(The camera zooms in on a midget)
Midget: Coming to you now, it's another edition of Children of Destiny! I'm Phil McCrevis, and here's your host, KEFWorldChamp!
Me: Thank you for that spiffy new intro, Phil. We have a wonderful chapter for you all today, so let's get straight to viewer mail.
Griever Weapon: Yep, I do live in one of the 50 states, actually, somebody came really close.
jasmine32: I get that a lot. Things look so much better through my eyes. (I'm an egomaniac, by the way)
QueenAdreena: (Stares at the bee thing). OK, if bees have five eyes (I believe you), then Crab's hearts are in their heads. (It's true)
NinjaFox: Yep, Squall's a badass.
ranchgirlmalon: Here's the update.
JadeAlmasy: Don't worry about me keeping it up, you just keep supplying the reviews.
NOW, As for where I live, three states were guessed: Those being California, Georgia, and Michigan. I live in none of them. However, my state DOES border one of them. One of these states listed is my state.
California's Borders: Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon
Georgia's Borders: Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Michigan's Borders: Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Now, on with the show.
CHAPTER 24: CHAOS AND SECRETS
Squall, Zell, and Rinoa had made it to Balamb Garden, and were pleased when they saw that it was still standing.
"All right! The Garden's Safe!" Zell said.
"Still though, the missiles could be on their way." Squall said, not knowing how right he was. "We need to find Headmaster Cid, let's go." Squall broke out in a run, but didn't get far as he saw the many students scrambling all over the place. At the center of the commotion was a member of the Garden Faculty.
"Find the Headmaster!" He ordered.
"Are they evacuating?" Squall asked himself.
"Seize him, Kill him if you have to!" He said, "GO!" Squall didn't like the sound of that as he ran in even further, where another Faculty Member stood.
"You three!" He said to Squall, Zell, and Rinoa. "Which side are you on?" Squall didn't say anything, just looked to Zell in hopes he had some idea what he was talking about.
"Answer the question!" He ordered. "Are you with the Garden Master, or are you with Cid?"
"I don't understand." Squall said.
"Do you swear your allegiance to Garden Master NORG?" He asked. Squall knew what was going on. Garden Master NORG was no longer believed to be a myth, but was allegedly real.
"What's going on here?" Squall asked.
"What kind of attitude is that?" He asked. "You're with Cid, aren't you? Prepare to die!" He blew a whistle, which summoned a Grat and a Caterchipillar.
"You let monsters out of the training center?" Squall said as he and Zell quickly disposed of the monsters. The Faculty Member took off, as Squall, Zell, and Rinoa gave chase. As they approached the directory, Squall spotted two people who for some reason weren't fighting; Raijin and Fujin.
"Hey, you're back!" Raijin said.
"Raijin, what's going on here?" Squall asked.
"I dunno." He said. "At first, they were sayin' somethin' about roundin' up the SeeDs, ya know? And now everyone's either sidin' with Headmaster Cid or Garden Master NORG and fightin' everywhere, ya know?"
"DISTURBING." Fujin added.
"Disappointin' for the disciplinary committee," Raijin continued, "All our work for nothin', ya know?"
"Why are SeeDs being targeted?" Squall asked. "And where's the Headmaster, is he safe?"
"We got no clue." Raijin said.
"We need to see him right away, it's important." Squall said, "Galbadian Missiles may be heading this way!"
"WHAT? We gotta get out of here!" Raijin said. Fujin rolled her eyes, and kicked Raijin in the shin.
"OWW," Raijin whined, "Geez, alright. We'll warn everyone about the missiles. Man, this is no time to be fightin', ya know?"
"We'll look for the Headmaster." Squall said.
"CAUTION." Fujin said.
"Yeah, the fightin' is intense everywhere!" Raijin said. "And watch out for those Garden Master goons, ya know?"
"Hey, who do you support?" Rinoa asked.
"Cid or NORG?" Zell threw in.
"Hey, jus' like Fujin said, ya know," Raijin said. "We're with Seifer. Always have been, always will be." With that, the two of them ran off.
"Seifer sided with the Sorceress," Squall thought, "You guys OK with that?" Squall and the others then ran in the other direction, checking everywhere for Headmaster Cid. Fellow SeeDs they came across helped them out by giving them Items, such as Potions. However, none knew where Headmaster Cid was. But as they continued, Squall thought of one person who may knew; Xu. After running around for a few minutes, Squall spotted her head for the 2nd Floor. Immediately, he followed her with Zell and Rinoa in tow. Soon, he cornered her.
"Whose side are you on?" She demanded.
"Neither, we have urgent news." Squall said. "I don't care which one, but we need to see either Cid or NORG right now."
"Why?" Xu Asked.
"There may be Galbadian Missiles headed this way!" He said.
"Are you serious?" She asked. "Alright, come with me, I'll take you to see Headmaster Cid."
"Where is he?" Zell asked.
"In his office." She said. "We made it look like he's hiding, but he's been there the whole time." Xu then ran for the elevator, talking into a radio. As they got to the top floor, Xu stayed behind.
"He's waiting for you." She said. "I'll go tell everyone to evacuate." Squall burst through the Door and Saw Headmaster Cid sitting on his desk, thinking.
"Xu told me about the missiles." Cid said. "The intercom is down, so we can't announce the order to evacuate."
"Xu, Raijin, and Fujin are taking care of that." Squall said.
"I want you to assist them, and then evacuate yourselves." Cid said.
"But I have a lot to report." Squall said.
"You can tell me later." the headmaster said.
"You might be dead later." Squall thought. "Sir, what are you going to do?" He asked aloud.
"I'm going to stay here and see this to the end." Cid said. "This place is like my home."
"You're plannin' on dying here?" Zell asked
"You cant!" Rinoa pleaded. "Just come with us, you can always rebuild this place."
"Rest assured, I'm just going to try something." Cid continued. "There still may be a way to save Garden." As he stepped forward, he fell to one knee. Squall bent down to help him up.
"I'm getting too old for this." He said.
"Sir, I'D like to handle whatever it is you're planning." Squall said.
"And why is that?" Cid asked. Squall had too many reasons. Like that he wanted to do more than announce the evacuation. Like Cid might screw up. Like this was his home too.
"My feelings have nothing to do with it, sir." Squall said.
"Quistis was right," Cid said. "You do have a hard time expressing your feelings."
"Sir, what is your plan?" Squall asked again. Cid opened a drawer on his desk and handed Squall a key.
"This building used to be a shelter long before it was remodeled into the Garden as we know it." He said. "Use that key to open the lock on the elevator, doing so will give you access to the MD Levels. Rumor has it that Far below the MD level, there is some type of control panel. It was used when this place was still a shelter, so I've never seen it, much less have any Idea what it does. All I know is that it was used for the shelter, so it might prove effective against the missiles."
"I guess it's better than doing nothing." Squall said. "We'll find the control system and check it out." Squall then headed back to the elevator and used the key, little realizing that the Missiles were drawing ever closer.
As the elevator descended below the Garden, the three of them were on the edge, not knowing what would be in store for them, or how close any missiles may be. Further the elevator sunk, until the lights went out! Squall messed with the buttons, and found they were not responding. Quickly, he looked for a way out, and noticed a hatch on the floor, which he opened.
"Nobody's been here for a while, so be careful." Squall warned. As they climbed down, the elevator sprang to life as the three of them neared the bottom of the shaft. Luckily, they came through without a scratch. Squall found another hatch, and was able to muscle it open. As they hopped down, they were met with a foul odor.
"What's that smell?" Rinoa asked.
"Smells like oil." Zell said.
"If anything's down here, odds are they'll be weak against Fire magic." Squall said as they continued on and found a ladder. Going down, they spotted a door at the bottom. Inside was a wheel, which Squall needed Zell's help to turn. Once they got it, the went back out to see that the Floor had opened up, and there was another ladder, going a LONG way down. The cautiously descended, knowing they couldn't afford any mistakes. Soon, they found a large steel cylinder, which had yet another ladder, but this one went up.
"Where does this thing go?" Zell asked as the three of them traced the path. It led to a catwalk that went into another room. "Oh, over there."
"I'll go take a look, you two wait here." Squall said as he began to climb. He didn't get too far up, as the Ladder broke and fell over! Acting on adrenaline, Squall flew through a plate of glass, and found a computer that had been abandoned for years! Pressing a few buttons, another opening appeared, leading to the oil sanctum. Carefully, Squall climbed back down to his comrades.
"Squall, that was close!" Zell said, "You alright?"
"Yeah." Squall said.
"Gosh, you scared me," Rinoa said, "That must've been terrifying."
"Whatever, lets keep moving." Squall said. Another Ladder led them to a platform that sat above the oil. Sitting there was a lever, which when Squall pulled it, opened a door on the far side of the room. As they approached, 2 giant slugs climbed out of the oil. Zell noted them to be called Oilboyles. And they lived up to their name by being covered in oil. Also, they were fierce fighters.
"We don't have time for this crap," Squall said, "Hell Fire!" The three of them disappeared as a Cyclone of Fire appeared and shrunk into the form of the Fire GF, Ifrit.The GFsummoned a giant ball of Magma and rode it into the air above the monsters. With nothing in his path, Ifrit knocked the burning Ball of fire back to the ground, setting the Oilboyle's ablaze. With them distracted, Squall sliced each of their heads off, killing them.
"We have to Hurry, the missiles are getting closer if they're coming at all." Squall said.
"Hey, what's this?" Zell asked. He picked up the thing lying on the ground, and found it to be a stick of dynamite. Zell stuck it in his pocket, saving it for later. Another ladder was waiting for them as they quickly descended. Once they reached the bottom, there was a dead end...and a control panel!
"Looks like we're here." Squall said.
"Thank Hyne," Rinoa said, "One more ladder and I was sure to puke."
"So what do we do now?" Zell asked.
"I don't know, the Headmaster doesn't even know." Squall thought. Squall messed with the control panel for a few seconds.
"What the heck are you doin'?" Zell asked.
"I don't know! What else can I do?" Squall said. Before anything else could happen, the three of them heard a rumbling sound!
"No way, was that the missiles?" Zell asked. His question was answered as the Control panel sprang to life, and the Giant Gears in the room began to turn! Soon, the platform they were on was rising! The floors opened up, giving the platform somewhere to go. All the way up into Headmaster Cid's room, catching the Headmaster on the way up! Squall looked up through the glass ceiling, and saw Balamb Garden's halo begin to spin like mad, and then sink! The halo sunk down, sending the entire garden through the opening. Then something amazing happened, the halo actually uprooted the entire Garden! While Cid, Zell, and Rinoa stared in awe, Squall looked out to the ocean, and saw something that made him sick.
"Missiles incoming!" He yelled. The missiles were only a few seconds away, but then the Garden started moving! The missiles were sent crashing into the spot where the garden ONCE was, creating a giant flash, kicking up dust. The missiles had missed, and the Garden was moving!
"I see, so this is the secret!" Headmaster Cid said. "I wonder what's going on outside?"
"Let's go check it out!" Zell said. They hopped onto the lift that took them back down to the floor, and then took the elevator to the second floor, to the deck. They looked out over the edge. They couldn't believe that this giant building was actually mobile! Zell ran out and looked over the edge, waving to those who were evacuated. Rinoa put her hands on the railing as she leaned out., her black hair whipping in the wind. Squall had to admit to himself that even he was in awe!
"Squall!" Someone Called. He turned around and found Xu sanding there. "It's the Headmaster, get back to the bridge on the double!" Squall did as he was told, and found the headmaster messing with the controls.
"Squall, the controls aren't responding!" He panicked, "I don't know what to do! We're going to crash into the town of Balamb if we don't do something!"
"No way, can't we do something?" Zell said.
"Squall, do something!" Rinoa pleaded.
"DAMN!" Squall yelled as he threw himself at the control panel. Pressing, buttons, flipping levers, whatever there was to do. Suddenly, there was a vibration.
"YES! We're turning!" Cid said.
"AHH! We're going to crash into the sea!" Zell said.
"Everybody hold onto something!" Cid yelled. They did and Balamb Garden splashed into the ocean. However, the garden did not sink, but floated!
"Phew, Good work, Squall." Cid said. "I think the worst is behind us for now."
"Where are we heading?" Squall asked.
"We'll drift along for now," Cid said, "Until we understand how to move the Garden. So much for my room, where am I going to change now?"
