The journey over the tracks had actually taken less time than Max expected. Only four hours, that had to be a record. He still hadn't figured out the answers to the 50 million questions whirling around in his head as he continued his trek across the Great Salt Lake toward a place he did not even know. He had heard of a great advanced city just beyond the lake, but had only dreamed of going there. That would bethe place where he would find Rinoa and, hopefully, a few answers.

"I should almost be there." He sighed after a while of walking through the Great Salt Lake. "I think Squall said it was right h-"

He hit something very solid and stepped back while rubbing his nose. He looked forward at what seemed to just be the lake continuing on and on in the distance. He held out his hand and felt that there was some kind of barrier in the way.

"What's going on here?" He asked himself moving along the wall trying to find some hole he could go through. He had no idea there would be something like this to hinder his passage, so he continued to slide along the barrier. He ran his hand over what seemed to be a ladder step and grabbed hold. He felt around the step and grabbed a few more of them, climbing up the ladder.

'Now this is weird.' He thought, still climbing the ladder. 'First this damn wall… now a ladder in the middle of nowhere.'

He climbed up the unknown ladder and felt around the last step. He pushed another hidden device and a sliding metal door opened before him.

'Oh wow.'

With a cautious look around the opening, he crawled into the hole. The door slammed shut behind him as he squeezed through the somewhat tight opening and he turned in fright, hoping it would open again. It did not. So he continued on making it out of the opening and into a large opening. The floor clanged as he hopped out of the tight squeeze and into the semi-light of the open space.

"What's all this?" He asked squinting into the darkness.

He moved forward and his hand brushed against something glass-like. He stopped for a moment and ran his hand over it.

"Some kind of… panel?"

Max fiddled with the controls on the transparent panel hoping to find some kind of answer to the reason it was there. As he touched a button on the panel, the lights flickered on. He stood there shocked at the immensity of the space around him.

"How could they hide something like this?"

As he proceeded to look back down at the panel he felt a slight shudder, and the floor beneath him began to move away from its previous position, with him aboard. The moving platform sped through the hidden innards of the barrier making its way to some destination unknown to Max. He could only hope he was safe. It only took a few minutes before the platform slowed and turned towards the other wall of the barrier. As far as he could see, Max saw nothing but a wall until the platform slowed once again and a hidden door opened. The view astounded him as he stood there with the skyline of a gigantic city before him. The different shades of blues and greens intermingling to create a sea of glimmering skyscrapers made him unable to close his mouth as he stared in fascination.

"Is this… Esthar?" He stood there on the moving platform astounded by the view.

"Why yes, it is." Said a voice over the loud speaker. "And welcome to the lovely City of Esthar, sir."

Max spun around as he pulled out his sword, ready to attack the ghost voice.

"Calm down, sir. There is no need to be alarmed. I am the welcoming guide to new comers to Esthar. Please make your self at home in our lovely city, and enjoy your stay."

"Uh… thanks?" Max sheathes his sword on his back and continues looking out on the beautiful city. The ride was a smooth one as the platform made its way to the center of the city, stopping short of the Presidential Residence. Max hopped off and proceeded to enter the massive building. As he approached the Presidents office, the two guards stopped him in his tracks.

"Do you have permission to enter?" Asked one of them.

Max nodded and pulled out a letter; he had stolen it from one of the Garden Faculty earlier, and handed it to the guard. He read it over and handed it back with a snort.

"Fine, President Laguna will see you now."

The guards stepped aside and he walked into the office. As he did, the man at the other end of the room looked up from the files strewn haphazardly across the desk. It was amazing the resemblance between him and Squall, Max stood there a bit astounded, but remained calm.

"Well hello." Said Laguna standing. "What brings you here?"

"I have news from Garden." He said walking to the desk. "It is about Squall Leonheart and… Sorceress Rinoa Heartily. There has been a…" he searched for the right word to use. "There's been an incident at Garden involving both of them."

Laguna sat back in his chair. His face gave away his concern at whatever the news could be. He knew Squall and Rinoa would have come here themselves if there was a problem, but if they didn't then…

"I'm sorry… But Rinoa is dead and Squall is unconscious. They said she had been taken to the Sorceress Memorial."

"W-what? Rinoa's dead?" He shot up in his seat and grabbed Max's collar across the table. "What do you mean she's dead?"

"Th-there was an attack on G-garden! We tried to stop them, but in the process…" he wrenched free of Laguna's grip. "Rinoa died. I… I am the one who killed her while trying to kill Seifer Almasy."

He had not heard the second half of the last sentence and his anger rose to a new high. Laguna grabbed Max by the collar again and picked him off the floor.

"You killed her? You bastard how could you?" He threw him down and then turned away. "Leave my office now! And don't you dare come back!"

"But sir!" He cried pulling himself up from the floor. "Please let me explain!"

Max never saw it coming as Laguna slapped him hard across the face before he could react. He fell to the ground, his mouth now bleeding.

"I don't know why you came here to tell me this, but I want you to leave my office NOW!"

"At least let me say one thing before I go." He began to stand again. "First of all, I did not kill her on purpose. Second, I was trying to kill Seifer Almasy and she was, unfortunately, in the way of my attack. If I had known she was there, I would have stopped."

Laguna's eyes filled with tears as he turned toward Max once again. He had a strange smile on his face and shook his head.

"I'm sorry; it's just that Rinoa is like a daughter to me. Nobody told me she was dead… but I did hear about a delivery of some kind to the Sorceress Memorial. Its northeast of Esthar City, if you want to Rinoa, she has to be there. Good luck and here..." He pulled out a small silver key from his desk drawer and handed it to Max. "This will get you into the main chamber. She should be there like she was last time."

"Thank you." Replied Max taking the key. "I hope this will help to answer some things… for both of us. Good bye, sir, and thank you."

He turns to leave.

"Wait! I didn't even get your name."

Max smiled and faced Laguna.

"Max Caron."

"Well Max, good luck."

With a simple nod, he turned and walked from the room. If this trip to Rinoa didn't help him, then he had no idea what to do.


Told you chapter 8 would be up soon. Hope you liked it! Vincent Sekod