Clash of the Gardens
Courage
Headmaster Cid had finally managed to tell his students about the war threats from Galbadia. Things were hectic around Garden as people rushed trying to get things in order. Magic stones, weapons, skills and techniques, everything that would help aid them in the battle was being gathered. The Garden now waited for Galbadia's reply.
It would take sometime to consider where the battle would take place; however, Headmaster Cid knew that Deling couldn't be trusted. He insisted all the SeeDs to prepare for an attack should there be any disturbances within the city of Balamb or their Garden. Xu was in charge of placing the SeeDs to different squads, and she assigned Quistis to her side. Quistis found herself smiling, because Xu was so predictable. She knew exactly that if Xu would be the 'last resort,' than so would she.
Back in Galbadia, Irvine Kinneas walked through the exiting gates. He had received his mission, and was told to handle it with care. The President had stressed 'care' to the young man, as he was known to not take anything seriously. He seemed to get by in Garden, but proved to be one of the hidden talents along with Almasy. Irvine's mission was simple, and all he had to do was get the target quickly.
His Valiant was strapped securely to his side, and he carried a box with some unknown contents. Only he knew what would be in the box, but was told not to stay anything, otherwise, he'd be sought out and killed by Deling, himself. Kinneas had pushed the old man aside, and whistled. He remembered so clearly what the President said.
"If you weren't the best shot we've got, I would never have hired you for this job."
Kinneas laughed at the old man and shook his head. "If I weren't the best shot, I wouldn't have been hired for any job." He laughed and hopped into one of the Galbadian vehicles parked on the side. Pulling away, he headed for Timber to seek his target.
- - -
Seifer was tapping his gunblade on his shoulder, waiting for the President to end the conversation on the phone. Seifer was becoming impatient by the second.
"I don't care what you do. Destroy them. Yeah, the kid's on his way! Don't make me repeat myself! Good!" Deling shouted. He sat behind his desk with the back of his chair facing Seifer. Finally, the old man terminated the phone conversation and turned the huge chair around to face Seifer. "Thank you for coming."
"Yeah. What is it that you wish?"
"Eager, aren't we?"
"I suppose…" Seifer replied, only to hear Deling laughing to himself.
"I've called you here to give you new orders. The enemy believes that we are waiting to give them time to prepare. We'll use this time to strike. Because their defenses have weakened dramatically, this will be a small victory for us. After conquering Balamb, they'll fight with us against Trabia." Deling was so ahead of himself. Seifer couldn't help but smirk as he thought to himself.
I witnessed Balamb's forces first hand. I was surprised by their strength, but even more surprised to hear that they lost to Esthar; that pathetic excuse for a country. Still, I bet he didn't die…Somehow, I know he's still there, waiting for me to take his life. Seifer continued to smirk.
"And you are to support these troops with all your might!" Deling had still been rambling on while Seifer was thinking.
"W-what! Support? What do you mean? Aren't I supposed to lead the attack head on!" Seifer complained.
"No, you will join the next battle. Save Balamb for Irvine."
"Excuse me?"
"You think I don't know what happened in the Esthar battle?"
"What are you trying to say? You don't think I can handle them?"
"You did enough damaged to Balamb already; in fact, you cost them the war. The soldiers you took down were SeeDs from Balamb. I released you cadets along Balamb's quarters in order to stir some trouble for them. You've taken enough of Balamb from me, so as I stated before, leave it to Kinneas." Deling spoke clearly.
Seifer laughed, "You think I'll decrease the SeeD count again? You want them to surrender to you in order to fight against Trabia. You want them to remain strong. Don't you know, they'll rise up and attack you?"
"They won't do such a thing. Missiles speak for themselves."
"You're going to threaten them?"
"Do not question me about this any further."
"Sure, and what about Kinneas? What's he going to do?"
"Do you remember the SeeD that gave you that scar of humiliation?"
"Humili-nonsense!" Seifer half spoke and thought at once.
"I think you know what skills Kinneas has. That SeeD was a problem to Esthar. I've decided to take action. With him out of the way, Balamb will fall."
"No! I wanted to do that myself!" Seifer growled and stood from his seat. "I don't think Kinneas is prepared for this job!"
"You're doubting your own comrade's abilities?"
"…"
"Have you any faith?"
"…I only think he's not suited for this mission."
Deling laughed and turned the back of his chair to Seifer's face. "Seifer, you will have a high place in the war against Trabia, I save the best for last." He spoke in an almost cold tone, Seifer could only found himself growling with rage.
"Please see your way out, Almasy." Seifer slammed the door as he left the office of Deling. In a mad fit he walked through the halls. The man was a cheater, and had no passion for battle. Seifer looked around angrily for something to ease his mind. Suddenly, a soldier ran to him with haste. He gritted his teeth and looked at the saluting soldier.
"Sir Almasy!"
"…What is it?" His voice was disturbingly low.
"Sir, I have orders from General Caraway!"
"I don't take orders from him." Seifer said while beginning to walk.
"No, sir. I understand. But it's urgent. He said he would like you to meet him at his office in Deling City, Sir!"
"Deling City, No a chance."
"With all due respect, sir-" The soldier quieted his tone, "He can't speak to you here, people are always listening in. He asked me to escort you to his vehicle."
"This better be important."
"It is, but he hasn't told anyone else what he wants from you. I wish I could explain more, but there's no more to tell."
"I wonder if the car will explode when I get into it-"
"Sir!" The soldier disrupted his thoughts.
"Alright, I'm coming along!" Seifer shouted and motioned the man to lead him to the car. It was off to Deling City for Seifer, and on to Balamb for Irvine. Irvine had reached Timber and stepped out of his Galbadian Vehicle. He was shocked to have the smell of corpses and pollution greet his nostrils. In an instant, he found himself puking beside the car. Finally, he regained his composure and took a cloth from his pocket. After wiping his face, he sighed sadly while looking at the bodies of those who had died by the missiles.
"There were…of course, there were…children." He said to sympathetically. Slowly he looked around for signs of any life. There he saw some people sitting around weeping, and others were digging into the ground just miles away from the town. He was surprised to see the bodies of some Galbadian Soldiers too. He sighed and took off his hat, pulling it to his chest and closing his eyes. Irvine saluted the dead.
"Hey, did you just get out of that truck?" A civilian asked him, interrupting his moment of peace.
"Ugh…Y-yeah." He was nervous. The old woman looked at him and sighed. He could see the terror and anguish in her eyes. He sighed and wondered how she had managed to escape the missiles alive.
"What do you people want!" She was angry and scolded him with her eyes. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to respond, and he knew how she felt. He had no right to say anything to her.
"…I…I had no idea." He knew about the missiles, but he didn't know that it would be this bad. He felt his stomach turn, and his knees became weaker. He suddenly felt like he was responsible for this mess, after all, he was a part of the army that did this to these innocent people.
"Get out of here!" She said angrily.
"…M'am, please. Are the trains still working?"
"I'm not telling you anything." And with that, she turned away. He looked around at the dead, lined upon the ground. The survivors managed to put them in order before they began the burial. They dragged each body, if whole and identifiable, and closed their eyes. From adults to children, they lied on the ground. He stared at these people until he could no longer stare anymore. Slowly he put his hat back onto his head, with a sigh, he turned his back to the dead.
He had made a promise to them, and slowly, a small smirk formed upon his lips. Back to his vehicle, he climbed in and started the engine. Irvine drove through Timber and saw where the Trains left for Balamb. Looking around, he saw that the course was clear. Of course, there were a few civilians calling out to him, yelling at him because he was Galbadian. The crazy cowboy found himself laughing and driving onto the tracks leading to Balamb. Irvine drove the car straight into the tunnel that went under the sea. If the civilians wouldn't get him across, he would make himself a way to Balamb.
Squall and the others had finally reached Balamb. The gates were opened and things seemed to be in order. Zell sighed and jumped out of the car.
"No place like home! Come on, Selphie!" Zell said while grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her forcefully along with him. She laughed and followed him. Rinoa was too sleepy to laugh. She looked at Squall who seemed to be still focused on driving.
"Where are we going?"
"I have to pull the car into the parking lot. You can wait here if you want."
"No, I'll go with you."
He drove and finally found himself parking at the very front of the garage. He didn't want to walk through into of Balamb from the Parking lot, he would really get suspended for bringing a stranger directly into Garden's base. She followed him as he walked back to the front gate, but he was strangely quiet.
"What are you going to say to your Headmaster?"
"…I'll just tell him that you're one of the survivors of Timber, he'll understand."
"Are you sure?"
"No."
"Are you trying to make me panic?"
"Me? You're the one who keeps asking me about the Headmaster. You panic enough on your own." He said seriously. She laughed softly at him.
"Okay. I know, but I just want to be sure."
"Whatever."
She placed her hand on her forehead and giggled again.
When they reached the front hall of the Garden they were met by Quistis, Zell, and Selphie. Zell had seemed to explain the situation to Quistis already, and Quistis just smiled as she saw Squall approaching. She moved to Rinoa and nodded to Squall, he shrugged his shoulders. Quistis outreached her hand to Rinoa with a smile.
"Welcome to Balamb, Rinoa, I'm Quistis Trepe." The smiled faded, "I'm sorry for your lost."
"…It's-it's…" Rinoa could only shake her hand. Somehow, Squall knew should wouldn't be able to respond to Quistis' remark.
"Where is the Headmaster? His office?" Squall interrupted. Quistis turned her attention from the young woman and looked at Squall. Slowly she let go of Rinoa's hand and cleared her throat.
"Yes. Xu will inform him that you all have arrived. Things are going crazy around here."
"What do you mean, it looks fine to me!" Zell commented.
"No, I'm sure the Headmaster will inform you. Please, follow me." They all nodded and headed toward the elevator.
"Wow, this place is so big!" Selphie exclaimed while looking around.
"Yeah, it's designed that way for a reason. With more places around, it's impossible for the SeeDs to become over worked with just fighting. This is more of an education department rather than all fighting, which is why and how we differ greatly from Galbadia. Rumor has it that Galbadia's Soldiers and SeeDs hardly ever have any time for play. But that place is so big. In fact, it's the biggest of all three of the Gardens." Quistis sounded like a tour guide to Squall, but he suddenly remembered that Selphie wasn't used to Balamb.
"Yeah, I heard about that one. I'm glad I went to Trabia."
"By the way, why aren't you in uniform?" Quistis asked curiously.
"I didn't want the people in Dollet to look at me differently, so I went to a clothing store and bought this dress. Pretty cool, eh?"
"Uh, cool… Yeah. It's nice."
"Psst…Selphie, you're forgettin' where we are." Zell whispered in Selphie's ear. She sighed and shook her head.
"Sorry, I just didn't want to make them feel like they were in any danger. But they took real good care of me, and so did Zell." She revised.
Finally the elevator stopped, Squall was thankful for that. Quistis stepped out first, followed by Zell, Selphie, then Rinoa and Squall. Quistis stopped at his door and looked back to the people that followed behind her.
"Rinoa…" Rinoa stopped and looked at Quistis.
"Yes?"
"Have we met before? Your name sounds awfully familiar."
"I don't think we have. I'm sure I would've remembered someone like you, you're very nice."
"Thank you. Hmm, but I'm not sure. Forgive me, I'll show you all in now." Quistis knocked on the door, and was greeted by the headmaster himself.
"Quistis, come in." He said as he opened the door. "I was expecting you all. Xu informed me of your arrival. I'm glad that you are all here and I hope your journey wasn't too difficult."
"Sir, it was nice to see Dollet!" Zell said enthusiastically. The Headmaster nodded to the young man.
"Please, you two have a seat." He looked at Selphie and Rinoa. Rinoa felt herself becoming nervous, as was Selphie. The two of them looked at each other and finally took a seat. Zell complained in his mind, "He didn't ask if I was tired!"
"Which one of you is Selphie Tilmitt?"
"That's me, sir." Selphie said confidently.
"Welcome to Balamb, I hear you are an outstanding SeeD from Trabia."
"I was one of the best SeeDs there, sir. I was always at the side of Headmaster Martine, the former and late master of Galbadia."
"I understand. I will contact Trabia right away. Don't worry, we will find you transportation back to Trabia. In the meantime, make yourself at home. We will place you in a dormitory for the time being. Will that do?"
"Oh yes, sir! That would be lovely, I wouldn't mind staying here in this big—"
Selphie was still going on in her excited, but was cut off by Zell when he cleared is throat. She looked back at him and held her giggles, "Thank you, sir." She said.
Headmaster Cid smiled and nodded to her. He turned his attention to Rinoa and kept the same friendly smile on his face.
"Then you must be Rinoa Heartilly."
"Yes, sir." She returned his smile.
"Because you are a survivor of Timber, feel free to stay as long as you like. You'll also be supplied with a dorm room. I don't want any of you feeling left out around here, remember, make yourselves at home at Balamb Garden." Rinoa's smile brightened.
"Thank you." She said, sounding more professional than Selphie, and for a moment everyone forgot that Selphie was the actual SeeD.
"Here's the situation. I feel we all need to know what's going on. Quistis, if you have any other duties, you may be excuse to tend to them."
"Yes, sir." She saluted and exited the room.
"Now…Trabia and Galbadia have decided that war is the best solution. They feel that the lost of their leader was too much, and have taken on a step of retaliation. As far as I know, they haven't engaged in any combat yet, but a battle is expected soon."
Rinoa was quiet; she couldn't understand Trabia's reason for declaring war on Galbadia. Was it for Timber at all? No, it was for their leader. What about Timber? What happened to the deal that was made? Was it there ever a deal? What happened between Zone and Martine? Why didn't he promise us freedom?
The headmaster continued to speak, "However, Galbadia suddenly decided that they wanted Dollet. Deling wanted me to hand over Dollet without a fight, and if I had done so, things would have gone hectic at Dollet. It might have turned into another incident like Timber's. I feared that the people would retaliate and force Deling to flaunt those missiles again."
"Sir, the Galbadians were present at Dollet for a short time, but the Militia was made sure to turn them away." Zell informed him.
"Exactly, just like in Timber, there's an anti-Galbadia force present in Dollet."
"What does this mean? Did you hand over Dollet?" Selphie asked.
"I'm getting to that-"
Well hurry up! Squall thought to himself. Cid could see the impatience growing on his face. He moved his glasses from his face.
"Unfortunately, I have agreed to war against Galbadia's Military. I don't want any more missiles to be sent out to slaughter innocents again."
Squall looked down at Rinoa, and even though he stood behind her, he could tell that she was shaking in fear. She was beginning to feel the pain of that day. Everything that happened, everything she couldn't control. Squall focused his eyes on the sidewall of Cid's office.
"I'm sorry about this, I really am. I just wanted you all to be aware of the situation. I don't want anyone to panic." He went silent for a moment. "…You all should prepare for battle, be on guard. Understood?"
In a unison, they all replied to him, "Yes, sir."
Squall was ordered to show Rinoa to her dorm room. He waited outside before she walked inside; however, she stopped and sighed. Squall; tell me that everything will be okay. Tell me this isn't my fault. ...But who am I kidding, you don't even care… She passed a sad look into his eyes, and he turned away from her, purposely avoiding contact. I'm not supposed to be here. Squall, I'm not supposed to be here!
He sighed and turned away from her. She stopped him from leaving by placing her hand on his arm. It took him a minute to flinch, and push her hand away. He turned to look at her. She took a deep breath and spoke, "…Why do you think Galbadia is doing this?"
"...Everyone knows that the President wants power over every other military force. Either they join or oppose. He also wants to control the towns, but I'm sure you know that better than anyone." He spoke in an informative manner, but Rinoa only looked away.
"Trabia… Why do you think they struck? Do you think they even care about Timber?"
"How am I supposed to know? You should ask Selphie about that, after all, she was there." Squall said while turning away. Perhaps they could form a grieving corner together, too.
"Thank you." She saw his hand wave as he continued to walk, and for a moment she knew that he cared. If he didn't care, he probably wouldn't have told her that Selphie was a more reliable source for this specific information than himself. Rinoa smiled and looked at her room number, trying to remember the digits carved into a gold layer on her door.
Selphie had just left her room, and was surprised to see Rinoa walking toward her. She smiled and met with Rinoa. "Hey, Rinoa! Where are you off to?"
"Um, nowhere really. I wanted to ask you something."
"Oh, sure. What is it?" Selphie said cheerfully. Rinoa couldn't understand how she could be so happy after those incidents of the past few days. For a moment, she understood how Squall might have felt when she would laugh around him for stupid reasons, made him feel like nothing. She only laughed just to annoy him, which in the end, made her feel better. Rinoa decided to ask Selphie about Trabia's contract.
She sighed, "Selphie. About your visit to Timber, whom did your Headmaster speak with?"
"Oh yeah, you're part of the Faction Organizations…so you should know that better than I do. Some guys named, Zone and uh…Watts. I think."
"Yeah, yeah, those are the guys. They're my best friends-" Suddenly Rinoa stopped. She hadn't realized that she used them in present tense, and slowly she corrected herself. "They were my best friends."
"I'm sorry about that. I tried to help them in the battle, but things took a turn for the worse."
"…Yeah, I know…I'm sorry for making you think about that, but could you tell me what kind of contract Trabia made with Galbadia?"
"Of course!" The girl said in an attempt to clear all the sad memories from her mind. Rinoa could still tell that it had been bothering her too. "We agreed to support you in a fight if things got out of hand. Headmaster Martine was prepared to fight against Galbadia for you. He gave the Factions his full support."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but before he could attempt to write up a contract, we were ambushed. That's when things got hectic! My partner and I went out to help fight off Galbadia, fearing that they were trying to hurt the Resistance Factions. Martine followed behind us. Together we were to fight, but…" She stopped and her face dropped down.
A frown appeared on Selphie's face, as well as Rinoa's, she tried to continue. "It was horrible! They shot him, and my partner. I couldn't do anything but watch. I ran before they saw me. It was a good thing there was a crowd. My uniform was able to blend with the uniforms of Galbadia, even though it was obvious that I was a SeeD. I was scared…"
"Do you see any body there? Anybody who stood out from the crowd?"
"…There was one man there, but he wasn't in any uniform. I watched him climb into one of the Galbadian vehicles after the missiles exploded everything. I couldn't get a real good look at his face, but I do know that his hair looked blonde from the distance. He was wearing this long brown coat, and carrying a sword. I don't know if he was a part of the Resistance Factions or not, and at that point, I really didn't care. I was only concerned about those people who were caught in all that smoke and debris. So many people, Rinoa…"
"I know, Selphie. I know." Rinoa could only hug Selphie. The past few days had been hard for them both, and Rinoa hadn't realized that Selphie was there to witness everything as it happened. It was a wonder that the girl escaped all the turmoil. Rinoa sighed and closed her eyes, while Selphie began to cry.
Squall had stayed a little longer than he intended to; though the girls hadn't seen him, he was standing further down the hallway where the hall turned off to the main walkway. He could hear their conversation well. When he heard the girls crying, he decided to excuse himself. He didn't understand how they could just stand around and talk like there was no tomorrow. How they cried and agonized about the past, he didn't understand. With a sigh, he decided to head over to his favorite past time of the day: the Training Center.
It was quiet, maybe even too quiet. It was dark, disturbing, and disgusting; it was…the stupidest idea Irvine Kinneas had ever come up with. In the midst of his incredible plan, the Galbadian Vehicle ran out of fuel; now he walked in the tunnel underneath the ocean. It seemed like forever, and Irvine cursed himself every step of the way. He had been walking for hours with no way of getting out of the tunnel, but forward. He figured, "I'm bound to reach my destination if I keep heading this way. If I go back, it'll all be a waste of time." It was damp, and no air seemed to pass through. Irvine could no longer tell the difference between cold and hot, as the two seem to go hand in hand now. He thought he would suffocate whilst in the tunnel.
Finally, he dared himself to look up. In the past three hours all hope was lost after each time he saw the same darkness ahead, but this time, he saw something. There in the distance was a speck of light. He found himself becoming excited, Irvine pushed toward the light, "Yes! Yes!" He shouted while running faster than any mortal ever dare.
Deling City, the city that never sleeps, that was more like it. Everything glistened brightly, and the loudness of parties could be annoying to any small town visitor. Seifer seemed to welcome the noise with open arms. He loved visiting Deling City. He only pretended to hate it so much because that tight-neck lived here. He was greeted at the door by more Galbadian Soldiers, and brought inside to Caraway's Chambers.
Caraway sat at his desk and seemed to be more worried than usual. Upon entering, Seifer seemed to hold the same grin since the last time the two spoke. The man cringed at the sight of him. Seifer chose to initiate the conversation.
"What is it this that you want?"
"I think I know where she is or could have gone."
"…Rinoa?"
"Who else am I talking about!"
"Caraway, didn't I tell you before about that temper of yours. You don't want me to abandon whatever it is that you need me to do."
"…Don't you do that, I know you want to find her. Don't even try to play smart with me, kid."
"What do you want? Tell me before I walk out of here!"
"Very well. ...One of the guards who had been ordered to search through the debris for Martine's body and any documents he carried, suddenly became the survivor of an attack after the entire bombing incident. It seems that some person had been taking down soldiers that were stationed in Timber. This guard says that Rinoa was there along with the 'soldier killer', and she was looking at the bodies of some Resistance Faction Members. He also said that the man threatened to kill him, but decided to let him go. The man had dark brown hair and a scar much like yours on his eyes. Do you know anything about that?"
"…So you are alive, after all." Seifer smiled. "It was a Balamb SeeD. The guy I had the pleasure of fighting about a year ago. We gave each other these nice souvenirs, see?" Seifer said sarcastically while sliding his finger across his face.
"I'm glad you know how he looks."
"What do you need me to do?"
"I want you to get Rinoa back."
"Why are you worried about her, everyone knows she ran away from you..."
"Don't you play those games with me, Almasy! You were only supposed to get her out of Timber before! You weren't supposed to tell the President."
"I didn't say anything to that guy. He was looking for a reason to test out his weapons, and you know that better than I do."
"Well, he better not have a reason to strike Balamb before you get there."
"Too late, he's already sending some people there as we speak."
"What?"
"Everyone's taking a sudden interest in my enemy, I wonder why?" As Seifer talked, he seemed to laugh, "I think I know…because you're all afraid he's going to strike and intervene with the plans. In your case, he could kill your daughter. In Deling's place, he could stop the Galbadian soldiers." Seifer was laughing now, and it seemed to either crawl under the old man's skin, or confuse him even more.
"You say it like you aren't a part of Galbadia." Caraway spoke, and Seifer ended his laughter.
"…Well. I am a part of this organization, aren't I? It doesn't need to be said over and over. It's just a fact, a very fact that I was going to spare you. You want me to refresh your memory? My rank is equivalent to yours, no higher, no less; however, the President relies more on me than he does you, and you've been working with that guy for how long? Too long…" Seifer had stopped laughing a long time ago, but the grin was still there. "Personally, I think you should take the hint."
"I'm not through with my business here, and you still have an order of mine to carry out, Lieutenant!" Caraway was angrier now, the kid had been right. There was no way he would let Almasy win this argument. Seifer looked at him and sighed uncomfortably.
"As I said before, what do you want me to do?"
"Retrieve Rinoa, but do whatever you wish with him. And if the other persons who were sent to Balamb are after him, you have permission to cease their operations."
"I didn't need your permission for that, I just needed to hear the order to strike. I'm going to go now. Is that all?"
"You may leave whenever you wish."
Seifer exited Caraway's chambers and later found his way out of the mansion. Caraway called the President via telephone and thought up the worse speech he could make. There was no way Seifer would get all of the glory in this mission. All he wanted was his daughter, but that scum deserved to die retrieving her. With a grimacing smile, he was connected to Deling's office. Deling answer.
"Caraway."
"Deling. Sir, my daughter was kidnapped by Balamb's SeeD. She is now under their custody. Please, hold the war on Trabia and let's settle this matter right away."
"…Hmm…Balamb is becoming trouble. I'll see to it that your daughter is safely returned to you." Deling terminated the phone lines and looked at his phone lists. He carefully dialed a number and after a few moments, someone answered.
"This is President Vinzer Deling. Unless you want this to end peacefully, you should hear me out." He paused and took a breath to continue, "I have just received word that Balamb was a part of the attack on Timber. It seems that some SeeDs other than your own, were spotted in Timber also. They carried out an attack, and kidnapped the General's daughter. Right now, there currently isn't any motive, but I do know this: The General's daughter was present at the meeting between your Headmaster and the Resistance Factions; which means, they carried out the assault and assassinated your leader. As President of Galbadia, I ask that you give me a hand in this war to rid those scoundrels from the face of the earth."
"…Very well." The ends were once again terminated. Deling smiled in satisfaction that this would be the war for all of the records and generations to come. His name would never be forgotten: Vinzer Deling, President of the World.