Getting into Balamb was harder than I thought it would be, soldiers and
monsters were absolutely everywhere and the people were hidden almost as
well as the monsters were. I had some help though, and I thank God for it.
Kris, Raijin's daughter, had missed the boat and waited for it to come
back so she could go back to the Garden. She was hiding when the city and
the Garden was attacked, as I was making my way out she grabbed me and
pulled on my coat.
"Kris! Dammit, I could have killed you, you know that? What are you doing here?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing you moron? The city and the Garden were attacked, and those weird guard guys are acting weird, they came into the city and spoke to the soldiers, said something about they would clean up the remaining SeeD members and then Galbadia could have the Garden!"
"I really hope you aren't making this up, but either way, I have to get the Garden. Everything was a trap. I can't tell you here, I have to find the Headmaster."
"Everybody back there thinks you're dead, so did I."
"This is a good job for a dead man."
"I hate you. Don't you even care that there might be a few people that actually cared about you, and were worried about you when you left?"
"You know I do."
"Then show it!"
In that situation, in the time frame that was getting shorter and shorter, I did the one thing that I thought seemed appropriate. Grabbing her at the neck and pulling her into my lap, I kissed her quickly though it was meant to be sensual and promptly released her and ran like hell for the Garden main door. Destruction and bodies were everywhere, SeeDs were dead at every turn and those that weren't were so far beyond help that they were begging for mercy, or a shot in the head. All around me, the people that jeered and mocked and swore at me and some of the other trouble makers were laying there dying. It was disgusting.
Slowly, and I mean slowly I made my way through the Garden, looking for the Headmaster. I got to his office only to find a major from the Galbadian army staring at me.
Major: "A SeeD is still alive? No.you can't be a SeeD, you're a child."
I killed him, quickly, only had to pull the trigger once on the gunblade and he was dead. Some people are more hot gas than anything. I hate that kind of person; they remind me of my father. And that's when it hit me. My father and mother were in the Garden at the time of the attack, they had to be somewhere, maybe with the Headmaster.
And the search continued, ending in the most ironic place. It was in the Infirmary that I found two different blades to the neck, one from Seifer, one from my own father. They retracted them and stared at me for a moment, my father slid to the ground and blacked out, Seifer just stared at me before grabbing a handful of my hair.
"How did you get in here boy? There's not a scratch on you. And where is my son?"
"Let me go, or you aren't getting anything out of me."
He did as I asked, growling lightly and backing away to the corner. There I saw my mother on a make-shift cot, a bandage over her abdomen where someone had shot her. On another was Quistis Trepe, one of the better instructors, and the only one that I couldn't cross. As I watched her, Seifer prodded the back of my head with his index finger.
"Well?"
"I snuck in here, killed the major in the Headmaster's office, and your son is hiding in Timber. Now it's my turn. Where is the Headmaster and what the hell happened to the Garden?"
He never got the chance to answer me, I got the answer of course, not from Seifer, it actually came the doctor and the Headmaster that were in the corner of the room.
"The Garden was attacked by the Galbadian army, though I suppose you already knew that, didn't you, Johnathan? What prompted the return?"
"I heard about the attack while I was in Deling, Sir, my friends and my family, I was worried about them..Timber was also attacked."
I proceeded to tell him what I had heard from the guards in Deling and what I saw in the streets of Timber, as well as the train ride back to Balamb and finding Kris. I left out the little love moment there, just because I didn't see the prevalence to what was going on now. The headmaster listened to my every word and nodded solemnly when I finished.
"So, they are trying to bring her back are they? Then Rinoa and my wife will be in grave danger. Well now, it seems we are in need for another adventure. Squall is in no condition for this and you my boy are not in a position to do anything, seeing as you are not a SeeD, I cannot hand this over to you."
I was furious and made sure that he knew it.
"Headmaster, you can not expect me to simply sit here while my family and friends are killed one by one, the SeeDs are dead, all of them. Half of the new ones are dead as well, I know of only a handful that survived. If you want this woman or whatever she is dead, then so be it!"
I left. What more could I do in that position? I made what battles I did face short and abrupt, a sword through the man or the monster and got out of the Garden as fast as I could. It was nightfall when I got back to Kris; she was hiding with Zell's family and Zell too. I told her what I had in mind and she jumped at the chance to help. Since I didn't want to endanger her, I told her she would go as far as Timber and then had to get the injured SeeDs out of there.
Reluctantly she agreed and we decided that the morning would be the best time to leave, though to get aboard the train, we were going to need a distraction. Though he was injured, Zell agreed to take part in that. He thought we were both insane and voiced his opinion, but with two teenagers calling you a 'chicken-wuss' it didn't take long for him to say yes. We were set for action and it would all begin at dawn the next morning.
"Kris! Dammit, I could have killed you, you know that? What are you doing here?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing you moron? The city and the Garden were attacked, and those weird guard guys are acting weird, they came into the city and spoke to the soldiers, said something about they would clean up the remaining SeeD members and then Galbadia could have the Garden!"
"I really hope you aren't making this up, but either way, I have to get the Garden. Everything was a trap. I can't tell you here, I have to find the Headmaster."
"Everybody back there thinks you're dead, so did I."
"This is a good job for a dead man."
"I hate you. Don't you even care that there might be a few people that actually cared about you, and were worried about you when you left?"
"You know I do."
"Then show it!"
In that situation, in the time frame that was getting shorter and shorter, I did the one thing that I thought seemed appropriate. Grabbing her at the neck and pulling her into my lap, I kissed her quickly though it was meant to be sensual and promptly released her and ran like hell for the Garden main door. Destruction and bodies were everywhere, SeeDs were dead at every turn and those that weren't were so far beyond help that they were begging for mercy, or a shot in the head. All around me, the people that jeered and mocked and swore at me and some of the other trouble makers were laying there dying. It was disgusting.
Slowly, and I mean slowly I made my way through the Garden, looking for the Headmaster. I got to his office only to find a major from the Galbadian army staring at me.
Major: "A SeeD is still alive? No.you can't be a SeeD, you're a child."
I killed him, quickly, only had to pull the trigger once on the gunblade and he was dead. Some people are more hot gas than anything. I hate that kind of person; they remind me of my father. And that's when it hit me. My father and mother were in the Garden at the time of the attack, they had to be somewhere, maybe with the Headmaster.
And the search continued, ending in the most ironic place. It was in the Infirmary that I found two different blades to the neck, one from Seifer, one from my own father. They retracted them and stared at me for a moment, my father slid to the ground and blacked out, Seifer just stared at me before grabbing a handful of my hair.
"How did you get in here boy? There's not a scratch on you. And where is my son?"
"Let me go, or you aren't getting anything out of me."
He did as I asked, growling lightly and backing away to the corner. There I saw my mother on a make-shift cot, a bandage over her abdomen where someone had shot her. On another was Quistis Trepe, one of the better instructors, and the only one that I couldn't cross. As I watched her, Seifer prodded the back of my head with his index finger.
"Well?"
"I snuck in here, killed the major in the Headmaster's office, and your son is hiding in Timber. Now it's my turn. Where is the Headmaster and what the hell happened to the Garden?"
He never got the chance to answer me, I got the answer of course, not from Seifer, it actually came the doctor and the Headmaster that were in the corner of the room.
"The Garden was attacked by the Galbadian army, though I suppose you already knew that, didn't you, Johnathan? What prompted the return?"
"I heard about the attack while I was in Deling, Sir, my friends and my family, I was worried about them..Timber was also attacked."
I proceeded to tell him what I had heard from the guards in Deling and what I saw in the streets of Timber, as well as the train ride back to Balamb and finding Kris. I left out the little love moment there, just because I didn't see the prevalence to what was going on now. The headmaster listened to my every word and nodded solemnly when I finished.
"So, they are trying to bring her back are they? Then Rinoa and my wife will be in grave danger. Well now, it seems we are in need for another adventure. Squall is in no condition for this and you my boy are not in a position to do anything, seeing as you are not a SeeD, I cannot hand this over to you."
I was furious and made sure that he knew it.
"Headmaster, you can not expect me to simply sit here while my family and friends are killed one by one, the SeeDs are dead, all of them. Half of the new ones are dead as well, I know of only a handful that survived. If you want this woman or whatever she is dead, then so be it!"
I left. What more could I do in that position? I made what battles I did face short and abrupt, a sword through the man or the monster and got out of the Garden as fast as I could. It was nightfall when I got back to Kris; she was hiding with Zell's family and Zell too. I told her what I had in mind and she jumped at the chance to help. Since I didn't want to endanger her, I told her she would go as far as Timber and then had to get the injured SeeDs out of there.
Reluctantly she agreed and we decided that the morning would be the best time to leave, though to get aboard the train, we were going to need a distraction. Though he was injured, Zell agreed to take part in that. He thought we were both insane and voiced his opinion, but with two teenagers calling you a 'chicken-wuss' it didn't take long for him to say yes. We were set for action and it would all begin at dawn the next morning.