Raine twirled a strand of hair around her finger. She was seated in a
transport ship. Yesterday evening, a call had come in from Quistis saying
that her exam was the very next day.
"I'm real nervous!" A student said beside her. Selphie stuck her head out of the doorway.
"Raine." Raine looked up. Selphie gestured. "In here." As Raine walked into the room, Selphie closed the door.
"Here," she said, holding up a bracelet. "Put this on."
"What's that?" Raine asked.
"An Odine Bangle. Especially made for you. The instructors want you to have the same abilities as the students, and that means…"
"No sorceress magic." Raine finished, scowling. "I wasn't planning on using it, anyway! Why do I have to wear this dumb thing? Now I won't be able to do any magic!" Selphie sighed. Rinoa had warned her about this.
"You will be able to use magic. Just not at the level you're used to." She stretched out her hand. "Just put it on, and do your best during the exam. The quicker you finish, the faster you'll be able to get it off." Kissing her teeth, Raine took the bracelet and fastened it around her upper left arm.
"There! See, that wasn't so bad!" Selphie said happily. Raine glared at her.
In Dollet…
Rinoa eyed a map that was in front of her.
"Ok…leave the road up to the tower alone. They're going to need some breathing room between all those battles they're going to be fighting."
"What about the monsters?"
"Set them loose on the path towards the mountain range." Squall said. An aide ran up to him.
"Sir, the transport ships are coming into view. ETA 20 minutes before arrival."
"Right. Rinoa…"
"For the last time, relax! Raine's our daughter! She can handle it!" Rinoa said. Squall crossed his arms.
"You're not worried?" "Of course I am!" Rinoa said, turning to him. "But we have to realize that this is something that Raine wants to do."
"I know…but why the senior-level exam?"
"You forget; Sabin and Celes are taking it too." Rinoa said. Squall crossed his arms.
"I just don't want anything happening to our daughter." "Neither do I." Rinoa said, kissing him on the cheek. Squall sighed.
"Ok then, let's get this show on the road."
Selphie called up a map on the computer screen.
"Alright. Just yesterday, the city of Dollet came under heavy attack by mysterious militant forces."
"Do they know who the militant forces are?" Raine asked.
"No." Selphie said. She pressed a button, and the map changed to show the interior of the city.
"A request for SeeD was made two hours ago. As of now, we have officers scattered at strategic points throughout the city. But there's a problem." The map disappeared and several pictures of monsters came up.
"The enemy has released monsters with extremely high magical levels. We've been able to eliminate the ones inside the city, but with some dire consequences. At least a quarter of our forces are down, and the monsters we drove out are trying to get back into the city."
"And this is where we come in." A student said. Selphie nodded, picking up a clipboard.
"These monsters have never been seen before, thus our inability to fight against them. Your assignment, even though you'll be on different squads, is to keep the monsters out of the city." She checked her clipboard.
"Raine, you're in squad C. It'll be you, Celes…"
"Celes?" Raine said. Selphie nodded.
"Yes. You're not the only student in your class who signed up for these exams. Just about all of your friends are taking this at one point or another." Raine smiled.
"Yes…you, Celes, and Sabin. That is squad C. Raine, you're the leader." Raine nodded.
In the present…
Squall glanced over at Rinoa. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she looked out at the horizon. The remains of Lunatic Pandora loomed in front of them as the Garden drew closer. Xu walked in.
"I just came from talking to some of the students. The G.F.s are starting to act funny."
"Leviathan said something wasn't right in that area." Rinoa said.
"We're going to have to stop soon." Nida said. "I can't take the Garden any further. There's too much debris scattered around."
"Rinoa?" Squall said. Rinoa turned.
"It's ok. If we can send out a small group out, it should be alright."
"Is there any way to at least temporary neutralize Pandora?" Quistis asked. "Until the Ragarnok gets back?"
"I think so. The thing is; if anything happens to the flow of power, the sorceress is going to come here so fast it won't be funny."
"They might come here." Xu said. "We've got the skills and the equipment to handle them, but…"
"The G.F.s." Zell said. Rinoa's eyes crossed as she raised a hand to her chest.
"You ok?" Nida asked.
"Yeah…" Rinoa said, rubbing her chest absentmindly.
"This pain…where's it's coming from?" she thought.
In Another World…
"Watch your back!" Raine screamed. The Hexdragon crouched in a battle- ready position.
"Where the heck did these monsters come from?" Sabin snarled.
"That's a Hexdragon! Outside of a textbook, I've never seen one before!" Celes exclaimed.
"Tell me you know what this thing's weak against!" Sabin said.
"Hang on." Celes said. While Sabin and Raine attacked the Hexdragon with physical attacks, Celes cast a Scan spell to help her learn more about the monster.
Somewhere in Dollet…
"Good officer material." One SeeD member said approvingly. "That Celes Branford has got lots of potential." Rinoa bit her lip as she watched the screen.
"Guys, it's weak against Water!" She heard Celes say.
"I'll handle it!" Raine said. Rinoa watched as her daughter moved forward, switching her Gunblade to the opposite hand so that she could cast the spell. A giant water bubble engulfed the Hexdragon, lifting it up into the air, and then dropping it like a stone back onto the ground.
"Nice magic skills. You got a good one there, Leonhart." Rinoa nodded in agreement, her attention someplace else.
Raine bent over, panting.
"You ok?" Sabin asked. Raine nodded.
"This is one of the reasons why I hate wearing one of these dumb bangles. I get tired so easily after I cast magic!" she thought.
"You're sure you're alright?" Celes asked. Raine nodded.
"I'm sure." She straightened. "C'mon. We're wasting time hanging around here."
In the present, at that same second…
"If Esthar and Galbadia didn't have any success trying to get rid of this thing, how can we?" Zell asked, picking his way through debris.
"I think the problem isn't getting rid of Pandora in the physical form, it's getting rid of all the magic stored in it." Rinoa said.
"And all that magic is the reason why Lunatic Pandora can never be completely destroyed." Squall said, shifting a backpack on his shoulders.
"With all that explosive you've got in there, we should get some results." Quistis said.
"Yeah. The regular stuff and this…what was it again?"
"It's a special gel that has the ability to neutralize magic on anything it goes on." Quistis replied. "Here, slow down a minute." She reached into the bag Squall had on his shoulders and pulled out two canisters.
"See? When you mix these two chemicals together, the gel forms instantaneously. We put this on Lunatic Pandora and it should stop the flow of magic."
"Well, you got the magic part taken care of. What about the rest?" Zell asked.
"Easy." Squall said. He stopped and pulled off the bag.
"You and me plant charges around the remaining debris while Rinoa tells Quistis where to put the gel. Then we run back, press a button…"
"BOOM! I get it!" Zell said happily. "Bye-bye Pandora!"
"You mean bye-bye Pandora, hello sorceress." Rinoa muttered.
"One problem at a time, Rinoa." Quistis said. Rinoa nodded, rubbing her chest.
On Balamb Garden…
Xu quickly walked down the corridor and got on the elevator heading up to the bridge.
"Anything yet?" She asked Nida. He shook his head.
"Nothing on radar. I haven't heard anything from Squall and the others either."
"Something's not right. Galbadia should have pulled something by now." She tapped her foot impatiently.
"Look at it as a reprieve." Nida said.
"I can't. I got a bad feeling about this, Nida." Leaning forward, she placed both hands on the rail.
"It doesn't take a sorceress to know this is trouble." Nida said. Xu shook her head forcefully.
"It's not that. Call it…call it woman's intuition or whatever you want. It's…it's…" She waved a hand around, trying to find words for what she wanted to say.
"Just a feeling?" Nida asked.
"Yeah." Xu murmured.
In Another World….
Rinoa inhaled deeply, one hand above her heart. Shudders racked her body as she leaned against the wall.
"What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way?" she thought. "I can't seem to stop shaking, I feel hot, then cold…"
'Commander?"
"Yes? I'm coming back now." "Get a grip! Just hold on until the exam is finished, and then you can collapse." She thought to herself.
Raine's head whipped around.
"Anything wrong?" Sabin asked.
"No, nothing." Raine murmured in reply. Idly, she stroked the bangle on her left arm.
"Is that working?" Celes asked. Raine shot her a dirty look.
"What do you think?"
"Sorry! It's just that the last time you wore one of those, you had to take it off because it wasn't working."
"Was that my fault?"
"No it…never mind. Let me take my foot out of my mouth before I do any more damage." Celes said.
"Do that!" Raine snapped. "Now let's hurry up and finish this thing!" Moving quickly, they ran up the path to the communication tower.
In the present…
"That's the last of them." Squall said, flicking a switch on the final charge. Quistis looked up.
"All set over here too." She replied.
"Great. Now, let's get the heck outta here." Zell said. But before they could move…
"Squall! Squall, do you read me?" Nida's voice came through on the radio.
"Nida! What is it?"
" The Garden's being attacked! Galbadia came out of nowhere!"
"We're coming back now! Can you hold them off until then?"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. Whirling around, Squall saw a group of soldiers bearing down on them, weapons raised.
"We need to get out of here!" Quistis yelled, lashing out with her whip.
"Zell! Give me the remote!" Squall called, unhooking his Gunblade from his belt. Zell hurled the little box towards him.
"Tell me you're not thinking of blowing up the place now!" Rinoa said, firing her Shooting Star at two soldiers.
"No, but we need some breathing room so we can get back to Balamb Garden!" Rinoa nodded.
"Zell, Quistis! Clear out!" Zell and Quistis nodded, then moved out of Rinoa's line of fire.
"What is going on?" One solider snarled. Rinoa closed her eyes, and put her hands together as if she were praying. Opening her eyes, she spun around a full 360 degrees, a beam of pearl-white light trailing from her right hand.
"Ohoh. Spell alert!" Zell said. Ignoring him, Rinoa trailed the light into a circle, and joined her hands together at the top. Her sorceress wings appeared on her back as she brought her hands down.
"Crystal Storm!" She said, bringing her right hand forward. Out of nowhere, huge quartz stones appeared, hurling themselves in the paths of the Galbadia soldiers. As Squall and the others watched, more quartz appeared, growing up, up, and up until there was a wall between them and the soldiers.
"Whoa!" Zell said.
"Stop admiring it and run!" Rinoa said. The four scrambled over rocks and other debris as they ran back towards Balamb Garden.
In Another World, at that same second…
Raine brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face. She, Celes, and Sabin were standing in front of the communication tower.
"Well, we made it in one piece." Sabin said. "What's next?"
"We wait. And while we wait, make sure nobody gets in here." Raine said. Celes looked at her friend.
"Raine? Listen. I'm really…"
"Skip it!" Raine snapped. Then she closed her eyes and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Celes. I know you didn't mean it."
"Did you get enough sleep last night?" Celes asked, eyeing Raine.
"Yes."
"Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
"Yes."
"Is it the bangle?" Sabin asked.
"YES!" Raine hissed. "I've been feeling funny for the past hour now, and it's probably this dumb bangle."
"Can you hold on until the end of the exam?" Celes asked.
"I have too! You, of all people…"
"Yeah…" Celes said. A couple of months before, the new freshmen had arrived at Balamb Garden. Among them was a girl named Dona Figaro. Her father, Cecil Figaro, was a high-ranking SeeD officer at Galbadia Garden, and it was no secret that he disapproved of Sorceress Rinoa's existence. Raine had tried to make friends with Dona, but had been brushed off coldly. From that point on, whenever an opportunity presented itself, Dona never failed to point out that Raine was a sorceress, and that sorceresses had a bad history on Gaia. Although Squall and Rinoa had continually reassured Raine that nobody at Balamb Garden held it against her that she was a sorceress, Raine still endured glances and whispers about her from time to time. Those, she could handle, but when faced with Dona's animosity…
"Raine, darling. You're just going to have to ignore her. She's jealous." Squall told his daughter one day after Raine had complained.
"Jealous about what? My being a sorceress? It's not all that hyped up!" Squall sighed.
"Raine…"
"I know there are some people who don't like sorceress around. I have met some of those people. I can deal with those people. It's just that…" She stopped at the sight of her father snickering quietly to himself.
"What's so funny?" Squall smiled ruefully.
"You and Dona. You two remind me of myself and another boy when I was your age." He turned away. "We never could get along."
"What happened?" Raine asked, curious. Squall faced her.
"He gave me this scar." Squall said, touching the reddish-brown mark on his head.
"Raine! Yo!"
"Huh?"
"Miss Leader! Snap outta it!" Raine blinked.
"What?"
"We got somebody heading our way!" Raine shook her head to clear her thoughts. Tifa came running up the rise, panting.
"Guys!"
"Tifa!" Raine exclaimed. "What's wrong?" Tifa bent over, gasping for breath, then straightened.
"I've got to deliver this message to you." She took a breath. "All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to report to the beach at 1600 hours for transportation back to the Garden. Your assignment ends when you arrive there."
"1600 hours?" Celes checked her watch. "We got another hour."
"Let's leave at 1520. We had a hard time getting up here, and we may have a hard time leaving here." Raine said. All of a sudden, a massive explosion rent the air.
"What the…" Everyone whirled around. Smoke spiraled up into the air.
"That was in the city!" Celes cried.
Outside of Dollet, on the mountain path…
Squall struck aside a Thrustaevis with his Punishment.
"Just like old times, huh?" Zell grunted as he punched a Red Bat away. The explosion had the both of them whirling around.
"The command center's been hit!"
"Rinoa!" Squall thought.
"Everyone! Get back to the city now!" Zell yelled.
In Dollet…
"Oohh…" Rinoa moaned. The blast had blown out the front of the building they were in and thrown everyone clear across the room. Her body ached all over, and blood tricked down the side of her forehead.
"Everyone ok?" She called, pulling herself up.
"Watch out!" Someone screamed. Rinoa turned her head to the side and saw several figures dressed in black enter through the hole the blast had made.
"Find the sorceress!"
"Huh? What the…"
"Get the commander out of here, now!"
"Huh? No!" Rinoa shrieked as she was grabbed around the waist and pulled out of the smoldering building.
"I have to go back! My daughter! I need to get Raine!"
"They're going to take care of the students! We need to get you to safety!" Rinoa could do nothing but allow herself to be pulled along.
In the present…
"Maelstrom!!" Rinoa screamed. Several soldiers fell instantly, unable to attack because of the powerful Curse spell.
"Where did these guys come from?" Zell asked, punching a solider.
"Forget that, we need to get out of here!" Quistis said, casting a Blizzaga spell. The four ran into the Garden and headed for the bridge.
"About time!" Nida said as soon as he saw Squall.
"Nida, get us out of here. Now." Squall said.
"I'd like to do that, but we got a little problem." Nida replied. "We can't move."
"What?"
"Before you arrived, one of their squads got in. They managed to get down to the basement level and disable the engine. We got them out, but we can't move."
"We're sitting ducks." Zell said.
"Get Ragarnok on the radio, and tell them to get back here fast!" Squall snapped. "Zell, Quistis, you're with me. We're gonna help the students at the front gate."
"What about me?" Rinoa asked.
"You stay up here with Nida."
"I'm a whole lot more useful with you guys! I can take out the majority of their troops easily!" Rinoa said.
"They might capture you. We can't take that chance!" Squall said.
"But you need me. How much longer can you hold them off?" Rinoa asked.
"She's got a point…" Zell said. Squall sighed.
"Ok, Rinoa, Zell, come with me. Quistis, see if you can get the wounded to safety." Quistis nodded.
"Good luck." Squall nodded, and then him, Zell and Rinoa went down on the elevator.
Julia smirked as she surveyed Balamb Garden. All over, students and SeeDs were fighting against Galbadian soldiers. Flashes of light sparked as students cast spells, and called on G.F.s, along with the sounds of gunfire and weapons clashing against one another.
"For a Garden that mainly consists of students, they're very good fighters." Setzer remarked. His attention was immediately drawn to the balcony of the quadrangle, where Squall, Rinoa, and Zell had just ran out.
"There's your sorceress."
"Hmph. Let's see how this goes." Julia murmured. "Show me what you have, little sister. Hahahaha…"
Rinoa's head whipped around.
"What's wrong?" Squall asked.
"Nothing…" Rinoa said. "I could've sworn I heard somebody just now…" she thought.
"Uh, if you guys have a plan, now would be a good time to execute it!" Zell interrupted.
"I'll use my powers to blow away the soldiers here. That should put a dent in their forces and buy us a little time!" Rinoa said.
"We'll protect you as you cast the spell." Squall replied, unhooking his Gunblade.
'Yeah, leave it to us!' Zell grinned, giving Rinoa the thumbs-up. Rinoa smiled, and nodded. Several soldiers saw them, and advanced towards them, weapons raised. Squall and Zell assumed fighting positions, Squall holding his Gunblade in front of him, and Zell fisting his hands inside his Ehrgeiz.
"I'm real nervous!" A student said beside her. Selphie stuck her head out of the doorway.
"Raine." Raine looked up. Selphie gestured. "In here." As Raine walked into the room, Selphie closed the door.
"Here," she said, holding up a bracelet. "Put this on."
"What's that?" Raine asked.
"An Odine Bangle. Especially made for you. The instructors want you to have the same abilities as the students, and that means…"
"No sorceress magic." Raine finished, scowling. "I wasn't planning on using it, anyway! Why do I have to wear this dumb thing? Now I won't be able to do any magic!" Selphie sighed. Rinoa had warned her about this.
"You will be able to use magic. Just not at the level you're used to." She stretched out her hand. "Just put it on, and do your best during the exam. The quicker you finish, the faster you'll be able to get it off." Kissing her teeth, Raine took the bracelet and fastened it around her upper left arm.
"There! See, that wasn't so bad!" Selphie said happily. Raine glared at her.
In Dollet…
Rinoa eyed a map that was in front of her.
"Ok…leave the road up to the tower alone. They're going to need some breathing room between all those battles they're going to be fighting."
"What about the monsters?"
"Set them loose on the path towards the mountain range." Squall said. An aide ran up to him.
"Sir, the transport ships are coming into view. ETA 20 minutes before arrival."
"Right. Rinoa…"
"For the last time, relax! Raine's our daughter! She can handle it!" Rinoa said. Squall crossed his arms.
"You're not worried?" "Of course I am!" Rinoa said, turning to him. "But we have to realize that this is something that Raine wants to do."
"I know…but why the senior-level exam?"
"You forget; Sabin and Celes are taking it too." Rinoa said. Squall crossed his arms.
"I just don't want anything happening to our daughter." "Neither do I." Rinoa said, kissing him on the cheek. Squall sighed.
"Ok then, let's get this show on the road."
Selphie called up a map on the computer screen.
"Alright. Just yesterday, the city of Dollet came under heavy attack by mysterious militant forces."
"Do they know who the militant forces are?" Raine asked.
"No." Selphie said. She pressed a button, and the map changed to show the interior of the city.
"A request for SeeD was made two hours ago. As of now, we have officers scattered at strategic points throughout the city. But there's a problem." The map disappeared and several pictures of monsters came up.
"The enemy has released monsters with extremely high magical levels. We've been able to eliminate the ones inside the city, but with some dire consequences. At least a quarter of our forces are down, and the monsters we drove out are trying to get back into the city."
"And this is where we come in." A student said. Selphie nodded, picking up a clipboard.
"These monsters have never been seen before, thus our inability to fight against them. Your assignment, even though you'll be on different squads, is to keep the monsters out of the city." She checked her clipboard.
"Raine, you're in squad C. It'll be you, Celes…"
"Celes?" Raine said. Selphie nodded.
"Yes. You're not the only student in your class who signed up for these exams. Just about all of your friends are taking this at one point or another." Raine smiled.
"Yes…you, Celes, and Sabin. That is squad C. Raine, you're the leader." Raine nodded.
In the present…
Squall glanced over at Rinoa. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she looked out at the horizon. The remains of Lunatic Pandora loomed in front of them as the Garden drew closer. Xu walked in.
"I just came from talking to some of the students. The G.F.s are starting to act funny."
"Leviathan said something wasn't right in that area." Rinoa said.
"We're going to have to stop soon." Nida said. "I can't take the Garden any further. There's too much debris scattered around."
"Rinoa?" Squall said. Rinoa turned.
"It's ok. If we can send out a small group out, it should be alright."
"Is there any way to at least temporary neutralize Pandora?" Quistis asked. "Until the Ragarnok gets back?"
"I think so. The thing is; if anything happens to the flow of power, the sorceress is going to come here so fast it won't be funny."
"They might come here." Xu said. "We've got the skills and the equipment to handle them, but…"
"The G.F.s." Zell said. Rinoa's eyes crossed as she raised a hand to her chest.
"You ok?" Nida asked.
"Yeah…" Rinoa said, rubbing her chest absentmindly.
"This pain…where's it's coming from?" she thought.
In Another World…
"Watch your back!" Raine screamed. The Hexdragon crouched in a battle- ready position.
"Where the heck did these monsters come from?" Sabin snarled.
"That's a Hexdragon! Outside of a textbook, I've never seen one before!" Celes exclaimed.
"Tell me you know what this thing's weak against!" Sabin said.
"Hang on." Celes said. While Sabin and Raine attacked the Hexdragon with physical attacks, Celes cast a Scan spell to help her learn more about the monster.
Somewhere in Dollet…
"Good officer material." One SeeD member said approvingly. "That Celes Branford has got lots of potential." Rinoa bit her lip as she watched the screen.
"Guys, it's weak against Water!" She heard Celes say.
"I'll handle it!" Raine said. Rinoa watched as her daughter moved forward, switching her Gunblade to the opposite hand so that she could cast the spell. A giant water bubble engulfed the Hexdragon, lifting it up into the air, and then dropping it like a stone back onto the ground.
"Nice magic skills. You got a good one there, Leonhart." Rinoa nodded in agreement, her attention someplace else.
Raine bent over, panting.
"You ok?" Sabin asked. Raine nodded.
"This is one of the reasons why I hate wearing one of these dumb bangles. I get tired so easily after I cast magic!" she thought.
"You're sure you're alright?" Celes asked. Raine nodded.
"I'm sure." She straightened. "C'mon. We're wasting time hanging around here."
In the present, at that same second…
"If Esthar and Galbadia didn't have any success trying to get rid of this thing, how can we?" Zell asked, picking his way through debris.
"I think the problem isn't getting rid of Pandora in the physical form, it's getting rid of all the magic stored in it." Rinoa said.
"And all that magic is the reason why Lunatic Pandora can never be completely destroyed." Squall said, shifting a backpack on his shoulders.
"With all that explosive you've got in there, we should get some results." Quistis said.
"Yeah. The regular stuff and this…what was it again?"
"It's a special gel that has the ability to neutralize magic on anything it goes on." Quistis replied. "Here, slow down a minute." She reached into the bag Squall had on his shoulders and pulled out two canisters.
"See? When you mix these two chemicals together, the gel forms instantaneously. We put this on Lunatic Pandora and it should stop the flow of magic."
"Well, you got the magic part taken care of. What about the rest?" Zell asked.
"Easy." Squall said. He stopped and pulled off the bag.
"You and me plant charges around the remaining debris while Rinoa tells Quistis where to put the gel. Then we run back, press a button…"
"BOOM! I get it!" Zell said happily. "Bye-bye Pandora!"
"You mean bye-bye Pandora, hello sorceress." Rinoa muttered.
"One problem at a time, Rinoa." Quistis said. Rinoa nodded, rubbing her chest.
On Balamb Garden…
Xu quickly walked down the corridor and got on the elevator heading up to the bridge.
"Anything yet?" She asked Nida. He shook his head.
"Nothing on radar. I haven't heard anything from Squall and the others either."
"Something's not right. Galbadia should have pulled something by now." She tapped her foot impatiently.
"Look at it as a reprieve." Nida said.
"I can't. I got a bad feeling about this, Nida." Leaning forward, she placed both hands on the rail.
"It doesn't take a sorceress to know this is trouble." Nida said. Xu shook her head forcefully.
"It's not that. Call it…call it woman's intuition or whatever you want. It's…it's…" She waved a hand around, trying to find words for what she wanted to say.
"Just a feeling?" Nida asked.
"Yeah." Xu murmured.
In Another World….
Rinoa inhaled deeply, one hand above her heart. Shudders racked her body as she leaned against the wall.
"What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way?" she thought. "I can't seem to stop shaking, I feel hot, then cold…"
'Commander?"
"Yes? I'm coming back now." "Get a grip! Just hold on until the exam is finished, and then you can collapse." She thought to herself.
Raine's head whipped around.
"Anything wrong?" Sabin asked.
"No, nothing." Raine murmured in reply. Idly, she stroked the bangle on her left arm.
"Is that working?" Celes asked. Raine shot her a dirty look.
"What do you think?"
"Sorry! It's just that the last time you wore one of those, you had to take it off because it wasn't working."
"Was that my fault?"
"No it…never mind. Let me take my foot out of my mouth before I do any more damage." Celes said.
"Do that!" Raine snapped. "Now let's hurry up and finish this thing!" Moving quickly, they ran up the path to the communication tower.
In the present…
"That's the last of them." Squall said, flicking a switch on the final charge. Quistis looked up.
"All set over here too." She replied.
"Great. Now, let's get the heck outta here." Zell said. But before they could move…
"Squall! Squall, do you read me?" Nida's voice came through on the radio.
"Nida! What is it?"
" The Garden's being attacked! Galbadia came out of nowhere!"
"We're coming back now! Can you hold them off until then?"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. Whirling around, Squall saw a group of soldiers bearing down on them, weapons raised.
"We need to get out of here!" Quistis yelled, lashing out with her whip.
"Zell! Give me the remote!" Squall called, unhooking his Gunblade from his belt. Zell hurled the little box towards him.
"Tell me you're not thinking of blowing up the place now!" Rinoa said, firing her Shooting Star at two soldiers.
"No, but we need some breathing room so we can get back to Balamb Garden!" Rinoa nodded.
"Zell, Quistis! Clear out!" Zell and Quistis nodded, then moved out of Rinoa's line of fire.
"What is going on?" One solider snarled. Rinoa closed her eyes, and put her hands together as if she were praying. Opening her eyes, she spun around a full 360 degrees, a beam of pearl-white light trailing from her right hand.
"Ohoh. Spell alert!" Zell said. Ignoring him, Rinoa trailed the light into a circle, and joined her hands together at the top. Her sorceress wings appeared on her back as she brought her hands down.
"Crystal Storm!" She said, bringing her right hand forward. Out of nowhere, huge quartz stones appeared, hurling themselves in the paths of the Galbadia soldiers. As Squall and the others watched, more quartz appeared, growing up, up, and up until there was a wall between them and the soldiers.
"Whoa!" Zell said.
"Stop admiring it and run!" Rinoa said. The four scrambled over rocks and other debris as they ran back towards Balamb Garden.
In Another World, at that same second…
Raine brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face. She, Celes, and Sabin were standing in front of the communication tower.
"Well, we made it in one piece." Sabin said. "What's next?"
"We wait. And while we wait, make sure nobody gets in here." Raine said. Celes looked at her friend.
"Raine? Listen. I'm really…"
"Skip it!" Raine snapped. Then she closed her eyes and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Celes. I know you didn't mean it."
"Did you get enough sleep last night?" Celes asked, eyeing Raine.
"Yes."
"Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
"Yes."
"Is it the bangle?" Sabin asked.
"YES!" Raine hissed. "I've been feeling funny for the past hour now, and it's probably this dumb bangle."
"Can you hold on until the end of the exam?" Celes asked.
"I have too! You, of all people…"
"Yeah…" Celes said. A couple of months before, the new freshmen had arrived at Balamb Garden. Among them was a girl named Dona Figaro. Her father, Cecil Figaro, was a high-ranking SeeD officer at Galbadia Garden, and it was no secret that he disapproved of Sorceress Rinoa's existence. Raine had tried to make friends with Dona, but had been brushed off coldly. From that point on, whenever an opportunity presented itself, Dona never failed to point out that Raine was a sorceress, and that sorceresses had a bad history on Gaia. Although Squall and Rinoa had continually reassured Raine that nobody at Balamb Garden held it against her that she was a sorceress, Raine still endured glances and whispers about her from time to time. Those, she could handle, but when faced with Dona's animosity…
"Raine, darling. You're just going to have to ignore her. She's jealous." Squall told his daughter one day after Raine had complained.
"Jealous about what? My being a sorceress? It's not all that hyped up!" Squall sighed.
"Raine…"
"I know there are some people who don't like sorceress around. I have met some of those people. I can deal with those people. It's just that…" She stopped at the sight of her father snickering quietly to himself.
"What's so funny?" Squall smiled ruefully.
"You and Dona. You two remind me of myself and another boy when I was your age." He turned away. "We never could get along."
"What happened?" Raine asked, curious. Squall faced her.
"He gave me this scar." Squall said, touching the reddish-brown mark on his head.
"Raine! Yo!"
"Huh?"
"Miss Leader! Snap outta it!" Raine blinked.
"What?"
"We got somebody heading our way!" Raine shook her head to clear her thoughts. Tifa came running up the rise, panting.
"Guys!"
"Tifa!" Raine exclaimed. "What's wrong?" Tifa bent over, gasping for breath, then straightened.
"I've got to deliver this message to you." She took a breath. "All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to report to the beach at 1600 hours for transportation back to the Garden. Your assignment ends when you arrive there."
"1600 hours?" Celes checked her watch. "We got another hour."
"Let's leave at 1520. We had a hard time getting up here, and we may have a hard time leaving here." Raine said. All of a sudden, a massive explosion rent the air.
"What the…" Everyone whirled around. Smoke spiraled up into the air.
"That was in the city!" Celes cried.
Outside of Dollet, on the mountain path…
Squall struck aside a Thrustaevis with his Punishment.
"Just like old times, huh?" Zell grunted as he punched a Red Bat away. The explosion had the both of them whirling around.
"The command center's been hit!"
"Rinoa!" Squall thought.
"Everyone! Get back to the city now!" Zell yelled.
In Dollet…
"Oohh…" Rinoa moaned. The blast had blown out the front of the building they were in and thrown everyone clear across the room. Her body ached all over, and blood tricked down the side of her forehead.
"Everyone ok?" She called, pulling herself up.
"Watch out!" Someone screamed. Rinoa turned her head to the side and saw several figures dressed in black enter through the hole the blast had made.
"Find the sorceress!"
"Huh? What the…"
"Get the commander out of here, now!"
"Huh? No!" Rinoa shrieked as she was grabbed around the waist and pulled out of the smoldering building.
"I have to go back! My daughter! I need to get Raine!"
"They're going to take care of the students! We need to get you to safety!" Rinoa could do nothing but allow herself to be pulled along.
In the present…
"Maelstrom!!" Rinoa screamed. Several soldiers fell instantly, unable to attack because of the powerful Curse spell.
"Where did these guys come from?" Zell asked, punching a solider.
"Forget that, we need to get out of here!" Quistis said, casting a Blizzaga spell. The four ran into the Garden and headed for the bridge.
"About time!" Nida said as soon as he saw Squall.
"Nida, get us out of here. Now." Squall said.
"I'd like to do that, but we got a little problem." Nida replied. "We can't move."
"What?"
"Before you arrived, one of their squads got in. They managed to get down to the basement level and disable the engine. We got them out, but we can't move."
"We're sitting ducks." Zell said.
"Get Ragarnok on the radio, and tell them to get back here fast!" Squall snapped. "Zell, Quistis, you're with me. We're gonna help the students at the front gate."
"What about me?" Rinoa asked.
"You stay up here with Nida."
"I'm a whole lot more useful with you guys! I can take out the majority of their troops easily!" Rinoa said.
"They might capture you. We can't take that chance!" Squall said.
"But you need me. How much longer can you hold them off?" Rinoa asked.
"She's got a point…" Zell said. Squall sighed.
"Ok, Rinoa, Zell, come with me. Quistis, see if you can get the wounded to safety." Quistis nodded.
"Good luck." Squall nodded, and then him, Zell and Rinoa went down on the elevator.
Julia smirked as she surveyed Balamb Garden. All over, students and SeeDs were fighting against Galbadian soldiers. Flashes of light sparked as students cast spells, and called on G.F.s, along with the sounds of gunfire and weapons clashing against one another.
"For a Garden that mainly consists of students, they're very good fighters." Setzer remarked. His attention was immediately drawn to the balcony of the quadrangle, where Squall, Rinoa, and Zell had just ran out.
"There's your sorceress."
"Hmph. Let's see how this goes." Julia murmured. "Show me what you have, little sister. Hahahaha…"
Rinoa's head whipped around.
"What's wrong?" Squall asked.
"Nothing…" Rinoa said. "I could've sworn I heard somebody just now…" she thought.
"Uh, if you guys have a plan, now would be a good time to execute it!" Zell interrupted.
"I'll use my powers to blow away the soldiers here. That should put a dent in their forces and buy us a little time!" Rinoa said.
"We'll protect you as you cast the spell." Squall replied, unhooking his Gunblade.
'Yeah, leave it to us!' Zell grinned, giving Rinoa the thumbs-up. Rinoa smiled, and nodded. Several soldiers saw them, and advanced towards them, weapons raised. Squall and Zell assumed fighting positions, Squall holding his Gunblade in front of him, and Zell fisting his hands inside his Ehrgeiz.