I had been to Timber before, or rather, I suppose, through it. My mother,
Rinoa Heartilly, was a diplomat's daughter, she had obligations. As a
young child I had gone with her to Deling City, on route we passed through
Timber. I didn't see much and seeing as I didn't consider myself to be far
enough away from Balamb Garden yet, I didn't stay here all that long this
time either. There was enough money in my pocket for one ticket one way.
I was going to Deling if it killed me. I knew how likely it was that it
would too. If my father didn't come after me, Seifer and his group would.
Deling City is huge, and I mean huge. The presidential manor is the largest thing there, except maybe the Heartilly manor, which was another place I needed to stay out of. My grandfather would ship me out in a blink of an eye and send guards to watch me in case I made a move to escape. Where I ended up was in a hotel. A fancy one with this bar in the basement, it wasn't really a bar, more like a club for the rich. There was a piano on a stage, though there was no one singing. A few soldiers were sitting around, playing cards, or talking shit about what they were wanting to do. I didn't care; this looked safer than anywhere else in the city, except maybe that secret room above the sewers.
My stay in Deling was a long one, when Seifer did show up; he was alone and was called back within a few days. It was some time after that the some disturbing news of the Garden reached my ears. I wasn't looking for information; actually I overheard it when I was trying to steal some easy money from the guards that were around. I overheard part of their conversation and it made a chill run down my spine.
Guard 1: "Yea, that damned Garden, eh.Balamb I think it's called, is going down. Galbadia will rise again."
Guard 2: "Surely you're kidding me? I mean sure, the army is back up, we all got jobs again, but can we take down a Garden?"
Guard 1: "Already did, it's falling as we speak, my bro is fighting it, and it ain't the Garden that's being attacked it's those damned SeeD brats. They're taken some test now, field test or somethin'"
Guard 3: "Where was that test at anyway? Wasn't it close?"
Guard 1: "Timber. See, the great minds of our army set up this trap so that the SeeDs would have to come and we could kill them all at once, and then go to the Garden. I heard that there's a man right here in Deling trying to bring back the Sorceress, you know, the one in the weird world? Those kids didn't kill her, she managed to seal her magic in a book, you perform the ceremony and she can get free. I can't wait."
I was done with it after that, I carefully climbed from my place under the guard's stools and ran like hell to get back to Timber. Let me tell you, that is one hell of a walk from Deling to Timber, and too many monsters in the dark. By the time I got to Timber I was met with a horrendous sight. Everyone, everyone taking the SeeD exam that year, all my friends were either dead or injured. I thought everybody were goners until I saw that a few had huddled themselves into a building and were hiding with some of the old revolutionaries from my father's time. To my great relief, I found Randall, Zach, and Amanda hiding out. Irvine was there with them, so I wasn't so worried. When I asked what happened, Amanda collapsed into tears in Randall's lap and answered in a choked cry:
"-sob- ambush.they were Gal-Gal-badia soldiers. They -sniff- used magic that was too..too strong for us. We killed some but.."
And that was all I could get out of her, one of the other girls that was there as well helped her onto the floor and got her to go to sleep. Zach faced me and sighed.
"I thought you were dead.what a time to learn the truth."
Irvine looked up from his daughter and walked over to me. He hit me in the jaw, his fist connecting with a crack and me sinking to the floor. After his little outburst he shook his head and stared down at me.
"You cause a lot of trouble boy, but if you want to redeem yourself, I suggest that you go back to Balamb and tell them about this little incident. Most of these kids are in no position to move, or be moved."
As much as I hated to do it, he was right. My friends needed help and I was the only one that could do it right now. I agreed and left right then, taking my blade with me. I got across the ocean the same way I had done the first time, but sneaking on and hiding in a room. Again there was talk between the Galbadian men, this time they were soldiers.
Soldier 1: "That was more deadly than the sorcerer predicted, those kids killed too many of us."
Soldier 2: "Yea, but what about the kind of pride we can have when this works? When Balamb and its SeeDs are destroyed, the Sorcerer can call her back and the world will be ours for the taking."
This was disturbing enough, but what came over the monitors made me cringe and nearly cry.
"BALAMB GARDEN HAS FALLEN TO THE GALBADIAN ARMY, REPEAT THE GARDEN HAS FALLEN. CLAIM YOUR COMMRADES IN TOWN."
Deling City is huge, and I mean huge. The presidential manor is the largest thing there, except maybe the Heartilly manor, which was another place I needed to stay out of. My grandfather would ship me out in a blink of an eye and send guards to watch me in case I made a move to escape. Where I ended up was in a hotel. A fancy one with this bar in the basement, it wasn't really a bar, more like a club for the rich. There was a piano on a stage, though there was no one singing. A few soldiers were sitting around, playing cards, or talking shit about what they were wanting to do. I didn't care; this looked safer than anywhere else in the city, except maybe that secret room above the sewers.
My stay in Deling was a long one, when Seifer did show up; he was alone and was called back within a few days. It was some time after that the some disturbing news of the Garden reached my ears. I wasn't looking for information; actually I overheard it when I was trying to steal some easy money from the guards that were around. I overheard part of their conversation and it made a chill run down my spine.
Guard 1: "Yea, that damned Garden, eh.Balamb I think it's called, is going down. Galbadia will rise again."
Guard 2: "Surely you're kidding me? I mean sure, the army is back up, we all got jobs again, but can we take down a Garden?"
Guard 1: "Already did, it's falling as we speak, my bro is fighting it, and it ain't the Garden that's being attacked it's those damned SeeD brats. They're taken some test now, field test or somethin'"
Guard 3: "Where was that test at anyway? Wasn't it close?"
Guard 1: "Timber. See, the great minds of our army set up this trap so that the SeeDs would have to come and we could kill them all at once, and then go to the Garden. I heard that there's a man right here in Deling trying to bring back the Sorceress, you know, the one in the weird world? Those kids didn't kill her, she managed to seal her magic in a book, you perform the ceremony and she can get free. I can't wait."
I was done with it after that, I carefully climbed from my place under the guard's stools and ran like hell to get back to Timber. Let me tell you, that is one hell of a walk from Deling to Timber, and too many monsters in the dark. By the time I got to Timber I was met with a horrendous sight. Everyone, everyone taking the SeeD exam that year, all my friends were either dead or injured. I thought everybody were goners until I saw that a few had huddled themselves into a building and were hiding with some of the old revolutionaries from my father's time. To my great relief, I found Randall, Zach, and Amanda hiding out. Irvine was there with them, so I wasn't so worried. When I asked what happened, Amanda collapsed into tears in Randall's lap and answered in a choked cry:
"-sob- ambush.they were Gal-Gal-badia soldiers. They -sniff- used magic that was too..too strong for us. We killed some but.."
And that was all I could get out of her, one of the other girls that was there as well helped her onto the floor and got her to go to sleep. Zach faced me and sighed.
"I thought you were dead.what a time to learn the truth."
Irvine looked up from his daughter and walked over to me. He hit me in the jaw, his fist connecting with a crack and me sinking to the floor. After his little outburst he shook his head and stared down at me.
"You cause a lot of trouble boy, but if you want to redeem yourself, I suggest that you go back to Balamb and tell them about this little incident. Most of these kids are in no position to move, or be moved."
As much as I hated to do it, he was right. My friends needed help and I was the only one that could do it right now. I agreed and left right then, taking my blade with me. I got across the ocean the same way I had done the first time, but sneaking on and hiding in a room. Again there was talk between the Galbadian men, this time they were soldiers.
Soldier 1: "That was more deadly than the sorcerer predicted, those kids killed too many of us."
Soldier 2: "Yea, but what about the kind of pride we can have when this works? When Balamb and its SeeDs are destroyed, the Sorcerer can call her back and the world will be ours for the taking."
This was disturbing enough, but what came over the monitors made me cringe and nearly cry.
"BALAMB GARDEN HAS FALLEN TO THE GALBADIAN ARMY, REPEAT THE GARDEN HAS FALLEN. CLAIM YOUR COMMRADES IN TOWN."