[Sorry about the lateness of this chapter…the disk I had it on lost the file somehow…Grr…so I had to rewrite it. It feels like this one worse than the first one!! I was mad at it for a while, so that's why I didn't finish it till today. Much apologizes. After the initial anger, I really got into it and had a lot of fun finishing it up! So I hope you enjoy!]
Rinoa led the way to the circular path that was directly above the main hall, where, if they had looked right over the rail below them, Squall was there talking with Fujin and Raijin. Rinoa rested her arms on the railing and leaned against it, looking off at the distance where she could barely make out the Front Gates.
"This place is so huge," Rinoa exclaimed. It's gonna take us a while to find Squall. "I'm exhausted just looking at it."
"Yeah, it must be twice the size of Balamb Garden, if not more," Zell said, putting his back to the railing and resting his elbows on it. "You gotta wonder."
"Oh? Being a little suspect, aren't you? " Rinoa questioned, turning towards the stairs. Zell followed close beside her.
"Well, I mean, these guys train hardcore, like they're part of some army…" Zell trailed off, seeing a group of students at the base of the stairs doing push-ups, somehow emphasizing his point. Though Zell had to fight the urge to want to work out with them; it would completely make what he said mean nothing. Rinoa looked both ways, Squall now gone from his previous location, and she headed north.
"They even got cadets marching around like they're on guard duty," Zell added quietly, for a pair of students had just walked past them. "I bet you that's where all the funding comes from, the Galbadian Army, because they train soldiers here for them. Isn't that who we're up against? You just gotta wonder…"
Rinoa shook her head and smiled, and was about to tell Zell that he was thinking way too much into it, when they reached the end of the open hall at the athletic track. Rinoa put a hand up above her eyes to block out the sun's rays when she noticed that a group of students were huddled around a canine…
"Angelo! How you doing, girl?"" Rinoa cried, and ran over to the group. They backed off somewhat, watching the girl kneel down and hug the dog, the dog putting its paws on Rinoa's lap and licking at her face.
"Oh, are you its owner?" One of the students asked. "One of the cadets on patrol saw it wandering the compound outside, so they brought it here so it could run around freely." The student clapped his hands. "Come on, back to work!" He ordered, and group dispersed to begin training once again.Rinoa nodded her thanks and Zell patted Angelo on the head a couple times. "I wonder how she got all the way out here," Zell thought aloud. Rinoa looked up at Zell and stood up.
"Zone knew that we were heading for East Academy…and he got the tickets…perhaps he somehow got Angelo on the train and we just didn't notice she was so close by." Rinoa laughed lightly and shook her head at the farfetched idea. "In any case, who cares? She's here now, aren't you girl?" Rinoa cooed. "Well, Squall isn't here, let's move on."
They walked back to the hall and Rinoa pointed off to the left of them when they came about the other side. Rinoa took the time to ask Zell something that's been on mer mind since the first time she met Squall at the dance and the when she had seen Seifer on the huge TV in Timber. "Um, Zell…" Rinoa started, clasping her hands behind her. "You know how Squall and Seifer have those scars on their faces," Rinoa said, running a hand from her forehead down across her nose to show emphasis.
Zell nodded and Rinoa continued. "Um, well…is there some sort of connection, or is it just a really big coincidence?"
"Oh, well," Zell said excitingly. "The story about that has been spread across the Garden in so many different versions. But, here's the real tale. Squall and Seifer were 'training'," Zell started, holding up both hands and making a big exaggeration point with his two fingers. "And Seifer being the ass he was, decided to use a cheap Fire spell trick to catch Squall off-guard. And he swooped in and slashed him right down the face. Heh, course Squall evened the score, and slashed him back up the face. Quite a tale, huh?"
Rinoa laughed slightly at Zell's enthusiasm. "Oh, I see…" Was all Rinoa said, though somewhat lively. I'm…glad we can talk about Seifer…even if it is like this. Rinoa smiled as they came upon the end of the hall, which lead in two different directions.
"Hey, Rinoa," Zell started as they walked, taking the path on left after checking that the door on the right only had a group of people playing cards. "Why are you so worried about Squall, anyway? You two have been going at it like you're each other's worse enemy. It's like you hate each other."
"I can't hate him if I don't know him," Rinoa said matter-of-factly, turning to make sure that Angelo was following them. "And I've been bugging him about not caring about his comrades. How would I look if I didn't worry about him, you know?" Zell didn't say anything, figuring she had a point there, and Rinoa hugged herself and rubbed her bare arms as they reached the cold skating compound.
"He's not here either…" Rinoa said, walking over to the high wall and plastic windows, leaning her forehead on it.
"Dude, we should have one of these back at Balamb…imagine the kind of fun—uh, I mean, training, we could have with one of these," Zell said, looking out at the ice rink.
"You really like Balamb Garden, don't you Zell?" Rinoa asked jokingly, turning her head to look at him directly though not taking her forehead off the window.
"Like!? Well, I…it's just, I guess, if I was from Galbadia, I'd love this Garden, too. But you always got a soft spot for you home Garden."
"So you're from Balamb?" Rinoa stood up straight. It was nice talking with someone that actually…spoke. It was easy to talk to Zell, unlike the trouble she was having with Squall.
"My ma lives back in Balamb. My grandfather was a soldier, so I joined Balamb Garden when I was 13 to follow in his footsteps. He was a great man, you know?"
At such a young age…no wonder you fight like it's your second nature. "Oh, I see. That's really…honorable. Wait…!" Rinoa snapped her fingers and pointed at Zell suddenly, who jumped back. "You're the son!"
"…Son?" Zell repeated, regaining his composure.
"The night of the ball, I had this driver who drove me to the Garden. He said there was a woman back in town who had a son, and she hoped that he had become a SeeD. I hope I'm not assuming to much in figuring it was you."
"Ah, jeez, figures Ma would tell the whole town," Zell blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Nah, it's me."
Rinoa giggled. "Did you ever tell her that you past the test?"
Zell nodded. "Yeah, just before we left for the Timber mission, I dropped by and told her. She was ecstatic."
Rinoa smiled and was about to say something when the Garden P.A. system sounded. "Attention SeeD party from Balamb Garden. Please assemble at the front gate."
"Guess that's our cue," Zell said, and he led the way to the Front Gates. As they neared it, only Selphie was there so far. She caught sight of them and ran to meet up with them.
"Finally! Someone else is here! Do you know what it's like waiting out here ALONE!?"
"Nice to see ya again, Selphie," Zell commented, and began shadow boxing while he waited.
"So Squall and Quistis aren't here yet?" Rinoa asked Selphie. Selphie shook her head.
"Nah, it's just me."
"Oh…" Rinoa said a bit sadly. She really wanted to talk to Squall before anything else happened. In the distance, Quistis and Squall were now seen approaching them. Rinoa smiled and ran up to them. Quistis gave her a look that read 'Don't bother,' and she continued walking towards Selphie and Zell. Rinoa either didn't understand the look or didn't care, and she stood in front of him, blocking his way.
"Hey…are you alright?" Rinoa asked him worriedly.
"I'm fine," Squall said in a monotone voice, and made a move to walk around her, but Rinoa stepped to the side and stood in his way again.
"I'm sure you are," Rinoa said, striving to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, though she was sure she failed. How can you possibly be fine after having an emotional outburst like that? You can't get over that in a matter of minutes. "It's just…" Rinoa looked down and dug the toe of her shoe into the ground before looking back at him. What was she going to say? She never really planned that out. "Well…if you need to talk about what happened…you said that you didn't want to be just a memory, or something… We all…miss Seifer. You know, it could help with whatever you're feeling if you talk about it."
Squall but a hand to her forehead. He didn't need this now. Him, feelings? Like he'd actually tell anyone what he felt. What happened back there was just a mistake. "Whatever." He really didn't feel like talking about it. Squall tried to walk around her again, and Rinoa stood motionless, letting him pass.
Whatever…? It's just like a guy to act like that, right? They don't talk about these things, right? Rinoa said to herself, trying to make herself believe her own words. Yeah, right. Just you wait, Squall. I'll get you to open up to me…For your own good. Rinoa let out a frustrated sigh, before turning and walking back behind him.
Quistis was now pacing around. "The headmaster should be coming with orders soon," she said, partly to herself. Zell shook his head, continuing to shadow box, punching at the air and hopping around on the spot.
"He's pretty late for a headmaster," Selphie complained.
A car suddenly began to approach; the sides of it embedded with the Garden symbol. Rinoa caught sight of it. "Oh! I think that's him," Rinoa told the group, and something sparked in her eyes. If the headmaster finds out that I'm a civilian, that could complicate things. Rinoa lightly elbowed Squall in his side and he bent his head down so she could whisper to him. "Just pretend I'm a SeeD, too. It'll be less complicated that way."
Squall didn't say anything, probably figuring it was another order, and Rinoa quickly kneeled down to pet Angelo. "You need to go find a place to hide for a little while, okay girl?" Angelo barked and obeyed, scurrying off. Moments later, the car arrived and pulled up in front of the group. The passenger side door swung open and Headmaster Martine stepped out. The others lined up on Squall's right side, with Rinoa on his left, and they stood at attention, saluting him.
Rinoa's heart raced. She never asked Squall to show her how or when to do the salute. Looking at him from the corner of her eye, and mimicked them, a few seconds behind. Martine clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall and straight, eyeing them all. Rinoa thought that the jig is up, for he stared at them for several long seconds, but he finally addressed them and nodded saying, "Good day." He began pacing back and forth, his eyes to the ground. "I have official orders from Headmaster Cid addressed to you. Following regulations, I have gone over these orders."
Rinoa was about to stand normally when the headmaster began pacing, but the SeeDs still stood at attention, and Rinoa wondered if they were going to stand like this for the entire time. Martine continued. "After careful consideration of our options, we have decided to fully assist and cooperate with Headmaster Cid." He paused, almost in thought. "Actually, we too, have been planning for this for quite some time now."
Martine stopped his pacing and looked directly at the SeeDs, getting into the real matter of what he was leading up to. "In order to stress the importance of this mission, I must first brief you on the current situation." He took a closer look at them, just noticing now that they were still standing at attention. "At ease," he said almost lazily. The SeeDs and Rinoa relaxed and waited for him to continue.
"You all know about the sorceress being appointed as the peace ambassador for the Galbadian government."
Oh, so was that what that bumbling fool was going on about back in Timber? Rinoa thought, figuring the others probably already knew that.
"However, this ambassador thing is just a cover up. There will be no peace talks, only threats." Martine stared at each of them in turn, a grave seriousness in his eyes. He did not want them to think of this lightly. "The sorceress creates fear among people. Therefore, peace talks are impossible. Galbadia is planning to use this fear to negotiate favorable conditions for itself. It is clear that Galbadia's ultimate goal is world domination," he informed them. "Garden is no exception, either."
That surly hit the group rather hard. Garden had always been a neutral body, especially since they had the ability to save a government and overthrow it, even on the same day. And weren't they just exempted from being blamed about the attack in Timber? Why target Garden? Why get rid of a perfect excuse to attack? Martine's next words snapped them back to reality, only to get even more shocking news.
"It is a fact the sorceress is planning to use this Garden as her base." Everyone but Squall gasped. "...We have very few options available to us," Martine said sadly, then sighed. He looked to Squall, him being the squad leader. "We entrust world peace, and the future, to you."
The SeeD's promptly saluted again, but Rinoa was faster this time around. The headmaster reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of folded papers and handed them over to Squall. "Details of the mission are enclosed in these official orders. It would be wise to destroy these documents after you have read them."
The group relaxed once again and Squall took the papers, quickly running over them once. A frown came across his face as he scanned through a section in the order again.
"Any questions?" Martine asked, seeing the look on Squall's face. Squall looked up, then nodded.
"The orders say by means of 'a sniper'," Squall started, looking back down at the words. "We have no one with that skill."
The headmaster nodded, smiling. He knew that was what Squall was going to ask. "Don't worry about it. As part of our collaboration with Headmaster Cid, we know that you have no one certified to be a sharpshooter. That is why we are going to send one of our own people with you. Let me introduce you to an elite sharpshooter from Galbadia Garden." Martine turned away from the group, looking towards the East Side of the grounds.
"Kinneas! Irvine Kinneas!" He called.
The group followed his gaze and was met with a tall young man with a black cowboy hat, lying on a nearby grassy hill that surrounded the stone walkway to which they stood. Apparently not hearing the Headmaster calling him, Irvine reached up with black fingerless gloves, pointing upward. A butterfly landed on his finger, and he held his hand steady for a moment before moving his hands quickly, pretending to shoot the insect, which flew away due to his sudden actions. With that, the man stood up, grabbing his gun and resting it on his shoulder. He looked over at them and smirked as he walked over to them.
Wearing a large, fur-lined brown trenchcoat, with matching rawhide brown pants and a sleeveless dark blue vest underneath the coat, the 6-foot blue-eyed brunette looked just like a cowboy.
"This," Martine said as Irvine stood beside him, "Is Irvine Kinneas." With a closer look at him, he was the same age as they were. "He will be your sharpshooter. Leave whenever you are ready. Failure is not an option," the headmaster added, and with that, Martine returned to the car and entered back through the passenger side. As the car pulled back and began driving away, Irvine pointed at the disappearing car with his free hand and pretended to shoot at that, too.
"BANG!" Irvine yelled, and Rinoa resisted the urge to giggle. He was sort of boyish, pretending to shoot at everything, even his own headmaster. He seemed nice enough to Rinoa, and she was going to go easy on him. It couldn't be comfortable hanging around a bunch of SeeDs from a different Garden. She should know; she was in his position before.
"So I'm with you SeeDs from Balamb, eh?" Irvine asked them with a slight smile, though he didn't expect an answer. He quickly turned his attention to Rinoa, Quistis and Selphie, going into a short bow and tipping his hat in their direction. "Hey there. Always nice to work with ladies."
The girls giggled at this, even Quistis. Ah, a ladies man. Rinoa thought. That's interesting.
Irvine turned his attention towards Squall and Zell, giving them a nod. "You two don't look so bad yourselves," he joked. Zell grimaced, and both Squall and Irvine caught sight of it. Zell always overreacted, especially around people like Irvine, who was know beginning to remind them of Seifer. Though if that was a good thing or not depended on who you asked. Looking at how things were going, it might not be a good idea to group those two together.
"You got a problem there, buddy?" Irvine asked Zell.
"That depends," Zell said, closing a hand into a tight fist and taking a few steps towards him. Irvine put his hands up tauntingly and Squall stepped in front of them.
"It's just a joke," Irvine said. "Don't let it bother you and we'll do just fine."
"We'll keep that in mind," Squall said before Zell could react any which way. "I'm Squall Leonhart, the team leader."
"Pleasure," Irvine commented. "So, the head poncho briefed you on the job?"
Squall nodded and held up the papers that Headmaster Martine gave him. The group then huddled around him, wanting to finally find out what they were supposed to do.
"What's our mission?" Quistis asked.
Squall sighed and looked down at the paper. "Our next mission…Is no ordinary mission. It's a direct order from both Balamb and Galbadia Garden."
"It must be something huge then. Especially the way that Martine guy was all serious," Selphie said. The group nodded and waited for Squall to continue.
"We're to…assassinate the sorceress," Squall said blankly, glancing up at his team. Though it did come as a surprise, they figured that was it, and they immediately understood.
More killing…? Rinoa thought a little dispiritedly. She knew this sorceress was bad news, but did everything have to resort to death?
"We're to shoot her from afar. Kinneas will be our sharpshooter." Squall nodded over to Irvine. "We're to support Kinneas to our fullest. Should the sniper fail…we are to attack head on."
Irvine looked at Squall and smirked. "Thanks for the support, but I never miss my target," he said with much arrogance, almost laughing at the thought of him failing.
Ignoring them, Squall went on. "Eliminate the sorceress. That's our order. We're going to head to the capital of Galbadia, Deling City. There, we're to meet up with General Caraway to..."
Rinoa couldn't make herself listen to the rest of Squall's words if her life depended on it. All she could hear was the frantic beating of her heart, threatening to beat right out of her body and still continue to pump on the dirty ground below, and words repeating in her mind, getting louder and louder that it could have broken her eardrums from the inside.
Deling…Caraway…
Rinoa's blood turned frigid cold.
[My first A/N at the end of a chapter…well, first and foremost, no, I wasn't trying to put Zell and Rinoa together (Though you don't see that pairing a lot, which is a shame). I just found them really close friends in the game, and I'm just building that up now. And Angelo's sudden appearance…yeah, well, I had to put her back in somehow! Just had a lame explanation…And I did add some things to the scenes…thought it'd be cool. Irvine…may sound pretty bad now, but no worries! Or maybe he's always that bad..? Huh…]