh...So what did you have in stORE for me had I resiSTED...? Why doN'T you teLL mE... QuiTE aMUsing thouGH...For beING such anAtEurs...!!! HoW daRe YOU InSUlt tHe presIDent!!!" The fake president's posture had suddenly changed. He began wobbling around and his mouth hung wide opened, drool dripping from his teeth. His eyes were different as well, now burning a cold blue.

"What the hell… he can't be human… can he?" Asked a frightened Selphie. She held her nunchaku forward and got into a fighting stance.

The fake president then made a lunge forward, he slamming a surprised Zell over and grabbing him by the arm. Zell struggled, he pushing the crazed man away. "What the hell… he's freckin' strong! Like a monster or something…" Pulling at Zell's arm harder, he then dove forward for a bite but was thrown to the side with a rolling kick. "Holy Hyne he's strong!"

"You...fEll...For...iT…aMusINg...tHIs iS AmuSinG!" The freakish man then rolled over and jumped into the air again, this time attacking Selphie and Rinoa. Selphie charged forward and made a slash at him with her nunchaku. It slapped the man into the face causing him to spin in mid air. Rinoa aimed her blade forward and fired it. It dashed into the air and caught the main in the neck leaving some sort of tear before returning to Rinoa's armlet.

Squall made a dash forward and slashed at the man's torso. He was surprised to see that he had not fallen, only was pushed back, even after the explosion from the trigger. "What the…?" Squall gripped his Gunblade forward and watched as the man slowly pulled at the tears; He began pealing away his skin.

"The hell is he?" Zell said putting his fists up.

"Brrawghh!" He burst his skin apart revealing his true face. He was a monster now towering a little higher over the group. It was no wonder why he wobbled around in the skin of the fake president, he just barely fit. His skin was dripping with acid, his body smoking, he looking like a melting skeleton, all white with eyes burning blue.

"It's a Gerogero! A high level monster, I read a little bit on it back at the monster database in the classroom!" Yelled Zell. Zell charged forward and slammed his fist forward at the monster. He found that it had barely any effect, his fist just being absorbed by some kind of black goo. "EEEYO! What the hell is this stuff!?" He ran back shaking the greasy liquid off. "Argh, dammit! It's starting to burn!"

"Hold still Zell!" Selphie closed her eyes and summoned up some newly acquired magic power from Siren. "This Esuna spell should help get rid of that poisonous acid!"

Magic swirled around Zell's fist and instantly the pain had subsided, the acid disappearing with it. "Thanks Selphie!"

She then closed her eyes again and started drawing more spells from the powerful monster. "Hey, cool! I gained some magic power for Zombie and Berserk!"

"Yeah, too bad we don't have a GF that you can actually junction with to cast those suckers!"

"Guys!" Rinoa screamed as she pointed forward. Angelo had tried making a tackle at the monster but was grabbed and shaken.

Without thinking, Zell charged forward and punched at the monsters arm, this time making solid contact with the bone. He then fell to the ground and rolled to the side as Gerogero made a swipe at him. "C'mon guy, let's move!" He yelled to Angelo, the two running back to the others.

"Are you okay Angelo?" Rinoa asked as she rubbed the dog's neck. Angelo was fine, just a bit dizzy from being tossed around.

Gerogero slammed into a chair, smashing it to splinters, and took a swing towards Selphie. She was able to dodge it, but her weapon was knocked away in the process. "Darn this thing! Squall, what do we do!?"

Squall sighed and pulled a small item from his pocket. It was a small, magical item that was meant to revive or invigorate those from violent deaths, said to have originated from the ancient GF Phoenix and then to have been recreated thanks to new technology. He then tossed it into the air and cast it upon the monster. Holy light then appeared above causing the monster to melt away.

"What the hell!? Just a Phoenix Down?" Zell scratched his head and looked to Squall.

Squall just shook his head and clipped his Gunblade to his side. Selphie's eyes then lit up. "I get it now! It's a Gerogero, Zell. It was an undead type monster!"

"Oh… come again?"

"Phoenix Downs are just like casting life spells. We can cast life spells to wake some people from the dead before their souls leave for a while until we can treat them with a cure spell right? Well, try to wake up a un-dead guy and what happens?"

"Oh I get it. Wake up a monster that was born dead and try to bring him alive… it's basically like killing living things. So you mean we could've even cast cure spells or dumped magic potions on this guy?"

Squall nodded and walked off. The others dusted them off and calmly followed, Selphie kicking the goo left on the ground as she picked up her nunchaku.