CHAPTER VIII (A): THE NIGHT ENDS
A few hours passed. Zack and Amber were talking with Roger, Squall and his party, including Selphie and Quistis, who joined them not long ago. While they were talking, Angelo, Rinoa's dog, laid quietly next to her seat on the floor. As time continued to pass, the whole room was filled with less and less people. Most of the young SeeD candidates had returned to the dormitory. Just then, Irvine starts to yawn and stretches his arms. He had switched off the camera and put it on the table quite some time ago.
"It's getting late. And I'm getting tired after all this fun," he said.
"Yeah, me too," Selphie agreed, yawning as well.
"I guess we all are. Let's all return to the dorm and call it the night," Squall spoke out, getting up.
At this point, Zack and Amber realized a problem. They had no place to rest for the night.
"Um, excuse me, Squall" Zack uttered, "Um, Amber and I have no place to rest. We're not from the garden, you see."
"Is that so?" Quistis asked, surprised a little.
"Yeah, we are, uh." Amber, thinking for a moment, ".visitors."
After thinking to herself for a while, Quistis told the two, "Well, we'll need to discuss with Headmaster Cid about this."
"Let's go, then," Zack said, getting up, "After all, is there anything wrong with spending a night here?"
*********
Zack, Amber and everyone else were now in the elevator, heading to the headmaster's office. They couldn't find Headmaster Cid within the quad area, where the celebration was held, so they thought that he might be in his office. Seconds passed since they entered the elevator before the elevator reached the third floor, which was where Headmaster Cid's office was. They walked into the office. In the office, Zack and Amber could see a large pillar in the middle of the room. Looking around the office, they didn't see the headmaster.
"Where's the headmaster?" Amber asked.
"Hm," Irvine, looking up the pillar, "Maybe he's up there."
"One way to find out," Quistis said as she walked over to the pillar. She pushed a button on the pillar, which made a buzzing sound.
"Hey, that sounded just like a bee buzzing around," Zell exclaimed.
Quistis frowned, "They should really change this."
Rinoa giggled when she heard that.
Zack turned to Roger, "Why'd Quistis pushed that button?"
Overhearing Zack, Amber faces towards Roger as well because she was wondering that, too.
"That button works like. um. Let's just say that button works like a doorbell. Whoever presses that button will make that buzzing sound we all heard earlier. The sound is also heard up there. So, if anyone is up there, they will answer to whomever that pushed the button through a voice transmitter that we just hooked up together with that buzzer not long ago."
"I see," was all Zack said.
Just then, they all hear a voice coming through the transmitter, "Who is it?"
Quistis then answered, "We apologize for disturbing you at this hour, Headmaster Cid. But we have two outside visitors who have no place to rest for the night."
Thinking for a moment, the headmaster then answered through the transmitter, "All right, Quistis. I'll be right down."
Quistis rejoined the group as they waited for the headmaster.
While they were waiting, Amber asked Roger, "Why would the headmaster be on the pillar, Roger?"
"That's not a pillar, Amber. That's a tower. The garden's mobile operating system is at the top. The headmaster might have been checking the system." Roger explained.
"Oh," was all she said before she whispered to Zack, "I didn't know the garden was moving. I didn't have any problems moving around this whole time or even felt anything."
"Yeah, the garden might have been moving quite slowly," Zack whispered back.
Zack had already known why they never felt the garden's movement. The garden was floating, instead of moving on the ground. He didn't tell her that because she would have been suspicious about him knowing all this when they had never been in this world. Just then, they all hear the sound of moving gears as the platform elevator, which was connected to the side of the tower, slowly came down to the floor, carrying a man and a woman. The man had neatly combed, brown hair and was wearing thick-framed glasses while the woman had long, straight, black hair and was wearing a black gown.
"Headmaster Cid, Black Matron or Edea," Zack thought as they got off the elevator.
"So, who are the two visitors you were talking about, Quistis?" Cid asked Quistis.
"Here they are, sir," Quistis, showing to him Zack and Amber, "Zack Nurvana and Amber Rouge."
Cid and Edea stared at them. Edea then walked forward a little towards them.
"Nice to meet you. I am Edea Kramer, Headmaster Cid's wife. You may call me Edea."
"Edea Kramer?" Zack thought in surprise, "Oh, yeah, she is Headmaster Cid's wife."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Edea," Amber greeted, smiling to her as Edea smiled back.
"So, you have no place to stay for the night, eh?" Cid said.
He turned around and walked towards his desk, "Let me check if there are any vacant rooms in the dormitory. There should be some available."
He walked a few steps before he stopped and turned around towards the two, "Would the two of you like to share the same room? Or would you prefer separate rooms?"
Zack and Amber were surprised by the question and they both tried to hide their blushing faces.
Still blushing, Amber answered, "Um, separate rooms, please. If it's not too much trouble."
"Oh, not at all," Cid replied as he walked over to his desk, "Now, let me see. Which room was it?"
Cid looked through the neatly stacked files on his desk. He slipped out a file from in between the small stack of files. He sat on his chair and slowly flipped through the file. Edea walked over to the side of his chair and looked at the file over his shoulder. It took him a while before he found what he was looking for.
"Ah, there it is. Room 13 and 14 in Section C," he said before shutting the file and putting it on his desk.
"Thank you for your time, sir," Zack said.
"It's no problem," Cid answered, smiling his friendly smile.
After Roger, Squall and the others greeted the headmaster a good night, Zack, Amber and the rest left the office, leaving Cid and Edea, and got into the elevator. Irvine pushed the button, labeled 'F1' as the elevator door then slowly closed. The elevator then zoomed down to the ground floor.
*********
Zack is now looking at his room, Room 13 in Section C. There was a tidy little bed at the right side of the room. A desk, which had a table lamp, a large pad, some stationeries and a clock on it, stood beside the bed, leaning against the wall where a window was.
"Not a bad room."
Zack then walked over to the bed and threw himself onto it. He bounced a little as he landed on the bed.
"Ah, feels good to be laying down again!" Zack said to himself as he looked down at his legs, "Especially for my legs. They were getting fed up of not being able to rest without laying down."
He drops his head to the bed again, closing his eyes as he rests for the moment. Just then, he hears some knocking on the wall at the other side of the room.
"Zack, can you hear me?"
Zack then got up and walked over to the wall, where the knocking was. It was Amber. Her room, Room 14, was just next to his room. Standing against the wall, Zack answered her.
"Yeah, Amber. I can hear you."
"Not a bad room, isn't it, Zack?" Amber, leaning herself against the wall.
"Yeah, it's quite nice actually," Zack answered, looking once more at the room.
"They were nice, weren't they? Roger, Squall, Rinoa and everyone else," Amber, looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, Amber, they were very nice."
There was a short silence before Amber said, "I feel a little guilty, Zack, for lying to them about us."
Zack was surprised to hear that, "It's all right, Amber. You didn't lie to them."
Turning her head a little, Amber looked at the wall behind her.
"We are visitors. After all, we are." Zack, laughing a little, as he continued, ". from another world."
Amber looked back to the floor, thinking for a moment, before she smiled, "Yeah, that's true."
"See, you never lied to them. So don't feel guilty, Amber."
Amber smiles softly, "Thank you, Zack. You always help me to feel better. Thank you."
"It-It's nothing, Amber. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"
A short moment passed.
"Thanks, Zack."
==========
CHAPTER VIII (B): THE FIRST MORNING
Morning has arrived and Zack was still sleeping on his bed when suddenly a loud knocking on his room's door startled him.
"Yo, Zack, you up yet? Better hurry to the canteen if you want some breakfast!"
Zack could tell that it was Zell. Just then, he hears the sound of fast footsteps outside his room. Loudly at first, but it slowly faded away. When it faded completely, Zack pulled himself up off the bed. In a sitting position, he stretched his arms and yawned. He wiped his face with his hands, trying to wipe the sleep of him. After that, he got up, off the bed. He looked at the desk. He had put his sword, in its sheath, on the desk last night. He hooked the sheath back onto his back, where he had always did since Amber lent it to him. After hooking his sheath back on, he left the room. Outside his room, he looked at the door of Amber's room.
"I wonder if Zell have woken her up, too."
He walks over to her door and knocks on it. He waited for a while but there was no answer.
"Hm. Maybe he did. She might even be in the canteen now," Zack thought as he walks for the canteen.
*********
In the canteen, Zack looked around. It was kind of crowded with SeeD's and SeeD candidates. There was a long queue at the counter of the canteen.
"Looks like I came a little slow," he thought as he went to stand in line.
As he was walking towards the line, he spotted Amber at one of the tables, waving at him. He waved back. Then Amber suggested with her hand for him to come over to the table. Curious, he walked over. Reaching the table that Amber was sitting in, he sees that she had already taken a tray, which had a plate of omelet and a cup of milk next to it. Next to her tray was another tray. This one had a plate of a small apple pie and a cup of milk, instead.
"Sit down, Zack. I've already helped you to get your breakfast, but I hope that you like what I've picked," Amber, holding out the tray with the apple pie to him.
"Thanks, Amber," Zack said as he sat down, "It's just fine."
He took a fork and cut a piece of the apple pie. He put it into his mouth while Amber watched him. He took a few bites.
"This taste great, Amber! Thanks for getting it for me."
She smiled happily, feeling glad, "You're welcome, Zack."
He takes another bite of the pie. As the two were eating their breakfast, Quistis appeared at their table, still in her usual dress.
"How do you like the food?"
"It tastes great, Quistis," Zack answered.
Amber nodded while chewing a piece of her omelet.
Quistis smiled, "Well, that's good to hear."
"So, is there anything going on later?" Zack asks as he takes another piece of the pie.
Quistis thought for a while before she answered, "Nothing that would involve people from outside the garden. So I guess you should just go home then."
Zack and Amber were surprised when they heard her.
"Oh, I-I see. Yeah, maybe we should," Zack continued.
He and Amber continued eating their breakfast for a while. Suddenly, the three hear a voice talking through the PA system.
"Will Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas please see Headmaster Cid at the directory area now? I repeat, will Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas please see Headmaster Cid at the directory area now? A problem has just come up this morning that he needs to discuss about."
Quistis looks towards where the voice came from, "I wonder what is it?"
She looks at Zack and Amber, "Well, I've gotta go. See you two later."
After she had dashed off, Zack and Amber looked at each other.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Zack asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we can meet up with them later."
"Yeah, maybe," he replied as he continued eating his pie. They continued eating their breakfast for a while before Zack asked, "Did you have a good night sleep?"
"Yeah, the bed was comfortable and it was quite tiring yesterday. So I was able to sleep easily. What about you?"
"Yeah, same goes for me."
The two then continued with their breakfast.
*********
A few minutes has passed since Zack and Amber finished their breakfast. Now, they are walking towards the directory area, which was in front of the main garden elevator. Before reaching there, they could already see Squall and the others, who were talking with Headmaster Cid and Angelo sitting still near the group, quietly watching them.
"Well, that's was all that was said in the message," they could hear Cid saying to Squall.
Reaching the directory area, they heard Quistis questioned, "So, they say that a man in a black cape is causing trouble in the city?"
Zack and Amber were surprised when they hear that.
Rinoa then continued, "Together with a sorceress with black wings on her back?"
Zack thought when he heard that, "Sorceress with black wings on her back? Sounds like Sorceress Ultimecia. Could it be?"
"Yes, that is correct. So, they are asking help from our garden to send some of our SeeD mercenaries. Since the sorceress's description matched Sorceress Ultimecia, I thought that you all should be the ones to investigate it," Cid explained to them.
Squall thought to himself before he said, "That just couldn't be. We've defeated her and she had died after passing her powers to Matron. How could that be her?"
"And also, Dr. Odine told us that Ultimecia was from a distant future, a very far one!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Do you think it might be an Ultimecia look-alike?" Zell asked.
"Who knows? It just might be," Rinoa answered.
"Let's go and investigate, Squall," Irvine, looking at Squall.
"Yeah, I think it was a wise decision for you to appoint us to go, sir," Squall told the Headmaster.
"Excellent," Cid exclaimed, "But I wish that you would bring along a few capable SeeD's with you."
"Why?" Rinoa asked.
"For experience. After all, I can't just have you six as the best in the garden," Cid explained.
Squall thought for a while before Quistis said, "I think we should, Squall. We should pass our experience to others so as they would be better prepared for any other situations that might be as dangerous as this one."
Squall thought to himself again before he answered, "All right, sir. But we'll only take three at most."
"That is good enough. I only know of three SeeD's that are most capable for this. Excuse me while I go and call upon the three."
The headmaster then walked for the elevator. Once inside, the elevator door closed and the elevator went up. Zack and Amber then ran towards the group.
"Squall, take us with you!" Zack shouted, surprising Squall and the others.
"What?" Squall uttered as Zack and Amber stopped in front of him.
"Take us with you, Squall!" Amber repeated.
"Why?" Rinoa asked, still surprised.
"The man in the black cape. We know him, if it is him," Zack explained.
"You do?" Quistis, a little surprised.
"Yes, the man that you were all talking about should be Sephiroth," Amber explained.
"Sephiroth?" Zell muttered, "Never heard of him."
"Well, of course! But we have!" Zack exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Zack, but we cannot take anyone else with us," Squall told the two.
"Why?" Amber asked.
"It's too dangerous. A sorceress is with this man, which you say could be Sephiroth. And this sorceress might be someone that we know of who is extremely evil," Rinoa explained.
"It's all right. Sephiroth is an evil person himself. We can take care of ourselves," Zack answered.
"I'm sorry, Zack, but we won't take you two with us. It is just too dangerous," Squall said.
"But." Zack muttered before the PA system interrupted him.
"This is the headmaster speaking. Will Roger Carlo, Jacky Cage and Cindy Levion please come to the directory area? I repeat, will Roger Carlo, Jacky Cage and Cindy Levion please come to the directory area? That is all."
"Humph, I'd never thought that Roger would be one of those SeeD's that Cid was talking about," Irvine, smiling happily.
Staring at each other, Squall said calmly to Zack, "I'm sorry, Zack, but we won't take you two with us. We don't want to endanger any other lives, not even the ones that Headmaster Cid has just mentioned."
Zack was shocked when he heard that. He couldn't find anything to say and just glared down to the floor, feeling a little upset. Suddenly, Angelo started barking at a boy, who just arrived to where they were all standing.
"Whoa, Angelo, no need for loud greetings," the boy exclaimed, "Hey, were you all called to come here, too?"
Everyone turned to look at the boy. When Zack did so, he realized that it was Roger. His hairstyle was still same as the other night. This time, he was wearing a brown, sleeveless T-shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top and dark-brown pants that went only til under his kneecaps, together with a pair of black snickers. Just then, another boy came walking towards them, and then a girl. The boy was kind of handsome with his hair standing straight on his head. He was wearing a red T-shirt under a dark-purple sleeveless jacket and long black trousers, tucked into his black snickers. The girl had long black hair, which was tied with a red ribbon and was wearing a small blue leather jacket over a green blouse and long ocean-blue pants that reached until her red sandals.
"Why were we all called?" Roger continued
Just then, the elevator door opened as Headmaster Cid appeared through it. As he did, he saw the three young SeeD's.
"Ah, I see that you three have arrived. Excellent!" The headmaster then walked down the short, wide stairway to where everyone was standing. Reaching the end of the steps, he suggests to Roger, the boy and the girl to stand beside him, "Squall, these are the three that I want you to bring to Deling City."
He then looked at the three, "Please introduce yourselves to Squall and the others."
Roger was the first in line. So he started first.
"Hi, I'm Roger Carlo, but you all know me. So, never mind."
Then it was the boy, "I'm Jacky Cage. Please to meet you all."
Lastly was the girl, "Hi, I'm Cindy Levion. Nice to meet you all."
Squall nodded his head, "It's nice to meet you three, too. I'm Squall Leonhart. I will be bringing you three to Deling City. The reason, a message from the mayor of that city was just sent here this morning. The message said that a man in a black cape and a sorceress were causing trouble in the city. The sorceress is said to be very powerful and dangerous. You were all chosen by the headmaster to come with us so that you would be able to achieve more experience and be better prepared for any other such dangers or situations in the near future. Is that clear?"
The three answered solemnly, "Yes!"
Squall nodded his head once more.
Headmaster Cid then exclaimed, "Excellent! We will be arriving at Deling City in a short while. So, you have a short period of time to prepare yourselves."
He turns to walk towards to the elevator. Taking a few steps, he stops.
"You should also get to know more about your teammates. Good luck."
He then continued walking towards the elevator.
As the elevator went up with the headmaster in it, Irvine exclaimed to Roger, "Hey, I can't believe that you would be chosen by the headman."
"Yeah, me too," Selphie admitted.
"Humph, you guys don't know me as well as you think," Roger answered, acting like a big shot.
Everyone laughed at that, except Zack and Amber who were watching them from where they stood.
"Well, you three had better prepare yourselves. You're going to need it later," Rinoa advised.
After watching them for the whole time, Zack and Amber stare at each other.
"What are we going to do now, Zack?" Amber asked, a little worried.
Zack turned to look at Squall and the others, "I. I don't know."
A few hours passed. Zack and Amber were talking with Roger, Squall and his party, including Selphie and Quistis, who joined them not long ago. While they were talking, Angelo, Rinoa's dog, laid quietly next to her seat on the floor. As time continued to pass, the whole room was filled with less and less people. Most of the young SeeD candidates had returned to the dormitory. Just then, Irvine starts to yawn and stretches his arms. He had switched off the camera and put it on the table quite some time ago.
"It's getting late. And I'm getting tired after all this fun," he said.
"Yeah, me too," Selphie agreed, yawning as well.
"I guess we all are. Let's all return to the dorm and call it the night," Squall spoke out, getting up.
At this point, Zack and Amber realized a problem. They had no place to rest for the night.
"Um, excuse me, Squall" Zack uttered, "Um, Amber and I have no place to rest. We're not from the garden, you see."
"Is that so?" Quistis asked, surprised a little.
"Yeah, we are, uh." Amber, thinking for a moment, ".visitors."
After thinking to herself for a while, Quistis told the two, "Well, we'll need to discuss with Headmaster Cid about this."
"Let's go, then," Zack said, getting up, "After all, is there anything wrong with spending a night here?"
*********
Zack, Amber and everyone else were now in the elevator, heading to the headmaster's office. They couldn't find Headmaster Cid within the quad area, where the celebration was held, so they thought that he might be in his office. Seconds passed since they entered the elevator before the elevator reached the third floor, which was where Headmaster Cid's office was. They walked into the office. In the office, Zack and Amber could see a large pillar in the middle of the room. Looking around the office, they didn't see the headmaster.
"Where's the headmaster?" Amber asked.
"Hm," Irvine, looking up the pillar, "Maybe he's up there."
"One way to find out," Quistis said as she walked over to the pillar. She pushed a button on the pillar, which made a buzzing sound.
"Hey, that sounded just like a bee buzzing around," Zell exclaimed.
Quistis frowned, "They should really change this."
Rinoa giggled when she heard that.
Zack turned to Roger, "Why'd Quistis pushed that button?"
Overhearing Zack, Amber faces towards Roger as well because she was wondering that, too.
"That button works like. um. Let's just say that button works like a doorbell. Whoever presses that button will make that buzzing sound we all heard earlier. The sound is also heard up there. So, if anyone is up there, they will answer to whomever that pushed the button through a voice transmitter that we just hooked up together with that buzzer not long ago."
"I see," was all Zack said.
Just then, they all hear a voice coming through the transmitter, "Who is it?"
Quistis then answered, "We apologize for disturbing you at this hour, Headmaster Cid. But we have two outside visitors who have no place to rest for the night."
Thinking for a moment, the headmaster then answered through the transmitter, "All right, Quistis. I'll be right down."
Quistis rejoined the group as they waited for the headmaster.
While they were waiting, Amber asked Roger, "Why would the headmaster be on the pillar, Roger?"
"That's not a pillar, Amber. That's a tower. The garden's mobile operating system is at the top. The headmaster might have been checking the system." Roger explained.
"Oh," was all she said before she whispered to Zack, "I didn't know the garden was moving. I didn't have any problems moving around this whole time or even felt anything."
"Yeah, the garden might have been moving quite slowly," Zack whispered back.
Zack had already known why they never felt the garden's movement. The garden was floating, instead of moving on the ground. He didn't tell her that because she would have been suspicious about him knowing all this when they had never been in this world. Just then, they all hear the sound of moving gears as the platform elevator, which was connected to the side of the tower, slowly came down to the floor, carrying a man and a woman. The man had neatly combed, brown hair and was wearing thick-framed glasses while the woman had long, straight, black hair and was wearing a black gown.
"Headmaster Cid, Black Matron or Edea," Zack thought as they got off the elevator.
"So, who are the two visitors you were talking about, Quistis?" Cid asked Quistis.
"Here they are, sir," Quistis, showing to him Zack and Amber, "Zack Nurvana and Amber Rouge."
Cid and Edea stared at them. Edea then walked forward a little towards them.
"Nice to meet you. I am Edea Kramer, Headmaster Cid's wife. You may call me Edea."
"Edea Kramer?" Zack thought in surprise, "Oh, yeah, she is Headmaster Cid's wife."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Edea," Amber greeted, smiling to her as Edea smiled back.
"So, you have no place to stay for the night, eh?" Cid said.
He turned around and walked towards his desk, "Let me check if there are any vacant rooms in the dormitory. There should be some available."
He walked a few steps before he stopped and turned around towards the two, "Would the two of you like to share the same room? Or would you prefer separate rooms?"
Zack and Amber were surprised by the question and they both tried to hide their blushing faces.
Still blushing, Amber answered, "Um, separate rooms, please. If it's not too much trouble."
"Oh, not at all," Cid replied as he walked over to his desk, "Now, let me see. Which room was it?"
Cid looked through the neatly stacked files on his desk. He slipped out a file from in between the small stack of files. He sat on his chair and slowly flipped through the file. Edea walked over to the side of his chair and looked at the file over his shoulder. It took him a while before he found what he was looking for.
"Ah, there it is. Room 13 and 14 in Section C," he said before shutting the file and putting it on his desk.
"Thank you for your time, sir," Zack said.
"It's no problem," Cid answered, smiling his friendly smile.
After Roger, Squall and the others greeted the headmaster a good night, Zack, Amber and the rest left the office, leaving Cid and Edea, and got into the elevator. Irvine pushed the button, labeled 'F1' as the elevator door then slowly closed. The elevator then zoomed down to the ground floor.
*********
Zack is now looking at his room, Room 13 in Section C. There was a tidy little bed at the right side of the room. A desk, which had a table lamp, a large pad, some stationeries and a clock on it, stood beside the bed, leaning against the wall where a window was.
"Not a bad room."
Zack then walked over to the bed and threw himself onto it. He bounced a little as he landed on the bed.
"Ah, feels good to be laying down again!" Zack said to himself as he looked down at his legs, "Especially for my legs. They were getting fed up of not being able to rest without laying down."
He drops his head to the bed again, closing his eyes as he rests for the moment. Just then, he hears some knocking on the wall at the other side of the room.
"Zack, can you hear me?"
Zack then got up and walked over to the wall, where the knocking was. It was Amber. Her room, Room 14, was just next to his room. Standing against the wall, Zack answered her.
"Yeah, Amber. I can hear you."
"Not a bad room, isn't it, Zack?" Amber, leaning herself against the wall.
"Yeah, it's quite nice actually," Zack answered, looking once more at the room.
"They were nice, weren't they? Roger, Squall, Rinoa and everyone else," Amber, looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, Amber, they were very nice."
There was a short silence before Amber said, "I feel a little guilty, Zack, for lying to them about us."
Zack was surprised to hear that, "It's all right, Amber. You didn't lie to them."
Turning her head a little, Amber looked at the wall behind her.
"We are visitors. After all, we are." Zack, laughing a little, as he continued, ". from another world."
Amber looked back to the floor, thinking for a moment, before she smiled, "Yeah, that's true."
"See, you never lied to them. So don't feel guilty, Amber."
Amber smiles softly, "Thank you, Zack. You always help me to feel better. Thank you."
"It-It's nothing, Amber. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"
A short moment passed.
"Thanks, Zack."
==========
CHAPTER VIII (B): THE FIRST MORNING
Morning has arrived and Zack was still sleeping on his bed when suddenly a loud knocking on his room's door startled him.
"Yo, Zack, you up yet? Better hurry to the canteen if you want some breakfast!"
Zack could tell that it was Zell. Just then, he hears the sound of fast footsteps outside his room. Loudly at first, but it slowly faded away. When it faded completely, Zack pulled himself up off the bed. In a sitting position, he stretched his arms and yawned. He wiped his face with his hands, trying to wipe the sleep of him. After that, he got up, off the bed. He looked at the desk. He had put his sword, in its sheath, on the desk last night. He hooked the sheath back onto his back, where he had always did since Amber lent it to him. After hooking his sheath back on, he left the room. Outside his room, he looked at the door of Amber's room.
"I wonder if Zell have woken her up, too."
He walks over to her door and knocks on it. He waited for a while but there was no answer.
"Hm. Maybe he did. She might even be in the canteen now," Zack thought as he walks for the canteen.
*********
In the canteen, Zack looked around. It was kind of crowded with SeeD's and SeeD candidates. There was a long queue at the counter of the canteen.
"Looks like I came a little slow," he thought as he went to stand in line.
As he was walking towards the line, he spotted Amber at one of the tables, waving at him. He waved back. Then Amber suggested with her hand for him to come over to the table. Curious, he walked over. Reaching the table that Amber was sitting in, he sees that she had already taken a tray, which had a plate of omelet and a cup of milk next to it. Next to her tray was another tray. This one had a plate of a small apple pie and a cup of milk, instead.
"Sit down, Zack. I've already helped you to get your breakfast, but I hope that you like what I've picked," Amber, holding out the tray with the apple pie to him.
"Thanks, Amber," Zack said as he sat down, "It's just fine."
He took a fork and cut a piece of the apple pie. He put it into his mouth while Amber watched him. He took a few bites.
"This taste great, Amber! Thanks for getting it for me."
She smiled happily, feeling glad, "You're welcome, Zack."
He takes another bite of the pie. As the two were eating their breakfast, Quistis appeared at their table, still in her usual dress.
"How do you like the food?"
"It tastes great, Quistis," Zack answered.
Amber nodded while chewing a piece of her omelet.
Quistis smiled, "Well, that's good to hear."
"So, is there anything going on later?" Zack asks as he takes another piece of the pie.
Quistis thought for a while before she answered, "Nothing that would involve people from outside the garden. So I guess you should just go home then."
Zack and Amber were surprised when they heard her.
"Oh, I-I see. Yeah, maybe we should," Zack continued.
He and Amber continued eating their breakfast for a while. Suddenly, the three hear a voice talking through the PA system.
"Will Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas please see Headmaster Cid at the directory area now? I repeat, will Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas please see Headmaster Cid at the directory area now? A problem has just come up this morning that he needs to discuss about."
Quistis looks towards where the voice came from, "I wonder what is it?"
She looks at Zack and Amber, "Well, I've gotta go. See you two later."
After she had dashed off, Zack and Amber looked at each other.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Zack asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we can meet up with them later."
"Yeah, maybe," he replied as he continued eating his pie. They continued eating their breakfast for a while before Zack asked, "Did you have a good night sleep?"
"Yeah, the bed was comfortable and it was quite tiring yesterday. So I was able to sleep easily. What about you?"
"Yeah, same goes for me."
The two then continued with their breakfast.
*********
A few minutes has passed since Zack and Amber finished their breakfast. Now, they are walking towards the directory area, which was in front of the main garden elevator. Before reaching there, they could already see Squall and the others, who were talking with Headmaster Cid and Angelo sitting still near the group, quietly watching them.
"Well, that's was all that was said in the message," they could hear Cid saying to Squall.
Reaching the directory area, they heard Quistis questioned, "So, they say that a man in a black cape is causing trouble in the city?"
Zack and Amber were surprised when they hear that.
Rinoa then continued, "Together with a sorceress with black wings on her back?"
Zack thought when he heard that, "Sorceress with black wings on her back? Sounds like Sorceress Ultimecia. Could it be?"
"Yes, that is correct. So, they are asking help from our garden to send some of our SeeD mercenaries. Since the sorceress's description matched Sorceress Ultimecia, I thought that you all should be the ones to investigate it," Cid explained to them.
Squall thought to himself before he said, "That just couldn't be. We've defeated her and she had died after passing her powers to Matron. How could that be her?"
"And also, Dr. Odine told us that Ultimecia was from a distant future, a very far one!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Do you think it might be an Ultimecia look-alike?" Zell asked.
"Who knows? It just might be," Rinoa answered.
"Let's go and investigate, Squall," Irvine, looking at Squall.
"Yeah, I think it was a wise decision for you to appoint us to go, sir," Squall told the Headmaster.
"Excellent," Cid exclaimed, "But I wish that you would bring along a few capable SeeD's with you."
"Why?" Rinoa asked.
"For experience. After all, I can't just have you six as the best in the garden," Cid explained.
Squall thought for a while before Quistis said, "I think we should, Squall. We should pass our experience to others so as they would be better prepared for any other situations that might be as dangerous as this one."
Squall thought to himself again before he answered, "All right, sir. But we'll only take three at most."
"That is good enough. I only know of three SeeD's that are most capable for this. Excuse me while I go and call upon the three."
The headmaster then walked for the elevator. Once inside, the elevator door closed and the elevator went up. Zack and Amber then ran towards the group.
"Squall, take us with you!" Zack shouted, surprising Squall and the others.
"What?" Squall uttered as Zack and Amber stopped in front of him.
"Take us with you, Squall!" Amber repeated.
"Why?" Rinoa asked, still surprised.
"The man in the black cape. We know him, if it is him," Zack explained.
"You do?" Quistis, a little surprised.
"Yes, the man that you were all talking about should be Sephiroth," Amber explained.
"Sephiroth?" Zell muttered, "Never heard of him."
"Well, of course! But we have!" Zack exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Zack, but we cannot take anyone else with us," Squall told the two.
"Why?" Amber asked.
"It's too dangerous. A sorceress is with this man, which you say could be Sephiroth. And this sorceress might be someone that we know of who is extremely evil," Rinoa explained.
"It's all right. Sephiroth is an evil person himself. We can take care of ourselves," Zack answered.
"I'm sorry, Zack, but we won't take you two with us. It is just too dangerous," Squall said.
"But." Zack muttered before the PA system interrupted him.
"This is the headmaster speaking. Will Roger Carlo, Jacky Cage and Cindy Levion please come to the directory area? I repeat, will Roger Carlo, Jacky Cage and Cindy Levion please come to the directory area? That is all."
"Humph, I'd never thought that Roger would be one of those SeeD's that Cid was talking about," Irvine, smiling happily.
Staring at each other, Squall said calmly to Zack, "I'm sorry, Zack, but we won't take you two with us. We don't want to endanger any other lives, not even the ones that Headmaster Cid has just mentioned."
Zack was shocked when he heard that. He couldn't find anything to say and just glared down to the floor, feeling a little upset. Suddenly, Angelo started barking at a boy, who just arrived to where they were all standing.
"Whoa, Angelo, no need for loud greetings," the boy exclaimed, "Hey, were you all called to come here, too?"
Everyone turned to look at the boy. When Zack did so, he realized that it was Roger. His hairstyle was still same as the other night. This time, he was wearing a brown, sleeveless T-shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top and dark-brown pants that went only til under his kneecaps, together with a pair of black snickers. Just then, another boy came walking towards them, and then a girl. The boy was kind of handsome with his hair standing straight on his head. He was wearing a red T-shirt under a dark-purple sleeveless jacket and long black trousers, tucked into his black snickers. The girl had long black hair, which was tied with a red ribbon and was wearing a small blue leather jacket over a green blouse and long ocean-blue pants that reached until her red sandals.
"Why were we all called?" Roger continued
Just then, the elevator door opened as Headmaster Cid appeared through it. As he did, he saw the three young SeeD's.
"Ah, I see that you three have arrived. Excellent!" The headmaster then walked down the short, wide stairway to where everyone was standing. Reaching the end of the steps, he suggests to Roger, the boy and the girl to stand beside him, "Squall, these are the three that I want you to bring to Deling City."
He then looked at the three, "Please introduce yourselves to Squall and the others."
Roger was the first in line. So he started first.
"Hi, I'm Roger Carlo, but you all know me. So, never mind."
Then it was the boy, "I'm Jacky Cage. Please to meet you all."
Lastly was the girl, "Hi, I'm Cindy Levion. Nice to meet you all."
Squall nodded his head, "It's nice to meet you three, too. I'm Squall Leonhart. I will be bringing you three to Deling City. The reason, a message from the mayor of that city was just sent here this morning. The message said that a man in a black cape and a sorceress were causing trouble in the city. The sorceress is said to be very powerful and dangerous. You were all chosen by the headmaster to come with us so that you would be able to achieve more experience and be better prepared for any other such dangers or situations in the near future. Is that clear?"
The three answered solemnly, "Yes!"
Squall nodded his head once more.
Headmaster Cid then exclaimed, "Excellent! We will be arriving at Deling City in a short while. So, you have a short period of time to prepare yourselves."
He turns to walk towards to the elevator. Taking a few steps, he stops.
"You should also get to know more about your teammates. Good luck."
He then continued walking towards the elevator.
As the elevator went up with the headmaster in it, Irvine exclaimed to Roger, "Hey, I can't believe that you would be chosen by the headman."
"Yeah, me too," Selphie admitted.
"Humph, you guys don't know me as well as you think," Roger answered, acting like a big shot.
Everyone laughed at that, except Zack and Amber who were watching them from where they stood.
"Well, you three had better prepare yourselves. You're going to need it later," Rinoa advised.
After watching them for the whole time, Zack and Amber stare at each other.
"What are we going to do now, Zack?" Amber asked, a little worried.
Zack turned to look at Squall and the others, "I. I don't know."