By Ramsey Anderson
All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.
Author's note : There is a year and a half gap between when I wrote chapter 16 and this one, so expect the writing style from this point on to be somewhat different. Don't worry, it's good.
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Chapter 17
Rinoa and I had taken a cab to the Presidential Palace in the center of the city of Esthar in hopes of talking to Laguna. I had thought a lot about what we would do when we got there, but came up with few ideas. How could Laguna help us anyways? I just figured that if there was someone who could help it was him. I wasn't even quite sure how we were supposed to get past security. After all, he didn't know us and we had nothing to tell him.
Rinoa had been rather calm during this whole ordeal, I noticed. Here she was in a strange city with no idea where she was going, with me, a man she only met a few short days ago. I figured it was in her nature to be calm like that, to roll with any situation that may come her way. Not everyone could do that; I, for one, had had trouble adapting to this whole situation of repeating my journey. Even then I was confused on what exactly I was going to do from there.
At the Presidential Palace, we ran into two security guards in front of Laguna's office. The one on the left was a six-foot-seven brute of a man with stern facial features. The right one was about my height but stood with a certain grace that implied strength and skill. "Excuse me, may I help you?" the one on the left said in a voice as large as his size would expect.
I had memorized what I was going to say beforehand as to make sure that it sounded believable. "I have urgent news on Ellone. I need to speak to President Laguna immediately."
"You can tell me first, sir." the left one replied.
"I'm sorry, but it's a personal matter...look, could you tell him that I...knew Raine?" It was a lie, I never met Raine, but I knew that the mention of her name would get Laguna's attention.
The left guard signaled to the right one to go inside, presumably to tell Laguna of our presence. The left guard simply stared at me, never taking his eyes off of mine. I wasn't one to be intimidated, but this man did his job well. I couldn't muster the presence to continue the staring contest. I looked out at the city as the lights came on to make up for the loss of the light provided by the sun, now being replaced by the moon and stars. The moon had an ominous look to it, almost threatening.
The right security guard returned. "You may enter." he said.
The left guard still had his eyes fixed on me, this time with a look that said "don't try anything". I knew that it was his job to be intimidating, so it didn't bother me, it wasn't personal, after all. I took Rinoa's hand and led her into Laguna's office. The door shut behind us and the floor became transparent, the city directly under us, possibly to remind the president of whom he was working for.
Laguna was at the far end of the room, standing with his hand stroking his jaw, seemingly trying to place us at some point in his life, but having difficulty obviously since we had never met before. I took the liberty to speak first, "President Loire, you don't know me, but I need your help."
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"Miss Trepe, may I ask why we are heading south?" Xu asked me.
I didn't have a valid answer, I wasn't sure why I had said south either. "I don't know...intuition I suppose."
Good one, Quistis, a sixth sense? I felt stupid for deciding the outcome of Garden and the people within simply based on some 'subconscious psychic thought', but I had no other ideas. Squall had left me in charge and I was doing my best without him, but I felt that whatever I did was a mistake.
"Yes ma'am, I believe that initial considerations and unconscious ideas are very important." Xu replied. I supposed that either she was agreeing with me because I was the leader or because she believed in my intuition. Either way, it comforted me to know that someone was backing me up.
"Thank you, Xu, I appreciate it."
"Of course, but Miss Trepe, wouldn't it be a good idea to go north from here seeing as we are so far north already? Going north will lead us to the south faster."
She was right on. I still thought that she should have been commander, but Squall had chosen, cursed, me with this job. "Yes, head north please, Xu."
Irvine and Zell came up the elevator to the control room where Xu, Nida, and I were. As if Zell had been in Xu's mind, he said, "Hey Quistis, I was just wondering, why south?"
"I'm not sure. Just a...guess?"
"I only ask because I got this feeling when you said south over the intercom just now, like it felt right. I don't even know why it felt right, but Irvine agrees with me, right Irv?"
"There IS something in the south, I tell you. There's something...familiar... about it?" Irvine said in a slightly curious tone, as if he knew something that we didn't. I didn?t ask him about it, but it felt nice to have everyone on my side like that.
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I wasn't sure if Laguna believed anything I said. After all, I didn't have too much credibility to back up what I was saying. Yet he listened, so he must have believed me to some extent. He was a busy man, after all. I explained how the Lunatic Pandora was going to resurface from the ocean and move to Tears Point, therefore causing the Lunar Cry, which would not only bring innumerous monsters, but the sorceress of the past, Adel, down to Earth.
I wanted to save the world from the Lunar Cry and not to mention Adel, but the core reasoning behind my intentions were to save Rinoa. I felt that by not stopping the Lunar Cry, somehow Rinoa would end up in space again, and I would have to try to save her again. And then there was the fear that I wouldn't be able to save her this time. I had nightmares about it, seeing Rinoa floating endlessly in space, never to be seen or heard from again... No more curious smiles, no more outrageous comments, no more cute angry nose that she gets sometimes, nothing at all. I couldn't face it, the rest of my life, knowing that I could have done something to save her, but didn't. It was my responsibility to myself, to my future self, to do everything in my ability to prevent the Lunar Cry.
Finally I stopped talking. Laguna paused for a long minute, then spoke, "You said that you knew Raine." Seems that either Laguna was trying to contest my believability or his emotions for Raine were getting the better of the situation, or both.
"She lived in Winhill most of her life and took care of you when you had gotten yourself injured during your Galbadian soldier days. You fell in love with her...and she fell in love with you. But...neither of you ever told the other. You left Winhill, and you never saw her again. She died some time afterwards." I realized that Laguna had his head hanging down, a tear falling from his unseen eyes. "I'm sorry..." I said.
Back to normal, being the incredible optimist that he was, he wiped his eyes and said, "Don't be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry." Regret over never telling Raine his feelings had been hidden somewhere inside. I brought them out, intentionally, to add credit to my probably crazy-sounding prophecy of doom. It felt deceptive, but I had no choice.
"Look, we don't have much time, can you help us or not?" I was getting impatient; I felt that time was running out.
"You say that the Lunatic Pandora, which was sunk into the ocean long ago, will resurface and make its way to Tears Point? How exactly is this supposed to happen?" Laguna inquired.
"Seifer Almasy, a former fellow student of mine at Balamb garden, will gain control of the Galbadian troops, which is a considerable force as you probably know. He will find Esthar and...somehow...bring back the Lunatic Pandora."
Come to think of it, I hadn't known exactly how Seifer had done it. Most likely it involved the Lunatic Pandora Research Facility outside of Esthar, but I wasn't even sure of that. But that's what I was hoping Laguna could clear up.
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"Look Squall, Rinoa, I'd love to believe what you've told me today, but where's the proof? I want to help you in any way I can, but I've got to look out for the citizens here as well, and I can't simply waste a bunch of money on some 'theory', you know." I told them.
I somehow knew these people, at least the guy, Squall, from somewhere at some time. The only questions were: who, what, when, where, and how? They did mention Raine, after all. I also knew somehow that what they were telling me was the truth. Not just intuition, but I had heard of Galbadia's sudden change in leadership. I also realized that Galbadia could become a threat to Esthar and Estharians alike. But there was only so much I could do to help Squall.
I'm the president, which means I have a duty to protect the citizens of this city from harm and maintain peace at all costs. The Lunatic Pandora should have been destroyed. It has no use to Esthar anymore, if it ever did at all. I suppose this has been long overdue...It can't be destroyed, but maybe its resurrection can be stopped. I can't order any soldiers to help them, but maybe there's still something I can still do?
I got up out of my seat and walked over to Kiros. I whispered to him my wishes. Nobody must know that I had anything to do with this project. It wasn't just to protect myself, but the panic that could ensue from the worried public. Kiros knew what to do, and that's why he's my secretary.
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Kiros walked over to us after taking what appeared to be some sort of rolled up poster or map from a desk. He searched through some files and added another sheet to the roll of paper. He told us, "The president would like to send his apologies and deny your request. He hopes you will accept this gift as recompense for your trouble. Good luck to you in your endeavors."
And with that, we were dismissed. Rinoa and I walked towards the door, but I paused before leaving to look at Laguna. He nodded slightly and walked away. I did the same. I wanted to open the rolled up piece of paper so badly I felt childish, like it was some kind of Christmas present. I wasn't sure what it was, but it would surely be thing that we traveled so far and long for. We exited the Presidential Palace and chose a bench that was away from prying eyes.
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It took less than an hour to reach our destination. I found that our destination had been a continent in the south. There was a lighthouse on one end near the ocean, not in working order, and yet we somehow managed to find our way there, out of pure chance it seemed. I had been watching the Garden's course the entire time, hoping I'd find something that would catch my eye so it didn't seem like we had gone all that way for nothing. The lighthouse had caught my eye immediately. I knew right away that it was the reason why we were there.
"There Nida, the lighthouse. Land as close to it as possible." I ordered.
"Roger, commander!" Nida replied.
Yes, I somehow know this place. But from where and when? Maybe Irvine knows, or possibly Zell or Selphie. I called Irvine, Zell, and Selphie to the deck and they came quite promptly, minus Selphie.
"Where's Selphie?" I asked.
"She's taking a nap. This whole Trabia thing has been tough on her, so it's probably best to let her sleep." Zell responded.
"Well, that's okay, I guess. Hey, do either of you recognize that lighthouse over there?" I asked as I pointed to the structure across the way.
Irvine didn't answer right away; he seemed to wait for Zell. "Lighthouse? Nah, I don't think so...but hey, it does kinda look familiar doesn't it? I think I saw it on TV or something." Zell replied.
"Well, we're going there. I feel that-"
"Commander, I think you should take a look at this?" Nida interrupted and then handed me the binoculars.
I zoomed in on the area that Nida pointed out and observed Galbadia Garden, hovering over a nearby forest, waiting for us. Immediately, I knew what they wanted. They wanted war. We were an obstacle that they sought fit to remove. With Trabia Garden destroyed, Balamb Garden was the only remaining opposition. Somehow they knew to find us here, or at least Seifer did. Either he had a great knack for guessing or it was something else, that he knew our intentions, which seemed impossible considering I didn't even know my intentions.
"Commander Trepe, we must prepare for battle. Give your orders. Be stern, but calm. They need you to be their leader now more than any other time. Are you going to be okay?" Xu asked.
Squall...you knew this was going to happen, didn't you? You knew we were going to battle Galbadia Garden, so you gave me those orders in case we did?well, let?s just hope you were right...
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The 'present' appeared to be a map of the continent of Esthar, with one notable marking-a red X marked in the middle of nowhere, not near anything to landmark the position or anything, just a small, precisely marked X with one word written on the side in the same marker: Ultima. It didn't take me long to figure out what it meant. All over the world there were numerous draw points that were invisible to the naked eye, but were otherwise like any other draw point one would encounter. Some contained powerful and rare magic. The X must have denoted such an invisible draw point, containing the ultimate attack magic, Ultima. The magic would instantly destroy most enemies in one blow, with nothing left in its wake.
There were other rolled up pieces of paper given to us, but they looked more like blueprints. On further examination, they were the blueprints of the Lunatic Pandora Research Facility located southeast of Esthar. There was another red marking, this time a circle at a specific point in the facility. It was fairly deep into the building, so I imagined that it was important.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what 2+2 meant. Laguna had discreetly given us the information we needed to stop the Lunatic Pandora from surfacing. I was going to have to infiltrate the research facility and destroy the machine necessary to resurface the horrible contraption, thereby hopefully preventing the Lunar Cry from ever happening.
Well, this is different.