"Where are they?"

Seifer, Raijin and Fujin had been waiting for fifteen minutes in front of Hotel Galbadia. Patience wasn't one of Seifer's or Raijin's best features and Fujin started to get frustrated.

"SIT DOWN," she said. Seifer and Raijin obeyed. Then they saw Squall.

"What are you guys doing here?" Squall asked.

"We are here to assist you. We are now SEEDs, too."

"Gongratulations."

Squall sat down on the bench next to Seifer.

"Squall, I know we've had our fights, but now when we're both in SEED, we should try to get along."

"You are right about that."

Quistis, Zell and Rinoa arrived.

"This is something I thought I'd never see," Quistis said. "Squall and Seifer sitting next to each others, without quarreling!"

Squall rose up and kissed Rinoa.

"Why are you here?"

"Zell thought that you'd be trouble or something, so he asked me to come."

"Haha, I should've guessed," Squall said with smile.

"Hey, I was worried, ok!" Zell said.

"Everyone!" Quistis said. "Rinoa's father has arranged a base for us. Let's go there."


Rinoa decided to go meet her father while the rest of the group took a car to their base, which was a big old mansion outside the city. Rinoa's father used to spend his freetime in there and it was also a place for meetings with important political guests.

"I think that the bandits have their base in Timber," Squall said when they went into the mansion. Instead of a huge front hall that these kind of mansions used to have,
there was a cozy little living room with a fireplace and wooden stairs leading upstairs. The impression that the mansion gave at the first glance was very romantic.

"Why do you think so?" Quistis asked.

"We know that the members of that bandit group, or groups, used to work in resistance movements like Forest Owls. Those movements worked in Timber, so wouldn't it be natural if their base is there?"

"Yeah. You are right. Do you think we're just wasting our time here in Deling City?"

"No. They have terrorised the whole region, so we might find some clues from here as well. But I thought about making a visit to Timber tomorrow."

"That's a good idea. Who are you going with?"

"Rinoa isn't a SEED so I really can't take her. You are needed here and Seifer would just probably make me nuts. I think I'm going with Zell and Raijin."

"Alright. I wonder what Headmaster Cid had in mind when he put us together with them," Quistis said and looked at Seifer.