Chapter Fifteen
Laguna pursued his lips. For the past several hours he had played host to his advisory board and the representive from Galbadia. Before the meeting, Rinoa had been placed in a stasis tube, and had been sent to the Sorceress Memorial, Kiros and Ward accompanying her, while Squall and the others hid at the local hotel.
Cyan Tribal glanced briefly over at Laguna. The President seemed lost in thought. Taking the opportunity, he looked around at the office, noting the position of the windows and doors.
"Now that we have the tour taken care of…" Laguna turned around at this.
"We can get to the real business."
"Which is?" Laguna asked. The head of the advisory council, Albert Quen, put his hands on the desk. "Sir, if the rumors are true, then we will have to take some sort of action."
"I would normally agree, but what about our policy to never get involved in the politics of other countries?" Laguna replied.
"We feel that in this case, we can…ignore it. It is for the best." Another advisor replied. "It should be a simple matter to send out people to confirm whether or not these rumors are true."
"And if they are true, then we just take control of the situation." Albert finished.
"I can't act like I'm against this plan…of which I am! Do that, and Rinoa's in even greater danger!" Laguna thought desperately.
"But you don't know for sure that there is a sorceress." Cyan said.
"Cid and Byron have already approved the plan…obviously I can't go to Galbadia Garden until that mess is straightened out and Cyan's gone…"
"Mr. President?" Albert asked, jarring Laguna from his thoughts.
Selphie bit her lips nervously. They were listening to the conversation in Laguna's office via a well-placed bug and a radio speaker.
"This isn't good."
"I wanna know what's Cyan doing there!" Irvine snarled.
"Representive from Galbadia my foot! They're up to something!" Zell said, punching the air with his fists. Quistis shot a glance over at Squall, who was standing by the window.
"Last thing he needs…last thing we all need…"
"As much as I would like to continue this part of the conversation, I believe we have another problem to address." Laguna said a bit coldly over the speaker.
"Yes. It seems like we have another sorceress to deal with also."
"Oh jeez! Get off of Rinoa's case already!" Selphie exclaimed.
"The SeeDs from Balamb Garden have already agreed to help us." Laguna said.
"By SeeDs, do you mean the ones who defeated Ultimecia?" Albert asked.
"Yes. In fact I have a meeting with them right after this one."
"Do they have any idea where she came from?" This from Cyan.
"No. But from the information they have on her so far, it sounds like she came from the ruins of Lunatic Pandora." Laguna replied.
"How is that possible? I thought the Pandora was destroyed after the battle with Ultimecia!"
"I don't know, but until we find out, is there anything else we need to go over?" Laguna asked.
"No."
"Mr. Tribal?" Cyan shook his head.
"No." Unnoticed, he silently placed a small circular gray pad on the door.
Over in the hotel, Squall snapped off the speaker.
"Cyan's up to something." Quistis said.
"What?" Selphie asked.
"That, is the one million dollar question." Squall replied. His eyes narrowed.
In Another World, at that same second…
"Seifer?" Selene hurried down the hall. "Seifer? Accckkk…where is that fool?" A flash of white light, and she was gone.
Seifer sat on the edge of the pier, idly rubbing his fingers over something.
"Where have you been?" Selene snarled, appearing behind him.
"Since when did I have to report to you, Mother?" Seifer asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Since everything's about to hit the roof!" Seifer's head whipped around.
"What?"
"Cecil Corel's about to make his move." At this, Seifer's eyes narrowed into slits and his face twisted into an expression of fury. Seeing this, Selene sighed. Cecil Corel was the alias of Sephiroth, a former general of the Galbadian Army, and head of the terrorist group Shinra. Shinra was also the group responsible for the attacks on all four Gardens and the kidnapping of Rinoa and Raine Leonhart 17 years ago.
"Raine's already figured out the year. She just can't figure out the problem. You need to go and give her brain a push." Selene said.
"Do you know…?" Seifer asked.
"No." The woman shook her head. "I don't know what he's going to do." Seifer nodded. Putting down the object, he got up and followed Selene. As the two faded from sight, a black and white cat appeared, trotting down the pier. Curious, it sniffed at the object, and then moved off. A picture of Squall, Rinoa, and Raine encased in a silver frame, stared up at the sky.
"The repairs are just about complete, sir." The engineer marked something on a clipboard, and handed it to Squall.
"What about B1?"
"Still a mess. That area's going to have to be shut off for a while."
"Do it." Squall said. The engineer saluted, and left the room, brushing by Quistis as she walked in.
"Well?" She asked.
"Everything's taken care of with the exception of the B1 level." Squall said.
"Raine?"
"Doing fine." Quistis nodded. "We need to…" Selphie burst into the office, out of breath.
"Squall! You need to get up to the bridge right now!"
Nida's lips were pressed tightly together as Squall and Quistis hurried onto the bridge.
"Nida! What's wrong?'
"We just got this five minutes ago." He pressed a button, and a voice filled the room.
"This is Shinra. The attack on Balamb Garden yesterday was merely a warning, and to show our strength. We will keep attacking every single Garden on this planet until our demands are met."
"Like heck!" Quistis hissed.
"You have less than 6 hours to hand over the Sorceresses Rinoa Leonhart and Raine Leonhart to us, or the town of Balamb will suffer for your actions."
"WHAT?" Nida turned, face pale.
"We also received transmissions from Galbadia and Trabia. They got attacked by Shinra also." Squall shut his eyes.
"They're trying to paralyze us." Xu said.
"And they're doing a fine job of it too!" Selphie snapped, anger flashing in her green eyes.
"They're not getting them." Squall said. He opened his eyes. "Selphie, get Tifa, I.J., Sabin, Celes, and all the other cadets and junior classmen together. I'll get Raine. Have them pack some things and head to the front gate. Nida, contact my father."
Raine walked inside her bedroom.
"Another day at the Library…and no results to show for it. I don't understand!" As she started to fall backward onto the bed…
"Yaaahhh! Ow!" She sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "What the…where did my bed go?" Wincing, she got up. All around her was darkness.
"Aww man, not again!" She blew out an exasperated breath. "Can't you just knock on the door like a normal human being?"
"I am a normal human being, darling." Seifer said, appearing out of thin air.
"Then how do you explain this?" Raine asked, gesturing. Seifer grinned. He doubted that Raine would believe him about the "tricks" he had picked up over the years.
"Just like your father. Hurting your head over simple things." Raine shot him an icy glare.
"Your head would be hurting too, if you had half the problems I have!"
"You're just looking in the wrong place. What you're dealing with is not your mother's past alone. It also deals with your father's." Raine shook her head at this.
"I don't get it."
"Ultimecia." At this, Raine blanched and went pale.
"How did you…?" Very few people knew the actual truth about Ultimecia, that she was the future Rinoa from another dimension. A year before their marriage, Squall and Rinoa had been sent on assignment to deal with yet another troublesome group of Galbadians who were operating out of Timber. During the battle that followed, a badly cast Demi spell caused Rinoa to lose control of her sorceress powers, and instead of white wings appearing on her back, black ones formed instead. Terrified because the appearance of black wings meant only one thing, Rinoa fled to Esthar shortly afterward. She met up with Ellone, and the two combined their powers to go into the past and search for clues. They were shocked to discover that in another dimension, Adel had reawakened, and intent on making sure that she was the only sorceress on Gaia, kidnapped Rinoa shortly after she had received Edea's powers. Adel's intent was to strip Rinoa of her magic, and regain control of Esthar. However, Squall, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, an d Irvine went after her in a desperate attempt to save Rinoa. They succeeded, but at a terrible price. Squall died during the battle, taking a killing blow meant for Zell from Adel.
Shell-shocked, numb, and overcome with grief, Rinoa went to Edea's House, hoping that her love hadn't died, that he would make good on his promise to meet her there if they ever got separated. When Squall never came, she fell into a deep depression. Grief soon turned into bitterness and anger, and shortly after Squall's funeral, Rinoa vanished. Her friends looked for her, but their efforts were in vain. Years and years later, rumors surfaced of a powerful sorceress who would stop at nothing to destroy all life and everyone that lived. Hot on the heels of that was a mysterious attack that wiped out Balamb Garden. In the chaos that followed, Rinoa, now known as Ultimecia reappeared. Moving quickly, she crushed the opposition from the remaining Gardens and SeeDs. Soon Gaia became a planet of death, ruled by her. This however, did not satisfy Ultimecia. Squall's death still lingered in her thoughts, and what started, as a sorrowful memory soon became an obsession that ate up her days and gave her sleep less nights. What if her love hadn't died? What if she could go back in time and reverse what had happened? On her discovery of the JME, her mind was made up. Using the power of the machine, and of Ellone, she would use their powers to help her go back to the day that Squall had died and save him.
Seifer watched as Raine blinked. Color slowly returned to her face.
"I didn't mean to hit her with that, but she needs to get her mind together, and fast!"
"Grandfather said that when Mom found out, she was in such a state of shock that she couldn't speak for two weeks." Raine said quietly. "I don't blame her. To find out what she could have been…"
"And still can become." Seifer added. Raine whirled around.
"What?"
"No! I've said too much!" Seifer thought. Raine looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing." "Nearly let that slip out this time, didn't you?" Seifer said to himself. "I've gotta let her figure this out for herself!" He turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Raine asked.
"Listen. As soon as I leave, your father's going to come in and demand that you pack your things for a trip to Esthar. He's deemed that it's too dangerous for you here, which is a fact."
"Say what?"
"Do as I say. Don't fight him, don't argue with him, just pack your things and go."
"What? Huh?!" Raine said as the darkness vanished, and she stood in her room again. Her hair spun as she turned around. "Seifer? Seifer?" When no answer came, she fell silent. An idea delicate as a soap bubble shimmered into being inside her mind.
"Oh my God…" Squall burst in.
"Raine, listen. Don't argue; just do as I say. G…"
"Get some stuff together, you're going to Esthar." Raine finished, sounding as if she were in a daze. Squall nodded.
"Right." He walked out of the room. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed that Raine had known exactly what he was going to say. However, his mind was full of plans for the upcoming battle.
The order to leave was met with varying reactions. Tifa and Sabin lost their tempers respectively. Celes, after failing to obtain more information as to why they had to leave, gave in. I.J. complained, but didn't put up much of a fight. As for Raine…
"This stinks!" Tifa threw herself into a chair, eyes flashing. "WHY are we getting shipped out all of a sudden?!"
"I tried to find out some more information, but couldn't." Celes said from her seat. Sabin leaned over.
"Is it just me, or is something up with Raine?" He asked, his voice a whisper. Celes looked over.
"He's right. She's been acting funny ever since she came on board." Celes replied.
"Not only that, she didn't give her dad any grief about leaving! That's not normal!" Sabin whispered back.
Raine sat silently, not paying attention to the activity around her, or to the worried looks of Tifa, Celes, Sabin, and I.J. Her mind went over the information she had gathered over the past several days systematically, like a computer. The idea was no longer a bubble, but starting to solidify and take root. However, she did not dare voice it aloud, until she had thought everything through.
In the present…
Laguna quietly closed the door behind him.
"You heard?" He asked.
"Yeah." Squall said from his spot at the window.
"Can you stop it?" Quistis asked. Laguna shook his head.
"No. But I've got a plan." This got everyone's attention.
"What?"
"Squall, Rinoa's in training to become a SeeD, right?"
"Not yet…why?" Laguna crossed his arms and started to pace.
"My idea…is to have…uhh…oh boy, how do I explain this…ok." He turned to face them. "The plan is to have Rinoa either become a SeeD, or live in a Garden for the rest of her life. I feel…since SeeD is pretty much trusted to deal with sorceresses…that if they agreed to watch future sorceresses…"
"I get it! You're saying that if SeeD keeps a sorceress under surveillance, the people wouldn't have to worry! I mean, SeeD does train to fight sorceresses…" Selphie trailed off.
"The general idea is that there's someone watching the sorceress." Zell said.
"It wouldn't have to be permanent, just until people feel safe with a Sorceress around." Laguna added. "Cid and Byron have already approved it."
"What if the Sorceress turns evil?" Irvine asked.
"Odine says he might have found a way to permanently seal the Sorceress Power, without the danger of it being passed on. If it does happen…" Laguna looked over at Squall, who had turned around.
"SeeD brings the sorceress to Esthar, and her powers are taken from her." Squall finished. "Or if the sorceress wishes…"
"You got it."
"Will your advisors approve?" Quistis asked.
"If I can get all three Headmasters of all three Gardens behind me, yes."
"Sounds like a really good idea to me!" Selphie chirped.
"I agree." Squall said, uncrossing his arms. Laguna nodded.
"It's settled then. When this mess is cleared up, that's the first thing I'm dealing with."
"While you were talking, we managed to come up with a bit of a plan." Squall said.
"A bit?" Laguna asked. Squall shrugged.
"What else could we do? We hardly have any information to go on. We did the best we could with what we got."
"Okay." Laguna said, holding up a hand. "It's alright. What are you going to do?"
"We're thinking of having the Ragarnok fly us as far as the coastline, and then walk the rest of the way."
"Balamb Garden's at FH, and Trabia Garden said they'd give us some help." Quistis said. "We stop at the Garden for information, go to the castle, get the sorceress, and fly straight back here."
"Sounds so simple. Not!" Irivne said.
"Only problem we got to deal with is what happens after we leave Trabia Garden." Zell added.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Squall said. "Right now, we need to prepare. Quistis, Irvine, head to the shops here and pick up the items we need."
"Got it." Quistis said. Irvine tossed off a salute.
"Zell and I will head back to Balamb Garden and pick up everyone's weapons."
"Hey! What do I do?" Selphie complained.
"You hang around here and keep your eyes open. Galbadia might be up to something." Squall said. Selphie nodded.
"Spy job. Cool!"
Laguna pursued his lips. For the past several hours he had played host to his advisory board and the representive from Galbadia. Before the meeting, Rinoa had been placed in a stasis tube, and had been sent to the Sorceress Memorial, Kiros and Ward accompanying her, while Squall and the others hid at the local hotel.
Cyan Tribal glanced briefly over at Laguna. The President seemed lost in thought. Taking the opportunity, he looked around at the office, noting the position of the windows and doors.
"Now that we have the tour taken care of…" Laguna turned around at this.
"We can get to the real business."
"Which is?" Laguna asked. The head of the advisory council, Albert Quen, put his hands on the desk. "Sir, if the rumors are true, then we will have to take some sort of action."
"I would normally agree, but what about our policy to never get involved in the politics of other countries?" Laguna replied.
"We feel that in this case, we can…ignore it. It is for the best." Another advisor replied. "It should be a simple matter to send out people to confirm whether or not these rumors are true."
"And if they are true, then we just take control of the situation." Albert finished.
"I can't act like I'm against this plan…of which I am! Do that, and Rinoa's in even greater danger!" Laguna thought desperately.
"But you don't know for sure that there is a sorceress." Cyan said.
"Cid and Byron have already approved the plan…obviously I can't go to Galbadia Garden until that mess is straightened out and Cyan's gone…"
"Mr. President?" Albert asked, jarring Laguna from his thoughts.
Selphie bit her lips nervously. They were listening to the conversation in Laguna's office via a well-placed bug and a radio speaker.
"This isn't good."
"I wanna know what's Cyan doing there!" Irvine snarled.
"Representive from Galbadia my foot! They're up to something!" Zell said, punching the air with his fists. Quistis shot a glance over at Squall, who was standing by the window.
"Last thing he needs…last thing we all need…"
"As much as I would like to continue this part of the conversation, I believe we have another problem to address." Laguna said a bit coldly over the speaker.
"Yes. It seems like we have another sorceress to deal with also."
"Oh jeez! Get off of Rinoa's case already!" Selphie exclaimed.
"The SeeDs from Balamb Garden have already agreed to help us." Laguna said.
"By SeeDs, do you mean the ones who defeated Ultimecia?" Albert asked.
"Yes. In fact I have a meeting with them right after this one."
"Do they have any idea where she came from?" This from Cyan.
"No. But from the information they have on her so far, it sounds like she came from the ruins of Lunatic Pandora." Laguna replied.
"How is that possible? I thought the Pandora was destroyed after the battle with Ultimecia!"
"I don't know, but until we find out, is there anything else we need to go over?" Laguna asked.
"No."
"Mr. Tribal?" Cyan shook his head.
"No." Unnoticed, he silently placed a small circular gray pad on the door.
Over in the hotel, Squall snapped off the speaker.
"Cyan's up to something." Quistis said.
"What?" Selphie asked.
"That, is the one million dollar question." Squall replied. His eyes narrowed.
In Another World, at that same second…
"Seifer?" Selene hurried down the hall. "Seifer? Accckkk…where is that fool?" A flash of white light, and she was gone.
Seifer sat on the edge of the pier, idly rubbing his fingers over something.
"Where have you been?" Selene snarled, appearing behind him.
"Since when did I have to report to you, Mother?" Seifer asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Since everything's about to hit the roof!" Seifer's head whipped around.
"What?"
"Cecil Corel's about to make his move." At this, Seifer's eyes narrowed into slits and his face twisted into an expression of fury. Seeing this, Selene sighed. Cecil Corel was the alias of Sephiroth, a former general of the Galbadian Army, and head of the terrorist group Shinra. Shinra was also the group responsible for the attacks on all four Gardens and the kidnapping of Rinoa and Raine Leonhart 17 years ago.
"Raine's already figured out the year. She just can't figure out the problem. You need to go and give her brain a push." Selene said.
"Do you know…?" Seifer asked.
"No." The woman shook her head. "I don't know what he's going to do." Seifer nodded. Putting down the object, he got up and followed Selene. As the two faded from sight, a black and white cat appeared, trotting down the pier. Curious, it sniffed at the object, and then moved off. A picture of Squall, Rinoa, and Raine encased in a silver frame, stared up at the sky.
"The repairs are just about complete, sir." The engineer marked something on a clipboard, and handed it to Squall.
"What about B1?"
"Still a mess. That area's going to have to be shut off for a while."
"Do it." Squall said. The engineer saluted, and left the room, brushing by Quistis as she walked in.
"Well?" She asked.
"Everything's taken care of with the exception of the B1 level." Squall said.
"Raine?"
"Doing fine." Quistis nodded. "We need to…" Selphie burst into the office, out of breath.
"Squall! You need to get up to the bridge right now!"
Nida's lips were pressed tightly together as Squall and Quistis hurried onto the bridge.
"Nida! What's wrong?'
"We just got this five minutes ago." He pressed a button, and a voice filled the room.
"This is Shinra. The attack on Balamb Garden yesterday was merely a warning, and to show our strength. We will keep attacking every single Garden on this planet until our demands are met."
"Like heck!" Quistis hissed.
"You have less than 6 hours to hand over the Sorceresses Rinoa Leonhart and Raine Leonhart to us, or the town of Balamb will suffer for your actions."
"WHAT?" Nida turned, face pale.
"We also received transmissions from Galbadia and Trabia. They got attacked by Shinra also." Squall shut his eyes.
"They're trying to paralyze us." Xu said.
"And they're doing a fine job of it too!" Selphie snapped, anger flashing in her green eyes.
"They're not getting them." Squall said. He opened his eyes. "Selphie, get Tifa, I.J., Sabin, Celes, and all the other cadets and junior classmen together. I'll get Raine. Have them pack some things and head to the front gate. Nida, contact my father."
Raine walked inside her bedroom.
"Another day at the Library…and no results to show for it. I don't understand!" As she started to fall backward onto the bed…
"Yaaahhh! Ow!" She sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "What the…where did my bed go?" Wincing, she got up. All around her was darkness.
"Aww man, not again!" She blew out an exasperated breath. "Can't you just knock on the door like a normal human being?"
"I am a normal human being, darling." Seifer said, appearing out of thin air.
"Then how do you explain this?" Raine asked, gesturing. Seifer grinned. He doubted that Raine would believe him about the "tricks" he had picked up over the years.
"Just like your father. Hurting your head over simple things." Raine shot him an icy glare.
"Your head would be hurting too, if you had half the problems I have!"
"You're just looking in the wrong place. What you're dealing with is not your mother's past alone. It also deals with your father's." Raine shook her head at this.
"I don't get it."
"Ultimecia." At this, Raine blanched and went pale.
"How did you…?" Very few people knew the actual truth about Ultimecia, that she was the future Rinoa from another dimension. A year before their marriage, Squall and Rinoa had been sent on assignment to deal with yet another troublesome group of Galbadians who were operating out of Timber. During the battle that followed, a badly cast Demi spell caused Rinoa to lose control of her sorceress powers, and instead of white wings appearing on her back, black ones formed instead. Terrified because the appearance of black wings meant only one thing, Rinoa fled to Esthar shortly afterward. She met up with Ellone, and the two combined their powers to go into the past and search for clues. They were shocked to discover that in another dimension, Adel had reawakened, and intent on making sure that she was the only sorceress on Gaia, kidnapped Rinoa shortly after she had received Edea's powers. Adel's intent was to strip Rinoa of her magic, and regain control of Esthar. However, Squall, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, an d Irvine went after her in a desperate attempt to save Rinoa. They succeeded, but at a terrible price. Squall died during the battle, taking a killing blow meant for Zell from Adel.
Shell-shocked, numb, and overcome with grief, Rinoa went to Edea's House, hoping that her love hadn't died, that he would make good on his promise to meet her there if they ever got separated. When Squall never came, she fell into a deep depression. Grief soon turned into bitterness and anger, and shortly after Squall's funeral, Rinoa vanished. Her friends looked for her, but their efforts were in vain. Years and years later, rumors surfaced of a powerful sorceress who would stop at nothing to destroy all life and everyone that lived. Hot on the heels of that was a mysterious attack that wiped out Balamb Garden. In the chaos that followed, Rinoa, now known as Ultimecia reappeared. Moving quickly, she crushed the opposition from the remaining Gardens and SeeDs. Soon Gaia became a planet of death, ruled by her. This however, did not satisfy Ultimecia. Squall's death still lingered in her thoughts, and what started, as a sorrowful memory soon became an obsession that ate up her days and gave her sleep less nights. What if her love hadn't died? What if she could go back in time and reverse what had happened? On her discovery of the JME, her mind was made up. Using the power of the machine, and of Ellone, she would use their powers to help her go back to the day that Squall had died and save him.
Seifer watched as Raine blinked. Color slowly returned to her face.
"I didn't mean to hit her with that, but she needs to get her mind together, and fast!"
"Grandfather said that when Mom found out, she was in such a state of shock that she couldn't speak for two weeks." Raine said quietly. "I don't blame her. To find out what she could have been…"
"And still can become." Seifer added. Raine whirled around.
"What?"
"No! I've said too much!" Seifer thought. Raine looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing." "Nearly let that slip out this time, didn't you?" Seifer said to himself. "I've gotta let her figure this out for herself!" He turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Raine asked.
"Listen. As soon as I leave, your father's going to come in and demand that you pack your things for a trip to Esthar. He's deemed that it's too dangerous for you here, which is a fact."
"Say what?"
"Do as I say. Don't fight him, don't argue with him, just pack your things and go."
"What? Huh?!" Raine said as the darkness vanished, and she stood in her room again. Her hair spun as she turned around. "Seifer? Seifer?" When no answer came, she fell silent. An idea delicate as a soap bubble shimmered into being inside her mind.
"Oh my God…" Squall burst in.
"Raine, listen. Don't argue; just do as I say. G…"
"Get some stuff together, you're going to Esthar." Raine finished, sounding as if she were in a daze. Squall nodded.
"Right." He walked out of the room. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed that Raine had known exactly what he was going to say. However, his mind was full of plans for the upcoming battle.
The order to leave was met with varying reactions. Tifa and Sabin lost their tempers respectively. Celes, after failing to obtain more information as to why they had to leave, gave in. I.J. complained, but didn't put up much of a fight. As for Raine…
"This stinks!" Tifa threw herself into a chair, eyes flashing. "WHY are we getting shipped out all of a sudden?!"
"I tried to find out some more information, but couldn't." Celes said from her seat. Sabin leaned over.
"Is it just me, or is something up with Raine?" He asked, his voice a whisper. Celes looked over.
"He's right. She's been acting funny ever since she came on board." Celes replied.
"Not only that, she didn't give her dad any grief about leaving! That's not normal!" Sabin whispered back.
Raine sat silently, not paying attention to the activity around her, or to the worried looks of Tifa, Celes, Sabin, and I.J. Her mind went over the information she had gathered over the past several days systematically, like a computer. The idea was no longer a bubble, but starting to solidify and take root. However, she did not dare voice it aloud, until she had thought everything through.
In the present…
Laguna quietly closed the door behind him.
"You heard?" He asked.
"Yeah." Squall said from his spot at the window.
"Can you stop it?" Quistis asked. Laguna shook his head.
"No. But I've got a plan." This got everyone's attention.
"What?"
"Squall, Rinoa's in training to become a SeeD, right?"
"Not yet…why?" Laguna crossed his arms and started to pace.
"My idea…is to have…uhh…oh boy, how do I explain this…ok." He turned to face them. "The plan is to have Rinoa either become a SeeD, or live in a Garden for the rest of her life. I feel…since SeeD is pretty much trusted to deal with sorceresses…that if they agreed to watch future sorceresses…"
"I get it! You're saying that if SeeD keeps a sorceress under surveillance, the people wouldn't have to worry! I mean, SeeD does train to fight sorceresses…" Selphie trailed off.
"The general idea is that there's someone watching the sorceress." Zell said.
"It wouldn't have to be permanent, just until people feel safe with a Sorceress around." Laguna added. "Cid and Byron have already approved it."
"What if the Sorceress turns evil?" Irvine asked.
"Odine says he might have found a way to permanently seal the Sorceress Power, without the danger of it being passed on. If it does happen…" Laguna looked over at Squall, who had turned around.
"SeeD brings the sorceress to Esthar, and her powers are taken from her." Squall finished. "Or if the sorceress wishes…"
"You got it."
"Will your advisors approve?" Quistis asked.
"If I can get all three Headmasters of all three Gardens behind me, yes."
"Sounds like a really good idea to me!" Selphie chirped.
"I agree." Squall said, uncrossing his arms. Laguna nodded.
"It's settled then. When this mess is cleared up, that's the first thing I'm dealing with."
"While you were talking, we managed to come up with a bit of a plan." Squall said.
"A bit?" Laguna asked. Squall shrugged.
"What else could we do? We hardly have any information to go on. We did the best we could with what we got."
"Okay." Laguna said, holding up a hand. "It's alright. What are you going to do?"
"We're thinking of having the Ragarnok fly us as far as the coastline, and then walk the rest of the way."
"Balamb Garden's at FH, and Trabia Garden said they'd give us some help." Quistis said. "We stop at the Garden for information, go to the castle, get the sorceress, and fly straight back here."
"Sounds so simple. Not!" Irivne said.
"Only problem we got to deal with is what happens after we leave Trabia Garden." Zell added.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Squall said. "Right now, we need to prepare. Quistis, Irvine, head to the shops here and pick up the items we need."
"Got it." Quistis said. Irvine tossed off a salute.
"Zell and I will head back to Balamb Garden and pick up everyone's weapons."
"Hey! What do I do?" Selphie complained.
"You hang around here and keep your eyes open. Galbadia might be up to something." Squall said. Selphie nodded.
"Spy job. Cool!"