[Aha, thanks a lot trekken and DesAngels. I've actually been thinking about how I was going to do the part where Rinoa's in a comatose state, but I think I've come up with something that might work and could be quite interesting! We'll see, ne?]

"Please, have a seat," Cid said. Rinoa and Cid now stood in his spacious open office that was down the hall from the ballroom hall. Two funky-dressed guards stood at either side of the room, and Rinoa wondered if they got paid enough to wear such clothing. As Cid walked around his desk to sit down, Rinoa followed after him, standing in front of his desk.

"I rather stand, thank you," Rinoa said. She was too excited to sit down, and knew she would be fidgety if she sat down. She never expected to actually be standing right in his office. Rinoa was so close to getting her hands on some SeeD's.

"Suit yourself. Now…" Cid started, settling down comfortably in his chair, "I do believe Seifer has mentioned you before. He said you needed some sort of help. What can I do for you, Miss Heartilly?"

"Rinoa, please," she said, smiling. She never knew Seifer talked about her to his Headmaster. It made up for him not being around tonight. "Well, as you know, Timber has been controlled by Galbadia for some time. This is affecting the city and its people very deeply. Travelers who come only stay for a short time because the violent Galbadian soldiers disturb the public order of the town. These people kill, sir. There are many resistance factions in Timber that are trying to liberate the city, and I myself am part of one called the Forest Owls. We need SeeD's help but we do not have the funding. In fact, none of the resistance factions do, and we're the most active one. This causes the city being stuck in the same loop for we haven't the external power to destroy it."

"Are you a resident of Timber, Rinoa?" Cid asked thoughtfully.

"Um…no," Rinoa said, hoping that wasn't a real problem. "I visited Timber two years ago, and I eventually joined the Forest Owls because I felt I needed to do something about Timber being under martial law. I spent a lot of time at Timber, and I got to know many people involved in the resistance. I wanted to help. No one should have to live in such conditions, Mr. Kramer."

Cid put his elbows on his desk and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his chin on it. He was silent for some time, and Rinoa thought that maybe she hadn't gotten through to him. "Miss Heartilly…Rinoa," Cid said, "I'm impressed by your heartfelt dedication and intentions to free Timber, even though you are not a born resident of the city. Any other person would have just forgotten about it and leave its problems to its people, but you took a stand."

Rinoa smiled brightly, clasping her own hands and bringing them up to her chest hopefully.

"I completely support your resistance, and I give the go ahead for liberating Timber immediately," Cid said, smiled widely as well as she opened a drawer and began writing up a contract. "I'm going to even give you a nice discounted price. How does that sound?"

Rinoa screamed in delight and had to refrain from going around and hugging the man tightly, thinking that wouldn't be too professional and might change the man's mind. She simply contented herself to going up and down on the balls of her feet. "You can't begin to comprehend the joy I'm feeling, Mr. Kramer."

"Cid, please," Cid said, and handed the contract over to her. "Just sign this and you shall have your SeeD team."

"Thank you!" Rinoa took the contract and began reading, but soon developed a confused look on her face. "Um…Cid…I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I figured as much…" Cid trailed off, finishing writing on a second piece of paper. "So I've written a different one. Here."

Rinoa smiled and took a look at the new one he had devised. It was much easier to understand, and was happy to note that she had the SeeD's until Timber was completely independent. There was no stopping them now. Taking out a pen from her purse, Rinoa signed the contract. "Do I pay now?"

"You brought that kind of money with you?" Cid inquired, though of course he would have accepted payment now.

"I was really hoping that this moment would happen. I was prepared," Rinoa said coyly, and handed him almost all the money she had with her, that in total came around 15, 000 Gold, which was at least a quarter, if not more, of the total amount of money the Forest Owls even had. It was barely even close to what she was sure the real amount for SeeD's were, which she was thinking was around at least 100, 000 Gold.

"Oh, as well," Rinoa added, "When you send your people, someone will be waiting at Timber station. The person will say, 'The forest of Timber sure have changed'. The password is, 'But the owls are still around.' We…don't want to pick up any spies or anything, you know?"

Cid laughed and took the gold. "Alright, we'll relay the information accordingly. We'll be sending SeeD's as soon as we can. Well, if that's all the business matters for tonight, I think I'm going to head back to the party. May I escort you back?"

Rinoa shook her head, putting both contracts into her purse. "I have to go now. Gotta start getting prepared, you know? Lots of planning and work to do. But thank you anyway."

Cid nodded and walked around his desk again, walking Rinoa out of his office, though was stopped by the doorway when Rinoa threw her arms around him in a hug, throwing away her earlier thought that it wouldn't be professional. She didn't care.

Cid chuckled and patted her on the back. "I wish you all the luck, Rinoa. Have a nice night."

"You, too, Cid. Good night," Rinoa said, and waved to him as he went back towards the party, and she stood waiting for the elevator. Making her way out of Garden, Rinoa wondered if she should have called for a transport back to Balamb, and was thinking of going back in to do so when she saw Zone leaning against a car by the Front Gates.

"You're late," Zone teased, opening the door for her.

"You're early," Rinoa retorted, but smiled and got inside, Zone going in after her.

"So how did it go?" Watts asked from the driver's seat, turning on the ignition and pulling the car out of the driveway and onto the road back to the town.

"Great! I knew that talking to Cid directly would work! We should be getting SeeD's soon!" Rinoa exclaimed happily, and Zone and Watts laughed in surprise.

"Well I'll be a chocobo's uncle," Zone said. "So, what's on the agenda now?"

"As soon as we head back to the train, we'll have to plan for the mission to kidnap the President immediately. The presentation, the steps, everything," Rinoa said, rubbing her eyes. It looked like it was going to be a long night, and she wouldn't be waking up from her sleep till late tomorrow. "Where's Angelo?"

"We brought her back to the train before we came to pick you up," Watts answered as they pulled into the town and parked the car at the car rental, which was right by the entrance.

Walking out of the car and towards the train station, the three discussed what exactly they had to do concerning the carrying out of the mission. Coming to a stop at the base of the stairs to the train station, Rinoa clapped her hands together.

"Great, then all we need is to do the model and we're set!" Rinoa said, facing the two.

"Actually," Watts started, "We bought most of the supplies at the gift store while we were touring the town."

"Oh…" Rinoa said a little sadly. She wanted to be a part of that. "Well, then, I'm making the President's car personally. No excuses!" She headed up the stairs, leaving Zone and Watts to look at each other silently then trail on up after her.

Boarding the train, Rinoa yawned and stretched. "I'm going to get changed then get started. I guess there's nothing else for you two to do. You guys can go to sleep if you wish. Angelo will keep me company."

"Don't stay up too late," Zone said, hugging her goodnight, then walking off to his room.

"Yeah, can't wait to see the finished product in the morning." Watts nodded and followed after Zone; they shared the same room.

Smiling at their retreating backs, Rinoa whistled softly and soon enough Angelo came running from her room. Kneeling down, Rinoa allowed Angelo to lick her this time, though she wasn't sure what she was so worried about before; she wasn't wearing much make up to begin with. "You have a good time, girl?" Rinoa asked as she went to her room and changed.

Exiting the room in her regular clothing, Rinoa rubbed the side of her head to keep her awake long enough to even get to the strategy room and get started. Taking out a plain miniature train and some paint, Rinoa sat down and began. "You know what?" Rinoa said to Angelo as she worked, talking aloud to also sustain her state of consciousness. "I met the strangest guy at that party. He actually looked pretty cute, even with that odd slash across his face…makes him seem more endearing, you know?"

Rinoa laughed and shook her head, yawning once again. Why she was discussing this at all, let alone to her dog, was beyond her. "I think he had something against me. How can he dance so flawlessly at the end of the song but acted like he had two left feet in the beginning of it? Such a dramatic change, don't you think? Maybe I caught him off guard with my impeccable personality." She laughed at that thought, too, adding some more parts to the train. She wasn't an egocentric person at all. She just really hoped the guy didn't hate her…she couldn't stand people disliking her, even though she was intent on speaking her mind without reservation, which would sure close the deal of everyone surely liking her.

Feeling herself loosing the battle to stay vigilant, Rinoa took a look at the finished product. Whether it was her aim to make it look so horrid, or because she was just really out of it, Rinoa wasn't too sure herself. "Well…I can always make a justification if someone has the nerve to question it," Rinoa said, then stood up. She was completely tuckered out. "Come on, girl, let's go sleep."

Sauntering back to her room with Angelo in tow, Rinoa collapsed on her fluffy bed and instantly fell asleep.