Eat your Way to the Fast Forward
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"TIRED," Fujin muttered to herself weakly as she flung herself on the mattress.
"No shower, dusty and old bedrooms, lousy dinner and wine," she complained and sneezed when a particle of dust entered her nostrils. Light crept into the window as Raijin opened the door lightly to reveal himself, with two mugs of hot cocoa in his hand.
"Got them for free ya know," Raijin said handing the steamy hot drink to Fujin. Fujin sipped in the warm liquid and it comforted her aches a little.
"NOW," Fujin rose up from the bed after finishing the beverage. "LAST NIGHT! DID
WE?"
"Uh, I think we should pack up," Raijin interrupted placing his mug on the dresser and walked to the backpacks. For the first time Fujin gazed at Raijin differently, showing some kind of strange fondness in her eye.
"Sefie, what kind of potion did you give to Seifer?" Irvine asked Selphie who turned her head to see Seifer isolating himself sitting on a bench in resting position across the table.
"Irvine, we just got together naturally that's all," Selphie explained briefly in her cheery voice, stretching her arms to the side. "You know I bet this race has some sort of positive effect on everyone's relationship with each other!"
"Tell that to Rinoa, and I bet that she'll yell your head off," Zell said, waving his knife elliptically. Zell, Selphie and Irvine arched towards each other closely. "I bet they're about to break up," Zell whispered.
"Why?" Selphie asked. She raised her head and turned to look at Squall and Rinoa, sitting side by side on the same bench with their heads down in deep thought not talking and laughing each other like they used to. Xu and Quistis passed by the couple and Squall lifted his head up to see Quistis smiling at him. Rinoa then jabbed his side with her elbow, forming words in her lips Selphie could vaguely make out: "Don't look at that witch." Selphie then turned to Irvine and Zell. "Well I gotta cheer Seifer up!"
The day soon turned to darkness and the 200 fortress was soon adorned with fairy lights, making it visible for tourists and passersby to gaze at the marvel of the castle under the night sky. It also served as a peaceful place for couples, who want be in their romantic privacy. It was 8.31 p.m. and Fujin and Raijin, armed with their backpacks to the check-in point to claim the next clue.
"La bonne chance, and may the old kings of Dollet be with you," the woman handed the scarlet envelope to Fujin.
"MERCI," Fujin then ripped open the envelope. "Fly to Deling City and find Julia Heartilly. You have 550 gil for this leg of the race," Raijin said reading the clue with Fujin close to his shoulder. The duo then started to walk to the main gate of the castle.
"So how are we going to get to the airport?" Raijin asked.
"CALL TAXI!" Fujin exclaimed pointing her finger at the row of phone booths, which was standing near a tree outside the castle gates.
"Mm hmm... okay..." Raijin snapped the receiver back to its holder and took out his phone card from the slot. "Taxi will be coming in about 20 minutes, the guy on the phone said." He started to sound perplex, "I don't get it, how come we're looking for Rinoa's dead mom who was not buried in Deling City anyway?"
"FOOL! Don't you watch the travel guide on TV?" Fujin hissed. "PIANO IN GALBADIA HOTEL LOUNGE."
"Oh!" Raijin exclaimed.
Fujin and Raijin's taxi arrived in front of them and they climbed into taxi, which will take them to the Jean Pierrot Airport.
Quistis ripped open the envelope and read the clue with Xu. "Fly to Deling
City."
"Ooh, that sounds ritzy!" Xu exclaimed. "Isn't that Rinoa's hometown?"
"Yeah," Quistis sighed as they walked to the exit. "We'll be in dead competition."
At 9.11 p.m., after about 10 minutes the instructors had left the check-in point, Squall and Rinoa arrived to get their clue with unhappy faces.
"Bonne chance," the woman wished as Squall was counting the money they received from the clue. Squall and Rinoa arose from the brightly-lit fortress to see Quistis and Xu waiting beside the phone booths.
"Sorry, we didn't arrange a taxi for you guys," Quistis confessed waving her hands back and forth.
"Fine, I know what you're thinking," Rinoa said striding to the middle booth, dragging Squall with her.
Soon, two lights appeared from the darkness and the taxis screeched in front of the two couples. Quistis and Xu climbed into their taxi first and left the castle, with Squall and Rinoa following them from behind.
"Wow, it looks beautiful from here," Xu said watching the castle dwindling into a small dim light.
"Honey, how come you're not excited going back to Deling City?" Squall asked shaking the arm of his girlfriend lightly and smiled. "Got a run-in with your dad before you joined the race?"
Rinoa then reacted by pulling her arm from Squall's grip nastily. "Squall, promise me that you won't go with that bitch alone in some place." Subsequently, Rinoa started to produce tears in her eyes and she could not contain the anger in her anymore and rebuked. "I saw you two kissing each other the other night!"
"Kissing?" Squall perplexed. "You didn't mean..."
"Yes, you two were together and I'm a witness you know that?" Rinoa cried and turned away from Squall.
"Honey, you've misunderstood about everything. It's probably dark and you're imagining things and..."
Rinoa soon interrupted by turning back at Squall. "It was not dark. It was a full moon and I brought a goddamn flashlight with me!"
"Hey calm down. You're disturbing the spirits of the dead kings and dukes," the driver said. "We're driving through their tombs you know?"
"Forget it and we might as well concentrate on the race!" Rinoa threw her arm in the air and turned her head facing the window. In her mind, she now felt really bad having to fight with her boyfriend. She would not fight with him for the meantime but she will have to brave herself against her new and greatest enemy, Quistis Trepe.
Fujin and Raijin entered the newly built Jean Pierrot Airport in awe.
"Wow, this is way cooler than Balamb's," Raijin exclaimed savouring the cold air hitting his face.
"IMPRESSIVE," Fujin muttered, holding hands with Raijin, while they both admired the beams, which were carved into the former dukes of Dollet with their hands reaching to the center of the roof.
"HURRY, TICKETS!" Fujin and Raijin raced to the ticket booths, bumping into a few tourists who cursed back at them. The first booth that came to their mind mutually was Dollet Air.
"DELING CITY! FASTEST PLANE! COACH!" Fujin said to the man in airliner uniform behind the counter fiddling the keyboard of his computer.
"Okay, we have two seats heading directly to Deling City, no connections, leaving at 10.30 tonight. And here are your tickets, ma'am," the man handed the newly printed tickets to Fujin and Raijin. Both of them slapped each others palm with a high-five. After a few minutes, Fujin vaguely spotted a blonde man in a black Skull sweatshirt walking through the automatic doorways among the crowd. Fujin then turned to the man and began to speak in fluent Dolletian.
"Pouvez-vous me faire une faveur? Ne laissez pas un homme portant un sweatshirt noir de crâne et une fille dans l'achat jaune les billets dix-trente à Deling City. Je suis désolé si je vous obtenais dans l'ennui." Fujin bribed by giving a 100-gil note to the man. Seifer then arrived dragging Selphie to the Dollet Air counter.
"Got any single tickets heading to Deling City tonight?" Seifer asked.
"Sorry sir, we've ran out of tickets to Deling City today," the man replied with a grin, which made Seifer banged the counter with his fist angrily.
"C'mon Seifer. There are other counters to go to," Selphie pleaded tugging Seifer's arm. Seifer and Selphie finally booked a 'Timber Airlines' flight, which will leave thirty minutes later from Fujin and Raijin's, taking them to
Timber and then connect to Vinzer Deling Airport. Quistis and Xu and Squall and Rinoa soon arrived and bought the similar flight.
"Fujin, teach me some Dolletian ya know?" Raijin said to Fujin who was lying on the bench swinging her legs back and forth.
"Leçons de prise, IMBÉCILE!" Fujin said grinning.
At 10 o'clock, Rachel and Daniel and Jack and King arrived at the airport followed by Zell and Irvine fifteen minutes later. Rachel and Daniel booked the last direct flight to Deling City by Dollet Air, while Jack and King and Zell and Irvine motioned with frustration as all the flights had been sold out for the night.
"What the fu..." Zell angered throwing his backpack on the shiny marble floor, while Rachel and Daniel scrolled through the Deling City travel booklet waiting for the plane."
"There it is, Julia Heartilly's piano, 'Julia Heartilly' in the Galbadia Hotel lounge," Rachel said pointing at the middle of the page.
Fujin rose up as she saw Seifer striding towards the duo's bench.
"Fujin, how are ya!" Seifer drawled but his voice soon became hostile. "I thought we were allies and you bribed the man to hide the stinking tickets from me?" The furious voice of Seifer's soon drew a crowd and parts of it began to circle around him.
"Hey, what's going on?" Zell squeezed through the crowd to see Seifer and Fujin exchange glances.
"TRAITOR! FUJIN DO THE SAME," Fujin hissed at Seifer who was glowing red by the minute.
"You bitch!" Seifer raved and lunged at Fujin with his hands in striking position. Then he grabbed onto Fujin's shoulder and strangled her by the neck. Immediately, Seifer fell to the ground, in front of the crowd, uselessly in pain after a punch in the stomach by Raijin.
"Are you okay, Fujin?" Raijin said to Fujin who was rubbing her neck to soothe the bruise.
"POSITIVELY FINE. THANK YOU," Fujin replied, then she walked to Seifer who was still squirming and curling his body in pain.
"Fujin, what are you trying do?" Selphie said, crouching beside Seifer trying to protect him from more of Fujin's attacks. "I thought you three were supposed to be posses."
"SEIFER," Seifer then turned his head facing Fujin's eye patch. "FROM NOW ON, POSSES NO MORE!" The lightning between Seifer and Fujin began to grow and spark uncontrollably and suddenly the chain of lightning exploded and broke apart, causing Seifer to be in deep shock.
"Fine, this is the second time you've double-crossed me Fujin. Now I've had it with you," Seifer said, then turned to Raijin who looked a little worried. "And you too, you ape."
"Dollet Air flight 578-D has arrived at Gate 3 heading to Deling City and leaving at 10.30 p.m. All passengers who are boarding this flight are advised to go to the plane as soon as possible." After heeding the message, Fujin and Raijin slung their backpacks to their shoulders and ran to the gate, leaving Seifer behind with Selphie trying to nurse his pain.
"I'm sorry Instructor Trepe that we did not buy you tickets," Rachel said hugging Quistis. "See you at Deling City."
After 10.30, the plane moved and then soared into the air, beginning its journey to Deling City. Fujin and Raijin tilted their seats to a sixty degree incline in resting position with sleeping masks covering their eyes, while Rachel and Daniel were savouring some free Dollet white wine.
"Here's to the race and for Instructor Trepe," Daniel said knocking his wineglass with a ding at Rachel's and sipped in the wine, which was cooling that it soothed his throat.
Thirty minutes later at 11.00, Seifer and Selphie, Squall and Rinoa and Quistis and Xu boarded the Timber-bound flight hastily. The six people in the plane were such in a cold mood, there were hardly any conversations taking place before the plane took off.
"I thought they were your best pals Seifer," Selphie said in worry. "If you don't make up with them, you'll probably have no one to be with you."
"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep," Seifer whined in aggravation and turned his head towards the wall trying to close his eyes.
Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa sat together on the same row of seats, with Rinoa beside the window followed by Squall, Quistis and Xu. Rinoa was so frustrated and aggravated at Squall who was sitting strategically with Quistis, who were talking each other about Balamb Garden activities over a bottle of Dolletian white wine.
"Rinoa, would you like to have some wine honey?" Squall said, stroking the cold and smooth wineglass on Rinoa's surfaced.
"No, I'm not drinking that wine cuz there could be Quistis' saliva on the mouth of the bottle, and Dollet sucks," Rinoa mumbled nastily, trying to get some rest. She then eventually fell asleep
***
The 1-hour flight was a completely stressful trip for Seifer as he yawned profusely down the corridor. Rinoa also did the same. She could not forget the new nightmare she had encountered in her sleep in the plane. It was set in the recognizable dark sewers of Deling City. She was wearing a sanitary suit and holding a flashlight venturing through the sewers. Suddenly, the light hit something shining and a shadowy figure bumped on to her until she fell and the flashlight fell into the water.
"Squall's mine!" the figure uttered proudly and starting laughing diabolically.
Then, the figure slapped Rinoa on the cheek profusely until her jaw felt sore.
Subsequently, the figure kicked Rinoa and she rolled into the river, then trying to drown her by immersing her head into the murky water by force. The dream I had had a connection with the one in Dollet, Rinoa thought. Am I psychic? Oh yeah, I'm a sorceress so its normal for me to have vague visions of what's to come anyway. Is my 'sorceress sense' telling me about what's going to happen? Well the jump was real and Quistis nearly killed me by stealing my boyfriend.
From that moment, a crafty idea came to Rinoa like a thunderbolt. She just had the most wonderful plan to rid Quistis for good.
"Rinoa, why are you grinning?" Squall asked as he walked down the aisle. Rinoa then turned to Squall in her normal expression.
"Nothing," Rinoa said briefly. "I want to do the next Roadblock."
"Are you sure honey?" Squall started to sound concerned. "You almost freaked yourself at the lighthouse jump."
"I'm fine and through with it mister," Rinoa growled coldly, then turned her head back to its original position.
"Attention passengers, flight 435-TT to Deling City has been delayed until tomorrow morning. We apologize for the inconvenience."
"Oh god, this I gotta check out," Xu said in worry. She ran to the end of the gate corridor until the flight information board was in front of her. The slot beside the Deling City flight turned to delay. Then she signaled the others to wait at the departure hall and she burst to the other gate. Twenty minutes later, Xu came to Quistis huffing and puffing.
"We're dead. Our flight is really delayed," Xu said in disappointment, which was followed by a huge sigh by other people who were supposed to board the flight.
***
Fujin and Raijin and Rachel and Daniel stepped on the escalator of the Deling City Underground Station to the surface. The view of the Deling City Gateway and the surrounding spotlights with Galbadian symbols appeared in front of them.
"Wow, it looked better than in the map!" Rachel said in awe of the largest and most crowded city in Galbadia and presently the clock fountain in front of them struck twelve in midnight.
The taxi soon brought Fujin and Raijin to the splendor of the shopping arcades, a street filled with lights far more extravagant than the ones in Timber and shops and boutiques offering exotic and state-of-the-art wares and fashion. Then a few blocks away lies the tallest building of the street, the Galbadia Hotel, where the legendary singer and performer Julia Heartilly did her first piano debut in the lounge of the hotel. Fujin and Raijin stepped down the taxi and soon Rachel and Daniel's taxi arrived. The four then walked down the stairs and into the lounge, located at the basement level of the hotel. The lounge was filled with businessmen and rich couples sipping their Champaign and cocktail on small round tables with a single flickering candle on the center and the talking and laughing was accompanied by soft and sentimental music, mostly by Julia. At the left side of the lounge from the stairs was a stage, now served as a gallery of Julia's photographs, record covers and music sheets of her works. And at the center of the stage was Julia's piano. Only the best singers and performers can perform on the stage since Julia's untimely death, which consequently made her one of the legends in music history. Fujin and Raijin searched the framed photographs on the wall while Rachel and Daniel investigated the piano and an old gramophone.
"Hey, check this out," Raijin said to Fujin pointing to a picture. "Here's a picture of Rinoa with her mother and General Caraway."
"What, you mean Rinoa's mother is Julia Heartilly?" Daniel exclaimed as he fiddled around the items lying around the platform where the gramophone was placed on.
"AS IF YOU DON'T KNOW," Fujin hissed.
Rachel then went to the piano bench and folded the seat open with a creaky sound. It was not dusty and full of cobwebs as Rachel expected since the hotel staff kept great care of Julia's treasures. The numbers 2,3:1 appeared on the other side of the cushion seat, while the shallow compartment below was empty.
"Daniel, come here, check what I found!" Rachel said in a soft voice and tried to attract Daniel's attention by widening her eyes and a motion in her hand.
Daniel eventually stopped searching the platform and turned to Rachel. Daniel then helped Rachel to solve the numbers, which were ambiguous at first but eventually a thing comes to their minds.
"Garden rule code 2 section 3:1, if you're in trouble seek help at the nearest
Garden," Daniel said. Rachel then snapped her finger and smiled.
"Galbadia Garden."
Fujin and Raijin unraveled the code as well and followed Rachel and Daniel's taxi, which is heading to Galbadia Garden.
***
All was not lost as Squall and Rinoa, Seifer and Selphie and Quistis and Xu boarded the late night train from Timber to Deling City.
"To our new alliance," Seifer commenced holding his drink high in the air, followed by the others. Squall turned to Rinoa whose face carved a hideous frown.
"Cheer up Rinoa," Squall said trying to break Rinoa's ice. Then he neared his lips at Rinoa's ear, whispering, "Let's have our private time together in the empty coach shall we?"
Rinoa soon lifted the weighty frown and revived her beauty as she smiled like a sphinx. The couple rose from the table and walked together to the empty part of the train. Soon, the dark surroundings of the meadows and bushes and small towns turned into bright city lights, marking their arrival at the capital of the nation of Galbadia.
"Yay, we're going to see Rinoa's mom!" Selphie cheered.
The late night train ride soon come to a halt as the train screeched at the Deling City Underground Station at 2.31 p.m. The three teams soon surfaced from the station to the view of the Deling City Gateway in front of them.
"Oh, we're here!" Selphie said fondly, remembering the times when she first came to Deling City to carry out a dangerous SeeD mission. "Do you know that Sir
Laguna was actually from Deling City and Julia Heartilly was his first sweetheart?"
Selphie's ranting fell onto Seifer's deaf ears. To him the memories of the city made his heart ached badly.
"Oh sorry Seifer. I forgot that you came here before. But all's never mind cuz you've changed a lot nowadays!" Selphie cheered at the end.
"Yeah," Seifer agreed shyly and rubbed the back of his head.
In Quistis' point of view, the city was enemy territory weakening her charisma over Squall's love, while to Rinoa the city was her backyard. Every recognizable building or monument: the Gateway, the Presidential Residence, her home the Caraway Mansion and Deling City Park strengthened her spirit as she rode the taxi looking out at the sights, which were at the back of her hand.
"I'm home and no way I'm gonna flunk in this leg of the race."
Rinoa and Squall and Quistis and Xu dropped off at the Galbadia Hotel searching Julia Heartilly's piano. They eventually revealed the number code inside the piano bench.
"Squall, do you still remember Garden Code 2 section 3:1?" Quistis asked.
"Get to the nearest Garden when you're in trouble: Galbadia Garden," Squall muttered in his lips.
Meanwhile, Seifer and Selphie walked around the roundabout in front of the gateway asking questions about Julia Heartilly at the scanty pedestrians during the night.
"Do you know where Julia Heartilly is? Hey!" Seifer shouted at the man who ran away from him as he fired his question.
"Does anyone know Julia Heartilly?" Selphie bellowed and her voice echoed throughout the night sky. She then slapped on her hips in disappointment. "It's hopeless. Let's go somewhere where there are more people."
Seifer and Selphie then strolled to the brighter areas. They eventually entered the park area and ahead was the shopping arcade.
"Psst... it's the ex-knight!" a man spoke to his fellow tramp on the bench in the park. Then more people started to notice Seifer's untimely presence, causing lovers to stop kissing and tramps awaken from their rest and moved deeper into the park.
"Does anyone know where Julia Heartilly is?" he shouted to all the pedestrians who soon avoided by running to random directions, as long as they would not be 'cursed' by the knight who once threatened the city alongside Sorceress Edea. Seifer strolled on to the shops where 24-hour shops and convenient stores closed down unusually at Seifer's presence.
"I'm sorry Selphie. I guess the people here are still afraid of me," Seifer said with a huge sigh tilting his head downwards.
"Cheer up Seifer. As long as there was one person in the world that knows you have changed then everything is all right!" Selphie said holding her head high and stretching out her arms as she walked down the silent sidewalk.
Seifer and Selphie soon went into the only building that had not closed down, Galbadia Hotel.
"Ahem excuse me," Seifer said after clearing his throat.
"Just a minute." After finishing his cataloguing work the male receptionist turned up to see Seifer in fright. "Curses it's the Sorceress' minion! Security get him!"
With one flick of the finger, two heavily built security men and a sleepy bellboy came and grabbed Seifer by the arms. Seifer shook his body trying to loosen the grip and then Selphie started to speak up.
"Cut that out! Don't you knuckleheads realise that my boyfriend has changed?" the security men released Seifer from their grip but still keeping a watchful eye on Seifer while the bellboy and the receptionist stood with their eyes and mouths wide open. "Look I know Seifer here was a bad boy those years but people change. Besides he did not harm anyone so far and we're in the middle of the race to get a million moolah. And can anyone here tell me where Julia Heartilly is?"
Everyone else except Seifer soon spoke at each other in a soft murmur.
"I think the knight charmed the girl so that she can speak up to protect the knight," the bellboy said spitefully.
The receptionist hold out his finger not looking at Seifer and Selphie and informed them, "There's a Julia Heartilly gallery in the lounge down there and it's open for twenty-four hours. There were people going down there and came out a short while satisfied."
Selphie thanked shortly and held Seifer's hand to drag him down the stairs. The few remaining patrons and waitresses fled the lounge, leaving their drinks unfinished on the table and dropping empty trays uselessly on the carpeted floor. Selphie then searched the photos of the stage carefully trying not to wreck the gallery of the singer she idolised. Seifer then inspected the polished, dark brown, cherry-wood piano, with Julia's signature printed on the lid of the black and white keyboard, which was left ajar for display. Next, he scrolled to the bench and unfolded the seat, hoping to find envelopes or clues inside its compartment.
"Selphie, there's a number here." Selphie walked to Seifer and examined the number code.
"Does anyone know about the numbers 2,3:1?" Seifer asked the patrons and waitresses who crowded around the receptionist at the top of the spiral staircase.
"Get away from my wife you monster!" a man yelled back protecting his consort, causing Seifer to retreat back to the dimly lighted lounge and bar.
"Hey Seifer I got it!" Selphie said turning to Seifer with the Garden Rulebook in her hand.
"Selphie, you sure carry the weirdest but useful things," Seifer smiled and thought to himself, blushing in embarrassment, "And I thought I remember my rules although I was a disciplinary committee."
***
Seifer and Selphie arrived at Galbadia Garden riding a bribed taxi ride.
"Get out and I don't wanna see your face again!" the taxi driver shooed Seifer and Selphie out of his car, removing their backpacks from the trunk as quickly as possible and climbed back to the car and sped off. Seifer and Selphie walked in the darkness to the bright but shut main entrance of Galbadia Garden, where the four leading teams established their camp, sleeping on the pavement for the night.
"Evening Seifer," Daniel, who was barely asleep opened one eye at Seifer and greeted in a friendly way and pointed to a box on the entrance counter. "The clue is there."
Selphie strode to the box and opened it revealing three envelopes. She took one out and ripped it open.
"Find clues hidden in the auditorium. Galbadia Garden will only open to the public from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m."
***
Zell and Irvine and Jack and King arrived in front of the Deling City Gateway, which was in full splendor under the morning sun.
"It's so noisy and jammed up here," Irvine said in his cowboy slang commenting at the chaotic traffic at the roundabout in front of them. Zell and Irvine decided to walk to their next destination: Area 3 of the Deling City Parklands.
"No use taking the taxi with all that traffic," Irvine said to himself while reading the Fast Forward clue, which read, "Get to a marked picnic table at Area 3 of the Deling City Parklands and eat your way to the fast forward pass."
"There's a flag!" Zell exclaimed huffing and puffing when he saw a wooden table with a blue and yellow flag stuck on to the side. Zell's eyes began to widen as a large pile of food surfaces from the table as they neared it. "HOTDOGS!"
Zell shouted and jumped with joy and ran frantically to the table. The aroma of fresh grilled sausages and the vapour of the steamed buns filled his nostrils and he began to drool like a puppy. Zell reached out his hand to grab the topmost hotdog. He took his first bite and the crunchy sausage burst in his mouth releasing all the meaty goodness. The soft texture of the hotdog bun was a perfect complement to the crunchiness and meatiness of the sausage. And what is more, the hotdog is way better than the one he had back at Balamb Garden. Tears started to flow from Zell's eyes and he smiled in deep happiness.
"This is so much like a dream," Zell exclaimed sentimentally. "Haha! You're all mine. MINE!" Zell then squeezed the rest of his hotdog and cramped it into his mouth and chewed and swallowed it all down. Then, he reached out for another one and stuffed it whole into his mouth. Irvine rolled down the hill to see a happy Zell munching down the mountain of hotdogs.
"Irvine, help me!" Zell turned around to Irvine looking like a puffer-fish and mumbled, holding a hotdog in his hand.
"Ugh, this is disgusting," Irvine said to himself. Irvine grabbed a hotdog and poured the ketchup and Deling City mustard, which was in squeegee bottles on the table, onto his hotdog and took one big bite. Irvine was acquainted to the taste but the food was simply addicting! After Irvine finished his first, he went for a second round. Zell slapped a chunk of Deling City mustard and stuffed it into his mouth, which was consequently filled with a hot and nauseating sensation.
"Aaah!" Zell yelped waving his arms like a chicken. "Fire! Fire!" Zell spun around and stole a can of Gatorade from a jogger who was sitting on a bench.
"Hey, that's mine!" he scolded, but Zell already poured the liquid into his mouth. He finished the can but it could not douse the fire in his mouth.
"Told ya Deling City mustard is too hot to handle," Irvine chuckled, finishing the second last hotdog of the plate. He then turned to eye on the twelve-foot hotdog, the last hotdog on the plate, licking his lips. "I hope Zell doesn't mind this irresistible babe."
Zell drank the third can of drink and his stomach started to rumble with the heavy mixture of hotdogs and Gatorade. He clenched his stomach in ache and turned to Irvine, who was sliding the lengthy hotdog, with lettuce, onion, sauerkraut and all, gracefully into his mouth. "NOOOOOO!!! THAT'S THE DELING CITY..."
Irvine finished eating the giant hotdog and licked all the mustard smeared around his lips as a complement.
"Oh I uncovered the clue already!" Irvine said to himself in glee, reading the inscription printed on the plate. "Well done eating all those hotdogs! Now head to the next pit stop, the Caraway Mansion."
"Zell, let's go," Irvine slung his backpack around his shoulders and turned to see Zell looking like a hotdog craving demon, with his fists burning aiming for Irvine's head.
***
The morning chimes of Galbadia Garden awakened the five teams from their restless slumber. Quistis got up with a prolonged yawn while she brushed her teeth and polished her glasses.
"Morning Quisty," Xu greeted with a loud yawn. Quistis turned with her glasses on to see her friend.
"Morning. Man the floor's hard," Quistis complained arching her aching back.
Soon, Squall was the next person to wake up.
"Morning," he muttered behind his black shirt, which he was going to wear it over his white undershirt. Squall's head popped out of the collar to see Quistis smiling in greeting. Suddenly, Squall felt a pain in the ear. He moved his hand to his ear to feel Rinoa's soft skin.
"Morning moron!" Rinoa screamed almost deafening Squall. She then approached Quistis beside the drinking fountain and squinched her face in annoyance.
"Morning Quistis," she said sinisterly, waving her toothbrush with a thin line of toothpaste back and forth. "Don't you dare steal my boyfriend."
"We'll see," Quistis said heeding to the challenge. The two women exchanged glances until Daniel broke in to see his idol.
"Morning Quistis. Rachel and I have cookies to spare. What are you doing with Rinoa?" Daniel asked. Rinoa immediately turned away from Quistis and drew her attention to brushing her teeth by the drinking fountain.
Quistis yawned again. "Boy I need breakfast."
Fujin and Raijin took a morning stroll about the gardens and grassland outside the crimson shell-like building of Galbadia Garden.
"I wonder if I meet Martine again," Fujin said.
"You don't look happy, why?" Raijin asked at Fujin who was looking down at herself since she had woke up.
"FIRST LOVE," she said with a sigh. "WAS INSTRUCTOR HERE BEFORE TRANSFER TO BALAMB."
Seifer and Selphie soon ran into Fujin and Raijin. They both held their hands together in such a romantic way that it was noticeable that the both of them are in love.
"Hiya Fujin and Raijin," Selphie greeted in her ever-cheery tone. Fujin and Raijin reacted by turning away from Seifer's face.
"Oh come on guys," Seifer said stretching out his arms hoping that Fujin and Raijin kiss and make up for yesterday's incident, but was heavily turned down by Fujin knocking off his hand.
"RAGE!" Fujin hissed.
"Fujin said that she still doesn't forgive you, ya know. And then she doesn't trust you cuz we're not posses anymore remember?" Raijin explained. Then the duo walked away from Seifer leaving him in tears.
"I was only mad that time," Seifer said.
"Seifer, this is the first time I see you crying," Selphie said happily, but it only caused more pain to Seifer who was beginning to bang his head wildly.
"Me, a wuss?" Seifer said to himself. "I'm not like that chicken-wuss or that soppy Squall." Seifer ran away from Selphie immediately leaving her dumbfounded.
"What's wrong with him?"
***
The five teams waited in anticipation in front of the gates of Galbadia Garden.
Students and SeeDs and instructors could be seen walking around the vicinity talking and laughing or running errands or heading to class. As the eight o'clock bell chimed the lights on the gates turned from red to blue.
"Look it's the slayers of the Sorceress!" a girl said watching Squall, Rinoa, Quistis and Xu pacing through the entrance. Immediately everyone nearby saluted at his or her arrival in revered respect and admiration.
"Auditorium?" Daniel asked who was following the single file of the two leading teams.
"Take the elevator to the second floor and you can't miss it," a male student replied with his hand pointing upwards. Next, it was Seifer and Selphie who appeared and they were welcomed coldly.
"Hey I'm also a Sorceress slayer!" Selphie whined. Suddenly, a ball of paper fell onto Selphie's back hardly. "What was that?"
"Get out you son of a bitch!" an unknown voice clamoured, referring to Seifer who turned with a vicious frown. The people around Seifer started to be infused with fear and moved away from Seifer when he passed by. Fujin and Raijin then appeared behind Selphie, also treated in the same inimical way.
"Guys, can ya all give us a chance and forgive what we've done to the Garden in the past?" Raijin said holding out his hands at the crowd who reacted by stepping backwards from him.
"RUN!" Fujin said to Raijin briefly.
"Huh? What..." Raijin's sentence cut off as Fujin started running and then he followed her.
"Hey, wait up!" Seifer said turning to Fujin and Raijin. Suddenly, he felt a soft object hitting his cheek and eventually spun around the frightened crowd in red. "Who did that?" he growled fiercely squeezing the plastic ball until it burst into pieces.
"Get the Sorceress' knight!" a voice clamoured starting the crowd to throw objects at Seifer and Selphie like a street riot. Seifer's eyes soon flared with fury and rose up to receive more hits. He then lunged to a group of boys throwing paper balls at him and pounced on one of the group.
"How do you like it when an ex-knight attacks you huh?" Seifer sneered clutching onto the student's neck and began to tighten his grip slowly, causing the student to secrete tears in his eyes. "Luckily I didn't bring my gunblade so enjoy-a-slow-death," Seifer said in pieces at the end of his sentence squeezing the student's neck until his voice could not plead for help. The crowd began to back away in fear but the student's friends started to pick up mops and brooms and attacked Seifer at the back. Seifer relinquished his grip, now bearing the pain. Subsequently he stood up as if he was possessed by a demon and pinned another student to the ground, punching him.
"Seifer, NOOO!" Selphie cried in tears. She wanted to stop her teammate from hurting the student but she could not move her body. Blood started to ooze out of the student's mouth, which flowed like a stream towards the other parts of the crowd. Seifer enjoyed the blood bath, but he did not see the steel rod speeding towards his head with one blow, causing him to black out.
***
"Ugh, hurry up!" Xu said while she and her teammate, along with Squall, Rinoa,
Daniel and Rachel, waited impatiently for the elevator to open. Fujin and Raijin were then seen running towards the stairs.
"Daniel, let's take the stairs!" Rachel exclaimed, tugging Daniel by the arm and began to run. Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa soon followed.
Fujin and Raijin approached a two-door entrance, which opened automatically and revealed the grand auditorium.
"SEARCH." Fujin and Raijin started to scour the auditorium for the hidden clue box. Fujin jostled down the seats to the stage. She then noticed the blue and yellow flag behind the speech box and the box was really there.
"FOUND!" Fujin bellowed, her voice echoed towards Raijin crouching to look under the seats. "DETOUR, PUCK OR BALL."
Daniel and Rachel spotted Fujin reading her clue behind the speech box. The both of them jogged down the steps and towards the stage. Rachel grabbed the envelope and tore it open.
"Puck, head to the ice hockey rink and beat a professional goalie. Ball, head to the basketball court and shoot three successful throw-ins for each teammate."
"Let's do ball," Daniel said with his hand covering his left eye. Rachel soon turned to see Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa arriving at the auditorium and signaled them to the clue box.
"RAIJIN!" Fujin shouted with her voice causing the auditorium to tremble. "WHERE ARE YOU!"
"Here honey," a weak voice replied from the upper level of the auditorium. Fujin climbed the steps to see Raijin's body sticking out of the seat with his head stuck beneath.
"FOOL," Fujin grabbed onto his arm and tugged his body trying to pull his head out.
"It hurts ya know," Raijin squealed in agony.
"IMBECILE!" Fujin lifted her foot and swung it towards the nuts. A sharp pain excited from the groin to the lower abdomen causing him to squirm by pushing his head to the seat until it was uprooted.
"Ah, it hurts!" Raijin yelped, jumping around holding his groin. He had then realised that his head was in its original position. "I'm free!" Raijin shouted in joy momentarily.
"QUICK!" Fujin said pulling Raijin by the arm to the exit. "WE'LL PLAY HOCKEY."
***
Seifer woke up and lifted his aching head slowly. "What happened?" Seifer muttered spinning his head carefully to see a student lying on bed with a life support unit. Then he turned to the other side to see Selphie smiling.
"Seifer, you're okay!" Selphie cried emotionally hugging Seifer.
"Why is my head aching?" he said to himself while embracing his teammate. A surge hit him and he started to remember it all. "God! Did I kill him?" he turned around quickly looking at the unconscious student in shock.
"Don't worry young man, he'll be alright," a voice beamed at Seifer and eventually the Garden's doctor and his nurse surfaced from the entrance. "The students here are pretty emotional when it comes to your presence but don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."
"Doctor, can we go now? We're on a race for a million gil!" Selphie said.
"Yes, yes I know. Once I've bandaged your head you're free to go," he said casually with a roll of bandage in his hand. The nurse handed his a bottle of antiseptic and the doctor applied it on Seifer's wound with cotton bud. It stung but it eased Seifer's pain. "Martine left you two a message. He said after you've finished your business here, never return," the doctor sighed and began to start wrapping Seifer's head with bandages. "I guess we don't want trouble here."
"You're such a nice person Mr. Doctor," Selphie said in a sweet voice. After he had finished his work, he turned to Selphie with a smirk.
"Call me Dr. Boston," he said, brushing his grey hair back.
"Okay Dr. Boston," she said, holding on to Seifer's arm to carry him down the bed.
***
Fujin and Raijin arrived at the Garden's ice hockey rink. Raijin started to shiver with the coldness around the area.
"PUCK?" Fujin asked the hockey player in blue guarding the entrance of the rink. The guy then pointed to the locker room. Fujin and Raijin entered the locker room to find uniforms; helmets, skates and hockey sticks ready for them. And across the room was a person with a towel wrapped around his waist behind a locker door, probably a student getting ready for practice. He closed the door and revealed himself to Fujin and Raijin.
"ROBERT TAVIAN," Fujin spoke.
"Well, well, if it isn't Instructor Fujin," the brown-haired white student approached the duo, smirking.
"INSTRUCTOR NO MORE," she said in confirmation. "DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF BALAMB GARDEN NOW ON."
Raijin turned from Fujin to Tavian in a daze. "Do you met each other before."
"Robert Tavian, my former student in Galbadia Garden," she explained in her normal tone, staring at Tavian. "My first love."
Raijin then gaped and goggled in disbelief. "Ya serious?"
"Puppy love to be exact," Tavian added, which made Raijin sighed of relief. "So what brings you here?" he said casually picking up his undershirt.
"RACE" was the only word Fujin could say. After that Tavian spoke, "Oh yeah, I suppose you're going to try to beat me right?"
Raijin pointed at Tavian, saying, "I thought we're supposed to play with a professional goalie, not some junior who plays for the school or something, ya know."
Fujin then kicked Raijin in the ankle. "HAVEN'T YOU WATCHED SPORTS? HE'S ONE OF THE TOP GOALIES OF GALBADIA AND PLAYS FOR THE DELING CITY FASCHOTILACHIONS."
"He's a genius then." Fujin nodded at Raijin's comment.
"Instructor, or should I say ex-coach," Tavian said trying to get Fujin's attention. "I supposed you should change in the bathroom. You don't want to change in front of two guys, do you?"
Fujin quickly swiped the uniform from the bench and then disappeared into the bathroom.
"Now red-skinned man," Tavian said, sitting on the bench. "Why don't we talk a bit while my ex-coach finishes dressing up. You know how women take such a long time to change."
"The name's Raijin," he said, taking off his shirt.
***
Daniel shielded his eyes from the blinding sun as he looked up at the tall hoop of the basketball court. "Oh my goodness that is tall!"
"Rules are simple people," the basketball coach said trying to bring everyone's attention present to do the 'Ball' detour. Then he blew his whistle signaling the students to stop practicing and recollect the balls into its receptacle. "Each person will take a turn to attempt the hoop. You must stand on this marked point and shoot the ball into the basket. If you succeed you are allowed to go for the second one. If failed, for any attempts, you'll have to let the next person to go and wait for your turn. Each of you must score five hoops to get the envelope. Understood?" Everyone in front of the coach nodded. "Okay. The blonde guy with freckles and the red-hair girl arrived here first so they'll start."
Rachel pushed Daniel into the court. A student threw a ball at Daniel and he received it, looking very nervous. Daniel parked himself on the marked position and bounced the ball three times. "Here goes," Daniel muttered to himself lifting the ball towards the sky. He pulled back his hands and then threw the ball forward towards the hoop. The ball hit the rim of the basket and slipped into the hoop. Daniel patted his chest with a sigh of relief.
"You're doing great Daniel!" Rachel supported. Now Daniel picked up the ball, which dropped from the basket and bounced and rolled at him. He bounced the ball three times, repeating the whole process. The ball went straight into the basket, which made everyone began to applaud. Daniel walked to the ball and picked it up and walked back to the mark. Again he bounced it three times and lifted the ball, with his eyes aiming at the basket. He releases the ball, but the ball barely touched the rim. Daniel started to gesture in agony.
"Three more left sonny," the coach said patting Daniel's back. Next, it was
Rachel's turn to shoot. She mimicked a little of Daniel's procedure and threw the ball but it was deflected to the right.
"You're not aiming at the basket Rachel," Daniel advised.
"Oh shut up," Rachel bellowed in agony as she queued behind Daniel.
***
"So how old are ya?" Raijin asked Tavian, strapping the elbow pads.
"19, still not graduated," Tavian replied briefly while he polished the blades of his skates. Raijin began to widen his mouth in disbelief.
"Bullshits! Fujin transferred to Balamb when she was 20 four years ago and before the transfer you were... 14?"
"15," Tavian corrected. "I told you it was puppy love. She was our ice hockey coach then. I suppose you don't know her nickname: SILVER WOLF." After he finished with the polish, he spoke again. "Say what does Fujin do normally in Balamb Garden? I know she's one of the Sorceress' knight posse but I'm curious."
"Well, she said she's one of the disciplinary committee, along with me and Seifer, the ex-knight," Raijin started his explanation. "The three of us usually pick on students like Zell and the Trepies, and... that's all I know, ya know."
"Well do you play hockey in Balamb? I've never been there," Tavian asked again.
Raijin reacted by waving his palms. "No way, it's hot in Balamb. And I don't suppose Balamb Garden is not a sporty Garden like Galbadia. But we fish and have bands ya know!"
"YOU GUYS SLOW," a booming voice sounded when Fujin appeared in front of them fully dressed. She picked up a hockey stick and pounded it against her palm.
Tavian approached the junior player guarding the rink entrance and told him to move away.
"Yes coach," the student moved away to let the three enter the rink.
"COACH," Fujin thought deeply while she wore her skates. "NO SURPRISE."
After wearing his skates, Raijin rose up from the bench and started to wobble and eventually fell onto the cold ice. "I need serious practice."
Tavian signaled everyone on the rink to line up in both sides. Then they started pounding their sticks profusely on the ice and chanted the hockey team slogan.
Tavian skated to the goalpost and positioned himself. "I hope your skills did not deteriorate during the years, coach!" he said vigorously
Fujin tabbed the puck on the marked position in the middle of the penalty box and presently, Raijin skated in front of Fujin waving his arms.
"I wanna try ya know," Raijin said excitedly.
Fujin slapped on her eye patch. "OK."
Raijin positioned himself in front of the puck and lifted his hockey stick to the rear. He aimed at the tiny goal with Tavian who was confidently smirking at him behind his mask. With one big force and yell he swung the stick to the puck but missed and he fell on the ice squirming in pain. Tavian and the players around the rink chuckled hysterically.
"USELESS," Fujin hissed and shoved Raijin aside with her hockey stick. Fujin then swung her stick and knocked the puck, which slid across the ice to Tavian's hands.
"Nice try," Tavian said through his hockey mask, throwing the puck back at his ex-coach. Fujin repositioned the puck and moved herself in front, staring at Tavian's eyes with a stern look.
"EAT THIS," Fujin swiftly knocked the puck, which suddenly disappeared. The goalie could not see anything at first but eventually he noticed vaguely a flat object heading towards his right with the speed of a bullet. Immediately he jumped and stretched out his hand, trying to block it from entering, but the puck shaved the tip of his gloves, broke through the net and penetrated into the plastic barrier. Tavian turned around to examine the puck, astonished - it was still vibrating. Instantaneously, Tavian's flunkies stopped and stood in their places in awe. Fujin brushed her silver hair and skated towards a disappointed looking Tavian. "The student will never beat the teacher."
"Wow!" Raijin gasped with his mouth wide open. "That was amazing, ya know."
"Swift Gale - Coach Fujin's signature move. I always wanted to train for that," he said, pulling of his mask and turned to see his right hand bleeding.
"Sir, you're hurt," a player skated to the bench to get the first aid kit.
"SORRY. NO CHOICE," Fujin apologised casually. Tavian snapped his finger to signal a small built player to bring them their deserved clue. Fujin swiped the clue from his hand and did not hesitate to rip it open.
"RAIJIN. DELING CITY GO BACK," she said, skating to the bench to take of the skates.
"Okeydoke," Raijin muttered to himself. Presently, a cold padded glove chilled his broad shoulder and turned to see Tavian in a stern look.
"Careful, she can be wilder than you can imagine," Tavian whispered.
"Shucks. I've been through all that you know," Raijin said ignoring Tavian's advice.
***
"Damn jackass," King said walking through the hallways of Galbadia Garden.
"We've lost three hours just because of the stupid traffic and the clue." King then sighed, "We're gonna be eliminated."
Jack and King arrived at the automatic doorway, which opened for them revealing the basketball court. They sighed in relief as they watched Rinoa positioning herself before the basket and lifted the ball high in the air. With one jump she thrusted to ball directly towards the basket but it did not reach the target. Rinoa fidgeted in agony and walked weakly to behind Squall. Rachel then jogged to the marked position and picked up the ball. Daniel, who was standing before the basket all the time after he had completed the task, walked to Rachel.
"What are you doing?" Rachel said when Daniel held her arms.
"Do as I say," Daniel said trying to get Rachel to listen. "Now position your legs like this... yup... bounce the ball three times... aim at the basket and lift the ball like this... and throw!"
Rachel swung her arms and released the ball from her firm grip. The ball soared towards the basket and dropped directly into the basket.
"Wow! Thanks buddy. Now how do I do that again?" Daniel retold all the steps to her. Rachel threw the ball again and it flushed into the hoop.
"Yay!" Rachel cheered clapping her hands in joy. "One more!"
At the same time, Seifer and Selphie surfaced from the corridor to the sunny basketball court.
"Seifer, what happened to your head?" Xu said sternly placing her hands firmly on her waist after noticing the wrapping around his head. "Got yourself in trouble huh?"
"You don't wanna know," Seifer replied casually.
"And don't touch his head. Dr. Boston said so!" Selphie added. The exclamation of Rachel's rang in the air as she shot the final hoop.
"Clue, clue, clue!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly waving her fingers to signal the coach to hand in the envelope. Meanwhile, it was Quistis' attempt to shoot with Daniel lending a helping hand.
"This feels weird," Quistis commented at the feeling of being in an uncomfortable position. She pulled the ball backwards and thrusted it forward and it went into the hoop with the sharp sound of the net holding back the ball and released it. "At least it worked."
"Daniel!!" Rachel shouted hysterically trying to catch her partner's attention.
Daniel appeared racing towards Rachel and joined her in a run to the next destination.
"Go back to Deling City and proceed to the inside of the Deling City Gateway!"
Rachel said in pieces running with the paper in hand.
In the meantime, Quistis failed the third hoop when the ball bounced back off the rim, now leaving the court to Xu.
"Just follow my posture and don't forget to bounce the ball three times and move your eyes at the target!" Quistis hollered giving instructions to her friend.
Xu now lifted the ball in the air and tilted her head aiming at the basket. She pulled the ball backward and then thrusted it directly into the basket.
"Thanks Quisty," she said with a thumb up, then picking up the ball for the first attempt of the second hoop. Subsequently, Xu succeeded in the task and now its Rinoa's turn.
"Squall, stop giving me directions! I can do this without any help!" Rinoa bellowed at Squall who was casually leaning against the fence shouting at her, since he had finished the task. Rinoa lifted the ball, jumped and thrusted the ball, which barely touched the rim of the basket.
"I told you you're not doing it correctly!" Squall scolded, causing his girlfriend to approach him with an annoyed stride.
"Can't you just give me some respect will ya!" she retaliated, which was blandly
replied with a 'whatever'.
"Oh that's close," Jack said in agony after King's ball hit the board and bounced off for the third hoop. Selphie stepped into the court happily, warming up her reflexes.
"Here goes!" Selphie lifted the ball towards her face, thrusted it and fell directly into the basket. Then in no time she picked up the ball and eventually completed the last two throws.
"Good luck Seifer!" Selphie cheered slapping both of her palms at Seifer's with a high-five. Seifer strode into the court with a round object heading towards his head.
"Look out!" Selphie turned after smelling the danger and jumped to hit the ball away from his bandaged head. Selphie then turned to look at the students sitting on the bench sternly and angrily. "Who dared to hurt my boyfriend? He could've kicked the bucket if you knocked his head!"
The students in their T-shirts and basketball singlets looked at Selphie with empty expressions. Then the tallest student with a yellow and green bandana stood up in protest.
"Don't you realise that guy almost destroyed our Garden?" he spat. The coach then turned to Selphie.
"I'm sorry. I'll handle this," he said apologetically. "It won't take long." The coach turned to the senior student and strode towards him sternly. The both of them engaged in a fierce rebuke until the student rose up from the sheltered bench and strutted proudly to the exit, giving Seifer and Selphie one disturbed look.
"And don't come back until you've realised that you're wrong," the coach shouted back at him but it landed on deaf ears. "I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting."
Seifer bounced the ball for the third consecutive throw and held it up in the air. He released the ball from his grip and landed beautifully into the basket.
"You did it!" Selphie said in an uproar and picked up her backpack. Seifer then jogged to Selphie and ran to the exit together with the clue.
"Deling City Gateway, let's go!"
***
Zell and Irvine finally arrived at the Caraway Mansion at the edge of the city. The both of them stepped out of the taxi and picked up their luggage from the trunk. Then they ran to the check-in point at the entrance of the mansion, where General Caraway and Cid Kramer were awaiting their arrival. Irvine took off his cowboy hat at General Caraway, revealing the bumps on his head thanks to Zell who had been like a possessed person beating him up into a pulp in the park.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, General," he said politely.
"Zell and Irvine, you're team number one," Cid said.
"Okay pardner," Zell turned to Irvine with his hand reaching out to him. "I want my Deling City hotdog back."
Irvine felt the bump, which ached, and did not hesitate to stuff his hand into his pocket to reach for his wallet.
***
"Rinoa you're pushing it!" Squall growled at Rinoa failing her throw as he agonised of being the last group in the court. He slapped his forehead disappointed and walked to Rinoa who was about to throw the ball.
"Squall I really don't need your help," Rinoa said, but Squall insisted on moving her arms and footing to the ideal posture. Rinoa took one throw and succeeded the first throw. "Thanks mister," she spat.
After the next two successful throw-ins, they finally received the red envelope with a big sigh of relief.
"Go back to Deling City and proceed to inside the Deling City Gateway," Rinoa said reading the clue.
"Go to the gateway..." Squall ordered the driver but was soon interrupted by Rinoa.
"Not to the city dumb-ass, the train station. It's probably jamming up in Deling City and I knew it cuz it always happen. Hopefully the other teams never thought of this and might probably been stuck in the rush hour," she insisted.
"Just when did you start to think positively Screaminoa?" Squall jeered nastily at Rinoa who was lying her back on cushion comfortably.
Meanwhile, in Deling City, the whole city was in chaos as workers were driving to their offices and working place since eight in the morning causing the streets of the Shopping Arcade and the Gateway to jam up with the horning of cars and buses. Raijin and Fujin started to worry as it had been thirty minutes they have been stuck in the jam and the Gateway was only a tiny building from afar.
"I didn't know it was this bad, ya know," Raijin said, trying to calm down Fujin who was perspiring with frustration.
"DRIVER," Fujin started. "DROP US NOW. WE WALK."
Fujin and Raijin stepped down from the cab and pulled their backpack from the trunk. Then they started pacing the sidewalks heading towards the Gateway.
"Ya know I wish there were monorails here like in Timber cuz this is big city with too many people anyway, ya know," Raijin suggested.
"SHUT UP AND WALK IT," Fujin cut Raijin's next sentence off.
"I can't believe we've made a mistake!" Quistis said in frustration as the taxi only moved a few inches for every two or three minutes. "We could be eliminated."
"Shut up Quisty," Xu said almost blowing her head off. "Driver, we want to get off, NOW!"
Quistis and Xu got off the cab with their luggage edgily and began to walk the streets following signs pointing to the Gateway.
"Ugh, it's dusty here that I want to gag," Xu complained as she choked the smoke out of her mouth.
"Stop complaining girl. You're slowing us down and we don't want to be eliminated do we?" Quistis scolded as she took off her glasses, which was fogged by the dust.
"Shut up!" Xu yelled back turning back to Quistis with unhappiness. "I don't like to be pushed around, you know." Xu walked on until she spotted a train station across the highway. "Thank goodness, a train ride."
Xu and Quistis started to quicken their pace and climbed the steps of the overhead bridge, which will direct them to the Outer City station. After a few minutes, the train arrived and the both of them squeezed themselves into the crowded coach.
"Shit."
***
Fujin and Raijin arrived in front of the Deling City Gateway, leaning on the lamppost regaining their breath and stamina. Then they continued walking to below the giant archway and beside the marked entrance, a clue box was stood. Both of them released their backpacks, which fell on the ground with a thud, and ran to the box. Fujin reached her hand to open the clue box on the floor and took out the red envelope.
"ROADBLOCK," Fujin hissed after ripping off the seal on the envelope to reveal a piece of paper written ROADBLOCK in big bold letters on it. "Before opening the concealed leaf, choose someone who has a good sense of direction and is not afraid of the dark," Fujin explained in her normal tone.
"You do it," Raijin insisted in jitters. "I hate dark places ya know!"
Fujin nodded and tore off the front page to read the instructions. "CRAP."
***
Rachel and Daniel surfaced from the underground train station to meet again with the Deling City Gateway, which was within walking distance. They raced to the marked entrance to meet up with Raijin helping Fujin putting on the sanitary outfit and Wellington boots.
"Oh my god, it must be something disgusting," Rachel said after she chose herself to conduct the next task. "Venture the sewers using the enclosed map as a guide to get to the next pit stop. Along the way be sure to look for three numbers written in white on the floor to unlock the digital lock at the end of the course. Your partner in the other hand will ride a horse-driven carriage to the check-in point at the Caraway Mansion."
"Honey, will you be alright?" Raijin said in worry as Fujin parked her foot into the small cubicle after the marked entrance and inside was manhole, which will drop her into the dark sewers below.
"DON'T WORRY. GO NOW AND WAIT," she said in brief.
Raijin then waved his hand at Fujin to wish her luck and walked across the street where the horse-driven carriage was waiting. Fujin squeezed herself into the small room in front of the manhole. She looked down at the bottom of the hole, which was dark, barely lit and a foul stench rose to her senses causing her to pinch her nose. Fujin slowly crawled to the ladder and climbed down into the sewers, which was lit with flickering fluorescent lights and the walls were covered with slime and Red Bat feces. There was a river flowing in front of her, which had a waterwheel connected to a cable turning to the flow of the water supplying additional power to the city. Fujin flashed her torchlight to the map, which was drawn with arrows in yellow telling her the route to get to the end of the route. The first thing she did was to climb onto the waterwheel that will drop her at the other end of the sewer.
***
Quistis and Xu got off at the underground station. Squall, Rinoa, Seifer, Selphie, Jack and King were seen getting off the coach in front of them.
"Crap. The bitch beat us," Quistis said to herself, referring to Rinoa.
After about three minutes, the three remaining teams arrived at the route marker and opened their envelopes to unveil the Roadblock task instructions.
"Rinoa, are you sure that you want to do this," Squall said in worry touching Rinoa's face. "I mean you freaked out at the lighthouse..."
"Stop faking it Squall," Rinoa said who insisted on doing the task. After wearing her sanitary outfit, which was made of white plastic, she turned to Quistis who was getting ready to jump into the sewers.
"Quisty," Rinoa said in a friendly voice trying to catch her attention. Quistis turned around to see Rinoa grinning. "Let me help you to go through the sewers."
Quistis started to smile back at her. "Why is that?" she asked casually.
"Well..." Rinoa began twisting her foot on the ground. "The sewer's is like the back of the hand like the city and you're our ally along with Selphie remember?"
"Oh yeah," Quistis muttered. "Something's not right with her," she thought deeply when Rinoa gave a friendly pat on her back
Meanwhile, Fujin almost reached the end of the course and not far behind was Rachel shining her flashlight around the sewers warily. The light from Fujin's flashlight shone on something black and shiny, and moving. A dead rotting corpse was revealed covered in black rats scouring for food, causing the two women to gag. In front of the disgusting scene was a locked gate with a digital lock fixed on the wall beside the rusty grille. Fujin quickly walked past the corpse to the digital lock and started to key in the secret code.
"4-8-0," Fujin whispered pressing on the buttons. After that, the gate swung open automatically to reveal a ladder. Fujin walked past the gate closed it, then got on the ladder and opened the hatch a little to let the bright sunlight seep into the sewers. Raijin spotted a white hand reaching out from the manhole and approached it to see Fujin climbing up to the surface. Raijin helped to pull her from the hole and she knelt on the paved sidewalk huffing and puffing.
"GO!" Fujin said after she got up and the both of them ran to the entrance of the Caraway Mansion, meeting up with General Caraway and Cid Kramer at the check-in point.
"Fujin and Raijin, you're team number two."
Next, it was Rachel's turn to climb back to the surface and she immediately took off the baggy sanitary outfit, which was covered with splashes of sewer water and slime.
"It was disgusting especially the corpse guarding the exit," Rachel said to Cid after the team was informed that they were in third place.
Rinoa and Quistis walked warily into the deeper parts of the sewers with their flashlights on looking out for Shadows, Red Bats and the digital lock code.
"Rinoa, are you sure that we're going to the right direction?" Quistis said referring to her map. "I thought you said you know the sewers like the back of your hand. I've been here you know."
"Who says we're going to the surface?" Rinoa said, turning around with her flashlight shining her face, which was carved with an evil grin.
"What's your plan?" Quistis said positioning herself ready to attack with her flashlight as a weapon. Rinoa held up her arm with the palm facing Quistis, emitting a blue light forcing Quistis to her knees.
"What are you doing?" she asked struggling to move her body from paralysis.
Rinoa approached her with a balled fist and punched her cheek.
"I hate you," Rinoa hissed, punching Quistis until her head turned to the left.
"You tried to usurp Squall's love from me." Then she released her fist and turned around pacing back and forth with large steps. "Don't worry, I'll just have to keep you here for five hours so that the monsters will come and eat you, or at the most, you'll be eliminated from the race," Rinoa added, laughing diabolically.
"BITCH!" Quistis spat, twisting her body until her knees shuffled and silently approached Rinoa whose back was facing her. Then she jerked out her arms vigorously and without knowing Rinoa was standing at the edge of the sewer river, she pushed her into the murky water.
"Quistis!" Rinoa screamed struggling to float, coughing out the dirty water she had swallowed when she dived in. "You..." Rinoa's word stopped there as the current picked up and Rinoa was helplessly swept away deeper into the sewers.
Eventually, the heaviness and strain around Quistis was dispelled and she got up to her feet immediately. She then walked through the darkness using only her instinct to retrace her steps back to the brighter part of the sewer.
Squall and Xu waited impatiently for their teammate to come out of the sewers. The trepidation grew after Seifer had come up to meet a relieved Selphie. After a few minutes, it was Jack who was the next person to reach the surface. Behind him was Quistis, who was deep worry of Rinoa's safety.
"Quistis, you're okay!" Xu said rejoicing the return of her friend.
"No time for that," Quistis said, now turning to Squall looking very anxious.
"Squall, Rinoa's in trouble!"
Squall started to sound confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"There's not much time. I'll go and report to Headmaster Cid while you pray for Rinoa's safety."
In no time Quistis and Xu started running and checked in at the pit stop.
"Quistis and Xu..." Cid paused, but Quistis did not hesitate to speak up.
"There's no time for suspense." Quistis began to say in distress at Rinoa's father. "General Caraway your daughter is in trouble!"
***
It was pit black and Rinoa blindly swam until she felt a ledge and climbed over onto it. Her hair, skin and clothes were dripping wet with sewer water, which smelled like vomit nauseating Rinoa's senses. She coughed out all the water, which had a terrible taste and obstructed her normal breathing. She laid her hand on the ground until she felt something organic. She took out her flashlight tucked between the sanitary outfit and her blue sleeveless blouse and shone at the curiosity that she was touching.
A scream echoed through the sewers, which was heard by Squall and a few members of the Deling City Rescue Unit who were looking for General Caraway's missing daughter.
"Rinoa is that you?" Squall yelled in response of the scream he heard. He then hastened his footsteps, with the water on the floor splashing about as he jogged deeper into the sewer. The sound of dripping of water grew louder and discerned as he ventured warily into the unknown. He stepped on something mushy and flashed around the area with a flashlight. It was a graveyard. The piles of corpses and skeletons lingered throughout the area.
"Be careful Mr. Leonhart," one of the members of the rescue unit said in warning. "These people died here because of the monsters."
Then further away a cry of a young woman was heard. The rescue team shone their flashlight on something white and shiny and raised the light to reveal a black-haired woman sinking her head in her knees crying.
"Rinoa!"
***
General Caraway, Cid Kramer and the six teams waited in anticipation and worry for Squall and Rinoa's appearance. After two hours, Squall and Rinoa, who was hugging onto Squall's side, showed up with the Deling City Rescue Unit at the mansion's doorstep. Squall and Rinoa walked with heavy steps towards the mat and stood on it, facing General Caraway, Cid and the other teams sighing in relief. Rinoa raised her head to see her father. Her face was stained with the blackness of the sewer water and the grey slime, traveling from her right eyelid to across her cheek, and her hair was dripping with trash and slime which smelled like a week-old dead corpse - she had the most horrendous experience in the sewers.
"Daddy!" Rinoa said falling onto her father to embrace him.
"It's all right honey," General Caraway said in his paternal tone and stroked her back trying to comfort her daughter. Cid then cleared her throat and began to speak.
"Squall and Rinoa, I'm sorry to tell that you're the last team to arrive..."
"No!" Rinoa cried, now rolling her forehead on Squall's shoulder, wetting his shirt with her tears. Squall reacted with sadness on his face while rubbing his girlfriend's back.
"Tell us," Squall said when the expression on his face transformed from a disappointing frown to sternness in his eyes. "Just tell us that we've been eliminated from the race!"
--------------------------------
"TIRED," Fujin muttered to herself weakly as she flung herself on the mattress.
"No shower, dusty and old bedrooms, lousy dinner and wine," she complained and sneezed when a particle of dust entered her nostrils. Light crept into the window as Raijin opened the door lightly to reveal himself, with two mugs of hot cocoa in his hand.
"Got them for free ya know," Raijin said handing the steamy hot drink to Fujin. Fujin sipped in the warm liquid and it comforted her aches a little.
"NOW," Fujin rose up from the bed after finishing the beverage. "LAST NIGHT! DID
WE?"
"Uh, I think we should pack up," Raijin interrupted placing his mug on the dresser and walked to the backpacks. For the first time Fujin gazed at Raijin differently, showing some kind of strange fondness in her eye.
"Sefie, what kind of potion did you give to Seifer?" Irvine asked Selphie who turned her head to see Seifer isolating himself sitting on a bench in resting position across the table.
"Irvine, we just got together naturally that's all," Selphie explained briefly in her cheery voice, stretching her arms to the side. "You know I bet this race has some sort of positive effect on everyone's relationship with each other!"
"Tell that to Rinoa, and I bet that she'll yell your head off," Zell said, waving his knife elliptically. Zell, Selphie and Irvine arched towards each other closely. "I bet they're about to break up," Zell whispered.
"Why?" Selphie asked. She raised her head and turned to look at Squall and Rinoa, sitting side by side on the same bench with their heads down in deep thought not talking and laughing each other like they used to. Xu and Quistis passed by the couple and Squall lifted his head up to see Quistis smiling at him. Rinoa then jabbed his side with her elbow, forming words in her lips Selphie could vaguely make out: "Don't look at that witch." Selphie then turned to Irvine and Zell. "Well I gotta cheer Seifer up!"
The day soon turned to darkness and the 200 fortress was soon adorned with fairy lights, making it visible for tourists and passersby to gaze at the marvel of the castle under the night sky. It also served as a peaceful place for couples, who want be in their romantic privacy. It was 8.31 p.m. and Fujin and Raijin, armed with their backpacks to the check-in point to claim the next clue.
"La bonne chance, and may the old kings of Dollet be with you," the woman handed the scarlet envelope to Fujin.
"MERCI," Fujin then ripped open the envelope. "Fly to Deling City and find Julia Heartilly. You have 550 gil for this leg of the race," Raijin said reading the clue with Fujin close to his shoulder. The duo then started to walk to the main gate of the castle.
"So how are we going to get to the airport?" Raijin asked.
"CALL TAXI!" Fujin exclaimed pointing her finger at the row of phone booths, which was standing near a tree outside the castle gates.
"Mm hmm... okay..." Raijin snapped the receiver back to its holder and took out his phone card from the slot. "Taxi will be coming in about 20 minutes, the guy on the phone said." He started to sound perplex, "I don't get it, how come we're looking for Rinoa's dead mom who was not buried in Deling City anyway?"
"FOOL! Don't you watch the travel guide on TV?" Fujin hissed. "PIANO IN GALBADIA HOTEL LOUNGE."
"Oh!" Raijin exclaimed.
Fujin and Raijin's taxi arrived in front of them and they climbed into taxi, which will take them to the Jean Pierrot Airport.
Quistis ripped open the envelope and read the clue with Xu. "Fly to Deling
City."
"Ooh, that sounds ritzy!" Xu exclaimed. "Isn't that Rinoa's hometown?"
"Yeah," Quistis sighed as they walked to the exit. "We'll be in dead competition."
At 9.11 p.m., after about 10 minutes the instructors had left the check-in point, Squall and Rinoa arrived to get their clue with unhappy faces.
"Bonne chance," the woman wished as Squall was counting the money they received from the clue. Squall and Rinoa arose from the brightly-lit fortress to see Quistis and Xu waiting beside the phone booths.
"Sorry, we didn't arrange a taxi for you guys," Quistis confessed waving her hands back and forth.
"Fine, I know what you're thinking," Rinoa said striding to the middle booth, dragging Squall with her.
Soon, two lights appeared from the darkness and the taxis screeched in front of the two couples. Quistis and Xu climbed into their taxi first and left the castle, with Squall and Rinoa following them from behind.
"Wow, it looks beautiful from here," Xu said watching the castle dwindling into a small dim light.
"Honey, how come you're not excited going back to Deling City?" Squall asked shaking the arm of his girlfriend lightly and smiled. "Got a run-in with your dad before you joined the race?"
Rinoa then reacted by pulling her arm from Squall's grip nastily. "Squall, promise me that you won't go with that bitch alone in some place." Subsequently, Rinoa started to produce tears in her eyes and she could not contain the anger in her anymore and rebuked. "I saw you two kissing each other the other night!"
"Kissing?" Squall perplexed. "You didn't mean..."
"Yes, you two were together and I'm a witness you know that?" Rinoa cried and turned away from Squall.
"Honey, you've misunderstood about everything. It's probably dark and you're imagining things and..."
Rinoa soon interrupted by turning back at Squall. "It was not dark. It was a full moon and I brought a goddamn flashlight with me!"
"Hey calm down. You're disturbing the spirits of the dead kings and dukes," the driver said. "We're driving through their tombs you know?"
"Forget it and we might as well concentrate on the race!" Rinoa threw her arm in the air and turned her head facing the window. In her mind, she now felt really bad having to fight with her boyfriend. She would not fight with him for the meantime but she will have to brave herself against her new and greatest enemy, Quistis Trepe.
Fujin and Raijin entered the newly built Jean Pierrot Airport in awe.
"Wow, this is way cooler than Balamb's," Raijin exclaimed savouring the cold air hitting his face.
"IMPRESSIVE," Fujin muttered, holding hands with Raijin, while they both admired the beams, which were carved into the former dukes of Dollet with their hands reaching to the center of the roof.
"HURRY, TICKETS!" Fujin and Raijin raced to the ticket booths, bumping into a few tourists who cursed back at them. The first booth that came to their mind mutually was Dollet Air.
"DELING CITY! FASTEST PLANE! COACH!" Fujin said to the man in airliner uniform behind the counter fiddling the keyboard of his computer.
"Okay, we have two seats heading directly to Deling City, no connections, leaving at 10.30 tonight. And here are your tickets, ma'am," the man handed the newly printed tickets to Fujin and Raijin. Both of them slapped each others palm with a high-five. After a few minutes, Fujin vaguely spotted a blonde man in a black Skull sweatshirt walking through the automatic doorways among the crowd. Fujin then turned to the man and began to speak in fluent Dolletian.
"Pouvez-vous me faire une faveur? Ne laissez pas un homme portant un sweatshirt noir de crâne et une fille dans l'achat jaune les billets dix-trente à Deling City. Je suis désolé si je vous obtenais dans l'ennui." Fujin bribed by giving a 100-gil note to the man. Seifer then arrived dragging Selphie to the Dollet Air counter.
"Got any single tickets heading to Deling City tonight?" Seifer asked.
"Sorry sir, we've ran out of tickets to Deling City today," the man replied with a grin, which made Seifer banged the counter with his fist angrily.
"C'mon Seifer. There are other counters to go to," Selphie pleaded tugging Seifer's arm. Seifer and Selphie finally booked a 'Timber Airlines' flight, which will leave thirty minutes later from Fujin and Raijin's, taking them to
Timber and then connect to Vinzer Deling Airport. Quistis and Xu and Squall and Rinoa soon arrived and bought the similar flight.
"Fujin, teach me some Dolletian ya know?" Raijin said to Fujin who was lying on the bench swinging her legs back and forth.
"Leçons de prise, IMBÉCILE!" Fujin said grinning.
At 10 o'clock, Rachel and Daniel and Jack and King arrived at the airport followed by Zell and Irvine fifteen minutes later. Rachel and Daniel booked the last direct flight to Deling City by Dollet Air, while Jack and King and Zell and Irvine motioned with frustration as all the flights had been sold out for the night.
"What the fu..." Zell angered throwing his backpack on the shiny marble floor, while Rachel and Daniel scrolled through the Deling City travel booklet waiting for the plane."
"There it is, Julia Heartilly's piano, 'Julia Heartilly' in the Galbadia Hotel lounge," Rachel said pointing at the middle of the page.
Fujin rose up as she saw Seifer striding towards the duo's bench.
"Fujin, how are ya!" Seifer drawled but his voice soon became hostile. "I thought we were allies and you bribed the man to hide the stinking tickets from me?" The furious voice of Seifer's soon drew a crowd and parts of it began to circle around him.
"Hey, what's going on?" Zell squeezed through the crowd to see Seifer and Fujin exchange glances.
"TRAITOR! FUJIN DO THE SAME," Fujin hissed at Seifer who was glowing red by the minute.
"You bitch!" Seifer raved and lunged at Fujin with his hands in striking position. Then he grabbed onto Fujin's shoulder and strangled her by the neck. Immediately, Seifer fell to the ground, in front of the crowd, uselessly in pain after a punch in the stomach by Raijin.
"Are you okay, Fujin?" Raijin said to Fujin who was rubbing her neck to soothe the bruise.
"POSITIVELY FINE. THANK YOU," Fujin replied, then she walked to Seifer who was still squirming and curling his body in pain.
"Fujin, what are you trying do?" Selphie said, crouching beside Seifer trying to protect him from more of Fujin's attacks. "I thought you three were supposed to be posses."
"SEIFER," Seifer then turned his head facing Fujin's eye patch. "FROM NOW ON, POSSES NO MORE!" The lightning between Seifer and Fujin began to grow and spark uncontrollably and suddenly the chain of lightning exploded and broke apart, causing Seifer to be in deep shock.
"Fine, this is the second time you've double-crossed me Fujin. Now I've had it with you," Seifer said, then turned to Raijin who looked a little worried. "And you too, you ape."
"Dollet Air flight 578-D has arrived at Gate 3 heading to Deling City and leaving at 10.30 p.m. All passengers who are boarding this flight are advised to go to the plane as soon as possible." After heeding the message, Fujin and Raijin slung their backpacks to their shoulders and ran to the gate, leaving Seifer behind with Selphie trying to nurse his pain.
"I'm sorry Instructor Trepe that we did not buy you tickets," Rachel said hugging Quistis. "See you at Deling City."
After 10.30, the plane moved and then soared into the air, beginning its journey to Deling City. Fujin and Raijin tilted their seats to a sixty degree incline in resting position with sleeping masks covering their eyes, while Rachel and Daniel were savouring some free Dollet white wine.
"Here's to the race and for Instructor Trepe," Daniel said knocking his wineglass with a ding at Rachel's and sipped in the wine, which was cooling that it soothed his throat.
Thirty minutes later at 11.00, Seifer and Selphie, Squall and Rinoa and Quistis and Xu boarded the Timber-bound flight hastily. The six people in the plane were such in a cold mood, there were hardly any conversations taking place before the plane took off.
"I thought they were your best pals Seifer," Selphie said in worry. "If you don't make up with them, you'll probably have no one to be with you."
"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep," Seifer whined in aggravation and turned his head towards the wall trying to close his eyes.
Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa sat together on the same row of seats, with Rinoa beside the window followed by Squall, Quistis and Xu. Rinoa was so frustrated and aggravated at Squall who was sitting strategically with Quistis, who were talking each other about Balamb Garden activities over a bottle of Dolletian white wine.
"Rinoa, would you like to have some wine honey?" Squall said, stroking the cold and smooth wineglass on Rinoa's surfaced.
"No, I'm not drinking that wine cuz there could be Quistis' saliva on the mouth of the bottle, and Dollet sucks," Rinoa mumbled nastily, trying to get some rest. She then eventually fell asleep
***
The 1-hour flight was a completely stressful trip for Seifer as he yawned profusely down the corridor. Rinoa also did the same. She could not forget the new nightmare she had encountered in her sleep in the plane. It was set in the recognizable dark sewers of Deling City. She was wearing a sanitary suit and holding a flashlight venturing through the sewers. Suddenly, the light hit something shining and a shadowy figure bumped on to her until she fell and the flashlight fell into the water.
"Squall's mine!" the figure uttered proudly and starting laughing diabolically.
Then, the figure slapped Rinoa on the cheek profusely until her jaw felt sore.
Subsequently, the figure kicked Rinoa and she rolled into the river, then trying to drown her by immersing her head into the murky water by force. The dream I had had a connection with the one in Dollet, Rinoa thought. Am I psychic? Oh yeah, I'm a sorceress so its normal for me to have vague visions of what's to come anyway. Is my 'sorceress sense' telling me about what's going to happen? Well the jump was real and Quistis nearly killed me by stealing my boyfriend.
From that moment, a crafty idea came to Rinoa like a thunderbolt. She just had the most wonderful plan to rid Quistis for good.
"Rinoa, why are you grinning?" Squall asked as he walked down the aisle. Rinoa then turned to Squall in her normal expression.
"Nothing," Rinoa said briefly. "I want to do the next Roadblock."
"Are you sure honey?" Squall started to sound concerned. "You almost freaked yourself at the lighthouse jump."
"I'm fine and through with it mister," Rinoa growled coldly, then turned her head back to its original position.
"Attention passengers, flight 435-TT to Deling City has been delayed until tomorrow morning. We apologize for the inconvenience."
"Oh god, this I gotta check out," Xu said in worry. She ran to the end of the gate corridor until the flight information board was in front of her. The slot beside the Deling City flight turned to delay. Then she signaled the others to wait at the departure hall and she burst to the other gate. Twenty minutes later, Xu came to Quistis huffing and puffing.
"We're dead. Our flight is really delayed," Xu said in disappointment, which was followed by a huge sigh by other people who were supposed to board the flight.
***
Fujin and Raijin and Rachel and Daniel stepped on the escalator of the Deling City Underground Station to the surface. The view of the Deling City Gateway and the surrounding spotlights with Galbadian symbols appeared in front of them.
"Wow, it looked better than in the map!" Rachel said in awe of the largest and most crowded city in Galbadia and presently the clock fountain in front of them struck twelve in midnight.
The taxi soon brought Fujin and Raijin to the splendor of the shopping arcades, a street filled with lights far more extravagant than the ones in Timber and shops and boutiques offering exotic and state-of-the-art wares and fashion. Then a few blocks away lies the tallest building of the street, the Galbadia Hotel, where the legendary singer and performer Julia Heartilly did her first piano debut in the lounge of the hotel. Fujin and Raijin stepped down the taxi and soon Rachel and Daniel's taxi arrived. The four then walked down the stairs and into the lounge, located at the basement level of the hotel. The lounge was filled with businessmen and rich couples sipping their Champaign and cocktail on small round tables with a single flickering candle on the center and the talking and laughing was accompanied by soft and sentimental music, mostly by Julia. At the left side of the lounge from the stairs was a stage, now served as a gallery of Julia's photographs, record covers and music sheets of her works. And at the center of the stage was Julia's piano. Only the best singers and performers can perform on the stage since Julia's untimely death, which consequently made her one of the legends in music history. Fujin and Raijin searched the framed photographs on the wall while Rachel and Daniel investigated the piano and an old gramophone.
"Hey, check this out," Raijin said to Fujin pointing to a picture. "Here's a picture of Rinoa with her mother and General Caraway."
"What, you mean Rinoa's mother is Julia Heartilly?" Daniel exclaimed as he fiddled around the items lying around the platform where the gramophone was placed on.
"AS IF YOU DON'T KNOW," Fujin hissed.
Rachel then went to the piano bench and folded the seat open with a creaky sound. It was not dusty and full of cobwebs as Rachel expected since the hotel staff kept great care of Julia's treasures. The numbers 2,3:1 appeared on the other side of the cushion seat, while the shallow compartment below was empty.
"Daniel, come here, check what I found!" Rachel said in a soft voice and tried to attract Daniel's attention by widening her eyes and a motion in her hand.
Daniel eventually stopped searching the platform and turned to Rachel. Daniel then helped Rachel to solve the numbers, which were ambiguous at first but eventually a thing comes to their minds.
"Garden rule code 2 section 3:1, if you're in trouble seek help at the nearest
Garden," Daniel said. Rachel then snapped her finger and smiled.
"Galbadia Garden."
Fujin and Raijin unraveled the code as well and followed Rachel and Daniel's taxi, which is heading to Galbadia Garden.
***
All was not lost as Squall and Rinoa, Seifer and Selphie and Quistis and Xu boarded the late night train from Timber to Deling City.
"To our new alliance," Seifer commenced holding his drink high in the air, followed by the others. Squall turned to Rinoa whose face carved a hideous frown.
"Cheer up Rinoa," Squall said trying to break Rinoa's ice. Then he neared his lips at Rinoa's ear, whispering, "Let's have our private time together in the empty coach shall we?"
Rinoa soon lifted the weighty frown and revived her beauty as she smiled like a sphinx. The couple rose from the table and walked together to the empty part of the train. Soon, the dark surroundings of the meadows and bushes and small towns turned into bright city lights, marking their arrival at the capital of the nation of Galbadia.
"Yay, we're going to see Rinoa's mom!" Selphie cheered.
The late night train ride soon come to a halt as the train screeched at the Deling City Underground Station at 2.31 p.m. The three teams soon surfaced from the station to the view of the Deling City Gateway in front of them.
"Oh, we're here!" Selphie said fondly, remembering the times when she first came to Deling City to carry out a dangerous SeeD mission. "Do you know that Sir
Laguna was actually from Deling City and Julia Heartilly was his first sweetheart?"
Selphie's ranting fell onto Seifer's deaf ears. To him the memories of the city made his heart ached badly.
"Oh sorry Seifer. I forgot that you came here before. But all's never mind cuz you've changed a lot nowadays!" Selphie cheered at the end.
"Yeah," Seifer agreed shyly and rubbed the back of his head.
In Quistis' point of view, the city was enemy territory weakening her charisma over Squall's love, while to Rinoa the city was her backyard. Every recognizable building or monument: the Gateway, the Presidential Residence, her home the Caraway Mansion and Deling City Park strengthened her spirit as she rode the taxi looking out at the sights, which were at the back of her hand.
"I'm home and no way I'm gonna flunk in this leg of the race."
Rinoa and Squall and Quistis and Xu dropped off at the Galbadia Hotel searching Julia Heartilly's piano. They eventually revealed the number code inside the piano bench.
"Squall, do you still remember Garden Code 2 section 3:1?" Quistis asked.
"Get to the nearest Garden when you're in trouble: Galbadia Garden," Squall muttered in his lips.
Meanwhile, Seifer and Selphie walked around the roundabout in front of the gateway asking questions about Julia Heartilly at the scanty pedestrians during the night.
"Do you know where Julia Heartilly is? Hey!" Seifer shouted at the man who ran away from him as he fired his question.
"Does anyone know Julia Heartilly?" Selphie bellowed and her voice echoed throughout the night sky. She then slapped on her hips in disappointment. "It's hopeless. Let's go somewhere where there are more people."
Seifer and Selphie then strolled to the brighter areas. They eventually entered the park area and ahead was the shopping arcade.
"Psst... it's the ex-knight!" a man spoke to his fellow tramp on the bench in the park. Then more people started to notice Seifer's untimely presence, causing lovers to stop kissing and tramps awaken from their rest and moved deeper into the park.
"Does anyone know where Julia Heartilly is?" he shouted to all the pedestrians who soon avoided by running to random directions, as long as they would not be 'cursed' by the knight who once threatened the city alongside Sorceress Edea. Seifer strolled on to the shops where 24-hour shops and convenient stores closed down unusually at Seifer's presence.
"I'm sorry Selphie. I guess the people here are still afraid of me," Seifer said with a huge sigh tilting his head downwards.
"Cheer up Seifer. As long as there was one person in the world that knows you have changed then everything is all right!" Selphie said holding her head high and stretching out her arms as she walked down the silent sidewalk.
Seifer and Selphie soon went into the only building that had not closed down, Galbadia Hotel.
"Ahem excuse me," Seifer said after clearing his throat.
"Just a minute." After finishing his cataloguing work the male receptionist turned up to see Seifer in fright. "Curses it's the Sorceress' minion! Security get him!"
With one flick of the finger, two heavily built security men and a sleepy bellboy came and grabbed Seifer by the arms. Seifer shook his body trying to loosen the grip and then Selphie started to speak up.
"Cut that out! Don't you knuckleheads realise that my boyfriend has changed?" the security men released Seifer from their grip but still keeping a watchful eye on Seifer while the bellboy and the receptionist stood with their eyes and mouths wide open. "Look I know Seifer here was a bad boy those years but people change. Besides he did not harm anyone so far and we're in the middle of the race to get a million moolah. And can anyone here tell me where Julia Heartilly is?"
Everyone else except Seifer soon spoke at each other in a soft murmur.
"I think the knight charmed the girl so that she can speak up to protect the knight," the bellboy said spitefully.
The receptionist hold out his finger not looking at Seifer and Selphie and informed them, "There's a Julia Heartilly gallery in the lounge down there and it's open for twenty-four hours. There were people going down there and came out a short while satisfied."
Selphie thanked shortly and held Seifer's hand to drag him down the stairs. The few remaining patrons and waitresses fled the lounge, leaving their drinks unfinished on the table and dropping empty trays uselessly on the carpeted floor. Selphie then searched the photos of the stage carefully trying not to wreck the gallery of the singer she idolised. Seifer then inspected the polished, dark brown, cherry-wood piano, with Julia's signature printed on the lid of the black and white keyboard, which was left ajar for display. Next, he scrolled to the bench and unfolded the seat, hoping to find envelopes or clues inside its compartment.
"Selphie, there's a number here." Selphie walked to Seifer and examined the number code.
"Does anyone know about the numbers 2,3:1?" Seifer asked the patrons and waitresses who crowded around the receptionist at the top of the spiral staircase.
"Get away from my wife you monster!" a man yelled back protecting his consort, causing Seifer to retreat back to the dimly lighted lounge and bar.
"Hey Seifer I got it!" Selphie said turning to Seifer with the Garden Rulebook in her hand.
"Selphie, you sure carry the weirdest but useful things," Seifer smiled and thought to himself, blushing in embarrassment, "And I thought I remember my rules although I was a disciplinary committee."
***
Seifer and Selphie arrived at Galbadia Garden riding a bribed taxi ride.
"Get out and I don't wanna see your face again!" the taxi driver shooed Seifer and Selphie out of his car, removing their backpacks from the trunk as quickly as possible and climbed back to the car and sped off. Seifer and Selphie walked in the darkness to the bright but shut main entrance of Galbadia Garden, where the four leading teams established their camp, sleeping on the pavement for the night.
"Evening Seifer," Daniel, who was barely asleep opened one eye at Seifer and greeted in a friendly way and pointed to a box on the entrance counter. "The clue is there."
Selphie strode to the box and opened it revealing three envelopes. She took one out and ripped it open.
"Find clues hidden in the auditorium. Galbadia Garden will only open to the public from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m."
***
Zell and Irvine and Jack and King arrived in front of the Deling City Gateway, which was in full splendor under the morning sun.
"It's so noisy and jammed up here," Irvine said in his cowboy slang commenting at the chaotic traffic at the roundabout in front of them. Zell and Irvine decided to walk to their next destination: Area 3 of the Deling City Parklands.
"No use taking the taxi with all that traffic," Irvine said to himself while reading the Fast Forward clue, which read, "Get to a marked picnic table at Area 3 of the Deling City Parklands and eat your way to the fast forward pass."
"There's a flag!" Zell exclaimed huffing and puffing when he saw a wooden table with a blue and yellow flag stuck on to the side. Zell's eyes began to widen as a large pile of food surfaces from the table as they neared it. "HOTDOGS!"
Zell shouted and jumped with joy and ran frantically to the table. The aroma of fresh grilled sausages and the vapour of the steamed buns filled his nostrils and he began to drool like a puppy. Zell reached out his hand to grab the topmost hotdog. He took his first bite and the crunchy sausage burst in his mouth releasing all the meaty goodness. The soft texture of the hotdog bun was a perfect complement to the crunchiness and meatiness of the sausage. And what is more, the hotdog is way better than the one he had back at Balamb Garden. Tears started to flow from Zell's eyes and he smiled in deep happiness.
"This is so much like a dream," Zell exclaimed sentimentally. "Haha! You're all mine. MINE!" Zell then squeezed the rest of his hotdog and cramped it into his mouth and chewed and swallowed it all down. Then, he reached out for another one and stuffed it whole into his mouth. Irvine rolled down the hill to see a happy Zell munching down the mountain of hotdogs.
"Irvine, help me!" Zell turned around to Irvine looking like a puffer-fish and mumbled, holding a hotdog in his hand.
"Ugh, this is disgusting," Irvine said to himself. Irvine grabbed a hotdog and poured the ketchup and Deling City mustard, which was in squeegee bottles on the table, onto his hotdog and took one big bite. Irvine was acquainted to the taste but the food was simply addicting! After Irvine finished his first, he went for a second round. Zell slapped a chunk of Deling City mustard and stuffed it into his mouth, which was consequently filled with a hot and nauseating sensation.
"Aaah!" Zell yelped waving his arms like a chicken. "Fire! Fire!" Zell spun around and stole a can of Gatorade from a jogger who was sitting on a bench.
"Hey, that's mine!" he scolded, but Zell already poured the liquid into his mouth. He finished the can but it could not douse the fire in his mouth.
"Told ya Deling City mustard is too hot to handle," Irvine chuckled, finishing the second last hotdog of the plate. He then turned to eye on the twelve-foot hotdog, the last hotdog on the plate, licking his lips. "I hope Zell doesn't mind this irresistible babe."
Zell drank the third can of drink and his stomach started to rumble with the heavy mixture of hotdogs and Gatorade. He clenched his stomach in ache and turned to Irvine, who was sliding the lengthy hotdog, with lettuce, onion, sauerkraut and all, gracefully into his mouth. "NOOOOOO!!! THAT'S THE DELING CITY..."
Irvine finished eating the giant hotdog and licked all the mustard smeared around his lips as a complement.
"Oh I uncovered the clue already!" Irvine said to himself in glee, reading the inscription printed on the plate. "Well done eating all those hotdogs! Now head to the next pit stop, the Caraway Mansion."
"Zell, let's go," Irvine slung his backpack around his shoulders and turned to see Zell looking like a hotdog craving demon, with his fists burning aiming for Irvine's head.
***
The morning chimes of Galbadia Garden awakened the five teams from their restless slumber. Quistis got up with a prolonged yawn while she brushed her teeth and polished her glasses.
"Morning Quisty," Xu greeted with a loud yawn. Quistis turned with her glasses on to see her friend.
"Morning. Man the floor's hard," Quistis complained arching her aching back.
Soon, Squall was the next person to wake up.
"Morning," he muttered behind his black shirt, which he was going to wear it over his white undershirt. Squall's head popped out of the collar to see Quistis smiling in greeting. Suddenly, Squall felt a pain in the ear. He moved his hand to his ear to feel Rinoa's soft skin.
"Morning moron!" Rinoa screamed almost deafening Squall. She then approached Quistis beside the drinking fountain and squinched her face in annoyance.
"Morning Quistis," she said sinisterly, waving her toothbrush with a thin line of toothpaste back and forth. "Don't you dare steal my boyfriend."
"We'll see," Quistis said heeding to the challenge. The two women exchanged glances until Daniel broke in to see his idol.
"Morning Quistis. Rachel and I have cookies to spare. What are you doing with Rinoa?" Daniel asked. Rinoa immediately turned away from Quistis and drew her attention to brushing her teeth by the drinking fountain.
Quistis yawned again. "Boy I need breakfast."
Fujin and Raijin took a morning stroll about the gardens and grassland outside the crimson shell-like building of Galbadia Garden.
"I wonder if I meet Martine again," Fujin said.
"You don't look happy, why?" Raijin asked at Fujin who was looking down at herself since she had woke up.
"FIRST LOVE," she said with a sigh. "WAS INSTRUCTOR HERE BEFORE TRANSFER TO BALAMB."
Seifer and Selphie soon ran into Fujin and Raijin. They both held their hands together in such a romantic way that it was noticeable that the both of them are in love.
"Hiya Fujin and Raijin," Selphie greeted in her ever-cheery tone. Fujin and Raijin reacted by turning away from Seifer's face.
"Oh come on guys," Seifer said stretching out his arms hoping that Fujin and Raijin kiss and make up for yesterday's incident, but was heavily turned down by Fujin knocking off his hand.
"RAGE!" Fujin hissed.
"Fujin said that she still doesn't forgive you, ya know. And then she doesn't trust you cuz we're not posses anymore remember?" Raijin explained. Then the duo walked away from Seifer leaving him in tears.
"I was only mad that time," Seifer said.
"Seifer, this is the first time I see you crying," Selphie said happily, but it only caused more pain to Seifer who was beginning to bang his head wildly.
"Me, a wuss?" Seifer said to himself. "I'm not like that chicken-wuss or that soppy Squall." Seifer ran away from Selphie immediately leaving her dumbfounded.
"What's wrong with him?"
***
The five teams waited in anticipation in front of the gates of Galbadia Garden.
Students and SeeDs and instructors could be seen walking around the vicinity talking and laughing or running errands or heading to class. As the eight o'clock bell chimed the lights on the gates turned from red to blue.
"Look it's the slayers of the Sorceress!" a girl said watching Squall, Rinoa, Quistis and Xu pacing through the entrance. Immediately everyone nearby saluted at his or her arrival in revered respect and admiration.
"Auditorium?" Daniel asked who was following the single file of the two leading teams.
"Take the elevator to the second floor and you can't miss it," a male student replied with his hand pointing upwards. Next, it was Seifer and Selphie who appeared and they were welcomed coldly.
"Hey I'm also a Sorceress slayer!" Selphie whined. Suddenly, a ball of paper fell onto Selphie's back hardly. "What was that?"
"Get out you son of a bitch!" an unknown voice clamoured, referring to Seifer who turned with a vicious frown. The people around Seifer started to be infused with fear and moved away from Seifer when he passed by. Fujin and Raijin then appeared behind Selphie, also treated in the same inimical way.
"Guys, can ya all give us a chance and forgive what we've done to the Garden in the past?" Raijin said holding out his hands at the crowd who reacted by stepping backwards from him.
"RUN!" Fujin said to Raijin briefly.
"Huh? What..." Raijin's sentence cut off as Fujin started running and then he followed her.
"Hey, wait up!" Seifer said turning to Fujin and Raijin. Suddenly, he felt a soft object hitting his cheek and eventually spun around the frightened crowd in red. "Who did that?" he growled fiercely squeezing the plastic ball until it burst into pieces.
"Get the Sorceress' knight!" a voice clamoured starting the crowd to throw objects at Seifer and Selphie like a street riot. Seifer's eyes soon flared with fury and rose up to receive more hits. He then lunged to a group of boys throwing paper balls at him and pounced on one of the group.
"How do you like it when an ex-knight attacks you huh?" Seifer sneered clutching onto the student's neck and began to tighten his grip slowly, causing the student to secrete tears in his eyes. "Luckily I didn't bring my gunblade so enjoy-a-slow-death," Seifer said in pieces at the end of his sentence squeezing the student's neck until his voice could not plead for help. The crowd began to back away in fear but the student's friends started to pick up mops and brooms and attacked Seifer at the back. Seifer relinquished his grip, now bearing the pain. Subsequently he stood up as if he was possessed by a demon and pinned another student to the ground, punching him.
"Seifer, NOOO!" Selphie cried in tears. She wanted to stop her teammate from hurting the student but she could not move her body. Blood started to ooze out of the student's mouth, which flowed like a stream towards the other parts of the crowd. Seifer enjoyed the blood bath, but he did not see the steel rod speeding towards his head with one blow, causing him to black out.
***
"Ugh, hurry up!" Xu said while she and her teammate, along with Squall, Rinoa,
Daniel and Rachel, waited impatiently for the elevator to open. Fujin and Raijin were then seen running towards the stairs.
"Daniel, let's take the stairs!" Rachel exclaimed, tugging Daniel by the arm and began to run. Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa soon followed.
Fujin and Raijin approached a two-door entrance, which opened automatically and revealed the grand auditorium.
"SEARCH." Fujin and Raijin started to scour the auditorium for the hidden clue box. Fujin jostled down the seats to the stage. She then noticed the blue and yellow flag behind the speech box and the box was really there.
"FOUND!" Fujin bellowed, her voice echoed towards Raijin crouching to look under the seats. "DETOUR, PUCK OR BALL."
Daniel and Rachel spotted Fujin reading her clue behind the speech box. The both of them jogged down the steps and towards the stage. Rachel grabbed the envelope and tore it open.
"Puck, head to the ice hockey rink and beat a professional goalie. Ball, head to the basketball court and shoot three successful throw-ins for each teammate."
"Let's do ball," Daniel said with his hand covering his left eye. Rachel soon turned to see Quistis, Xu, Squall and Rinoa arriving at the auditorium and signaled them to the clue box.
"RAIJIN!" Fujin shouted with her voice causing the auditorium to tremble. "WHERE ARE YOU!"
"Here honey," a weak voice replied from the upper level of the auditorium. Fujin climbed the steps to see Raijin's body sticking out of the seat with his head stuck beneath.
"FOOL," Fujin grabbed onto his arm and tugged his body trying to pull his head out.
"It hurts ya know," Raijin squealed in agony.
"IMBECILE!" Fujin lifted her foot and swung it towards the nuts. A sharp pain excited from the groin to the lower abdomen causing him to squirm by pushing his head to the seat until it was uprooted.
"Ah, it hurts!" Raijin yelped, jumping around holding his groin. He had then realised that his head was in its original position. "I'm free!" Raijin shouted in joy momentarily.
"QUICK!" Fujin said pulling Raijin by the arm to the exit. "WE'LL PLAY HOCKEY."
***
Seifer woke up and lifted his aching head slowly. "What happened?" Seifer muttered spinning his head carefully to see a student lying on bed with a life support unit. Then he turned to the other side to see Selphie smiling.
"Seifer, you're okay!" Selphie cried emotionally hugging Seifer.
"Why is my head aching?" he said to himself while embracing his teammate. A surge hit him and he started to remember it all. "God! Did I kill him?" he turned around quickly looking at the unconscious student in shock.
"Don't worry young man, he'll be alright," a voice beamed at Seifer and eventually the Garden's doctor and his nurse surfaced from the entrance. "The students here are pretty emotional when it comes to your presence but don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."
"Doctor, can we go now? We're on a race for a million gil!" Selphie said.
"Yes, yes I know. Once I've bandaged your head you're free to go," he said casually with a roll of bandage in his hand. The nurse handed his a bottle of antiseptic and the doctor applied it on Seifer's wound with cotton bud. It stung but it eased Seifer's pain. "Martine left you two a message. He said after you've finished your business here, never return," the doctor sighed and began to start wrapping Seifer's head with bandages. "I guess we don't want trouble here."
"You're such a nice person Mr. Doctor," Selphie said in a sweet voice. After he had finished his work, he turned to Selphie with a smirk.
"Call me Dr. Boston," he said, brushing his grey hair back.
"Okay Dr. Boston," she said, holding on to Seifer's arm to carry him down the bed.
***
Fujin and Raijin arrived at the Garden's ice hockey rink. Raijin started to shiver with the coldness around the area.
"PUCK?" Fujin asked the hockey player in blue guarding the entrance of the rink. The guy then pointed to the locker room. Fujin and Raijin entered the locker room to find uniforms; helmets, skates and hockey sticks ready for them. And across the room was a person with a towel wrapped around his waist behind a locker door, probably a student getting ready for practice. He closed the door and revealed himself to Fujin and Raijin.
"ROBERT TAVIAN," Fujin spoke.
"Well, well, if it isn't Instructor Fujin," the brown-haired white student approached the duo, smirking.
"INSTRUCTOR NO MORE," she said in confirmation. "DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF BALAMB GARDEN NOW ON."
Raijin turned from Fujin to Tavian in a daze. "Do you met each other before."
"Robert Tavian, my former student in Galbadia Garden," she explained in her normal tone, staring at Tavian. "My first love."
Raijin then gaped and goggled in disbelief. "Ya serious?"
"Puppy love to be exact," Tavian added, which made Raijin sighed of relief. "So what brings you here?" he said casually picking up his undershirt.
"RACE" was the only word Fujin could say. After that Tavian spoke, "Oh yeah, I suppose you're going to try to beat me right?"
Raijin pointed at Tavian, saying, "I thought we're supposed to play with a professional goalie, not some junior who plays for the school or something, ya know."
Fujin then kicked Raijin in the ankle. "HAVEN'T YOU WATCHED SPORTS? HE'S ONE OF THE TOP GOALIES OF GALBADIA AND PLAYS FOR THE DELING CITY FASCHOTILACHIONS."
"He's a genius then." Fujin nodded at Raijin's comment.
"Instructor, or should I say ex-coach," Tavian said trying to get Fujin's attention. "I supposed you should change in the bathroom. You don't want to change in front of two guys, do you?"
Fujin quickly swiped the uniform from the bench and then disappeared into the bathroom.
"Now red-skinned man," Tavian said, sitting on the bench. "Why don't we talk a bit while my ex-coach finishes dressing up. You know how women take such a long time to change."
"The name's Raijin," he said, taking off his shirt.
***
Daniel shielded his eyes from the blinding sun as he looked up at the tall hoop of the basketball court. "Oh my goodness that is tall!"
"Rules are simple people," the basketball coach said trying to bring everyone's attention present to do the 'Ball' detour. Then he blew his whistle signaling the students to stop practicing and recollect the balls into its receptacle. "Each person will take a turn to attempt the hoop. You must stand on this marked point and shoot the ball into the basket. If you succeed you are allowed to go for the second one. If failed, for any attempts, you'll have to let the next person to go and wait for your turn. Each of you must score five hoops to get the envelope. Understood?" Everyone in front of the coach nodded. "Okay. The blonde guy with freckles and the red-hair girl arrived here first so they'll start."
Rachel pushed Daniel into the court. A student threw a ball at Daniel and he received it, looking very nervous. Daniel parked himself on the marked position and bounced the ball three times. "Here goes," Daniel muttered to himself lifting the ball towards the sky. He pulled back his hands and then threw the ball forward towards the hoop. The ball hit the rim of the basket and slipped into the hoop. Daniel patted his chest with a sigh of relief.
"You're doing great Daniel!" Rachel supported. Now Daniel picked up the ball, which dropped from the basket and bounced and rolled at him. He bounced the ball three times, repeating the whole process. The ball went straight into the basket, which made everyone began to applaud. Daniel walked to the ball and picked it up and walked back to the mark. Again he bounced it three times and lifted the ball, with his eyes aiming at the basket. He releases the ball, but the ball barely touched the rim. Daniel started to gesture in agony.
"Three more left sonny," the coach said patting Daniel's back. Next, it was
Rachel's turn to shoot. She mimicked a little of Daniel's procedure and threw the ball but it was deflected to the right.
"You're not aiming at the basket Rachel," Daniel advised.
"Oh shut up," Rachel bellowed in agony as she queued behind Daniel.
***
"So how old are ya?" Raijin asked Tavian, strapping the elbow pads.
"19, still not graduated," Tavian replied briefly while he polished the blades of his skates. Raijin began to widen his mouth in disbelief.
"Bullshits! Fujin transferred to Balamb when she was 20 four years ago and before the transfer you were... 14?"
"15," Tavian corrected. "I told you it was puppy love. She was our ice hockey coach then. I suppose you don't know her nickname: SILVER WOLF." After he finished with the polish, he spoke again. "Say what does Fujin do normally in Balamb Garden? I know she's one of the Sorceress' knight posse but I'm curious."
"Well, she said she's one of the disciplinary committee, along with me and Seifer, the ex-knight," Raijin started his explanation. "The three of us usually pick on students like Zell and the Trepies, and... that's all I know, ya know."
"Well do you play hockey in Balamb? I've never been there," Tavian asked again.
Raijin reacted by waving his palms. "No way, it's hot in Balamb. And I don't suppose Balamb Garden is not a sporty Garden like Galbadia. But we fish and have bands ya know!"
"YOU GUYS SLOW," a booming voice sounded when Fujin appeared in front of them fully dressed. She picked up a hockey stick and pounded it against her palm.
Tavian approached the junior player guarding the rink entrance and told him to move away.
"Yes coach," the student moved away to let the three enter the rink.
"COACH," Fujin thought deeply while she wore her skates. "NO SURPRISE."
After wearing his skates, Raijin rose up from the bench and started to wobble and eventually fell onto the cold ice. "I need serious practice."
Tavian signaled everyone on the rink to line up in both sides. Then they started pounding their sticks profusely on the ice and chanted the hockey team slogan.
Tavian skated to the goalpost and positioned himself. "I hope your skills did not deteriorate during the years, coach!" he said vigorously
Fujin tabbed the puck on the marked position in the middle of the penalty box and presently, Raijin skated in front of Fujin waving his arms.
"I wanna try ya know," Raijin said excitedly.
Fujin slapped on her eye patch. "OK."
Raijin positioned himself in front of the puck and lifted his hockey stick to the rear. He aimed at the tiny goal with Tavian who was confidently smirking at him behind his mask. With one big force and yell he swung the stick to the puck but missed and he fell on the ice squirming in pain. Tavian and the players around the rink chuckled hysterically.
"USELESS," Fujin hissed and shoved Raijin aside with her hockey stick. Fujin then swung her stick and knocked the puck, which slid across the ice to Tavian's hands.
"Nice try," Tavian said through his hockey mask, throwing the puck back at his ex-coach. Fujin repositioned the puck and moved herself in front, staring at Tavian's eyes with a stern look.
"EAT THIS," Fujin swiftly knocked the puck, which suddenly disappeared. The goalie could not see anything at first but eventually he noticed vaguely a flat object heading towards his right with the speed of a bullet. Immediately he jumped and stretched out his hand, trying to block it from entering, but the puck shaved the tip of his gloves, broke through the net and penetrated into the plastic barrier. Tavian turned around to examine the puck, astonished - it was still vibrating. Instantaneously, Tavian's flunkies stopped and stood in their places in awe. Fujin brushed her silver hair and skated towards a disappointed looking Tavian. "The student will never beat the teacher."
"Wow!" Raijin gasped with his mouth wide open. "That was amazing, ya know."
"Swift Gale - Coach Fujin's signature move. I always wanted to train for that," he said, pulling of his mask and turned to see his right hand bleeding.
"Sir, you're hurt," a player skated to the bench to get the first aid kit.
"SORRY. NO CHOICE," Fujin apologised casually. Tavian snapped his finger to signal a small built player to bring them their deserved clue. Fujin swiped the clue from his hand and did not hesitate to rip it open.
"RAIJIN. DELING CITY GO BACK," she said, skating to the bench to take of the skates.
"Okeydoke," Raijin muttered to himself. Presently, a cold padded glove chilled his broad shoulder and turned to see Tavian in a stern look.
"Careful, she can be wilder than you can imagine," Tavian whispered.
"Shucks. I've been through all that you know," Raijin said ignoring Tavian's advice.
***
"Damn jackass," King said walking through the hallways of Galbadia Garden.
"We've lost three hours just because of the stupid traffic and the clue." King then sighed, "We're gonna be eliminated."
Jack and King arrived at the automatic doorway, which opened for them revealing the basketball court. They sighed in relief as they watched Rinoa positioning herself before the basket and lifted the ball high in the air. With one jump she thrusted to ball directly towards the basket but it did not reach the target. Rinoa fidgeted in agony and walked weakly to behind Squall. Rachel then jogged to the marked position and picked up the ball. Daniel, who was standing before the basket all the time after he had completed the task, walked to Rachel.
"What are you doing?" Rachel said when Daniel held her arms.
"Do as I say," Daniel said trying to get Rachel to listen. "Now position your legs like this... yup... bounce the ball three times... aim at the basket and lift the ball like this... and throw!"
Rachel swung her arms and released the ball from her firm grip. The ball soared towards the basket and dropped directly into the basket.
"Wow! Thanks buddy. Now how do I do that again?" Daniel retold all the steps to her. Rachel threw the ball again and it flushed into the hoop.
"Yay!" Rachel cheered clapping her hands in joy. "One more!"
At the same time, Seifer and Selphie surfaced from the corridor to the sunny basketball court.
"Seifer, what happened to your head?" Xu said sternly placing her hands firmly on her waist after noticing the wrapping around his head. "Got yourself in trouble huh?"
"You don't wanna know," Seifer replied casually.
"And don't touch his head. Dr. Boston said so!" Selphie added. The exclamation of Rachel's rang in the air as she shot the final hoop.
"Clue, clue, clue!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly waving her fingers to signal the coach to hand in the envelope. Meanwhile, it was Quistis' attempt to shoot with Daniel lending a helping hand.
"This feels weird," Quistis commented at the feeling of being in an uncomfortable position. She pulled the ball backwards and thrusted it forward and it went into the hoop with the sharp sound of the net holding back the ball and released it. "At least it worked."
"Daniel!!" Rachel shouted hysterically trying to catch her partner's attention.
Daniel appeared racing towards Rachel and joined her in a run to the next destination.
"Go back to Deling City and proceed to the inside of the Deling City Gateway!"
Rachel said in pieces running with the paper in hand.
In the meantime, Quistis failed the third hoop when the ball bounced back off the rim, now leaving the court to Xu.
"Just follow my posture and don't forget to bounce the ball three times and move your eyes at the target!" Quistis hollered giving instructions to her friend.
Xu now lifted the ball in the air and tilted her head aiming at the basket. She pulled the ball backward and then thrusted it directly into the basket.
"Thanks Quisty," she said with a thumb up, then picking up the ball for the first attempt of the second hoop. Subsequently, Xu succeeded in the task and now its Rinoa's turn.
"Squall, stop giving me directions! I can do this without any help!" Rinoa bellowed at Squall who was casually leaning against the fence shouting at her, since he had finished the task. Rinoa lifted the ball, jumped and thrusted the ball, which barely touched the rim of the basket.
"I told you you're not doing it correctly!" Squall scolded, causing his girlfriend to approach him with an annoyed stride.
"Can't you just give me some respect will ya!" she retaliated, which was blandly
replied with a 'whatever'.
"Oh that's close," Jack said in agony after King's ball hit the board and bounced off for the third hoop. Selphie stepped into the court happily, warming up her reflexes.
"Here goes!" Selphie lifted the ball towards her face, thrusted it and fell directly into the basket. Then in no time she picked up the ball and eventually completed the last two throws.
"Good luck Seifer!" Selphie cheered slapping both of her palms at Seifer's with a high-five. Seifer strode into the court with a round object heading towards his head.
"Look out!" Selphie turned after smelling the danger and jumped to hit the ball away from his bandaged head. Selphie then turned to look at the students sitting on the bench sternly and angrily. "Who dared to hurt my boyfriend? He could've kicked the bucket if you knocked his head!"
The students in their T-shirts and basketball singlets looked at Selphie with empty expressions. Then the tallest student with a yellow and green bandana stood up in protest.
"Don't you realise that guy almost destroyed our Garden?" he spat. The coach then turned to Selphie.
"I'm sorry. I'll handle this," he said apologetically. "It won't take long." The coach turned to the senior student and strode towards him sternly. The both of them engaged in a fierce rebuke until the student rose up from the sheltered bench and strutted proudly to the exit, giving Seifer and Selphie one disturbed look.
"And don't come back until you've realised that you're wrong," the coach shouted back at him but it landed on deaf ears. "I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting."
Seifer bounced the ball for the third consecutive throw and held it up in the air. He released the ball from his grip and landed beautifully into the basket.
"You did it!" Selphie said in an uproar and picked up her backpack. Seifer then jogged to Selphie and ran to the exit together with the clue.
"Deling City Gateway, let's go!"
***
Zell and Irvine finally arrived at the Caraway Mansion at the edge of the city. The both of them stepped out of the taxi and picked up their luggage from the trunk. Then they ran to the check-in point at the entrance of the mansion, where General Caraway and Cid Kramer were awaiting their arrival. Irvine took off his cowboy hat at General Caraway, revealing the bumps on his head thanks to Zell who had been like a possessed person beating him up into a pulp in the park.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, General," he said politely.
"Zell and Irvine, you're team number one," Cid said.
"Okay pardner," Zell turned to Irvine with his hand reaching out to him. "I want my Deling City hotdog back."
Irvine felt the bump, which ached, and did not hesitate to stuff his hand into his pocket to reach for his wallet.
***
"Rinoa you're pushing it!" Squall growled at Rinoa failing her throw as he agonised of being the last group in the court. He slapped his forehead disappointed and walked to Rinoa who was about to throw the ball.
"Squall I really don't need your help," Rinoa said, but Squall insisted on moving her arms and footing to the ideal posture. Rinoa took one throw and succeeded the first throw. "Thanks mister," she spat.
After the next two successful throw-ins, they finally received the red envelope with a big sigh of relief.
"Go back to Deling City and proceed to inside the Deling City Gateway," Rinoa said reading the clue.
"Go to the gateway..." Squall ordered the driver but was soon interrupted by Rinoa.
"Not to the city dumb-ass, the train station. It's probably jamming up in Deling City and I knew it cuz it always happen. Hopefully the other teams never thought of this and might probably been stuck in the rush hour," she insisted.
"Just when did you start to think positively Screaminoa?" Squall jeered nastily at Rinoa who was lying her back on cushion comfortably.
Meanwhile, in Deling City, the whole city was in chaos as workers were driving to their offices and working place since eight in the morning causing the streets of the Shopping Arcade and the Gateway to jam up with the horning of cars and buses. Raijin and Fujin started to worry as it had been thirty minutes they have been stuck in the jam and the Gateway was only a tiny building from afar.
"I didn't know it was this bad, ya know," Raijin said, trying to calm down Fujin who was perspiring with frustration.
"DRIVER," Fujin started. "DROP US NOW. WE WALK."
Fujin and Raijin stepped down from the cab and pulled their backpack from the trunk. Then they started pacing the sidewalks heading towards the Gateway.
"Ya know I wish there were monorails here like in Timber cuz this is big city with too many people anyway, ya know," Raijin suggested.
"SHUT UP AND WALK IT," Fujin cut Raijin's next sentence off.
"I can't believe we've made a mistake!" Quistis said in frustration as the taxi only moved a few inches for every two or three minutes. "We could be eliminated."
"Shut up Quisty," Xu said almost blowing her head off. "Driver, we want to get off, NOW!"
Quistis and Xu got off the cab with their luggage edgily and began to walk the streets following signs pointing to the Gateway.
"Ugh, it's dusty here that I want to gag," Xu complained as she choked the smoke out of her mouth.
"Stop complaining girl. You're slowing us down and we don't want to be eliminated do we?" Quistis scolded as she took off her glasses, which was fogged by the dust.
"Shut up!" Xu yelled back turning back to Quistis with unhappiness. "I don't like to be pushed around, you know." Xu walked on until she spotted a train station across the highway. "Thank goodness, a train ride."
Xu and Quistis started to quicken their pace and climbed the steps of the overhead bridge, which will direct them to the Outer City station. After a few minutes, the train arrived and the both of them squeezed themselves into the crowded coach.
"Shit."
***
Fujin and Raijin arrived in front of the Deling City Gateway, leaning on the lamppost regaining their breath and stamina. Then they continued walking to below the giant archway and beside the marked entrance, a clue box was stood. Both of them released their backpacks, which fell on the ground with a thud, and ran to the box. Fujin reached her hand to open the clue box on the floor and took out the red envelope.
"ROADBLOCK," Fujin hissed after ripping off the seal on the envelope to reveal a piece of paper written ROADBLOCK in big bold letters on it. "Before opening the concealed leaf, choose someone who has a good sense of direction and is not afraid of the dark," Fujin explained in her normal tone.
"You do it," Raijin insisted in jitters. "I hate dark places ya know!"
Fujin nodded and tore off the front page to read the instructions. "CRAP."
***
Rachel and Daniel surfaced from the underground train station to meet again with the Deling City Gateway, which was within walking distance. They raced to the marked entrance to meet up with Raijin helping Fujin putting on the sanitary outfit and Wellington boots.
"Oh my god, it must be something disgusting," Rachel said after she chose herself to conduct the next task. "Venture the sewers using the enclosed map as a guide to get to the next pit stop. Along the way be sure to look for three numbers written in white on the floor to unlock the digital lock at the end of the course. Your partner in the other hand will ride a horse-driven carriage to the check-in point at the Caraway Mansion."
"Honey, will you be alright?" Raijin said in worry as Fujin parked her foot into the small cubicle after the marked entrance and inside was manhole, which will drop her into the dark sewers below.
"DON'T WORRY. GO NOW AND WAIT," she said in brief.
Raijin then waved his hand at Fujin to wish her luck and walked across the street where the horse-driven carriage was waiting. Fujin squeezed herself into the small room in front of the manhole. She looked down at the bottom of the hole, which was dark, barely lit and a foul stench rose to her senses causing her to pinch her nose. Fujin slowly crawled to the ladder and climbed down into the sewers, which was lit with flickering fluorescent lights and the walls were covered with slime and Red Bat feces. There was a river flowing in front of her, which had a waterwheel connected to a cable turning to the flow of the water supplying additional power to the city. Fujin flashed her torchlight to the map, which was drawn with arrows in yellow telling her the route to get to the end of the route. The first thing she did was to climb onto the waterwheel that will drop her at the other end of the sewer.
***
Quistis and Xu got off at the underground station. Squall, Rinoa, Seifer, Selphie, Jack and King were seen getting off the coach in front of them.
"Crap. The bitch beat us," Quistis said to herself, referring to Rinoa.
After about three minutes, the three remaining teams arrived at the route marker and opened their envelopes to unveil the Roadblock task instructions.
"Rinoa, are you sure that you want to do this," Squall said in worry touching Rinoa's face. "I mean you freaked out at the lighthouse..."
"Stop faking it Squall," Rinoa said who insisted on doing the task. After wearing her sanitary outfit, which was made of white plastic, she turned to Quistis who was getting ready to jump into the sewers.
"Quisty," Rinoa said in a friendly voice trying to catch her attention. Quistis turned around to see Rinoa grinning. "Let me help you to go through the sewers."
Quistis started to smile back at her. "Why is that?" she asked casually.
"Well..." Rinoa began twisting her foot on the ground. "The sewer's is like the back of the hand like the city and you're our ally along with Selphie remember?"
"Oh yeah," Quistis muttered. "Something's not right with her," she thought deeply when Rinoa gave a friendly pat on her back
Meanwhile, Fujin almost reached the end of the course and not far behind was Rachel shining her flashlight around the sewers warily. The light from Fujin's flashlight shone on something black and shiny, and moving. A dead rotting corpse was revealed covered in black rats scouring for food, causing the two women to gag. In front of the disgusting scene was a locked gate with a digital lock fixed on the wall beside the rusty grille. Fujin quickly walked past the corpse to the digital lock and started to key in the secret code.
"4-8-0," Fujin whispered pressing on the buttons. After that, the gate swung open automatically to reveal a ladder. Fujin walked past the gate closed it, then got on the ladder and opened the hatch a little to let the bright sunlight seep into the sewers. Raijin spotted a white hand reaching out from the manhole and approached it to see Fujin climbing up to the surface. Raijin helped to pull her from the hole and she knelt on the paved sidewalk huffing and puffing.
"GO!" Fujin said after she got up and the both of them ran to the entrance of the Caraway Mansion, meeting up with General Caraway and Cid Kramer at the check-in point.
"Fujin and Raijin, you're team number two."
Next, it was Rachel's turn to climb back to the surface and she immediately took off the baggy sanitary outfit, which was covered with splashes of sewer water and slime.
"It was disgusting especially the corpse guarding the exit," Rachel said to Cid after the team was informed that they were in third place.
Rinoa and Quistis walked warily into the deeper parts of the sewers with their flashlights on looking out for Shadows, Red Bats and the digital lock code.
"Rinoa, are you sure that we're going to the right direction?" Quistis said referring to her map. "I thought you said you know the sewers like the back of your hand. I've been here you know."
"Who says we're going to the surface?" Rinoa said, turning around with her flashlight shining her face, which was carved with an evil grin.
"What's your plan?" Quistis said positioning herself ready to attack with her flashlight as a weapon. Rinoa held up her arm with the palm facing Quistis, emitting a blue light forcing Quistis to her knees.
"What are you doing?" she asked struggling to move her body from paralysis.
Rinoa approached her with a balled fist and punched her cheek.
"I hate you," Rinoa hissed, punching Quistis until her head turned to the left.
"You tried to usurp Squall's love from me." Then she released her fist and turned around pacing back and forth with large steps. "Don't worry, I'll just have to keep you here for five hours so that the monsters will come and eat you, or at the most, you'll be eliminated from the race," Rinoa added, laughing diabolically.
"BITCH!" Quistis spat, twisting her body until her knees shuffled and silently approached Rinoa whose back was facing her. Then she jerked out her arms vigorously and without knowing Rinoa was standing at the edge of the sewer river, she pushed her into the murky water.
"Quistis!" Rinoa screamed struggling to float, coughing out the dirty water she had swallowed when she dived in. "You..." Rinoa's word stopped there as the current picked up and Rinoa was helplessly swept away deeper into the sewers.
Eventually, the heaviness and strain around Quistis was dispelled and she got up to her feet immediately. She then walked through the darkness using only her instinct to retrace her steps back to the brighter part of the sewer.
Squall and Xu waited impatiently for their teammate to come out of the sewers. The trepidation grew after Seifer had come up to meet a relieved Selphie. After a few minutes, it was Jack who was the next person to reach the surface. Behind him was Quistis, who was deep worry of Rinoa's safety.
"Quistis, you're okay!" Xu said rejoicing the return of her friend.
"No time for that," Quistis said, now turning to Squall looking very anxious.
"Squall, Rinoa's in trouble!"
Squall started to sound confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"There's not much time. I'll go and report to Headmaster Cid while you pray for Rinoa's safety."
In no time Quistis and Xu started running and checked in at the pit stop.
"Quistis and Xu..." Cid paused, but Quistis did not hesitate to speak up.
"There's no time for suspense." Quistis began to say in distress at Rinoa's father. "General Caraway your daughter is in trouble!"
***
It was pit black and Rinoa blindly swam until she felt a ledge and climbed over onto it. Her hair, skin and clothes were dripping wet with sewer water, which smelled like vomit nauseating Rinoa's senses. She coughed out all the water, which had a terrible taste and obstructed her normal breathing. She laid her hand on the ground until she felt something organic. She took out her flashlight tucked between the sanitary outfit and her blue sleeveless blouse and shone at the curiosity that she was touching.
A scream echoed through the sewers, which was heard by Squall and a few members of the Deling City Rescue Unit who were looking for General Caraway's missing daughter.
"Rinoa is that you?" Squall yelled in response of the scream he heard. He then hastened his footsteps, with the water on the floor splashing about as he jogged deeper into the sewer. The sound of dripping of water grew louder and discerned as he ventured warily into the unknown. He stepped on something mushy and flashed around the area with a flashlight. It was a graveyard. The piles of corpses and skeletons lingered throughout the area.
"Be careful Mr. Leonhart," one of the members of the rescue unit said in warning. "These people died here because of the monsters."
Then further away a cry of a young woman was heard. The rescue team shone their flashlight on something white and shiny and raised the light to reveal a black-haired woman sinking her head in her knees crying.
"Rinoa!"
***
General Caraway, Cid Kramer and the six teams waited in anticipation and worry for Squall and Rinoa's appearance. After two hours, Squall and Rinoa, who was hugging onto Squall's side, showed up with the Deling City Rescue Unit at the mansion's doorstep. Squall and Rinoa walked with heavy steps towards the mat and stood on it, facing General Caraway, Cid and the other teams sighing in relief. Rinoa raised her head to see her father. Her face was stained with the blackness of the sewer water and the grey slime, traveling from her right eyelid to across her cheek, and her hair was dripping with trash and slime which smelled like a week-old dead corpse - she had the most horrendous experience in the sewers.
"Daddy!" Rinoa said falling onto her father to embrace him.
"It's all right honey," General Caraway said in his paternal tone and stroked her back trying to comfort her daughter. Cid then cleared her throat and began to speak.
"Squall and Rinoa, I'm sorry to tell that you're the last team to arrive..."
"No!" Rinoa cried, now rolling her forehead on Squall's shoulder, wetting his shirt with her tears. Squall reacted with sadness on his face while rubbing his girlfriend's back.
"Tell us," Squall said when the expression on his face transformed from a disappointing frown to sternness in his eyes. "Just tell us that we've been eliminated from the race!"
