Ch 3 – Reconnaissance and Refusal

Zell tapped the activation node on the vid-screen, and the hazy view of Watts filled the screen, Laguna's face shrinking into a corner of the screen. Always a bit on the large side, Watts seemed to fit the bill as a Galbadian Soldier nicely. He had his share of battle scars, and he knew the soldier's lingo. The only things that gave him away were his manners and his eyes.

Brought up by a strict single father – before he was blown away right in front of Watt's young eyes – he was always told to be polite to others. And, true to his father's teachings, he was always polite to the tee. The fact that Galbadian soldiers, though not the dregs of society, weren't known for their manners, wasn't overlooked sometimes, and had caused Watts to have some hair-raising experiences.

The other thing about him was his eyes. They were soft and innocent – like a child's. Not cold and hard, like a seasoned soldiers' were. A true soldier could spot a faker or weakling if he looked the soldier straight in the eyes and looked for the raped innocence cowering behind the retinas. Zell couldn't tell how Watts was able to pull that one off. Maybe he was tougher then he showed?

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Ma'am." Watts said, his voice garbled over the long distance feed, beamed directly from a hidden transmitter to an Esthar satellite, and rebounded back to the Garden. "How is everybody today?"

Squall couldn't help but smile. "We're all fine, Watts. How's the recon going?" he asked as Xu walked in and took a seat behind Zell, blushing and smiling apologetically at everybody.

Watts looked down at something, and Zell could hear the ruffling of notes as Watts began to rattle off information, all of which was being recorded by the vid-screen.  In all actuality, they didn't even have to be here. They could just let Watts know when to contact the recorder and ask him to rely the information and wait for a response – but one of his requests before accepting the mission was that he was given almost constant human contact with the outside world.

Squall couldn't deny it, even if it meant compromising the entire mission. Watts was behind enemy lines, going through daily tortures to get them the information. It was the least the SeeDs could do.

Everybody began to look a little bored as Watts went through the last month's recon list, and Zell was about to nod off when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Tilting his head back, he saw Xu, looking a little confused. "What's up?" He asked.

"Uh…" Xu said, before shrugging. "I have no idea what's going on. Wanna fill me in?"

Zell shrugged himself. "Galbadians wanna assassinate Laguna. Why, we dunno. How, we dunno. All we know is that a contestant in a martial arts tournament, a Galbadian contestant, will do the job. We're waiting for Watts to shut up and tell us something useful."

A blank look filled Xu's face. "Oh." She sat back, looking even more confused then she had when she asked the question.

Suddenly, a large thump rang out over the cafeteria, emitted by Seifer's fist smashing into the table. "Dammit, man, just tell us what we need to know!! We don't need to know the lunch detail for every soldier!!" His voice sounded more agitated then average, and Watts looked very cowed.

Zell watched as Squall's gaze drilled a neat hole through Seifer's stare, and turned apologetically to the vid-screen. "Watts…I'm sure you're information is relevant in some way, but right now we need to know about the martial arts tournament."

"Sorry, sir…" Watts mumbled, putting away something below screen and picking up something else. "We'll, it wasn't easy to get this info, sir. They've kept this thing closed tighter then a drum, sir."

Suddenly a map of the world sprang onto the screen. Watt's voice rang out clear as he relayed information. "The tournament will begin in exactly one month, sir, but what will be unique about this tournament will be that it's a world tournament." Different areas in the world map suddenly lit up, like lights on a Christmas tree, numbers coming up where the lights flashed, five in all. "See, sir?"

Squall looked over the map. "Hmmm…one in Centra…one in Esthar…one in Galbadia…one in Trabia…" He paused  "A battle on each continent…but there are five numbers." He looked over the map once more. "Where's the fifth area?"

The map came down, showing Watt's embarrassed face. "Well…I don't know, sir. This information is very highly classified. I'm amazed I got this far."

Seifer snorted. "Great spy you are…" He growled to himself, loud enough for everybody to hear as he leaned back in his chair, Watts included.

Watts looked insulted. "You try coming down here, and going through the things I do for you're facility, sir! The only reason I'm doing this is for Rinoa, sir! And if you can't accept what I have to offer, then…" He paused, try to catch his breath and regain some composure.

Squall interrupted quickly. "He didn't mean it, did he?" he said roughly, his stare icy cold as it fixed on Seifer. Seifer took the stare in and smirked, but didn't follow through with a retort. Squall turned back to Watts." Go on, Watts. What else?"

Watts looked a little better as he continued. "The…the tournament will be an all out fight, sir. People from around the world will want to enter when word gets out, and believe me, the word will get out. Galbadia is planning another global telecast, but this time to advertise the tournament, sir. Basically, it's a world-wide tourism attraction, bringing people around the world as they follow the fighter's progress."

Laguna perked up. "Hang on. Did you say that there will be a battle held in Esthar?"
Watts nodded. "Yes, Mr. President. Not in the city, exactly, but in the barren, rocky area to the north. It'll be perfect for a fight, sir. Nothing but rocky ground for mile and miles."

And not a soul to be hurt if things get out of hand… Zell thought. "What are the rules for the tournament, Watts?" He asked out loud, in a quiet voice.

Watts looked down at his notes. "It seems to be 'anything goes', depending on the location, sir. In Esthar, for instance, magic and GF's may be used…whilst on Galbadia, only physical attacks are allowed. Also, it's determined on the battle area. In the rocky ground on Centra, anything goes. But for Galbadia, the fighters will battle in a ring." A picture of a square fighting ring appeared on-screen.

"The rules for this arena are simple, sir. Anything goes, including magic and dirty fighting, but no GFs. If a fighter land out of the ring, he loses. If he dies, he loses. If he is defeated, he loses."  A picture of a desert replaced the picture of the ring. "In the open-area arenas, anything goes, GFs, magic, anything.  The battle only stops when a person either leaves the area, or when one of the opponents is defeated."

"What about rules on magic usage?" Cid asked.

"Any GF is permittable, accounting that it is used on the opponents and not anybody else, and only in designated arenas. Any magic is allowed except for magic that can completely destroy an opponent, like Ultima, or Flare. Junctioning is allowed, as well as Drawing. White magic can be used as well, as well as Status."

"Who will be judging the fights?" Quistis asked.

"A panel of judges from all corners of Gaia will be asked to judge, fairly of course. I wasn't able to gather any names for the judges, unfortunately, but just the fact that there will be an Esthar judge, a Galbadian judge, a Centra judge, and a Trabia judge. Also, there will be a fifth, but there was no information on him or her."

Laguna rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't get why the Galbadians are guarding this fifth faction so secretively. When the tournament begins, the people will find out anyways, wont they? What's the big deal?"

Watts remained silent.

Zell shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. All I need to do is get signed up, slap around a few amateurs, and figure out who wants to whack you, right? Piece of cake!"

Watts cleared his throat. "It's not going to be that easy, sir."

Zell cocked an eyebrow. "What 'choo talking 'bout?"

"Some of the fighters look pretty hard, sir, even for you. I mean, I know you went up against the Sorceress and all, but…these guys look pretty tough."

Watts looked a little scared as he explained the gruelling tasks and training techniques that the Galbadian fighters went through. Every point put up by Watts made at least one person present grimace at one time or another, especially when he explained when the trainer threw them in a pit filled with Behemoths and gave them ten minutes to get out alive. "To put it bluntly, sir, you may have the experience…but they have the training. These guys have done nothing but train almost constantly for the past two years! And they're itching for battle, sir."

Squall shrugged. "They may have…but you don't know what Zell's capable of."

"Can he take on a Red Dragon all by himself?"

Everybody's eyes turned to Zell, and he squirmed in his chair, not wanting to brag. "…OK, I took one it down…but it was a really long battle and the result wasn't pleasant." He could still remember the laborious wait for the casts to come off his legs…

"Well…sir…these guys have killed three Red Dragons each. At the same time! They went into a nest to train!! The rumour being that they went in and came out two hours later, and had cleaned out the entire nest!!!"

Zell blanched. "Oh, crap…"

Cid smiled. "We all know that Zell could do that easily now, right. I mean, you've been training all day, every day, for the past year!"

Zell scratched the back of his neck. "Well, yes…but one Red Dragon was tough enough! Taking on three? I don't think so!"

Squall batted the topic aside with the wave of a hand. "Whatever. What we really need to know is the when and where of the assassination attempt."

Watts looked a little embarrassed. "Well…sir…I wasn't able to find much out about who and how, or even why…"

Seifer snorted and shook his head.

"…But I was able to find out when and where." Watts finished.

The entire group looked up as one. "Really?" Seifer choked, shocked that the podgy spy had found out something relevant, before retaining his brooding mood.

"Yes, sir. The attack will be held at Esthar, at precisely midnight on the second night of the Esthar bouts. The assassin will have to breach security in the Presidential Suite, and kill the President there. If the President isn't there, or he is guarded, then the assassin will have to improvise. And if that happens, sir, then anything could happen."

The group fell silent, each person lost in thought. Zell leaned back in his chair, the prospect of a fighter better then him more exciting then frightening. I wonder if he…or she?…will use different techniques then me? I wonder how much better then I am he or she will be? Oh well…it's like Ma always said;' There's always someone out there better then you.'

Watts suddenly looked to his left, alarm raised in his eyes. "Oh no! Someone's coming!" He looked at Squall with fear mixed with duty in his eyes. "I'll contact you later on, when I have more information, sir." And with that he disconnected abruptly, the screen filling with static, white noise coming from the speakers situated around the table.

Squall slowly pressed a button, allowing Laguna's view to fill the screen once more. Laguna seemed to be thinking, his hand rubbing his chin, a serious expression etched into his features. Squall cleared his throat. "Well…that's about it, Laguna…the only thing left is…you're agreement to assign SeeD to the mission."

"It would be wise, Mr. President…" Cid said, his expression serious. "I have no doubt that you're soldiers would be capable against a full scale attack on Esthar…but a single assassin can get places and do things that an army cannot. A small SeeD team is all that would be required…one for reconnaissance in the actual tournament – Zell – and two others for backup. They are excellently trained in counter-terrorism, and…"

Laguna cut Cid off, his voice deadly serious for once. "I don't doubt SeeD's capabilities, Headmaster Cid…and I'm sure that Zell and the rest of the team would do all they could to protect me, to the point of risking their lives for me…" He hesitated. "…But I'm not sure that I want SeeD interfering."

Squall's face was filled with confusion and shock. "Laguna…you can't be serious! Even if you surrounded yourself with Esthar guard's twenty-four-seven, the Galbadian would still cut through them like a scythe through wheat! You heard Watts! Three Red Dragons at a time! This assassin would have more power then all you're guards put together!" He smashed his fist into the table in anger. "You can't be serious about this!"

Laguna and everybody on the table simply stared with shock as Squall released a wave of emotion, before Laguna cleared his throat nervously. "Look…Squall…I think I know what I'm doing…"

"No, Laguna, I don't think you do!!"

Laguna's face became serious. "Don't forget who you're talking to, Squall. I'm the President of Esthar, the most advanced nation of the face of Gaia. We have security measures that would stop the most able assassin in his tracks. We have guards. We have cameras. We have booby traps. We have lock down mechanisms. We have counter offensive drills." He leaned a little closer to the screen. "Believe me when I say that I'm safe."

Squall squeezed his eyes shut, and gritted his teeth. "No, father! You wont be!" He shouted. The words shocked even him, his emotions finally allowing him to acknowledge Laguna's status as Squall's father.

Laguna looked shell shocked. Leaning back in his chair, his expression went from deadly serious to an even smile. "I'm…grateful for you're concern, son. But…I don't think you have anything to worry about." He shrugged, then sighed. "I'll…I'll call you later on. Quistis, Cid, Seifer,. Zell, Xu…thankyou for you're time, but to put it bluntly…I'm just not interested."

With that, he reached over to something out of the screens view, and cut transmission.

Squall stared at the screen, an Zell could swear he saw tears – before he turned and stalked out of the cafeteria, pushing the doors open with such force that they smashed against the walls and swung ferociously.

Quistis stood slowly – before Seifer spoke up. "Don't." He said simply.

Quistis looked down at him. He still leant back on his chair, his arms behind his head, completely relaxed. "Don't what? Console a friend in his time of need?"

"Exactly."

Quistis looked down at Seifer with barely concealed rage – before a hand was laid on her shoulder. Cid pushed her gently into her chair, and stood. "Laguna was given a choice, and refused. We cannot go against his wishes." He smiled. "However, we can go around them." He looked down at his former pupils. "Please, clear away the equipment before the students come in for dinner. Do not mention this conference to anybody. I'm sure that Squall will…handle himself in time." He sighed. "He always does."

With that, he walked evenly out of the Cafeteria. Zell looked at the remaining group. Seifer stood and walked out, hands in pockets, face unreadable. Quistis and Xu began to pack up the equipment, Quistis's hands trembling with anger as she slammed this and that into it's casings. Xu remained silent, quiet as she helped Quistis.

Zell stood slowly, scratching the back of his neck. "You…you guys seem to have everything in order here…" He cocked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll…I'll just…you know…" When he received nothing but a hair raising glare from Quistis, he placed his hands in his pockets and walked out.

*          *          *

Zell strolled through the Training Centre, hands firmly planted in his pockets, eyes to the grassy ground, his mind mixed with a jumble of emotions. He was still slightly shocked at the show of emotion that Squall had displayed. Of course. Who wouldn't act that way when they knew their father was in danger? Zell knew that he would have acted that very same way…if his Pa was still alive…

The roar of a T-Rexaur echoed around the Training Centre, but Zell didn't raise his gaze from the ground. He did, however, when he heard a battle cry that sounded very familiar.

"Renzokuken!!!"

Zell bolted for the sound, the sounds of a blade cleaving armoured flesh and the echoing gunshots blasting the blade out of the wound rebounding in his ears. Gunpowder filled his nostrils, and he took a quick dive through some bushes to see Squall, his face filled with rage, facing off a T-Rexaur, all by himself.

His gun blade hacked and slashed at the dinosaur, the blade sticking deep in the wound – before Squall pulled the trigger, the kick from the blast pulling the blade from the cavity. Squall's LionHeart glowed with blue as the laser-blade slashed through the air once more, slicing a hunk of dinosaur-meat from the belly of the beast.

The Renzokuken attack finally over, Squall jumped back, electricity lacing over his body as he charged for his finishing move. Zell had an inkling on what it would be.

"Lion Heart!!!" Squall screamed, bolting towards the giant monster once more. Scraping the blade across the ground, the tip actually making a furrow as it slashed through earth, Squall smacked the monster up into the air. Launching after it, Squall suddenly became a dicing machine, his gunblade echoing as shot after shot rang out, the laser-blade making the air around the battle hazy with blue light. After delivering the barrage of blows, Squall finally landed on solid earth.

The air around him became filled with blood, and a rain of small, diced meat fell effortlessly to the ground. His black coat became soaked with blood, his hair matted with it, the white collar becoming a spattered red.

He stood very still, his chest heaving, his gun-blade humming as energy crackled through the blade. Zell couldn't see his face, and he walked slowly forward. "S…Squall?" He asked hesitantly. "Are…are you ok?"

Squall didn't face Zell. "Am I ok?" He said way too calmly, before whirling around suddenly. "DO I LOOK OK?!" He screamed, launching himself at Zell, his LionHeart blazing as it cut the atmosphere in two.

Zell dodged the attack easily, horrified at the state that his friend was in. He was drenched in blood, his eyes wild. Squall's trajectory made him fly past the dodging Zell, but as soon as his feet touched ground he was at Zell again, his gun-blade whirling and slashing.

Zell dodged as best as he could, strafing to the left, back flipping as the blade passed near his legs, ducking as the blue blade sheared through the air above him. Seizing an opportunity, he stepped in close under the blazing blade and smashing a fist into Squall's guts. Squall gasped as the air was blown out of him – but recovered quickly, retaliating by head butting Zell square in the face, knocking the fighter back.

Zell recovered even faster, slapping the blade to the side as it swung down at his head and brutally kicking Squall in the chest, launching his friend back, Squall's feet skidding in the dirt as he tried to regain balance. "What are you doing?!" Zell yelled. "I'm you're friend!!"

Squall didn't hear him. He simply launched himself at Zell once more, his tactic changing. Moving towards Zell faster then before he didn't swing the blade – he simply pointed it at him, like a lancer on a horse.

Zell's eyes widen, and flipped to the side as Squall pulled the trigger, Pulse Ammo smashing through trees and demolishing bushes and dirt as his aim varied, Zell's jumps and flips too fast for Squall to fire at fast enough.

He finally clicked on empty, and ran forward once more, right into Zell's fist. Squall fell to the ground, then flung his feet out, catching Zell's legs and tripping him to the ground. Squall was all over the martial artist in an instant, the gun-blade expert stabbing the blade at Zell's throat –

 - When Zell caught the blade with both hands, his palms slamming against the shimmering blade, stopping it in it's tracks. Smoke began to emit from Zell's Energiz gloves, and he gritted his teeth as the pain began to make his hands burn.

"Squall!" He yelled. "It's me! Zell! You're friend!" His hands began to bleed, thick trails running down his arms as the blade began to slip through his grip. Squall's blood-covered features registered Zell's voice but the pressure remained on the gun-blade, Squall's breaths coming out in short gasps as he panted for air, trying to find strength to get past the vice-like grip on his sword.

"Squall!!" Zell screamed. "It doesn't have to end up like this! We can work something out! Seriously!" His hands were almost completely numb now, the blood making the blade slip further down. It was almost at Zell's neck. "Squall!!" Zell screamed. "I don't want to hurt you!!"

Squall screamed, pushing down on the blade with all his might and weight. Zell gritted his teeth even more as the energy coursing through Squall lanced through the gun-blade, growling as the power laced through his body – then screaming himself as he yanked the blade to the side, breaking the blade's tip off!!

Kicking Squall off him, Zell flipped up. Squall looked down at his broken gun-blade and threw it to the side, the now-useless weapon clattering to the ground uselessly. He raised his hands suddenly, smashing the palms together, his hands glowing hotly as a Fire elemental began to form – to be stopped by Zell, who moved forward and halted the magic in it's tracks, pulling Squall's hands away from each other and smashing his head into Squall's face, forcing Squall to his knees.

Letting go of Squall's hands, Zell staggered back, looking down at his hands. They were a mess.

Squall stood on trembling legs and staggered over to Zell, exhausted. He began to beat his fists on Zell's chest, the attack not even doing any damage, Squall's face melting from rage to defeat. His futile attacks slowed, until it stopped, and Squall sank to his knees, sobbing.

"I…I'm sorry, Zell…" He paused to take a breath. "I really am…it's just that…" He sat up. "I don't now why…why didn't…" His hands went to his blood stained head. "Shit! Why wouldn't he accept…my help?!" His hand moved to his eyes, and he hiccuped.

Zell sat down next to his friend and looked down at his hands. He curled his fingers into the palms and felt the white magic flow through the damaged areas, and when he opened them, the hands were almost completely healed. He looked over at Squall, and sighed, placing a hand on the shoulder of his friend and comrade. "I dunno, man…it's just the way life is…"

Squall looked over at Zell, tears cutting channels through the blood caked on his cheeks. "But why!!" He screamed. "He's my father!! He's supposed to listen!!"

Zell shook his head and kneeled next to Squall as he curled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his face into his arms. Zell sighed and shook his head again as he saw what Squall had been reduced to; dealing with emotions that he never needed to deal with before. Hyne…you're a wreak. Zell thought.

Zell knew that his words wouldn't help, so he simply sat next to him, putting an arm around to comfort him.

*          *          *

Zell knocked on the door of the Headmaster's quarters, and craned his head around it as he opened it. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked

Cid looked up from paper work and nodded, smiling and standing. "Yes, Zell, of course! I almost forgot." He walked over to the door, opening it fully and guiding the warrior to sit in a chair. He stood beside Zell and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking down at him. "Now…I know what happened with Squall might have been…a little distressing…"

"Distressing, hell! It damn freaked me out!!"

"…Yes, well, you must know that he still needs to come to terms with the fact that Laguna is his father…" Cid moved around the desk and sat down, placing his elbows on the desk and resting his head on his fists. "He's dealing with emotions that he has never faced before…he has learned, over the years of self-dependence and social shielding, that revealing emotions, of any kind it seems, is a weakness." His features were sympathetic. "Believe me, he would be more 'freaked out', as you so eloquently put it, as you were."

Zell crossed his arms. "I know all that. I understand completely, sir. After all, I'm the first real friend he's ever made. We were even buddies at the orphanage…and I've lost my Pa…" He looked down at his shoes. "I understand completely."

Cid leaned back, nodding sagely. They sat in silence for a second, the action of yesterday sinking in once more. After Zell escorted Squall to his room, he had gone to report the encounter to Cid, who had immediately gone to see Squall, calling for Dr. Kadowaki as well. What had gone on whilst they talked in Squalls room was a mystery to everybody except to Squall, Dr. Kadowaki and Headmaster Cid, but word had gotten out that Squall had snapped and attacked Zell. He hadn't gone to his Gun-blade teachings today, or had been doing any Commander work. The only person he allowed inside his room was Rinoa, and she was, amazingly, keeping tight-lipped.

"So…when are we allowed leave to Trabia, sir?" Zell asked awkwardly, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the growing silence.

"Leave has been suspended until we figure out some more details." Cid said quietly with an easy smile. "You know the procedure. We need to make sure the Garden is repaired and able to travel before we allow leave."

Zell nodded. "If Squall was running the show, we would have been down there by now…" he muttered, before clapping a hand over his mouth, shocked he had said it out loud.

Cid's smile grew a little larger. "Missing him already, huh?" He asked.

Zell pushed the shock aside uneasily and shrugged. "I'm concerned about him, sir. He took Laguna's refusal really badly…" He shrugged again. "I just wanna know what I can do to help. Is that too much to ask?"

Cid's smile faltered a little. "Sometimes, Zell, you must let people heal by themselves." He waved a hand. "Besides, I'm pretty sure he has Rinoa's shoulder to cry on. They will be able to figure themselves out."

Zell stood suddenly. "I want to know what we're going to do about the Laguna situation, sir." His voice was serious. "You said at the end of the meeting that there was a way around his request. What do you have in mind?"

Cid laughed out loud, a belly chuckle that guffawed loudly. He shook his head and grinned. "You know, you are always described as not being very bright – but you are quite sharp. I can tell!" He leaned forward conspiringly, his grin growing larger. "If you wish to really know, you'll have to talk to Squall about it. I suggested an idea to him which he thinks might work."

Zell nodded. "So you're allowing me to see him, sir?"

Cid's smile grew even larger, countering the question with one of his own. "Did I ever tell you you weren't allowed?"

Zell smiled now, saluting his Headmaster before turning on a heel and running out the door.