Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Square-Enix characters! If I did, I wouldn't have to write this fan fic.......I'd just make a sequel myself!
Sorry for not updating in a while peeps. Here goes........
"What kind of half-baked idea is that!?" Seifer asked through the comm unit.
"One that could work! Have some faith in Squall, yo!" Zell chided.
"I didn't ask for you opinion Chicken-Wuss." Seifer snarled.
"I think it'll work Seifer." Squall butted in.
"Okay........let me get this straight. I'm supposed to walk in there, sit down with Garret, convince him that you've had me under mind control, and that I'll serve him if we can find the ? Is that what I'm hearing?" Seifer was not calm. Not one bit.
"Right." Squall said.
"Allright........fine......but just make sure you and Zell are there to back me up when things get ugly." Seifer gave up.
"Rodger that!" Zell said.
"We're SeeD's.....we'll do our job." Squall said darkly.
Seifer sighed and put the comm unit back in his coat. This is not gonna be fun....his inner voice told him. Seifer pushed the door of the bar open and walked inside. Enough of the people recognized him that a collective gasp filled the air. Seifer nonchalantley strolled over to Garret's booth and said down opposite to him.
"Give me one good reason not to make this bar another crater in the ground, and you with it." Garret didn't look up from his laptop.
"I wanna join you." Seifer said simply.
Garret looked up. "Excuse me?"
"I wanna join you." Seifer repeated.
"Why the sudden change of heart Mr. Almasy?" Garret narrowed his eyes.
"I............I........want.......the dreams......again." Seifer said truthfully.
"I see." Garret tapped his fingers on the table. "So you want to help me find the Sorceress so she can give you the dreams I should have had."
"No! I mean.....I won't hog the Sorceress this time! I promise!" Seifer blanched.
"Hmm.......I could use your help. I'm undertaking a huge task at the moment." Garret looked back to his laptop.
"What kind of task?" Seifer inquired.
"Well.......before I tell you anything, you must pledge loyalty to me.......and only me......and you must kiss my boot." Garret stood up.
I can't do it.....I'm gonna blow.......Seifer thought, but managed to retain his calm somehow.
"I pledge loyalty to you and only you Sir Garret, and give my position of Sorceress Knight to you." Seifer knelt down and mock-kissed Garret's boot. Garret thought the kiss was genuine and said, "Rise then.....Sir Almasy. You are now a Knight under my power."
"Let us speak of plans." Garret sat back down, as did Seifer. While both were adjusting their seats, Seifer whispered quietly into his comm unit, "You guys hearing all of this?" before replacing it in his pocket.
"Yeah!" came Zell's answer.
"What was that?" Garret looked suspicious.
"I said.......yeah......let's discuss plans." Seifer covered Zell's tracks.....he was going to kick the Chicken-Wuss's ass for that one.
"Very well. Master NORG and I are planning to gain access to Esthar in order to search for the remains of Sorceress Adel. Only she can bring Ultimecia back." Garret began.
"Wait.......how do you expect to get past Esthar's shield? I remember Ultimecia complaining about that. The only way we got through it when we did was to find their secret entrance.......which has been sealed for like four months now." Seifer interrupted.
"Exactly. Therein lies the plan. We need no secret entrance. I have several drill teams standing by at this moment to drill into the coastline of Esthar.......which.......in case you didn't already know.......is comprised solely of cliffs. Once underground, we can drill past the shield and reach Esthar from below." Garret explained, satisfied with his plan.
"Hey. You're a smart guy. I never would have given you the credit before....but man...." Seifer new Garret would like the compliment and gloat.
"Yes Almasy. Many of the brightest in this world are overlooked by heathens such as yourself. I came from a wealthy family, and I should be treated with due respect." Garret scoffed.
"Yes, sir." Seifer bowed his head.
"So they had you under mind control did they? How did they accomplish that?" Garret was curious.
"Edea....." Seifer said plainly.
"Ah....of course.........the useless shell that our goddess once inhabited." Garret mused.
Seifer felt his blood boil at Garret's comment, but kept his temper in check. "Yes.....the one and only. She still has some vague Sorceress powers, and she exherted them over me."
"Yes........yes......of course she would still have powers." Garret rubbed his chin. "She will be dealt with when the time comes."
"Of course, sir." Seifer nodded. Seifer knew all he needed to know, and waved for the bartender. After a moment of her not responding he said, while clicking his comm on, "Any time now."
Squall suddenly bolted down the stairs of the bar and leapt across the room, tackling Garret even as he stood up. Zell burst through the doors and cast Sleep on the accosted man before he could react.
"Well..........I have to admit Squall, that was easier than I thought it would be." Seifer nodded in approval.
"I told ya it would work!" Zell pumped a fist into the air.
"Zell, stop doing your stupid victory dance and help me with this heavy son of a bitch." Squall snapped. Zell stooped down and picked up Garret by the arms while Squall took his legs.
Seifer turned to the bartender on the way out, "Hey.......sorry about the mess." and flipped her a gil coin. The stunned bartender could only gawk at the shattered dishes around Garret's table.
Garden, a half an hour later.......
Squall was headed to the elevator after eating dinner at the cafeteria. Rinoa hadn't been at his room, nor in the LIbrary, so he had guessed she was probably in class on the 2nd floor.
"Hey Squall!" a voice came from behind him. Squall turned to see Irvine running up.
"You get anything from that Garret fella?" Irvine inquired.
"Not so far. He hasn't spoken to us, just grinned. We put him in a magic reinforced cell and took away all his GF's and magic, as well as his weapon. He has nothing to gain and nothing to loose, and he still won't talk." Squall explained.
"Let me know if you get anything out of him." Irvine said and turned to leave.
"Wait.......Seifer got something out of him. Zell and I overheard their conversation." Squall motioned for Irvine to come back.
"Oh yeah. Zell was tellin me about your crazy plan." Irvine walked back over to him.
"He said that he and master NORG, of all beings, are planning on drilling into Esthar and finding Adel's remains." Squall summarized.
"What does he want Adel's remains for?" Irvine asked.
Squall shrugged, "That's what we're trying to find out. He said something about her being the only way to ressurect Ultimecia."
Irvine took a step back, "If that's the case, my friend, we need to get a move on and stop this before it happens!"
Squall nodded, "We all need sleep though, so we'll get on it bright and early. Since you and Selphie have had plenty, I suggest you two run flight checks on the Ragnarok and get it fully equipped."
Irvine punched his fists together, "We'll get right on it."
Squall continued to the elevator and punched the button for the 2nd floor. Once he arrived, he walked down the hall and stepped into the classroom. Xu, who was instructing the class at the moment, gave him a wry look and shook her head. Squall ignored her and walked quietly to the back of the class, sitting next to Rinoa at a very familiar computer terminal.
"When does class end?" Squall whispered.
"In about ten minutes." Rinoa responded without looking up from her terminal. Instead of studying, she was reviewing the B-Garden Message Board on the Internet. "Why don't you wait for me on the balcony?" she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Squall nodded and made his way back out of the classroom. On the way, Xu made a smooching face at him, to which he responded with his middle finger. He walked down the hall a bit more after leaving the classroom and opened the door to the 2nd Floor balcony. He was surprised to see Quistis and Seifer standing there, admiring the sunset. Seifer had one arm hooked around Quistis's waist, and both of hers were locked around his chest. Squall felt a sudden rush of emotions that was entirely alien to him. The scene was........well......romantic. He didn't want to bother them, but Rinoa dashed his honorable intentions.
"Aw! How cute!" she cried, and ran onto the balconly. Seifer and Quistis turned to face their visitors. Seifer raised an eyebrow and Quistis grinned.
"Come to join us Squall?" Seifer asked.
"I didn't know you two were up here." Squall scratched his head.
"If you want we can leave..." Quistis began.
"Noo!" Rinoa interrupted. "There's more than enough room for all of us.......right Squall?" Rinoa put her hands on her hips.
"Whatever." was Squall's reply.
"Congradulations on a mission well done." Seifer shook Squall's hand.
"I told you my plan would work....." Squall smirked.
Seifer held his chin up, "Hey...if it weren't for my brilliant acting skills.......it WOULDN'T have worked."
"Oh shut up, both of you." Quistis snapped. "Don't you realize that you make better team-mates than rivals?"
Seifer and Squall regarded each other, knowing she was right.
"Quistis and I were having a talk........." Seifer began.
"I know where this is going.......and no." Squall cut him off.
"Yeah, but come on Squall, you know I'm up for the job." Seifer insisted.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm not appointing you Lt. Commander." Squall shook his head.
"Who ever said anything about Lt. Commander." Seifer grinned.
"Then what are you getting at?" Squall narrowed his eyebrows. Seifer's grin widened.
"NO!" Squall chopped his hand through the air in a familiar gesture.
"C'mon Squall. You know you need help running this place." Seifer chuckled.
"Give me one good reason........" Squall said flatly.
"I'll do half the paperwork." Seifer offered.
"..................................Done.............." Squall agreed, eliciting a chuckle from everyone. It was a well known fact that Squall despised paperwork. "Sure you're ready for this Seifer?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Seifer offered his hand. Squall shook it, and pulled Seifer into a friendly hug. Seifer, shocked by Squall's display of emotion, hugged back uncertainly. Squall broke the embrace.
"You know you've always been my best friend." Squall said truthfully.
"Hey.....don't go getting mushy on me Commander Puberty." Seifer was disgusted.
"Seifer........" Quistis chided.
"Allright..........yeah.....I do know Squall. I mean, we've been rivals, but it was always a friendly kinda rival thing. I never........wanted to kill you, just best you."
"Seifer.....you know we're evenly matched. I mean......look at our scars. We've both had our share of victories and defeats. Now is the time to put that behind us and work together. If you really want to be Commander of the Garden along side me........you're going to have to accept responsibility for your actions. I want a full apology for what happened before the Sorceress War." Squall finished.
"An apology?" Seifer sneered. "For what?"
"Seifer........you know you tormented the students here. You abused your power as head of the D.C." Squall frowned.
"Allright...........fine...........whatever it takes to prove to you I've changed." Seifer said.
"Seifer..........I already know you've changed........I think you need to know." Squall nodded.
"It's settled then......" Seifer said. Quistis embraced Seifer and Rinoa followed suit with Squall.
This should be fun...... Squall's inner voice told him. With Seifer as acting Commander alongside him.......the Garden was likely to go through some interesting changes. Oh well.... It had to happen some time........ Squall came out of his trance and realized he was staring at Quistis's derrier. Seifer's eyes had widened and he wagged a finger at Squall, and both chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Quistis enquired, breaking her embrace with Seifer.
"Oh nothing......Puberty Boy was staring at your ass." Seifer grinned.
"WHAT!!?" yelled both women.
"Hey! Rinoa......don't take it so bad.....I was staring at your ass too!" Seifer tried to fix the situation.
"WHAT!!?" both women yelled again. Seifer and Squall slowly backed away from the angry women.
"I don't think that helped the situation......." Squall muttered.
"I don't think so !" Seifer shouted, and both bolted through the door into Garden, closely followed by two very angry women.
Squall's room, a few minutes later......
"Hah! You thought we wouldn't find you here! It was one of the most obvious places to look!" Rinoa railed the two young men seated on the couch.
"Why were you checking out Rinoa!?" Quistis roared at Seifer.
"Yeah! How come you were giving Quisty the once over?" Rinoa was equally loud towards Squall.
"Ladies.......ladies.......I don't see why you're overreacting like this. There's no reason to be jealous." Seifer shrugged. Bad move...... Squall gave Seifer a dirty look.
Quistis was about to pull her Save the Queen out and show Seifer the meaning of "overreaction" when suddenly an idea sprang forth. She turned and winked at Rinoa, unnoticed by the men. Rinoa was about to inquire as to the purpose of the wink, when Quistis walked over and stradled Squall. Quistis was wearing a pink mini-skirt and Squall looked down to catch sight of black sheer panties. He had seen too much. Seifer was furious, his mouth making motions, but no sound coming out. Rinoa was about to explode as well, but caught on, and sauntered over to Seifer, stradling him. It was Squall's turn to blow a fuse........his mouth doing the same thing Seifer's had a moment earlier.
"You know Seifer.......we shouldn't be jealous." Quistis said, and started grinding on Squall while looking over at her boyfriend. "We can share you."
"Yeah! Hey Seify........remember what we used to do back when we were going out?" Rinoa said suggestively. Both men had seen enough, and bolted from the couch.
"WE UNDERSTAND ALREADY!!" both shouted. The women, their work done, high fived and left the room.
Seifer was the first to speak once they were gone. "Er.........Squall..........you didn't........er.........enjoy that did you?"
"No....it made me uncomfortable." Squall flushed red. "What about you?"
"Of course not!" Seifer exclaimed.
"Are you saying that Rinoa's ugly!?" Squall roared.
"No! But how come you didn't enjoy Quistis being there........you thing she's UGLY!?" Seifer screamed back.
From outside the room, the women listend to the argument and grinned in satisfaction.
Sara Miyamoto - Thanks! I intend to continue!
Allright people...........you know the drill..............R&R time! Peace out until next time!