Chapter 5 Conflicts
Cody cautiously followed Watts as he entered a small house. "Zone, are you here, sir?"
"Up here," Zone's voice floated from the second floor. "Come on up, Watts!"
"I brought someone, sir!"
He and Cody slowly trudged up the stairs, and as they approached the second floor they distinctly heard a female giggle. "Wha. Princess?" Watts exclaimed and bounded the rest of the journey. Sure enough, it was!
"Watts!" Rinoa beamed and hugged the man, and then she reverted to the stranger.
For Cody, it was like a dream. This. isn't she Commander Leonhart's -
"Cody Rye?" Rinoa half squealed. In that instant Cody knew. He stepped back. "Get away from me. You're the SeeD sent to take me back, aren't you?"
"Um, yes, but - "
"Get away from me." Cody said with quiet anger. Watts and Zone looked on in confusion. Rinoa sighed. "Cody, can I call you Cody? Right. I'm supposed to bring you back to Balamb, true, but it doesn't mean that I'm taking you by force."
Cody blinked. "You're not forcing me to go back?"
"Well. I've heard about things, and." Rinoa bit her lip. This guy's just like me and my father.
Watts beamed. "That means he can stay here, sir?"
"He's a lot safer here than anywhere else," Zone pointed out. "Haven't you heard that SeeDs all over are restless? Seems like there's something big going on. I even heard that Balamb Garden's left Balamb and headed to Eshtar."
"Eshtar?" Rinoa gasped in shock, and anger. "Why didn't they call me?"
"Maybe coz this is your first mission." Zone said guiltily. "Y'know, Squall won't let you in any danger - "
"What in Hyne's name was he thinking?!" Rinoa shrieked. "That I'm going to get in his way?!"
Cody was quiet all the while. "Miss Rinoa."
"Rinoa, please," She ignored him. "Watts, is there a train running to Eshtar from here?"
"No.the only way to get to Eshtar is by Fisherman's Horizon.you're not going, sir?!" Watts said in shock. Rinoa tossed her head impatiently. "I can't just stay here. The others are probably on their way. they have Ragnarok!"
"There's a boat from here to Fisherman's Horizon." Cody finally spoke up. Watts blinked. "Yes, I think there is."
"Then I'm going." Rinoa got up. Cody sighed. "Miss Rinoa, as absurd as it is, I think I should follow you."
"Great. A Squall number 2." Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, okay?"
"I think you're fooling yourself." His cool gray eyes clashed with her deep brown ones. "You're a great magic user, but you're not exactly the battle type, are you?"
A cold shiver ran down her spine. This man was almost like Quistis - saw through her like a book. "So what if I'm not?"
"Think the guy's got a point," Zone said matter-of-factly. "Besides, you can keep an eye on him and return him to Balamb when it's over."
Cody shrugged. He didn't like the idea of going back, but. he had read so much about Eshtar. he had to go and see.
"Fine." Rinoa said finally. She had to get to Squall.
"Flying at low altitude." Quistis said as they flew through the Abadan Plains. "Think we'll land here?"
"Behind the mountains," Squall replied as he peered through the windows. "We'll cut through the protective screen."
Quistis landed Ragnarok and got up from the pilot seat. "How are we playing?"
Squall paused. This was going to be difficult. what with the two of them only. He had to admit that it looked fairly simple, but he hated underestimating anything.
"If they're alerted, then the security at Tears' Point must have tightened. And inner Eshtar too." Squall said thoughtfully. "We'll head to Tears' Point first. Secure the area, and then."
"You're going back to Eshtar and save Laguna," Quistis said with a smile. "I'll wait at Tears Point. Am I right?"
Squall scowled. That wasn't what he had in mind exactly, but he saw that Quistis was trying to patch things up between him and Laguna. "Whatever." They both chorused at the same time, Quistis erupting into laughter. "Let's go then."
Balamb Garden cruised through the water at top speed. "This is a mess, a mess." Zell groaned as he sat in Squall's office. With both Squall and Quistis gone, Garden was going nuts. Normally it was Squall and Quistis who smoothed things with the world leaders, and now things were going a bit awry. "Now I know how much work Squall has to do. How come he never suffers from a nervous breakdown?!"
"He's a workaholic. Quisty's a workaholic." Irvine furiously sorted through correspondence. Since word leaked that there was trouble in Eshtar, both Galbadia Garden and Trabia Garden are demanding to know what's happening. Not to mention other Presidents, Heads of States. people requesting SeeD services had to be put on hold. "Damn it. it's a crisis and they can only think of themselves?" Irvine cursed. Zell grinned. Then his face fell. "You know, Rinoa hasn't contacted us in days. If anything happens to her - "
"You won't know, cause Squall'll cut you up faster than you can say 'hotdog'," Irvine fumbled through a huge folder, grinning. They all knew how protective Squall can be. 'Seffie's not too worried though." Irvine said absently. "Said the two will be back in time for the party. provided Squall doesn't spill the beans."
"Squall? Spill? He'd dye his hair green before doing that." Zell shook his head.
Rinoa stepped off at Fisherman's Horizon, smelling the salty breeze. "This place never changed," She sad softly.
"This is Fisherman's Horizon?" Cody said with interest. "Pretty calm."
"Yeah. How is it that you know about the boat?" Rinoa asked curiously. "If I wasn't wrong, you never left Balamb all your life."
"Doesn't mean I'm ignorant." Cody strolled over to the train station. "This station was closed until you guys destroyed Ultemecia, right?"
"Uh, yeah." She suddenly felt guilty. She wasn't much help. Still."Is there a train coming?"
"Yeah," Cody walked up the flight of stairs. "Your question, by the way. I study the world map. I learn about everything there is to know about the world, but I never got to see them. I read Commander Leonhart's journey to defeat Ultemecia. you guys are legends." He said wistfully. That made her even more forlorn. "Cody. I wasn't much help to them." She said. "I was a burden. I felt it. How they had to go against all odds to save me. Squall risked his life many times." She almost choked. Cody stared at her in surprise. "Hey, relax. I don't think he considers you a burden at all." For a moment he was confused, and then he realized he said it as if he meant what he said.
Rinoa flashed him a smile. "Right!" She said happily. Squall doesn't think of anything as a burden. 'So, let's catch that train!"
The screen sparked where Quistis carefully cut it using a laser cutter, and soon she had made a sort of a flap in the screen big enough for one person to crawl through. "Okay."
Squall crept through the screen and motioned for Quistis to follow. They were directly behind Tears' Point, and the huge monument loomed up ahead, overshadowing everything. They hid behind rocks as they slowly progressed towards the center of the monument. "Hyne, there are at least 100 Eshtar soldiers here." Quistis muttered. Squall nodded. "Think we need a disguise?"
"No. There's a sort of a tunnel that goes under the center of this place, but I can't recall the entrance."
"It's there," Squall indicated to a slab of concrete that served as some kind of changing post. " Sleep," he whispered. He was taking a chance, he knew. Eshtar soldiers wore uniforms that repelled most status attacks, but Squall wasn't any ordinary magic user anyway.
"Aren't they cute." Quistis murmured as Squall kicked them out of the way. They climbed down the tunnel and Squall replaced the slab with a Float spell. "Fire," Quistis muttered and a bright red flame appeared in her hand. A low-grade spell does come in handy. They journeyed through the dark tunnel, ignoring the sound of sand scrunched beneath their feet. They walked on for maybe almost ten minutes before they came to a ladder set in the wall. Quistis extinguished the fire and listened as Squall climbed up the ladder and push the obstacle on top of them. "Clear."
They emerged in some sort of a corridor, and it was thankfully deserted. Keeping low, they came to a junction, but this time the steel doors leading to the Control Center was.
"Oh, a Propogator," Quistis said with interest. The huge monster was the green type, and thankfully it hadn't seen them yet. Quistis had never fought one, but Squall did. And he made short work of it. Quistis fiddled with the locks and soon the doors opened.
"Intruders! Alert!"
Quistis sighed and Squall drew out his Lion Heart again. Judging by the number of soldiers in the room, he would have to fight at least fifteen - that is, if he wanted to be fair. Instinctively he and Quistis backed each other.
"Bahamut!"
"Eden!"
The soldiers lay defeated in seconds. "There." Quistis smiled and headed to the Control bank lining one wall. "What is this?" She deftly pressed a few buttons. Instantly her face changed. "Uh, Squall, maybe you'd better contact Cid now."
"What is it?" Squall approached her. Quistis pointed to the information in yellow running down the screen. "This is the plans for today. Apparently they've moved the schedule to two hours earlier than planned. because we've come into the picture."
Squall's jaw tightened. "We haven't any time." He said curtly.
Quistis whistled softly. "That's not it. They've sent an army of Dark mages to intercept Balamb Garden - they're headed here!"
"Mages?" Squall frowned. Mages were people who was capable of using strong magic - up till the third level, which so far only qualified SeeDs of level 50 and above have learnt to harness. And in Balamb Garden right now, he wasn't too sure of how many SeeDs could withstand such an attack. He promptly switched on the transmitter. "Commander Leonhart to Headmaster."
"Copy," Came Irvine's tired voice. "How're ya doing, Squall?"
"Alert all SeeDs, you're going to be under attack by Dark mages." Squall directed. "Have every available SeeD position themselves in various parts of Garden - you guys know what to do."
Irvine sighed. 'So that's what that ship is carrying. Drat - mages can be a handful."
"What GF is junctioned to you?"
"Uh. you already took Bahamut, Cactuar, and Eden, and Quistis had Doomtrain, Leviathan, and Diabolos. Which leaves us with Tonberry, Ifrit, Shiva, Quezacotl. you get my drift." Squall thought quickly. "Divide equally among you. It's in your hands now, Kinneas."
"Yeah. Leave it to the cowboy," He still sounded weary. Squall switched off the transmitter. "Let's move." Quistis nodded. "Look, this place seems be the main directive. You go after Laguna while I try and send delay information, to buy you time."
"I'm not leaving you here."
"Oh come on. I'm not Rinoa," her voice had gone edgy. Quickly she softened. "Really, This place isn't bad now, besides, I have Bahamut. Maybe I'll be better here than in Inner Eshtar."
"You'd better be right," He began running towards the door. Quistis turned her attention back to the controls. "I wasn't wrong about you, was I?" She muttered under her breath.
Squall sprinted back to Inner Eshtar. The journey was fast, and soon he was on the elevator leading into Eshtar when - WHAM!
Cursing, he knelt down and wondered what the explosion was. It was so strong it rocked the elevator momentarily. "Come on."
Running off from the elevator, he sprinted into Inner Eshtar, only to find that it was quite deserted. "Where's everybody?"
He ran up and down the corridors, until he came to the pathway that overlooked the Presidential Palace. Then he saw it - A parade in the lower levels of the city! Jumping down wasn't a good idea.
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Cody cautiously followed Watts as he entered a small house. "Zone, are you here, sir?"
"Up here," Zone's voice floated from the second floor. "Come on up, Watts!"
"I brought someone, sir!"
He and Cody slowly trudged up the stairs, and as they approached the second floor they distinctly heard a female giggle. "Wha. Princess?" Watts exclaimed and bounded the rest of the journey. Sure enough, it was!
"Watts!" Rinoa beamed and hugged the man, and then she reverted to the stranger.
For Cody, it was like a dream. This. isn't she Commander Leonhart's -
"Cody Rye?" Rinoa half squealed. In that instant Cody knew. He stepped back. "Get away from me. You're the SeeD sent to take me back, aren't you?"
"Um, yes, but - "
"Get away from me." Cody said with quiet anger. Watts and Zone looked on in confusion. Rinoa sighed. "Cody, can I call you Cody? Right. I'm supposed to bring you back to Balamb, true, but it doesn't mean that I'm taking you by force."
Cody blinked. "You're not forcing me to go back?"
"Well. I've heard about things, and." Rinoa bit her lip. This guy's just like me and my father.
Watts beamed. "That means he can stay here, sir?"
"He's a lot safer here than anywhere else," Zone pointed out. "Haven't you heard that SeeDs all over are restless? Seems like there's something big going on. I even heard that Balamb Garden's left Balamb and headed to Eshtar."
"Eshtar?" Rinoa gasped in shock, and anger. "Why didn't they call me?"
"Maybe coz this is your first mission." Zone said guiltily. "Y'know, Squall won't let you in any danger - "
"What in Hyne's name was he thinking?!" Rinoa shrieked. "That I'm going to get in his way?!"
Cody was quiet all the while. "Miss Rinoa."
"Rinoa, please," She ignored him. "Watts, is there a train running to Eshtar from here?"
"No.the only way to get to Eshtar is by Fisherman's Horizon.you're not going, sir?!" Watts said in shock. Rinoa tossed her head impatiently. "I can't just stay here. The others are probably on their way. they have Ragnarok!"
"There's a boat from here to Fisherman's Horizon." Cody finally spoke up. Watts blinked. "Yes, I think there is."
"Then I'm going." Rinoa got up. Cody sighed. "Miss Rinoa, as absurd as it is, I think I should follow you."
"Great. A Squall number 2." Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, okay?"
"I think you're fooling yourself." His cool gray eyes clashed with her deep brown ones. "You're a great magic user, but you're not exactly the battle type, are you?"
A cold shiver ran down her spine. This man was almost like Quistis - saw through her like a book. "So what if I'm not?"
"Think the guy's got a point," Zone said matter-of-factly. "Besides, you can keep an eye on him and return him to Balamb when it's over."
Cody shrugged. He didn't like the idea of going back, but. he had read so much about Eshtar. he had to go and see.
"Fine." Rinoa said finally. She had to get to Squall.
"Flying at low altitude." Quistis said as they flew through the Abadan Plains. "Think we'll land here?"
"Behind the mountains," Squall replied as he peered through the windows. "We'll cut through the protective screen."
Quistis landed Ragnarok and got up from the pilot seat. "How are we playing?"
Squall paused. This was going to be difficult. what with the two of them only. He had to admit that it looked fairly simple, but he hated underestimating anything.
"If they're alerted, then the security at Tears' Point must have tightened. And inner Eshtar too." Squall said thoughtfully. "We'll head to Tears' Point first. Secure the area, and then."
"You're going back to Eshtar and save Laguna," Quistis said with a smile. "I'll wait at Tears Point. Am I right?"
Squall scowled. That wasn't what he had in mind exactly, but he saw that Quistis was trying to patch things up between him and Laguna. "Whatever." They both chorused at the same time, Quistis erupting into laughter. "Let's go then."
Balamb Garden cruised through the water at top speed. "This is a mess, a mess." Zell groaned as he sat in Squall's office. With both Squall and Quistis gone, Garden was going nuts. Normally it was Squall and Quistis who smoothed things with the world leaders, and now things were going a bit awry. "Now I know how much work Squall has to do. How come he never suffers from a nervous breakdown?!"
"He's a workaholic. Quisty's a workaholic." Irvine furiously sorted through correspondence. Since word leaked that there was trouble in Eshtar, both Galbadia Garden and Trabia Garden are demanding to know what's happening. Not to mention other Presidents, Heads of States. people requesting SeeD services had to be put on hold. "Damn it. it's a crisis and they can only think of themselves?" Irvine cursed. Zell grinned. Then his face fell. "You know, Rinoa hasn't contacted us in days. If anything happens to her - "
"You won't know, cause Squall'll cut you up faster than you can say 'hotdog'," Irvine fumbled through a huge folder, grinning. They all knew how protective Squall can be. 'Seffie's not too worried though." Irvine said absently. "Said the two will be back in time for the party. provided Squall doesn't spill the beans."
"Squall? Spill? He'd dye his hair green before doing that." Zell shook his head.
Rinoa stepped off at Fisherman's Horizon, smelling the salty breeze. "This place never changed," She sad softly.
"This is Fisherman's Horizon?" Cody said with interest. "Pretty calm."
"Yeah. How is it that you know about the boat?" Rinoa asked curiously. "If I wasn't wrong, you never left Balamb all your life."
"Doesn't mean I'm ignorant." Cody strolled over to the train station. "This station was closed until you guys destroyed Ultemecia, right?"
"Uh, yeah." She suddenly felt guilty. She wasn't much help. Still."Is there a train coming?"
"Yeah," Cody walked up the flight of stairs. "Your question, by the way. I study the world map. I learn about everything there is to know about the world, but I never got to see them. I read Commander Leonhart's journey to defeat Ultemecia. you guys are legends." He said wistfully. That made her even more forlorn. "Cody. I wasn't much help to them." She said. "I was a burden. I felt it. How they had to go against all odds to save me. Squall risked his life many times." She almost choked. Cody stared at her in surprise. "Hey, relax. I don't think he considers you a burden at all." For a moment he was confused, and then he realized he said it as if he meant what he said.
Rinoa flashed him a smile. "Right!" She said happily. Squall doesn't think of anything as a burden. 'So, let's catch that train!"
The screen sparked where Quistis carefully cut it using a laser cutter, and soon she had made a sort of a flap in the screen big enough for one person to crawl through. "Okay."
Squall crept through the screen and motioned for Quistis to follow. They were directly behind Tears' Point, and the huge monument loomed up ahead, overshadowing everything. They hid behind rocks as they slowly progressed towards the center of the monument. "Hyne, there are at least 100 Eshtar soldiers here." Quistis muttered. Squall nodded. "Think we need a disguise?"
"No. There's a sort of a tunnel that goes under the center of this place, but I can't recall the entrance."
"It's there," Squall indicated to a slab of concrete that served as some kind of changing post. " Sleep," he whispered. He was taking a chance, he knew. Eshtar soldiers wore uniforms that repelled most status attacks, but Squall wasn't any ordinary magic user anyway.
"Aren't they cute." Quistis murmured as Squall kicked them out of the way. They climbed down the tunnel and Squall replaced the slab with a Float spell. "Fire," Quistis muttered and a bright red flame appeared in her hand. A low-grade spell does come in handy. They journeyed through the dark tunnel, ignoring the sound of sand scrunched beneath their feet. They walked on for maybe almost ten minutes before they came to a ladder set in the wall. Quistis extinguished the fire and listened as Squall climbed up the ladder and push the obstacle on top of them. "Clear."
They emerged in some sort of a corridor, and it was thankfully deserted. Keeping low, they came to a junction, but this time the steel doors leading to the Control Center was.
"Oh, a Propogator," Quistis said with interest. The huge monster was the green type, and thankfully it hadn't seen them yet. Quistis had never fought one, but Squall did. And he made short work of it. Quistis fiddled with the locks and soon the doors opened.
"Intruders! Alert!"
Quistis sighed and Squall drew out his Lion Heart again. Judging by the number of soldiers in the room, he would have to fight at least fifteen - that is, if he wanted to be fair. Instinctively he and Quistis backed each other.
"Bahamut!"
"Eden!"
The soldiers lay defeated in seconds. "There." Quistis smiled and headed to the Control bank lining one wall. "What is this?" She deftly pressed a few buttons. Instantly her face changed. "Uh, Squall, maybe you'd better contact Cid now."
"What is it?" Squall approached her. Quistis pointed to the information in yellow running down the screen. "This is the plans for today. Apparently they've moved the schedule to two hours earlier than planned. because we've come into the picture."
Squall's jaw tightened. "We haven't any time." He said curtly.
Quistis whistled softly. "That's not it. They've sent an army of Dark mages to intercept Balamb Garden - they're headed here!"
"Mages?" Squall frowned. Mages were people who was capable of using strong magic - up till the third level, which so far only qualified SeeDs of level 50 and above have learnt to harness. And in Balamb Garden right now, he wasn't too sure of how many SeeDs could withstand such an attack. He promptly switched on the transmitter. "Commander Leonhart to Headmaster."
"Copy," Came Irvine's tired voice. "How're ya doing, Squall?"
"Alert all SeeDs, you're going to be under attack by Dark mages." Squall directed. "Have every available SeeD position themselves in various parts of Garden - you guys know what to do."
Irvine sighed. 'So that's what that ship is carrying. Drat - mages can be a handful."
"What GF is junctioned to you?"
"Uh. you already took Bahamut, Cactuar, and Eden, and Quistis had Doomtrain, Leviathan, and Diabolos. Which leaves us with Tonberry, Ifrit, Shiva, Quezacotl. you get my drift." Squall thought quickly. "Divide equally among you. It's in your hands now, Kinneas."
"Yeah. Leave it to the cowboy," He still sounded weary. Squall switched off the transmitter. "Let's move." Quistis nodded. "Look, this place seems be the main directive. You go after Laguna while I try and send delay information, to buy you time."
"I'm not leaving you here."
"Oh come on. I'm not Rinoa," her voice had gone edgy. Quickly she softened. "Really, This place isn't bad now, besides, I have Bahamut. Maybe I'll be better here than in Inner Eshtar."
"You'd better be right," He began running towards the door. Quistis turned her attention back to the controls. "I wasn't wrong about you, was I?" She muttered under her breath.
Squall sprinted back to Inner Eshtar. The journey was fast, and soon he was on the elevator leading into Eshtar when - WHAM!
Cursing, he knelt down and wondered what the explosion was. It was so strong it rocked the elevator momentarily. "Come on."
Running off from the elevator, he sprinted into Inner Eshtar, only to find that it was quite deserted. "Where's everybody?"
He ran up and down the corridors, until he came to the pathway that overlooked the Presidential Palace. Then he saw it - A parade in the lower levels of the city! Jumping down wasn't a good idea.
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