Chapter 2: Scenario Again

Twenty minutes later…

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Matron," Squall said through gritted teeth. How many times have these people ask me the same question?

"This should not and must not happen," said Cid as he frowned over the matter.

I KNOW. But it's happening.

Everyone was gathered in the office of Headmaster Cid after ten minutes, all refreshed and restored their energy. While they were there, Matron Edea happened to stop by and they in turn look for her help as well.

"Although this had not happen before, its consequences are bad enough to affect everyone. Including the whole world," said Matron.

"Oh no, not this save-the-world-from-evil-forces-scenario again?" said Zell in an exasperated tone. Everyone looked at him. "First is the Sorceress War, and now-"

"Zell, shut up." Squall's words had immediate effect. Zell kept quiet and held his hands up in surrender.

"Should we seek Dr. Odine's help at Esthar?" asked Matron.

"Doc Odine?" chirped Zell, forgetting Squall's orders in a moment. "That short, funny scientist with that weird accent? You've got to be kidding me." He started mimicking the scientist's words. "Thiz iz not funny."

"Zell, this IS not funny," said Quistis, folding her arms as she cast an annoyed glare at Zell.

"I doubt that he should not fail to meet your expectations, Zell. Just because he dress funny and talks differently does not mean that he might know anything about this. He might have more information than you think," said Matron.

"So you mean we have to go to Esthar," said Squall.

"But it'll take days to reach there," said Rinoa.

"Unless we go through the Great Salt Lake by FH," said Irvine. He broke into a grin. "The route me and my Selphie discovered." Selphie beamed at him.

"You guys got any faster and easier way? We can't deal with monsters without magic and GF," said Zell. "You saw how long we took to fight that T-Rexaur."

Everyone pondered over it. Zell's words made sense. For the first time.

"Why don't we use the Ragnarok?" suggested Rinoa.

"The Ragnarok is being used for the SeeD Field Exams at Trabia," said Headmaster Cid. "But I think it should be back by two days later."

"Two days?!" Everyone exclaimed, except Squall. He just shrugged and said, "We've got no other options. The Ragnarok is the fastest way to go to Esthar."

"What about the students?" asked Quistis. "I don't think we should let them in about this. We don't want to create chaos within the Garden when they found out they could not use GFs and magic."

"I will give a prohibition notice, stating that no GFs and magic are to be used temporarily," said Cid. "Until we solve this, all students are quarantined within the Garden's grounds and not any further."

"What about you all?" asked Matron to the group. "You have to prepare yourselves as well."

"First, we need some rest," said Zell. He stretched his hands tiredly. "And food."

"Zell, is food always in your mind all the time?" said Selphie as she shook her head. Zell just grinned sheepishly.

"And we'd better stock up on some potions. Some remedies as well," said Quistis. "We don't want to let the same thing today to happen to us the day after tomorrow."

"Better load up on some ammo, too," said Irvine. He patted his Exeter in its holster. "We all need to get prepared for the journey."

Seeing this, Cid turned to Squall. "Squall, you know what to do." Everyone looked at him expectantly.

Squall shrugged and said, "Fine. We will go to Esthar by Ragnarok. 0800 hours, we meet at the Entrance, two days from now. Don't be late."

"Yes, Commander!"

* * *

Two hours later…

"Did you hear about it?" spoke a young SeeD cadet to his friend.

"That no-summoning notice? I know!" chirped the girl.

"It's ridiculous. How are we gonna fight?" said another cadet.

"We are not even allowed outside Garden. We have to stay in Garden, and that's that," spoke the first one.

"We cannot use magic too. I wonder what is going on," said the third cadet. He looked around before saying in a low tone, "I bet it has something to do with that fire-dog. Heard that he had enough of students hitting him with Shiva every time. "

"Ifrit? You mean you check out the cave? Cool!" said the girl. The table grew silent and the sounds of cutlery was heard as the three students quickly resumed to eating when they saw Squall silently strode past by their table.

"Squall!" Rinoa called upon seeing him. She waved at him. "Over here!" He saw her, and silently sat down next to her. In front of him, Irvine and Quistis were in a deep conversation. Zell was too busy pigging out to notice Squall's arrival.

"You were telling us that Ifrit was missing?" asked Irvine, his hand draped over Selphie's shoulders. "But how could it be?"

"I caught some students loitering outside the Entrance minutes after Headmaster Cid's announcement," said Quistis, sipping her cup of coffee. "Apparently their friend went to the Fire Cavern to practice his shooting skills, but when I went there, he was waiting outside the cave, complaining that the Garden Master refused his entry."

"Luckily the Garden Master stopped him in time, you know," said Selphie, gesturing in an animated way. "Otherwise he'll know what's going on and kaboom, chaos in Garden." She nodded knowingly. "Those kids are like that, right Squall?"

"Yeah…whatever." Selphie and Rinoa looked at each other. When Squall's in his 'whatever' mood, it'll be useless trying to get any positive answers out from him.

"Squall…you okay?" asked Rinoa.

"Sorry…a lot's on my mind now," he said. His face broke into a small smile. Rinoa felt a bit relieved.

"So…did anyone of you heard any weird noises in the Training Centre while we were leaving earlier?" asked Rinoa.

"Nope. Nothing." Zell grabbed a hot dog in one hand and gobbled it up in two mouthfuls.

"You mean the soft cries of words?" asked Quistis. "And I thought I was the one hallucinating it."

"You mean the one that goes, 'Quistis…Quistis…" Irvine started making ghostly sounds. " 'I am coming….' " He yelled in surprise just as a sharp jab land in his left ribs. "Ow! Selphie!"

"Watch it cowboy, I might be the next one to haunt you," warned Selphie, and the rest started laughing. Well, besides Squall, who was brooding silently as he tried to piece all that had been happening together.

"Squall?" Rinoa said, waving her hands in front of him, breaking his train of thoughts. He blinked and looked at her. "What?"

"I was asking, whether you'd heard anything strange in the Training Centre," Rinoa repeated.

"You mean the one which goes, 'Something-Man, I pity-something'?" asked Irvine.

"I think it went, 'Humans…I pity-something," said Quistis.

" 'Humans…I pity them'," Squall mouthed the words. Four pairs of bewildered eyes landed on him. Squall's blue-grey eyes blinked in confusion. "Isn't that what you all wanted to know?"

"Yeah…but…still…" Irvine struggled to state his point. "Oh, forget it. But what has this got to do with all these strange happenings?"

"I wonder," said Rinoa, cupping her head in her hands on the table. She looked up through the glass dome above her, watching the fluffy white clouds float past by.

Let's hope nothing bad happens. She looked down at Squall, whose eyes were narrowed with frustration. She laid her hand on his, and Squall gently held her hands in his, reassuring her that everything was alright. Rinoa sighed silently.

I had a bad feeling that something bad is gonna happen. And we will all not like it...

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Another boring chapter…boring yet crucial for the upcoming ones…let's just hope this fic stays on. This fic is on the verge of being taken down and destroyed into smithereens of pixels if no one's gonna read it. I mean, what's the point of posting if no one wants to read???


That's it. Enough rambling. More action next chapter, Chapter 3: Uninvited Guest Above-Board.