Clash of the Gardens

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Squall had exited the prison cell room and ran through the mansion. He remembered where the exit was, but the Galbadians heavily guarded it. He had hidden himself away down a dead end corridor in order to keep safe from any soldiers. I should've kept that uniform… It'll be impossible to get out of here without getting caught. I'll end up fighting the entire Galbadian army by myself.

He sighed and tried his luck once more. "Psst." He heard beside himself as he had begun walking again. When looked back, he saw Rinoa hiding behind a wall.

"Rinoa?"

"Come with me." She whispered and took off down the corridor. She ran through the last door and held it open for him. He followed her and walked inside.

"Where are we?"

"My father's old office." She said as she closed the door.

"How did you get here? That corridor is the only way to get to these rooms, isn't it?"

"Not quite. Haven't I told you before that my dad had used all means to keep us safe? If the mansion was attacked at anytime, we could escape by passageways from our rooms. Like this." She grabbed a cup from his China Dish collection, and walked to a statue, which the wall enveloped, then placed the cup inside the hand of the statue. The statue's hand lowered and immediately revealed a secret walkway.

"Are you serious?" Squall said while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah. This walkway will take you to the sewers. Don't worry, you can't get lost down there. Immediately after you go down, you'll find ladders that will take you to the street outside. Just don't take the first one you see; otherwise, you'll end up in our backyard."

"Okay."

"…Squall. Be careful."

"…I will." He said and walked toward the secret walkway. "Take care of those people." He whispered as he passed beside her, but she touched his arm.

"What's going to happen now?" She asked him, and he turned to her slowly.

"…You'll give your friends what they always wanted, what you always wanted: freedom."

"But will I ever see you again?" Her voice was as soft as a whisper. He moved his hand to her waist and pulled her closely against his body, softly kissing her forehead.

"…Trust me." He whispered as she grabbed onto his coat and rested her face against his chest. He rubbed his face onto her hair and smiled. Squall Leonhart had finally understood what it felt like to have someone to trust him, and someone he could trust in as well.

"Rinoa, are you in here!" Caraway shouted through the door. Squall quickly backed away and ran down the walkway. She watched his figure disappear into the darkness and whispered inaudibly, "…I love you." She sighed and pushed the side of the wall hard, and the passageway closed. As the statue reappeared, Caraway had opened the door.

"What are you doing?" He asked and she looked at him but remained silent. "Answer me, Rinoa."

"…Does it really matter?" She said and wiped her eyes.

"…You knew that person?" Caraway asked and closed the door. She lowered her head and took a seat on the loveseat, which was arranged for usage by guests only. She nodded her head and placed her hands in her lap.

"Who was he?"

"No one, you don't have anything to worry about. Now please, can you just leave me alone?"

"…Rinoa."

"Please."

"…Very well. We will discuss this soon."

"Yeah, whatever." She said while fanning him from the room. He groaned and exited the room.

"Woof!"

"Sorry, sir, it just ran passed the guards and got inside!" A soldier yelled as he ran toward Caraway chasing the dog.

"Angelo?" Rinoa heard the General exclaim from outside, but even the sound of her companion wouldn't make her feel any better.

Taking Irvine's shortcut, the group of teenagers endured about an hour of riding over rough terrain. Selphie had been singing a song when they first began, but as time went on, she grew ill of carsickness and had sat still in her seat with her hand covering her mouth. Zell and Quistis were holding onto their seatbelts as Irvine chose to ride over each and every hill on the road. The only person who wasn't affected by the ride was Irvine, himself; he was confident in his driving skills and had a cheesy smile on his face as he drove.

Zell glared at the back of Irvine's head, as he sat in the back seat with Quistis, and silently planned a way to knock him out without causing the car to swerve off the road. Quistis looked at Zell, and then to Irvine, and she looked as though she would be by his side with whatever it was that Zell had been scheming.

Selphie faced the window and coughed. "Whoa, are you okay over there, missy?" Irvine asked and glanced at Selphie in the passenger's seat.

"Mhmm..." She answered, fearing if she had opened her mouth, who knew what would come out.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!"

"Almost doesn't count, we should be there now!" Zell and Quistis yelled together.

"What's with you two? Ever since we were on that train, you two have had a bone to pick with me. Why don't you trust me yet?"

"I really don't trust your driving!" Zell shouted.

"Yeah, so would you mind looking at the road?" Quistis added.

"Geez, alright!" When he looked up ahead, he was stunned to two large vehicles up ahead. "Whoa!" He pulled the car to the side. "Who are they?"

"Dunno." Zell said while scratching his head.

"Why…it's…its Esthar!" Selphie said as she got out of the car. "Hey!" She said to wave down the vehicles.

"Selphie, what are you doing? You don't know for sure." Irvine said from the car.

"Esthar is the only military force with vehicles shaped like boxes. I'm just surprised those things aren't floating above the ground."

"What?" Irvine, Zell, and Quistis questioned while looking at one another.

"Come on, guys. Help me get their attention! Irvine, flash the headlights!"

"Gotcha."

"Zell and Quistis, yell as loud as you can!"

"Roger!" Zell said, but Quistis rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Quistis! Help us out."

She sighed and stood out of the car. Zell laughed and joined the girls outside of the parked vehicle. Together they all yelled and managed to get the Estharian Soldiers' attention.

After explaining that they were indeed the backups, the Estharian soldiers agreed to escort them back to Deling City. Although they were a little upset that more SeeDs were dispatched to help out, they were thankful to have a few more helping hands.

By the time they reached Deling City, there weren't any soldiers stationed at the gates of the City; instead, they all saw a blue car, and a person sitting on its hood.

Squall sat on the hood of Rinoa's blue car; he had managed to find his way from the sewers, and ended up in a busy intersection. Thankfully, there weren't too many cars passing at this time, since it was almost three in the morning. It was no wonder Rinoa became weary, her body knew she needed proper rest from the longest day.

As he had exited the city, he looked back and saw the Mansion, now so obvious that he wondered how he wasn't able to find it from the beginning. With every step he took away from Caraway's Headquarters, he thought more about Rinoa. He sighed and rubbed his face, now that he was sitting again, his body felt the tiring weight of a long day as well. He yawned and covered wiped his eyes.

"Squall! Is that you!" A voice shouted from afar.

"…Hm?" He looked up and saw Selphie running toward him. Zell, Quistis, and Irvine were following behind her. Irvine? What the heck is he doing here? "Selphie?"

"It is you! Guys! We found him!"

"…Well obviously, Selphie." Zell said and laughed, the others had begun to laugh along with him. She looked back at him poked her tongue at him; doing so, she caused the laughter to increase. Squall stood from the car and moved his hand to his forehead with a sigh.

After they were all situated, Squall had begun explaining Galbadia's new intentions. "I'm certain they aren't a future threat to us."

"…I hope you're right." Quistis said softly.

"Well, we should get going." Squall said and started to walk away, but Zell stopped him.

"Hey, where's Rinoa?"

Squall stopped and without looking back at Zell he spoke, "Forget about her. She's with Galbadia again." He spoke with a hint of anger in his tone.

"Wha-"

"But Squall." Selphie said worriedly.

"We have to get back to Balamb." He said quickly and walked to the Estharian Soldiers. The others watched him quizzically as he talked with the few soldiers that remained and then went back to the blue car again.

"How can he act so cold toward her, after everything she's done for him?" Selphie said in disbelief.

"Rinoa…she's one of us." Zell said as he thought back on the war. The two of them sighed, but Irvine had laughed a little. Quistis turned to him and smirked. Zell and Selphie looked at the two of them, "What are you guys laughing about?"

"Zell, you don't know anything about women, do you?" Irvine said while chuckling.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah…how can I break this down to you…?" He said as he rubbed his chin. Quistis sighed, "He likes Rinoa, but because he's too proud to admit it to us… he's pretending that he doesn't care about her."

"Way to spoil the fun, Quistis." Irvine said while rolling his eyes and turning away from them.

"Are you serious?" Zell said, but Selphie only shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, I knew that already." She said and followed behind Irvine.

"How? When did this happen!" Zell exclaimed. Quistis shook her head and walked behind Irvine and Selphie.

"Come on Zell, I'll explain everything in the car." Zell followed them, scratching his head and walking slowly. This is crazy. All I knew is that Rinoa almost got killed trying to save his sorry a- "Bye, Zell!" The girls yelled from inside the rusty car.

"Oh…hey! Wait a minute, don't leave me!"

Before noon, they were all back in Balamb Garden. It was a long night on the road; The Estharian Soldiers had turned off and headed to Winhill, and Irvine had begun to follow them, but thankfully Quistis was awake and had pointed him in the right direction. Squall followed behind in the blue car, and had eventually passed them up, but when Irvine tried to race him, he ignored the race invitation and continued to drive.

Upon arrival, Quistis ordered Squall to his room, and promised that she would take care of everything. Because he had thoroughly explained Galbadia's intentions, she would transfer his information to the headmaster. After much rebelliousness, Squall finally took it into consideration that he needed to rest.

"Reconstruction of Timber…"

"Yes, sir." Quistis said. "We believe it to be only objective Galbadia currently has. There aren't anymore signs of threat."

"I understand. Is that all Quistis?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, you're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." She said as she bowed, and then exited the room. Xu stood beside him and smiled excitedly.

"Xu?"

"Sir?" She said while walking toward the front of his desk.

"Have Squall come to my office once he's awakened."

"Yes, sir." She saluted him and turned toward the door, but stopped. "Umm…Headmaster." She said and looked back to him.

"What is it, Xu?"

"About my position…Sir…" She took a deep breath, "…I don't think I'm the rightful leader of SeeD. During that battle, I was afraid to fight." Xu lowered her head, "The position of Commander belongs to someone who is fearless in battle, can strategize possible attacks, and look after his comrades." She looked up from the floor and approached Cid's desk, "Out there on the battlefield, I realized I lacked those qualities. I felt more comfortable doing my job behind the desk, than I was during that battle, sir. So…I would like to step down as the Commander of SeeD at Balamb Garden."

"…Xu." He took his glasses off from his face and rubbed his forehead, "You are a fine leader, and I am proud to have you as the Commander. You've done a wonderful job."

"With all due respect sir, I believe someone else deserve this title more than me." She said feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

"…Who?" He asked as he placed the glasses back onto his face.

"…Squall Leonhart." After all that time, the person she never thought deserved to be a SeeD, was the person she recommended for her position. Cid sighed and closed his eyes.

"I'll take it into consideration. You are dismissed."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Xu." He answered her as she exited the office. Xu took a deep breath and placed her hand over her heart.

"Calm down. Please calm down." She took one more refreshing breath and smiled, "…Now, all I have to do is get Squall to see him, and I'm off the hook." She said as she entered the elevator.

Cid turned his chair to face the window behind. He looked outside and down at his Garden. No…Squall is too reckless to be Commander. As hard as it is to believe, Squall is too emotional to handle the responsibilities of being a leader. He has to find himself before taking on such role.

His office rung and disrupted his thoughts, he answered it quickly. "Cid Kramer."

"Mr. Kramer, I just received word that my soldiers are safely back in Winhill. I've ordered them to return to Esthar, and the backup that I sent out for will take over their watch in Winhill."

"Alright."

"By the way. How are your SeeDs fairing?"

"They arrived in shortly. Everything is fine."

"Good. I'll stop by before I leave for Esthar, is that okay?"

"It's just fine, Mr. Loire. I'll notify my SeeDs' of your arrival."

"Excellent. Then I will see you later."

"Yes."

"Take care."

"You too."

The two men ended the phone conversation and sighed. Laguna had only wanted to return to meet the SeeD called Leonhart; he had to prove to himself that it was only a coincidence. Cid rubbed his forehead again, how was he supposed to talk to Squall with so many issues at hand. He kept wondering how Squall would handle his decision to release him of his SeeD duties. He groaned while clasping his hands together and squeezing them.

"Is this the right the thing to do?"

Just as he had asked himself, he received a knock on the door. Without looking up, he spoke aloud, "Come in."

The door opened and in walked his visitor, "Sir, you wanted to see me?"

Cid looked up and took a deep, "…Squall."