Squall was immediately on top of the situation, grabbing the radio.
"Balamb Garden, this is Ragnarok. Do you copy? Over." There was a pause, as Selphie and Squall stared at the radio, expecting a response. None came.
"Repeat, Balamb Garden, this is Ragnarok. What is your situation? Over." There was another pause, which again was not ended by a voice on the other end of the radio.
"Squall," gulped Selphie, "you don't think everyone's-"
Squall was quick to put her mind at rest.
"No way. The blast'll have been big, but nowhere near that big. Either the radio's broken, or they're too busy to answer us."
"What should we do?"
"Set us down close to the main entrance. We have to do our best to help," Squall replied. And I have to know whether she's all right…
They landed about 500 yards from the south gate, to find monsters from the training centre everywhere. They were no match for experienced fighters like Squall and Selphie, but every second they wasted fighting them was another second they were away from the Garden… and Rinoa.
Eventually, they made it in the front gate, and were greeted by a scene of outright chaos, the likes of which had not been seen since the NORG crisis some three and a half months earlier. An exhausted Nida, noticing them, ran right up to Squall.
"Squall!" He shouted, almost out of breath. Squall and Selphie helped him onto a chair.
"What happened here? Where's Cid? Where's Rinoa?" Squall had many more questions, but he knew he had to be the voice of reason in these troubled times.
"A- bomb, in the training centre," Nida replied. "Cid and Edea are safe on the bridge. I haven't seen Rinoa."
Damn! Thought Squall. Immediately, he did what all good leaders did, and delegated.
"Nida, Selphie, head to the infirmary. Doctor Kadowaki will need all the hands she can get."
"What are you going to do?" Asked Selphie.
"I'm going to look for Rinoa," came Squall's truthful answer. Secretly, he feared that his nightmare had come true, that Rinoa was- he couldn't even bring himself to imagine it. He had to find her alive. He had to.
Fortunately, he did not have to look far, as she was standing on the steps leading to the elevator, a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed.
"Rinoa!" He shouted.
"Squall!" Came the reply he wanted to hear. Immediately, she located him in the crowd, and ran down the steps into his waiting arms. They held each other for a brief moment.
"I thought I'd lost you," he said.
"Not while I have any say in it!" Came Rinoa's reply. He kissed her on her forehead, when he noticed someone being stretchered away- someone he knew very well indeed.
"Zell!" He shouted after the young man lying unconscious on the stretcher. Immediately, he and Rinoa, hand in hand, rushed over to the medics attending to him.
"What happened?" Asked Squall.
The medics were no more forthcoming than Nida had been a few moments earlier.
"There was a bomb, and-"
"I know that!" Squall snapped back. He was a little on edge- as would you be if you saw one of your best friends a bloody mess on a stretcher. "What I need to know is who planted it?"
"We don't know, we're just taking care of the wounded," the flustered medic replied, obviously intimidated by the angry SeeD in front of her. Fortunately, Rinoa was on hand to calm him down.
"Squall," came her tranquillising voice, and immediately Squall was calm and focused.
"How is he?" Squall asked of his injured friend.
"We're not sure yet," came the reply from the noticeably less-flustered medic. Obviously Rinoa had calmed her too. "We suspect a concussion, maybe a few broken ribs. He wasn't too close to the blast zone but he was close enough. He should live."
At that point the medic, deciding she'd been delayed enough, barged past Squall, taking Zell to the cafeteria, which was serving as an emergency triage facility. Rinoa took the opportunity to fill her lover in on events from her point of view.
"I'm not sure what happened exactly. I was in the cafeteria, queuing up for dinner, when there was this massive bang. The floor shook, I fell over, all the windows broke. When I got back on my feet everywhere was in a state of panic."
"Everywhere still is," noted Squall. He spotted a megaphone on the wall. "Time to change that." He rushed over and grabbed the megaphone, then climbed up onto the wall and addressed the crowd.
"Attention everybody," came the now-booming voice over the megaphone. Suddenly, all the commotion died down. "It is imperative that you remain calm, and that those of you who are not doing anything at the moment find a task and do it. Medics, stretcher-bearers, anything, just get to it. There will be an investigation as soon as we've accounted for everyone." He switched off the megaphone, and watched, amazed, as everyone took heed of his instructions and found jobs and did them. Maybe they did idolise him after all… but there was no time to think about that. He grabbed Rinoa again, and proceeded to the emergency stairs.
"Where were Quistis, Xu and Irvine?" He asked of his unaccounted friends.
"All on the second floor teaching. Irvine was showing them marksmanship skills, or something," Rinoa responded. She was still flustered, but her boyfriend's presence had calmed her noticeably. Squall took stock of the situation at large.
"Go find Dr. Kadowaki, and do whatever she tells you to," said Squall. He hated ordering Rinoa about but these were exceptional circumstances. "I'm going to find Cid." Rinoa nodded, and scuttled off. At least the danger was over for now.
He had just finished that thought, when another explosion, the same strength as the first one, rocked the Garden again, knocking Squall off his feet and sending him crashing to the bottom of the stairs, where he lost consciousness…
"Balamb Garden, this is Ragnarok. Do you copy? Over." There was a pause, as Selphie and Squall stared at the radio, expecting a response. None came.
"Repeat, Balamb Garden, this is Ragnarok. What is your situation? Over." There was another pause, which again was not ended by a voice on the other end of the radio.
"Squall," gulped Selphie, "you don't think everyone's-"
Squall was quick to put her mind at rest.
"No way. The blast'll have been big, but nowhere near that big. Either the radio's broken, or they're too busy to answer us."
"What should we do?"
"Set us down close to the main entrance. We have to do our best to help," Squall replied. And I have to know whether she's all right…
They landed about 500 yards from the south gate, to find monsters from the training centre everywhere. They were no match for experienced fighters like Squall and Selphie, but every second they wasted fighting them was another second they were away from the Garden… and Rinoa.
Eventually, they made it in the front gate, and were greeted by a scene of outright chaos, the likes of which had not been seen since the NORG crisis some three and a half months earlier. An exhausted Nida, noticing them, ran right up to Squall.
"Squall!" He shouted, almost out of breath. Squall and Selphie helped him onto a chair.
"What happened here? Where's Cid? Where's Rinoa?" Squall had many more questions, but he knew he had to be the voice of reason in these troubled times.
"A- bomb, in the training centre," Nida replied. "Cid and Edea are safe on the bridge. I haven't seen Rinoa."
Damn! Thought Squall. Immediately, he did what all good leaders did, and delegated.
"Nida, Selphie, head to the infirmary. Doctor Kadowaki will need all the hands she can get."
"What are you going to do?" Asked Selphie.
"I'm going to look for Rinoa," came Squall's truthful answer. Secretly, he feared that his nightmare had come true, that Rinoa was- he couldn't even bring himself to imagine it. He had to find her alive. He had to.
Fortunately, he did not have to look far, as she was standing on the steps leading to the elevator, a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed.
"Rinoa!" He shouted.
"Squall!" Came the reply he wanted to hear. Immediately, she located him in the crowd, and ran down the steps into his waiting arms. They held each other for a brief moment.
"I thought I'd lost you," he said.
"Not while I have any say in it!" Came Rinoa's reply. He kissed her on her forehead, when he noticed someone being stretchered away- someone he knew very well indeed.
"Zell!" He shouted after the young man lying unconscious on the stretcher. Immediately, he and Rinoa, hand in hand, rushed over to the medics attending to him.
"What happened?" Asked Squall.
The medics were no more forthcoming than Nida had been a few moments earlier.
"There was a bomb, and-"
"I know that!" Squall snapped back. He was a little on edge- as would you be if you saw one of your best friends a bloody mess on a stretcher. "What I need to know is who planted it?"
"We don't know, we're just taking care of the wounded," the flustered medic replied, obviously intimidated by the angry SeeD in front of her. Fortunately, Rinoa was on hand to calm him down.
"Squall," came her tranquillising voice, and immediately Squall was calm and focused.
"How is he?" Squall asked of his injured friend.
"We're not sure yet," came the reply from the noticeably less-flustered medic. Obviously Rinoa had calmed her too. "We suspect a concussion, maybe a few broken ribs. He wasn't too close to the blast zone but he was close enough. He should live."
At that point the medic, deciding she'd been delayed enough, barged past Squall, taking Zell to the cafeteria, which was serving as an emergency triage facility. Rinoa took the opportunity to fill her lover in on events from her point of view.
"I'm not sure what happened exactly. I was in the cafeteria, queuing up for dinner, when there was this massive bang. The floor shook, I fell over, all the windows broke. When I got back on my feet everywhere was in a state of panic."
"Everywhere still is," noted Squall. He spotted a megaphone on the wall. "Time to change that." He rushed over and grabbed the megaphone, then climbed up onto the wall and addressed the crowd.
"Attention everybody," came the now-booming voice over the megaphone. Suddenly, all the commotion died down. "It is imperative that you remain calm, and that those of you who are not doing anything at the moment find a task and do it. Medics, stretcher-bearers, anything, just get to it. There will be an investigation as soon as we've accounted for everyone." He switched off the megaphone, and watched, amazed, as everyone took heed of his instructions and found jobs and did them. Maybe they did idolise him after all… but there was no time to think about that. He grabbed Rinoa again, and proceeded to the emergency stairs.
"Where were Quistis, Xu and Irvine?" He asked of his unaccounted friends.
"All on the second floor teaching. Irvine was showing them marksmanship skills, or something," Rinoa responded. She was still flustered, but her boyfriend's presence had calmed her noticeably. Squall took stock of the situation at large.
"Go find Dr. Kadowaki, and do whatever she tells you to," said Squall. He hated ordering Rinoa about but these were exceptional circumstances. "I'm going to find Cid." Rinoa nodded, and scuttled off. At least the danger was over for now.
He had just finished that thought, when another explosion, the same strength as the first one, rocked the Garden again, knocking Squall off his feet and sending him crashing to the bottom of the stairs, where he lost consciousness…