As Zell would say, "Yo!"

zornoid13: I guess you don't say anything else. Oh well, it's cool.

QueenAdreena: That list just keeps getting longer and longer, doesn't it?

pinklove: Thanks for pointing that out. Now I really feel like an ass.

Lady-Rinoa: I liked that part too, that plot twist blew me away.

WildFireDreams: Good Work…lat me make a note of that.

jasmine32: I hope ya liked it.

I added a little back story to Griever here. I thought it might spice things up if Griever had some sort of history. Anyway, I've been waiting for this chapter for a while now. Get ready folks…it's the Garden War.

CHAPTER 32: GARDEN VS. GARDEN

After Squall told Headmaster Cid that he remembered the orphanage and wanted to find it, Cid told him that it was on the destroyed Centra Continent on the Cape of Good Hope. Immediately, Squall had the Garden set a course for it. It took 3 days to get there, since it was so far away. As Nida piloted the Garden, he felt relieved when he saw the old Kramer Orphanage come into view, however, he got really scared as he shifted his gaze. Immediately, he got on the intercom.

"Squall, please come to the bridge immediately!" Nida said. Squall, who was in his room at the time, felt the urgentness in Nida's voice and headed for the bridge.

"What's up?" Squall asked.

"Take a look, nine o' clock." Nida said as he handed Squall a pair of binoculars. Squall saw the thing that made Nida turn white as a ghost; Galbadia Garden, which was swarming with hundreds of Galbadian troops!

"What do you think?" Nida asked. The Galbadians probably knew that the SeeDs were there too, but if not, Squall decided to make the first move.

"The battle is inevitable." Squall said.

"The Sorceress is with them, isn't she?" Nida asked. "Do you think this could be the final battle?"

"I hope so." Squall said.

"Give out your orders whenever you're ready." Nida said. Squall thought quickly, he had to give orders to every single SeeD and Cadet in the Garden. Once he was satisfied on what to say, he got on the mic.

"This is Squall speaking." He said. "This is an emergency, so listen carefully. We're going into battle against Galbadia Garden! 1st and 2nd class sabers, assemble in the Parking Lot. Those with MG rank 3 or above, head for the Second Floor deck and await instructions. The enemy will probably come aboard, so we must concentrate our forces at the Front Gate and the Quad. If your Student ID is even, report to the Quad, if its odd, Report to the front gate. Student having ID numbers ending with an 8, take care of all the junior classmen. Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and Irvine Kinneas, Come to the bridge right away."

Squall then took the lift down to what used to be the Headmasters office, where Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine were waiting.

"Wow, that was fast." Squall said.

"We headed here the second you said 'Galbadia Garden.'" Quistis said.

"Good, I need you guy's to help me lead the attack" Squall said. Squall then noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Zell?"

"I think he's taking a nap," Selphie said, "He said that he hasn't slept at all lately."

"I'm going to check the Quad. Selphie and Irvine, you're with me." Squall said. "Quistis, you find Zell."

"Alright." Quistis said. "What about Rinoa?

"You guys take care of her." Squall ordered. Squall, Selphie, and Irvine took the lift down to the first floor, where every SeeD and Cadet was filing into place, preparing for a major battle. As Squall entered the Quad, he heard a familiar voice.

"All right guys, this is the big one, so listen up!" It was Zell, motivating the Troops in the quad. "Sup Squall? I got this place covered."

"I thought you were sleeping." Squall said.

"I was, your announcement woke me up." Zell said. "My student ID is even, so I'm supposed to be here, right?" Squall nodded. "Hey Squall, come here for a sec." Zell and Squall huddled together, so only the two of them could hear the conversation.

"This may not be the best time, but...let me borrow your ring." Zell said. Squall looked at the ring he wore on his left hand. It had a crouching winged lion on it.

"Why do you need it?" Squall asked.

"I, um, can't tell you that." Zell said. "C'mon, you can trust me."

Squall thought it was OK if Zell just wanted to borrow it, so with a little effort, he pulled it off. "Don't lose it!" Squall warned.

"Thanks man," Zell said. "Rinoa's gonna be so happy."

"Rinoa?" Squall asked.

"Zell, there you are!" Quistis said as she appeared with Rinoa.

"Guys, I'm gonna fight too." Rinoa said. "I don't wanna just hide, I know I can fight with the rest of you."

"Be careful." Squall said.

"Squall, this is the bridge!" Nida said over the intercom. "Get up here right now!"

"Zell, I'm counting on you." Squall said. "Good luck everyone." With that, Squall, Selphie, and Irvine left.

"Time to GET IT ON!" Zell said, pumping himself up. "Oh, Rinoa. I got the ring from Squall. I'll make you one just like it. Till then, just hold on to it for me."

"What did you say to him?" Rinoa asked.

"I just told him to hand it over." Zell said.

"It looks cool, but it's too big." Rinoa said.

"Talk about it later," Quistis told them, "We have work to do."


"Look!" Nida said handing Squall the binoculars. Squall looked over at Galbadia Garden, which was approaching fast. Standing at their front gate on an elevated platform was Seifer Almasy.

"Seifer's in charge over there." Nida said.

"Just keep going straight." Squall said. The sooner we get close enough to each other, the sooner we can end this. Nida did as he was told as Squall continued to spy on Seifer.

"Bring it on." Squall whispered. Squall looked around at the level below Seifer. There were several Galbadian Soldiers sitting on motorcycles which had rockets attached to them.

"GO!" Seifer yelled. Immediately, the Galbadian's launched themselves over to Balamb Garden.

"Brace yourselves everybody!" Squall said into the mic. "Here they come!"


The Galbadians had landed, in the area of the Quad. Where Zell's team was waiting. As the three of them neared the end of the Quad, Galbadia Garden slammed into them! It knocked loose a piece of land in the quad and sending it plummeting to the ground, where Balamb Gardens Halo destroyed it. Rinoa was standing on the piece of rock when it dislodged, sending her down as well! Luckily, she was able to grab onto a rock, and cling for dear life. However, she was too far down and the slope was too high to climb back up.

"DAMMIT, I CAN'T REACH HER!" Zell cursed.

"We need a rope or something!" Quistis said.

"RINOA, HOLD ON! WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!" Zell shouted to her. Zell and Quistis headed back into the main lobby, fighting their way through the Galbadian soldiers. Soon, their path was blocked by Galbadians, preparing to attack.

"I'll take care of them," Quistis said, "Diamond Dust!" All the cadets in the area disappeared as an Ice spear shot up from the ground, carrying the GF of Ice, Shiva. A ball of blue energy had appeared in Shiva's hand, and then she threw it forward, surrounding the soldiers in a glacier. The glacier then shattered, shards of ice finding themselves ripping and tearing at the flesh of the Galbadians, killing each one of them. Zell and Quistis then moved on, where they found Squall and his team at the Front Gate.

"Squall, Rinoa's in trouble!" Zell said.

"Damn." Squall muttered.

"Squall, listen up!" It was Nida on the intercom. "The enemy is about to attack the classrooms, the Junior Classmen are in there!"

"They're coming towards the Front Gate!" Xu cried.

"Squall, did you hear me?" Zell said.

"Yeah, but she's not the only one in Danger!" Squall said.

"Didn't think you were so Heartless, Squall." Irvine said. "Rinoa is gonna die if we don't do something!" There were three issues at hand here. The Junior Classmen, the Front Gate, and Rinoa.

"Selphie, You and Xu lead the defense at the Front gate!" Squall said.

"Gotcha!" Selphie said.

"Quistis and Irvine, come with me to the Classrooms." Squall said. "Zell, you go help Rinoa, do whatever it takes!"

"Leave it to me!" Zell said. Squall, Quistis, and Irvine hauled to the Elevator and to the Second floor. As they reached Quistis' old classroom, the Window shattered and Four Galbadian Paratroopers gained access.

"Dispose of this Garden as planned!" One of them said.

"You'll have to get past me first!" Squall growled. Squall got into a swordfight with one, ending up in the death of a Galbadian Paratrooper. Quistis wrapped her whip around another's neck, and quickly recoiled, breaking the Soldiers neck and cutting off his air supply. Irvine disposed of the other two with a couple of headshots.

"Good work," Squall said to the SeeD watching the junior Classmen. "Take them to the Infirmary!"

"Yes sir!" She said as she hustled the children out of the classroom. Two waves of attack were over, as Nida came over the intercom again.

"Squall, come to the bridge, Dr. Kadowaki is here."

"What does she want?" Squall asked himself. He headed for the bridge, where Dr. Kadowaki was waiting.

"What's the situation?" She asked.

"We were able to stop the first to waves of attack, but our forces aren't looking so good." Squall said. "Many are injured. If they send another wave, I don't know if we can hold them." Just then, Selphie showed up.

"How's your team?" the Doctor asked.

"Bad, they're barely holding them off!" Selphie said.

"So, it looks like this is it." Dr. Kadowaki said.

"Their Garden has more experienced fighters." Quistis said. "On the other hand, most of our troops are still in training! Like Squall said, one more wave and we might be finished."

"Seifer is with them, right?" The doctor asked. "You said it yourself. There's no way you can run from him. What is there to think about? You're not going to run away now, are you?"

"From him? No chance in hell!" Squall said, "Besides, attacking them might be our only chance. The only question is how to board their garden."

"Say, how about if we bash into them?" Asked Irvine. "I know it sounds crazy, but at least we'll be able to get in. Their pilot's been ramming us all along, I'm sure Nida can do it too!"

"We have no choice, Let's do it." Squall said. As if on cue, Zell burst into the room. "Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked.

"Sorry man, there's no way I can get to her!" Zell said. "The bastards have the area barricaded! The only way we could get to her is by going over the roof or flying!"

"Dammit!" Squall said.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Irvine said. "You just gave up on her, didn't you? Do me a favor, YOU go help Rinoa! It may be too late, but don't give up until you're CERTAIN that there's nothing you can do!"

"I have to lead the attack." Squall said.

"I don't care!" Irvine said. "Just do it, for Rinoa!"

"Listen to Irvine, Squall." Quistis pleaded. "She's one of us now."

"I'll lead the attack on Galbadia Garden." Irvine said, "Trust me, I know the place like the back of my hand!"

"We'll clear a path, and we'll move in once Squall arrives." Quistis said.

"Squall, you're forgetting something Very important." Dr. Kadowaki said as she led Squall to the lift and onto the bridge. "Talk to your men Squall. Encourage them."

"You probably don't realize it, but everyone in this Garden looks up to you." Nida said. "They LIKE you." Squall nodded and headed towards the mic. For the first time in his life, Squall knew he would have to pour his guts out.

"Everybody, this is Squall." He said. "How's everyone doing? You're all probably too tired to even stand after all the fighting. But I want everyone to listen to me. We still have a chance to win, and I need your help. This is going to be our final battle. We're going to attack them before they come in again. To do that, we're going to head straight into their garden. So I want everyone to prepare for a major collision. Take care of all the Junior Classmen. Irvine Kinneas, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt will lead the attack into their Garden, as for everyone else, please support them if you can. SeeD was formed to fight the Sorceress; at least that's what I've heard, and Garden was formed to train SeeDs. So this battle is our destiny and Garden's destiny. It's a grueling battle, and I'm sure you're all exhausted, but I don't want any regrets! I don't want anyone to look back and regret this day! So just this once, I want you to give everything you got! For me! For Yourselves! And for Balamb Garden!"

"You did great, that was wonderful." Dr. Kadowaki said.

"Ok Nida, bash'em!" Squall said. Nina pulled a hard right, and slammed into Galbadia Garden. The Front Gate connected, and allowed the troops to file out.

"OHHH YEAHHH! We're in!" Zell said as the group and the SeeDs ran aboard the enemy garden.

"Ready guys?" Quistis asked.

"You betcha!" Selphie said. Thoughts filled each of their heads.

"It's Payback Time!" Zell thought

"For me and Sefie". Irvine thought.

"For Balamb and Trabia Gardens." Selphie thought

"This is it, for the World". Quistis thought. Several Galbadian soldiers met them, ready to brawl. Selphie flipped her Nunchaku, Quistis cracked her whip, Irvine cocked his gun, and Zell cracked his knuckled.

"Let's ROCK!" Zell said.


Squall headed to the Second floor. He had a plan to save Rinoa; he just didn't know how it was going to work yet.

"Please help me!" A SeeD said. "Mark is gone!"

"Dammit!" Squall cursed as he headed for the Deck. Along the way, he found a junior classman sitting scared on the floor.

"Hey, is you're name Mark?" Squall asked.

"Yeah," He said.

"There's someone waiting for you at the Elevator, I want you to go over to her, Ok?" Squall said. The Junior classman got up and ran towards the elevator. Just in time too, because A Galbadian Soldier on a flying Mech suit appeared and attacked Squall. Quickly, Squall looked for an option, and spotted one; he had his back to the Emergency Exit. Discretely, Squall pushed the button, and when the soldier came in, the Door opened, sending both Squall and the Soldier to the outside. Squall clinged to the machine as it flew between the two Gardens, and started fighting the Soldier for control. Both punched and kicked at each other, but then Squall got an Idea! Squall blocked with one arm, while the other reached for his Gunblade. Once Squall was sure that the solder wasn't suspecting anything, he quickly slashed up, slitting the soldier's throat, and sending him plummeting to his doom. As Squall took control of the machine, he remembered what Zell said on the bridge.

"The only way we could get to her is by going over the roof or flying!" Squall could fly now, as he controlled the machine to the vicinity of the Quad, where, thankfully, Rinoa was still hanging on.

"Rinoa, grab on to me!" She heard someone yell, it was Squall! In one quick move, she jumped from the edge and clinged to Squall's waist. Squall then piloted the machine to the grounds of Galbadia Garden, where the two of them hopped off the machine, and booked it for the door. As they reached it, Rinoa spoke.

"Squall! Thank you." she said.

"Don't worry about it, it's my job." Squall said. "We're still under contract. It was everybody else's idea, and I just happened to find you."

"You know what? I couldn't afford to fall off that cliff and die." Rinoa said. "I have something that belongs to you. I can't die until I give it back, right? Zell gave it to me, I've been holding on to it." Squall knew what she was talking about, his ring.

"That's my favorite ring," Squall said. "You'd better give it back."

"I'm sure it is," Rinoa said. "It's a cool looking ring. What's this monster on it anyway?"

"It's not a monster, it's a lion." Squall said. "Lions are known for their great strength and pride."

"Hmm. Great strength, pride." Rinoa said. "Kinda like you, Squall. So does this Lion have a name?"

"Of course," Squall said. "That lion is supposed to be a long dead GF, which was said to be the Strongest GF in the universe! It was called Griever, and it used a move called Shockwave Pulsar. It was supposedly killed by the Legendary GF Eden."

"Zell said he'd make me one just like it." Rinoa said. "I mean, everyone might, you know, get the wrong idea about us.

"If it's so crazy, why do you sound so delighted?" Squall thought. "Everyone's trying to get us together, it's so obvious, even I can tell."

"It sounds like you WANT everyone to get the wrong Idea." Squall said.

"No-no! That's not it!" Rinoa defended.

"Well, everyone's waiting," Squall said. "Let's go"