Chapter 3: Operation: Evacuation

            It didn't take long before everyone had gathered at the Quad. Some were still waiting behind. Despite the crisis, everyone was calm. Well, not really calm rather excited. Some didn't even know why they were all there.

            The sky was darkening fast and thunder was cracking not far. It was not raining yet, but the wind was blowing strong. The waves were growing stronger and Squall was starting to have a hard time staying on the surface. He was a good swimmer but not in that kind of situation. Besides, it was a miracle he was even alive.

            A wave came over his head and sent him underwater. He managed to swim back to surface but at the second he broke the surface, another wave decided to send him back underwater. He felt his lungs about to explode when something came from under and pushed him up. When his head was out of the water, he took a deep breath of fresh air and turned to Maureen floating by Akuma's side.

            "You alright, Squall?" Akuma inquired.

            "Ye... (cough) yeah, thanks."

            "Good. We must hurry, the storm is on us. I can take up to ten persons at a time or else we'll go slower."

            "I'll have to go up and tell everyone about this. I'll make'em trust you."

            "Get ready then."

            Akuma went back underwater, leaving Squall floating around. All of a sudden, he came under Squall, giving him a big push to the Quad. His landing lacked quality though. He landed on his butt. He got up in front of the students wondering if they had to laugh or ask if he was alright. He rubbed his bottom.

            "Ouch... could have warned..."

            His friends were standing around, and that included Coran.

            "I knew you were alright, Squall." She said obviously relieved.

            "Yeah but if we don't hurry, none of us is gonna be alright soon."

            "So what are we going to do?" Seifer asked.

            Squall spoke louder to make himself understood by everyone.

"You're gonna have to trust that creature down there. He's Akuma, a GF. He gonna take us to a safe place until the storm passes by. But he can only take ten of us at a time. You're gonna have to hold your breath until you reach an undersea cavern. If you're afraid you might not be able to hold your breath, we can share breathing devices but there won't be enough for everyone, so take one only if you really feel the use or save them for the kids. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!"

            "Good."

            Squall turned to look down the Quad. Since the wind was blowing strong even if he'd yell no one down there would hear him so he just raised his thumb.

            "Quistis, you know most of the students right? I'm asking you to try and notice if everyone goes through it."

            "Count on me."

            They started to get some students in the water. Maureen was telling them to hold on tight and not to be scared. Everything would be fine. Then she would follow Akuma to take the breathers back. It was getting harder by the minute. The sky was full of thunder cracking, lightnings crashing which was very dangerous and it was now raining. The waves are moving Garden around, causing it to stop functionning.

            The evacuation was nearly complete when a leak appeared, causing Garden to start sinking.

            Rinoa and Coran were carrying most people now because the waves were too dangerous. Akuma had a hard time staying still.

            Coran, the last one standing on the Quad, passed a kid to Rinoa.

            "Wait!" the kid exclaimed. "My friend is still inside!"

            "What?" Rinoa asked in horror. "Who?"

            "You know the one jogging around Garden?"

            "Oh, no!" Quistis exclaimed.

            "There's no time left!" Seifer exclaims as he looks up.

            But what he sees up to the Quad twist his face. Coran is looking at him a determined way. Then she spun around back into the sinking Garden.

            "NO!!" Seifer exclaimed. "CORAN!"

            "What is she, nuts?" Zell asked.

            Rinoa handed her friends the kid she was carrying but before she could even start flying back up, her wings vanished. She had exhausted her powers.

            "I can't..."

            "Coran!" Squall tried to call.

            But it was no use. He doubted she could hear him, and even if she could, she'd probably ignore him.

            They were all holding their breaths as Garden was going down. It was almost completely sank when they saw her coming back, holding the kid. He started floating thanks to her powers to the team's way. Those still watching Garden could see Coran collapse, out of energy. To everyone's horror, Garden was swallowed by the sea along with Coran.

            "CORAN!!" Squall exclaimed as he tried to jump in the water.

            "Are you crazy?" Maureen said keeping him on Akuma's back. "See that whirlpool Garden formed? You're gonna get stucked under Garden if you go!"

            "Maybe she'll use her powers to come back?" Selphie supposed.

            "I think she's out." Rinoa said a sorry way. "She used a lot of magic to breath underwater while we were looking for Squall, and again to help the evacuation... She's lost..."

            Squall shook his head. No... he would not accept this, no way!

            Seifer was keeping his head down, not knowing what to do.

            The SeeD leader looked around and saw what he was looking for right there on Akuma's back: the last breathing device with a little air left. How much? Not important as long as there was some left, it was enough. He grabbed it, put it in place and noticed there was air left for ten minutes only. Not much.

            Before anyone could see anything, he dived.

            "Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed.

            "Fool!" Seifer exclaimed. "You really wanna die with her?"

            The currents produced by Garden made it hard for Squall to enter it. Once he managed to swim the right way, he thought his air would run out faster if he had to make unnecessary moves. Then his thought went back to the reason he was down there after certain death: his sister. He didn't know why he felt that urge to save her. Even Seifer didn't feel like it. In Seifer's case, it was because he was to overwhelmed by the possibility of loosing her.

            Squall saw a faint light further ahead. With a hopeful face, he went that way. There she was, floating with a faint aura around her. It was keeping her alive apparently but she was uncounscious. This would save her remaining strength.

            Squall grabbed her but she wouldn't budge. She was stuck! A structure had collapsed due to Garden's sinking and has trapped her. Squall tried to free her but he was running out of air fast. He used all the strength he had left to pull her out but then he realized he was too weak to go back to the surface.

            A movement by his side scared him. It was Maureen.

            "I'll get you out of here," she said.

            Since she was a mermaid, she could easily speak underwater.

            She seemed exhausted like everyone else. With force travelling between the cave and Garden, fighting the currents, she has weakened up.

            "I can't take you both in the same time, I'm too weak."

            The light emanating from Coran faded and vanished. There was no time to waste. Squall handed his sister to Maureen and signaled her to take her first.

            "I won't have enough time to come back and get you, Squall, you'll run out of air before I come back!"

            Squall shook his head. It didn't matter to him as long as Coran was safe. He pushed the mermaid to force her to leave. She finally gave up realizing it was no use arguing with him. It was only making time flow and they didn't have any to lose.

            She left as fast as she could. Squall smiled to her back. Once she was out of sight, he fainted.

            Back on the shore, Seifer was reanimating Coran. The girl was still half in the water, the dying waves licking her fingers.

            When the girl wide opened her eyes and started coughing, everyone sighed with relief. She looked around, as if she was searching something. Everyone was around. Everyone except...

            "Where's Squall?" she asked.

            Seifer lowered his head. Coran tried to get Rinoa's eyes, but she was hiding the tears she was shedding.

            With the rain pouring, it was hard to tell who was crying.

            "He wanted to save you so badly..." Seifer started.

            Coran slowly shook her head.

            "No... no... NO!"

            She got up to run to the sea. Everyone went after her to stop her.

            "It's never gonna end!" Zell said.

            "Stop!" Seifer insisted. "He wouldn't want this!"

            "Let go! He's still alive!"

            "It's impossible." Quistis stated.

            "LET GO!"

            A strange energy wave emerged from Coran's body and pushed everyone away. She started glowing and her eyes turned blank. It seemed the rain wasn't reaching her anymore.

            Something on the surface caught the others' attention.

            Something was glowing on the surface. Squall suddenly broke the surface, wrapped up in an aura wave, floating towards the others. When he was rested on the shore, he started coughing. Rinoa threw herself into his arms calling his name while his friends were tapping his back.

            The light surrounding Coran vanished and she went back to normal. Strangely, she didn't collapse.

            Akuma closened up on them.

            "Little Magic Girl?" he asked as he looked at Coran.

            She looked at him a strange way then a light appeared in her eyes.

            "My Water Friend!"

            "What?" Everyone exclaimed.

            "Maybe we should go to a dry spot to talk, what do you say?" Akuma suggested.