Hmm, not much of my normal crowd of reviewers showed up in the last chapter. My guess is they're busy with a new game trying to get Lion Heart. Maybe we can change that with this chapter.

zornoid13: Here's the update.

Darksoulki: I hope you read the rest and keep comin' back for more.

lady-rinoa: I went with the more lighthearted talk when you choose the Irish instruments. It's not perfect, but I like it.

WildfireDreams: I've heard that it's also possible to get Zell's Ehrgeiz, Selphie's Strange Vision, and Quistis's Save the Queen in the first disc, but that requires more time than I'm willing to waste. Though I do know for a fact that Rinoa's Cardinal can be gotten.

CHAPTER 28: LEADER OF THE SeeD

Squall had done a little Items shopping in FH before heading back to the Garden. As he went back up the lift, there was a certain cowboy waiting for him.

"The Headmaster gave the OK to let the technicians in the Garden." Irvine said. "They're in there right now."

"Ok." Squall said.

"Say, I was wondering." Irvine said. "Those technicians seem pretty handy. So like, would it be all right if I asked them to fix some other stuff?"

"As long as it doesn't slow down work on the Garden, go ahead." Squall said. "Just don't go overboard."

"Of course." Irvine said. Squall and Irvine continued to walk to the Garden, with Irvine looking like he had something on his mind.

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"Selphie's feeling down right now." Irvine said. "I thought you should know, since you're kinda like everybody's leader. Maybe you should go talk to her. I know you're a klutz when it comes to these things, so I'll back you."

"Where is she?" Squall asked.

"In the Quad, by the stage." Irvine said. He looked around and saw a bunch of equipment being used to repair the Garden.

"Wow, didn't expect this much heavy machinery." Irvine said.

"How else are they going to fix it?" Squall asked. "With hammers and nails?"

"Hey, this isn't my department." Irvine said.

"Then what is?" Squall asked.

"Guns and women, of course." Irvine said. Squall headed to the Quad, where Selphie was looking at the damage done to the stage when Garden hit FH.

"Whew, this is bad." Selphie said.

"Yeah, it's been crazy with Garden moving and crashing into FH." Squall said.

"Y'know, I really wanted to see a band perform on this stage." Selphie said. "I had my eyes set on a few people too. Oh well."

"C'mon, I'm sure you can still do something." Squall said.

"Squall? Being sensitive?" Selphie said. "That's weird, you're the last person I expected to try and cheer me up.

"What's so weird?" Squall thought. "I care just like everybody else. It's just that there are too many things that can't be helped. So why bother talking about everything."

"Uh-oh, There you go again into your own little world." Selphie said.

"Irvine, you help her," Squall said. "I'm out of here."

"Alrighty." Irvine said. Another announcement came over the intercom.

"Squall, this is the Headmaster speaking. Please come to my office."

"What now?" Squall groaned as he left the quad.

"I guess there's no point in feeling blue." Selphie said.

"That's right, let's get the fun started!" Irvine said.

"Fun? What Fun?" Selphie asked.

"So like, first we'll ask the FH guys to fix the stage." Irvine said. "If they can repair the garden, this should be a piece of cake for them."

"Hey, that means..." Selphie began.

"Yep," Irvine said, "You can have'your band' perform on stage."

"WHOO-HOO!" Selphie squealed.


"That about covers the update, sir." Squall said to the headmaster.

"I see." Cid said.

"Oh, and it appeared that the Galbadians were searching for Ellone." Squall said. "That seemed to be their main objective in FH."

"They must want her special power." Cid said. "Her power to allow people to view the past of another." Squall wondered how Cid knew of Ellone's power. Squall knew simply because of one person, Laguna Loire.

"And regardless of whether or not they found her, they had orders to burn the city to the ground." Squall said.

"That would help reduce the number of potential places where she could hide." Cid said. "Most likely, Edea will not stop this onslaught until Ellone is found. She will continue to hunt her, and burn everything in her path. Very well, we can't wait any longer." Cid then got on the intercom to give an announcement. Squall knew it was going to be big, as it seemed Headmaster Cid was finally going official about this.

"This is Headmaster Cid." He said into the Microphone. "I have an announcement to make, important news that I must share with all of you. Once the FH technicians finish with the Garden, we're going on a journey, a journey to defeat the Sorceress. Garden will now be used as a mobile base. The administration will be run by myself and the staff as usual. However, this journey will involve many battles, and a well-qualified leader is needed for this. Therefore, I am appointing Squall Leonhart as your new leader. He will decide our destination and battle plan."

Squall couldn't believe what he had just heard; he didn't even have a choice?

"Squall, this is your fate." Cid told him. "We're under your command from now on. It is your destiny to lead the way in defeating the sorceress.

"Don't talk about this like it's been decided since my birth!" Squall told him sternly. He didn't mind fighting the sorceress; it was inevitable as long as he was a SeeD member. He thought about quitting, but then he wouldn't have anything left. He headed back to his dorm and wondered how it felt for Cid to give the order to kill his wife.


Rinoa was headed back down near the vicinity of Mayor Dobe's home, where she spotted Zell and Quistis.

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

"Good question." Quistis replied.

"Irvine just told us to head down here." Zell said.

"That's weird, Selphie just came and got me." Rinoa said.

"Well, whatever they want, they're obviously in it together." Zell said. A few seconds later, Selphie and Irvine joined them, carrying several cases for musical instruments.

"Hey everyone." Irvine said. "Here's our producer, Selphie!"

"OK guys, I don't know if you know this, but the stage got destroyed." Selphie said. Zell and Quistis remembered how hyped Selphie was about the upcoming Garden Festival. "But the FH technicians have agreed to help us out, and they're building another stage. So we'll be holdin' the concert as planned."

"Sounds fun." Quistis said.

"So who's gonna perform?" Zell asked.

"We are." Irvine said.

"You're kidding, right?" Quistis said. "I have no musical aptitude."

"Let's just try it." Selphie said. "We have everything ready and all we need is four people."

"This is gonna be fun!" Rinoa said.

"Oh, Sorry Rinoa, but you're not gonna be a member." Selphie said. "We have something more important for you to do."

"Like what?" Rinoa asked. Selphie started to whisper in Rinoa's ear while Irvine handed Zell and Quistis some instruments.


"Man, I'm bored." Squall thought. He decided to go see what everyone was doing. As he walked into the hall, he could see Zell, Quistis, and Rinoa whispering to each other. For some reason, Rinoa wasn't wearing her normal clothes, but she was in that dress she wore when she and Squall first met.

"Pineapple!" Zell whispered through gritted teeth.

"What?" Quistis said.

"That's the code right?" Zell asked "Squall's coming, Pineapple!"

"OK Rinoa, he's all yours." With that, Zell and Quistis took off. Squall walked up to Rinoa.

"So what's up?" She asked. Squall didn't reply: he was kind of tired.

"You look so down." Rinoa said. "Come on Squall, how old are you?"

"17, but what does that have to do with anything?" Squall asked.

"You're still a teenager, why don't you act like one for a change?" She said. Squall didn't reply. "C'mon, let's go to the concert."

"Whatever." Squall said. Rinoa led the way back into FH. Soon, Squall could see Selphie looking down on the stage, and Irvine leaning against a wall.

"So, she convinced you, eh?" Irvine said. Soon, he took Squall aside and whispered to him, so only the two of them could hear the conversation.

"Lookin' good together." Irvine said. "So like, I found this place for you guys, it's perfect."

"What are you getting at?" Squall asked.

"It was their Idea." Irvine said. "I left an old magazine of mine there. It's by the stage, can't miss it."

"Man, this guy is sick." Squall thought. "Are you done?" He said.

"I might be there later with a special someone too." Irvine said as he gave a wink. He then ran back to Selphie. Squall followed and saw the stage.

"C'mon man! I'm about to make my move." Irvine said. At this point, Selphie turned around.

"What's goin' on?" Selphie said.

"Uh…erm, nothin'" Irvine said. With that, Selphie ran down towards the stage, leaving Irvine with a dejected look.

"Man, thanks a lot!" Irvine said as he took off after Selphie. Squall followed, but at his own pace, aware of the fact that Rinoa was following him.

"Congratulations Squall." Selphie said. "This is all for you. Rinoa, don't let him get away! OK, here we go!" Soon, Selphie started to tap dance, forcing Squall to raise an eyebrow. Soon, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis joined in with their instruments. Irvine with a guitar, Zell on violin, and Quistis on flute. Squall's eyes started to wander, and he spotted a magazine laying about 8 feet away. The magazine was Girl Next Door. An add on the cover said '15 sure fire ways to keep her begging for more.' Yep, this had to be Irvine's.

"Ohh, a naughty magazine!" Rinoa said. Squall thought he was kidding!

"You wanted to talk about something, right?" Squall asked has he sat down, his legs hanging over the solar panels. "What is it?"

"Umm, well, it's about your promotion." Rinoa said sitting next to him. "Things are gonna get really tough for you, huh?" Squall didn't want to talk about it.

"Squall, I'm sure there will be a lot of difficult things you'll have to deal with from now on." She continued. "We were talking about that, and saying how you'll try to handle everything on your own."

"I probably will." Squall thought.

"They know you too well." Rinoa said. "I do too, though I haven't been around you that long." Soon, she touched the bridge of her nose. "You know, when you start thinking too hard, you tend to frown like this." Rinoa looked over, and saw that he was doing that same thing at this very moment. She couldn't help but let out a giggle when he looked over.

"I'm out of here." Squall said.

"Oh come on! I'm sorry!" She said as she got up. "But really, we were saying that…well…you can't handle everything on your own." As Squall listened, he didn't notice Rinoa sneak up behind him, until she gave him a shove and send him down to the solar panels. Being a SeeD, his instinct kicked in as he landed on his feet. Giving a surprised, kind of angry, look towards Rinoa.

"That's it! Just let out anything!" Rinoa said. "We want you to talk to us a little more, that's all! If there's anything you want to tell us, or anything we can do, don't hesitate to let us know. I know it's not easy, but I wish you would trust us and rely on us a little more." Squall soon changed his angry look to his normal one as he thought about how good it felt to trust and rely on others. That's why it was so dangerous, especially if you get attached to it. Soon, you're bound to end up with nothing, everything snatched away from you in an instant. Squall couldn't remember how, but he knew that he once found that out the hard way.

"Hmm. Great night, great music, great looking guy." Rinoa droned. "Not only is he good looking, but he's really sweet, a great listener. Right now, he's seriously thinking about what I said."

"Trust you, and rely on you?" Squall asked. "I appreciate the concern, but…"

"No buts!" Rinoa said. "We all…love you! There, I said it. No matter if you believe it or not, we all want to be your friends, Squall."

"Forget it." Squall said. "I don't want friends who won't be there tomorrow."

"You know, there are no guarantee's in the future," Rinoa said, "but I have a feeling we'll all be together for a while. That's why TODAY, the time we have now, is important! So what do you think about the future, Squall?" In reality, he had never really thought about it.

"That's something I'd rather not talk about." Squall said. "What about you?"

"I don't know, I guess I'd rather not talk about it either." Rinoa said. "But right now, I want it to stay just like this." That was basically it for the conversation as Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis continued to play.


Squall was back in his room, wide-awake. In one day, he had been made the Commanding officer for all the SeeDs and had to open up to Rinoa, she wouldn't let him leave if he didn't. He had felt like he made a huge mistake by doing that. He looked over at his clock; it was 1:30 in the morning.

"How the hell does Cid expect me to sleep tonight?" He asked himself. His question was answered when he heard that oh-so-familiar whistling sound in his head, little realizing that Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie had heard it too.


Remember in the last Laguna chapter how I said there would be a bonus? It's in the next chapter! An extra Laguna segment that was never in the game! What will happen? You'll have to wait and see!