By Ramsey Anderson
All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.
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Chapter 12
Selphie started the conversation that I'd gone through a lot to prevent, "Squall, you said that you couldn't stop the missile strike, right?"
I sighed, "…no, I couldn't stop the launch…"
"Then shouldn't we go to the base to try and prevent the launch from happening?"
I immediately responded, "No. It can't be done…we'd only put ourselves in danger."
"But that was just you acting alone, maybe with all of us, we can stop it!"
"Selphie…" Off in the distance, a barrage of missiles fired from the missile base. Irvine stopped the car immediately and everyone got out.
As the missiles faded from our sights and onward north, all of us remained silent. Nobody dared to speak until the sound from the missiles stopped, as if we were waiting for them to finish speaking. All of my efforts up until now, all the hell I suffered, all the mental anguish I put myself through, only to end with me watching the missiles rocket towards Trabia…
Irvine mentioned, "I...heard they were hitting Trabia first, and then Balamb."
Selphie fell to her knees after hearing the facts from Irvine. "Trabia... I'm sorry... I couldn't stop it... Please let everybody be all right. Please... That was a miss...right...?"
Even though I had recently accepted that I couldn't change the future, watching Selphie break down then made me despise myself, thinking I didn't do everything I could to stop the horrible event from occurring. I looked around at everyone, watching their wondering faces as they thought about what to do next.
Selphie insisted, "Squall, I can't let this happen to Balamb Garden. We have to go to that missile base and stop the launch. I don't care what you say, I'm going, so let's split up into…"
"NO!!" I interrupted. Everyone's heads turned to me at my outburst. "We're not going back there. Stopping the launch is a lost cause; we need to go to Balamb Garden and warn them, and that's what we'll do."
Zell approached me, scratching his head nervously as he spoke, "Umm Squall…I kinda agree with Selphie that we should go to the missile base. I mean, if Balamb Garden had wheels or something, then I'd be on your side, but I don't wanna see it destroyed, so I say we at least try to stop the launch."
I was beginning to lose everyone's favor, which I needed to gain back. "You may not believe me, but I've got a plan that will save the Garden. You've got to believe me, everyone and everything will be fine, but only if we go soon. Listen, when I told you to remember the ID number 187, did it not grant you access to Caraway's mansion? Also, I told you to tell Irvine I said 'hi' before me and him even met." I paused to let the group think about what I'd just told them. They all looked away and at each other, as if they knew I was right, but didn't want to admit it. "If I was right about those things, then I think I deserve a little credit now. You all don't have to come with me if you don't want, but I'm going, okay?"
With that, I returned to the Galbadian vehicle, wondering if I should've told them the whole story and how I knew future events. I chose not to, because it would be less complicated that way. Also, if I told them, they would think of me as some kind of hero or something and they'd tack all responsibilities on me. I wasn't ready for such a burden. If something bad were to happen, it would be my fault in their eyes because I didn't prevent it. They wouldn't have understood that I could not change the future. The truth was, I couldn't understand why I couldn't change the future, either. The difference was that I accepted that I couldn't.
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It was hard not to cry after seeing the missiles fly off into the afternoon sky. The instruments of death would surely hit Trabia first, as Irvine had said. Seemed to be a worthy enough reason to cry, but I held it back, trying to be tough, showing everyone that I could be positive all the time. I would probably cry when I saw the remains of Trabia, but not until then, I imagined. Only until I saw with my own eyes that all the people I cared about, everything I held dear, were gone, then I would break down, not a minute sooner.
Everyone stood in silence after Squall closed the door to the car. Finally, Rinoa spoke, "…he does have a point, you know."
I knew that Squall had been right, I just didn't want to admit it, but Rinoa had the guts to say what we were all thinking. Zell agreed, "Totally. He hasn't steered us wrong lately, maybe we should listen to him."
"Yeah, how did he know that Irvine was at Galbadia Garden? And he was dead-on with the ID number, and just now, he said that it permitted access to Caraway's mansion, which it did. There is no way he could've known these things." Quistis mentioned.
"Pretty strange guy. But I do admit that he does seem to know what's going on." Irvine explained.
I finally caved in, "Okay, okay, he does have a point. But all I'm saying is that this is a big decision and I think that we should consider our options before making a choice. We can either try to stop the missile launch or go back to Balamb Garden. Okay, let's make it easy, who wants to go to Garden?"
Everyone slowly raised their hands, indicating their choice to go to Garden. I had to go with the unanimous decision, like it was my choice to begin with. I still couldn't grasp how Squall could know so much, even though I hadn't known him that long.
I felt that it was time to discuss it, "Okay, what's everyone's theories on Squall's 'future-telling ability'? It's just too weird to let go."
Zell was the first to speak, "See, I think that he has some kind of weird magic that can predict the future. I don't know how he got it, but it must be rare, you know?"
Quistis had a better theory, "Umm, I disagree. You see, he only recently got this 'ability', which was right about when he fought with Seifer the other day. His attitude also changed after that incident, actually. I believe that Seifer hit Squall so hard that something strange happened to Squall's mind. I've heard of experiences where somebody got hit in the head and had prophetic abilities afterwards. That's my theory, at least."
"Maybe we should just ask him. We haven't actually approached him on the subject, you know." Rinoa suggested.
"Listen, if we're going to head to Balamb Garden to stop this strike, then we better go now." Irvine pointed out.
I agreed, "Right, we'll ask him later. I'm going in the yellow car, who wants to drive?"
"Oh, well I guess I will." Irvine insisted quickly.
Quistis and Zell went with Squall, while Irvine and Rinoa came with me. Rinoa told me that she needed to talk to me about her feelings for Seifer. Good, I kinda need to ask her about how she feels about Squall anyways.
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It had taken what seemed like forever, but Quistis sat in the back seat with me while Zell got in the driver's seat. I felt like I should be the one driving, so I suggested, "Hey Zell, do you want me to drive?"
"No man, you've been through enough, you just rest, alright? We'll be at Balamb Garden soon enough."
I trusted Zell, but I wanted to make sure that he would be going towards Garden instead of the missile base. His suggestion of rest seemed too appealing to let go, however. The shock torture had taken everything out of me. I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.
I realized that I was in Dollet, and I was looking at the soon-to-die Dollet soldier on the steps to the communications tower. I immediately jumped at the incoming Anacondaur monster and sliced through it before it struck the soldier. I quickly helped him up and walked him into Dollet's town square, where he would be safe from the spider robot. A flash. I heard Galbadian soldiers shouting at someone in the town square, so I ran back to check on the Dollet soldier. When I arrived, the soldier was dead, killed by the G-troops. Flash. I was standing in front of the self-destruct button in the Galbadian missile base. I disabled the soldier hiding in the shadows behind me and set the destruct timer for ten minutes. Flash. I was out of the blast radius of the missile base, dashing away from it. I heard a dozen missiles fire out of their pods behind me as they headed north towards Trabia. I fell to my knees and saw the base explode seconds afterwards. A large, sharp piece of debris flew from the explosion in my direction and hit me through my chest. Flash. I had delivered the final blow to Edea in Galbadia Garden's auditorium. She fell to the ground, a large array of light escaped from her and into Rinoa. Rinoa walked in a trance towards Seifer's knocked out body. I ran up to her to try and stop her, but flew back several feet when I touched her. She whispered something to Seifer, and he got up and walked off. I shouted with all my voice trying to get Rinoa to snap out of it, but she fell to the ground, cold and unmoving. Flash. I was in space, trying to catch Rinoa. The glass on her spacesuit helmet shattered before I could reach her. I yelled in agony and disbelief, watching Rinoa's body drift lifelessly away from me.
I woke up out of breath, my heart beating like a drum roll, sweat all over my body. Zell was gazing at me in his rear-view mirror, still driving north. Quistis looked at me with a face overcome by worry, her hand to my chest, easing me back to reality.
"Squall, are you okay? Were you having a nightmare? You were screaming." Quistis asked in a calm voice.
I hadn't realized that my screams had bled through the lines of dreams into reality. I caught my breath and responded, "…Yeah, it was a nightmare…that's all. Thanks."
Quistis still looked worriedly at me, with good cause, I suppose. She asked me again, "…Are you sure you're alright? What happened in the nightmare?"
It wasn't her problem, it was mine, so I said, "Don't worry about it. I appreciate your concern, though."
After driving for awhile, Quistis' expression changed slightly, yet obviously, to what looked like anxiety. She looked quite nervous while she spoke, "Umm, Squall, I need to tell you something."
I thought for a moment, but couldn't imagine what she could want to tell me. I was curious; I had not experienced ignorance in days. Quistis' hands were rubbing together quickly, obviously nervous about what she was about to say, "…you see, lately I…umm, I mean…I don't know why, but recently…it's just that…when you…umm, I've felt…"
"Quistis, what are you trying to tell me? You can tell me anything, so just let it out. I trust you, and I hope you trust me, so go ahead."
"I…" Quistis took a long pause, apparently thinking about what she would say, then said, "…It scared me when I found you in that torture room. Just seeing you hanging there, then not responding to my revive spell scared me to death. That's all."
I wasn't the expert on human emotions, but I knew that she wanted to tell me something else instead. I couldn't imagine what, though. All I could do was continue her conversation, "Thank you Quistis…for saving me. I thought I was going to die there."
Nobody said much else on the way to Timber, which took us an hour to get to. We parked about a half-mile away from Timber and walked the rest of the way to avoid the Galbadian troops' suspicions. All six of us snuck aboard the train leaving for Balamb and we arrived in about a half hour. It was a long walk to Balamb Garden, but we managed to get there in less than an hour, plenty of time before the missiles were due for their visit.
When we approached the entrance, I instructed everyone to prepare for battle. They all looked at me confusedly, with good cause; it didn't make much sense to be armed for school, after all. After a brief pause, they shrugged and pulled out their weapons, made sure that they had GFs junctioned, and we entered the battleground. Monsters from the training center were loose and terrorizing the students, people were running every which way, Garden Faculty members were yelling at everyone, then Raijin and Fujin noticed us.
"Hey, you're back!" Raijin exclaimed.
Zell retorted, "What's going on here?"
"I dunno. At first, they were sayin' somethin' about roundin' up the SeeDs, ya know!? Now, everyone's either sidin' with the Garden Master or the headmaster and fightin' everywhere, ya know!?"
"DISTURBING." Fujin mentioned in the loud, monotonous way she spoke, which was very familiar to all of us.
"Disappointin' for the disciplinary committee. All our work for nothin' ya know!?"
I had no time to mess around with Raijin and Fujin, so I excused myself, "Tough luck, but we've got to find the headmaster."
"Hah! Good luck, ya know!" Raijin shouted at us as we scurried off.
As I led the group through the Garden, a curious Selphie walked alongside me and questioned, "Okay, so where are we going? You said we're looking for Cid?"
"Yeah, I say we try his office first. That's the last place anyone would think of looking." I responded.
Before, I had wandered around the Garden, fighting monsters and protecting students. This time, I knew where Cid was, but I felt that the students still needed to be protected. I formulated a plan as we all headed up the stairs towards the central elevator.
When we reached the elevator, I gave instructions to the group, "Alright, since only three of us will fit in the elevator, I say that three of us go to Cid's office while the other three stay down here to protect students and SeeDs."
Irvine inquired, "Sounds good, but who's going with who?"
I had to pick the three strongest to fight and protect Garden students, so I chose, "Irvine, Zell, and Quistis will stay down here, while Rinoa, Selphie, and myself will go talk to Cid."
Everyone seemed to think of me as some kind of a leader, so everyone obeyed my instructions with a nod and we all went our separate ways. Rinoa and Selphie were strong fighters, but I guess I felt that they needed to be protected more than the others. Also, I wanted Rinoa by my side whenever possible.
Xu was waiting for us when we exited the elevator, apparently waiting for the lift to come up. I knew that Xu was going to the first floor to find us; she probably hadn't expected us to come to her. "Hello Xu, is the headmaster around?"
Xu stared in disbelief for a moment, seeing as I had been missing for days and I had just waltzed into Cid's office. She eventually answered, "Umm, yes, right this way Squall."
Cid was also quite surprised to see me, so I saluted and spoke before he could, "Sir, Galbadian missiles are headed this way. I suggest that we attempt to reactivate the emergency mechanism in the basement of this Garden. I believe you have the key; may I take it?"
I had done that on purpose; the looks on everyone's faces were worth the questions I would receive later on regarding how I knew about Balamb Gardens' emergency fallout system. Cid had his mouth agape, but apparently not able to think of anything to say, he pulled the elevator key out of his pocket and I took it out of his hand without a word. After saluting him, I turned and entered the elevator. Rinoa and Selphie remained in the office, looking at me with baffled expressions frozen in their faces.
"Coming?" I asked the unmoving Rinoa and Selphie.
They shook away their puzzlement and ran to meet me in the elevator. I put the key in the slot, turned, and the elevator headed for the basement. The two were still staring at me, so many questions running through their minds. I simply made up something, "I heard about it from an old man who helped construct this place a long time ago."
"Ohhh…well I guess that makes sense. I was wondering what the heck you were talking about!" Selphie responded.
The elevator came to a stop, and I acted, "Uh oh, the elevator stopped. I guess we'll have to wait for it to get going again."
I wasn't about to leave the elevator only to have it move in a couple minutes. Besides, we were ahead of schedule, so there was no danger of the missiles surprising us. While we waited, I talked to Rinoa, "Hey Rinoa…what happened in Deling City?"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard from Quistis and Zell that you attempted to do some heroics and ended up being attacked by two Iguions…"
Rinoa bit her lip nervously and looked away, "…Yeah well, it was justified! I wanted to get revenge on Deling for what he did!"
I assumed that she meant Deling's choice to attack Garden, so I continued, "You didn't take my advice? I told you to stay out of trouble and not to be a hero…but you did anyways…I mean, you could've been killed!!"
"I'm sorry…I should've listened to you…but you know, I still don't get how you could've known that my life could've been in danger…how did you know?"
I'd wanted to hold off on my explanation of how I seemed to be able to predict the future, so I changed the subject back to where we had started it, "Listen, I was just worried." I was terrified… "But I guess it's alright since you're okay now. You were lucky that Quistis and Irvine were there to help you." I was worried that they would be hurt too… "But now I'm here, and I'll protect you." Always…
Rinoa gave a shy smile and looked away, as if I had embarrassed her. The elevator waited until our conversation was over, then hummed back to life. I didn't know where the elevator would lead exactly, but luckily, it opened to the room with the control panel I was looking for. I approached the panel and tried to remember what I'd done to start up the machinery last time. Wait, did I press a bunch of random buttons or did I just press one? Damn, I knew I should've learned how to use this thing before. I guess I'll just try this shiny red button in the middle here…
The button was pressed, and after nothing happened, I pressed it again. The gears above us sparked and rotated and roared to life as the platform we were standing on began to move upwards. I told everyone to hang on as we ascended towards the ceiling. I still can't explain how we went through the roof without us breaking through the floor, but we somehow we appeared in Cid's room, picking up Cid on the way. There was now a second floor to Cid's office and we were on it, watching the skies for flying bombs.
All of us watched in amazement as the floating ring above Balamb Garden descended to the base of the structure. The Garden lifted up and out of the ground due to the hovering capabilities of the giant floating ring. I had seen it before, but it really was quite spectacular to view, until Rinoa shouted something, that is.
"NO!!"
"M…missiles incoming!?" I shouted in fear and confusion. Why are they here already? We were far ahead of schedule!
The Garden began to move westward, towards the town of Balamb, just before the missiles slammed into the ground that the Garden had just been planted on. We were far enough from the explosion so that we didn't sustain any damage, but the force exerted by the blast caused us to speed faster towards Balamb.
"I see, so this is the secret…" Cid finally spoke.
"Hey, lets go check out what's going on outside!" Selphie suggested.
"Sure, in a second…" I responded.
I stared at the control panel and wondered what I had pressed before that caused the Garden to turn left. Hmm…what are the odds that I'll press the exact same buttons as last time? Very slim…Damn, where's Nida when you need him!? Okay, just press whatever, that's all I can do. I pressed countless random buttons on the panel, and somehow, the Garden edged left out to sea and away from the lucky citizens of Balamb.
"Squall! What are you doing! We're headed out to sea!!" Cid exclaimed.
"Sir, we were headed towards Balamb. I just took the best course of action. I think you'll agree with me that it was a good choice. Besides, I'm sure this thing will float." I responded calmly.
"Hey, good going Squall!" Selphie complimented.
"Yeah, quick thinking!" Rinoa told me.
"Okay, so I guess we'll drift along for the time being...until we figure out how to maneuver the Garden. Unless you know how, Squall?" I shook my head no. "Okay, so it looks like we can finally relax for a while. And spend some time considering what to do next. So much for my room. Where am I going to change now?"