The New SeeD

by MercenaryGrax

While on his training trip with Jiraiya, Naruto enters a wormhole and is transported to the world of Final Fantasy VIII. He is taken in by the men and women of Balamb Garden and trained as a SeeD. Joining Squall and friends on their journey, how will things differ with Naruto involved?

5. Chapter 5

A/N - Okay, I know you were probably hoping I'd update something else, but I really wanted to work on this story a bit. I'll warn you now, this is a LONG chapter.

Anyways, this chapter officially and properly introduces Rinoa. A lot of things happen in this chapter, and I think it turned out pretty well. I'll tell you now that I don't plan to write out ANY of the Laguna dream sequences. The reason for this is simply because, as this story centers around mostly Naruto rather than the main characters, I didn't want to include something that doesn't really involve him in any way. So there ya go.

Anyways, I'm really tired. I've been awake for a long time now and I really pushed myself to complete this chapter. So yeah, I have NOT had a lot of sleep. Soooo...hopefully you enjoy this chapter! lol

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Chapter 5 - Meeting the Resistance

Naruto frowned as he watched over his friends/teammates. "What the hell's going on here? Is there some kind of neurotoxin being pumped through the train that I can't see? Nanomachines affecting their bodies? I wish I knew what the hell was going on! Please guys, please be alright."

When they began mumbling in their sleep, saying names like Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, he became even more confused. They continued to mumble things that made no sense to him. Are they all having the same dream? This definitely isn't normal. Just what's going on here?

After a while, as their train began to near the station of their destination, his friends gradually started coming to. Seeing them awake again, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank God you're all alright. You passed out and began muttering things, including what I think were names of people. Laguna, Ward, and Kiros? I don't understand it, but it sounded as if you were all sharing the same dream. Just what the hell was going on?"

Squall was about to speak when he picked up on what Naruto said. "Wait, we were each dreaming the same thing? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You all passed out at the same time, then you guys started muttering stuff that didn't make sense to me, and now here you are, awake and healthy once again." Naruto explained.

"That...that doesn't make any sense. Was it really a dream then…?" Squall muttered, unsure what to think in this situation.

Zell frowned from his spot on the couch and asked, "Maybe someone released some sleeping gas? There's lots of people who resent SeeD."

Naruto shook his head at that and said, "No, there was no gas. I would have seen something or smelled something if there was. Something else is going on here."

"Am I missing anything? Anyone hurt?" Selphie questioned, hoping everyone was okay.

"Everyone's fine. I was worried about the three of you, but it seems everyone's okay. Nobody suffered any injuries when you passed out, but I think you'll probably be a little groggy for a while until you've fully recovered." Naruto said.

"What a relief!" Selphie exclaimed, happy that everyone was alright.

Squall grumbled to himself and said, "I dreamt I was a moron…"

"It was that Laguna guy, right Squall?" Zell questioned. "I was some dude called Kiros, and I'm guessing Selphie was that Ward guy we all saw. Damn guy was huge! But yeah, I have to agree with you. Laguna was kind of…'interesting', to put it mildly. Lucky bastard though, getting to have some one-on-one time with Julia."

Selphie nodded and giggled a bit. "Laguna was pretty cute, and the way he acted was kind of adorable. Julia was super pretty too!"

Squall sighed and shook his head. "I could've done without having to listen to Laguna ramble on and on the entire time he was with Julia, though. I wanted to punch myself to wake the hell up."

Naruto chuckled a bit and shook his head. He would have said something, but an announcement came over the speakers. "We will be arriving in Timber shortly. For those getting off, please be sure you have all your belongings."

"But seriously, Sir Laguna was sooo cool!" Selphie exclaimed excitedly.

"Laguna, Kiros, and Ward…" Squall said, thinking back on the dream they all shared. "Those were their names, and…"

"They were Galbadian soldiers. I can't help but wonder what their deal was." Zell said.

"Who knows? All I know is I'm glad we finally woke up." Squall said, sounding a mixture of relief and annoyance.

Selphie shook her head and said, "There's no way we can understand this… Let's just concentrate on our first mission!"

"...I guess you're right." Squall said quietly, though the others heard him. Shaking his head, the scarred teen looked at everyone before saying, "We'll put this incident on hold. I'll report it to the headmaster once we get back to Garden."

"We should be there soon, eh?" Zell asked. "Here we go… Psyche yourself up, baby!" he exclaimed before leaving the room.

Selphie stood up at this point and said, "Whew… Still sleepy."

Seeing that she looked a little shaky on her feet, Naruto walked over to her and gently supported her as he walked with her out of the room. "Take it easy, Selphie-chan. Don't push yourself too hard."

The brunette smiled at Naruto and said, "Thank you, Naruto. You're sweet."

Blushing a bit, Naruto glanced away and said, "I-If you say so. Thanks. Anyways, you really seemed to like that Laguna guy. Cute, huh?" he questioned with a chuckle.

Selphie blushed and looked away from him. "Y-Yeah. But he's just some guy in a dream, not physically here like you are. Besides, I really enjoy spending time with you Naruto. Don't worry, some dream guy isn't going to sweep me off my feet and take me away from you." she said with a smirk aimed his way.

Blushing deeper, Naruto coughed away from her in an attempt to regain his composure. "You shouldn't tease me like that, Selphie-chan. It's not nice."

"Who said I was teasing?" she asked with a wink. Afterwards, she stepped away from Naruto and proceeded to follow after Zell.

Once she was gone, Naruto stood there dumbfounded, not quite sure what to say or do in that moment. Is she...flirting with me? It can't be…!

Feeling a hand land on his shoulder, Naruto turned around to see Squall standing there with a smirk on his face. "I think she likes you, Naruto. Maybe you should think about asking her out sometime."

Blushing again, Naruto frowned sadly and looked at the ground. "I...I dunno, Squall. She's really cute and very sweet, but…"

"Naruto, stop thinking about Quistis and how you'd be betraying her if you so much as looked at another girl that way. She's hurt you and I hate seeing my best friend hurting because the woman he loves is interested in another guy...or just doesn't see you in the same light as you do her. I won't pretend to understand just what she wants, but I do know that you deserve to be happy. Think on it, Naruto." Squall said before walking past Naruto and into the next car.

Sighing softly, Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's not as easy as that, Squall…"

Timber

Upon stepping off of the train, Naruto cast a quick glance to Selphie before looking away again once she looked his way. Damn it… he thought to himself silently.

Taking a few steps down the stairs in front of them after the train had departed, a man soon called out to them. "Oh, the forests of Timber sure have changed!"

Squall thought back on the passcode that the Garden faculty member had given them before saying, "But the Owls are still around."

The man nodded and quickly said, "Welcome to Timber, sir. Come with me, sir." before running off. After he disappeared down the road, Squall and company decided to do a bit of reconnaissance. Stepping up to the nearby souvenir shop, they first asked about the Owl's Tears.

"Owl's Tears', huh? We're out of stock. The old man living on the edge of the town would have some." the shopkeeper explained.

When asked about the Map of Timber, the man said, "The 'Map of Timber' is not for sale… But I'll show it to you. Wanna see the 'Map of Timber'?"

Squall nodded and said, "Yes, please." When they were shown the map, they took note of where they were as compared to where everything in town was. They saw things on the map such as a hotel, the front gate, the station, and more. Once they had seen enough, they returned the map to the shopkeep, who said, "I drew it myself. Easy to understand, huh?" Afterwards, they asked about Model Trains.

"'Model Trains' are out of stock...Watts and Zone bought the last one. The owner of the hotel used to make some great models… He used to make a lot of them. He disappeared after the war… No one makes them anymore now that he's gone…" the man explained, sounding a bit dejected at that.

Finally, they asked about the 'Naughty Magazine'. "I can't sell 'Naughty Magazines' to underage kids… Well, but Zone is a regular here. I sell them to him sometimes. He was looking for a book called 'Girl Next Door'. You should tell Zone if you ever find one."

Hearing all they needed to from the man, they set off after the man from earlier. When they caught up to him, they saw him turn around and shout, "Please, please, this way, sir!" Following after him as he rushed up to a train stop, they waited for the train to come before hopping on board.

Once inside the train and it had departed for elsewhere, they met a man in a blue shirt onboard who asked them, "So, you guys are SeeDs?"

Squall nodded and said, "I'm the squad leader, Squall. This is Naruto, that is Zell, and this is Selphie." He motioned to each member of the team as he introduced them.

The man extended his hand for a handshake and said, "Nice to meet ya. I'm the leader of the Forest Owls."

The man, Zone, tried to give Squall a handshake first, but he naturally refused. Then he walked up to Selphie and offered her a smile as he shook her hand. Afterwards, he looked at Naruto, who extended his hand for a handshake. Zone eagerly took it and shook his hand enthusiastically. Afterwards, seemingly forgetting Zell, he returned to his previous position and listened as Squall said, "So, let's get on with it. What do we do?"

"Just take it easy. Here, let me introduce you." Zone said as he approached his comrade who was standing in front of a door. "Looks like you already met Watts. I'm Zone. And I guess it's just our princess that you haven't met yet."

Watts spoke up at this point after giving a brief wave to the SeeDs. "It's the princess' nap time, sir."

Zone collapsed to his knees in disbelief. "Ahh, man…" Turning to Squall, he walked up to him and asked, "Hey Squall, sorry, but could you go get the princess? She's in the last room, up those stairs. Some of our other guys are in the room on the way. Ask 'em if you get lost."

Squall sighed and shook his head in mild disbelief. "...Were we hired to run errands? Well?"

Zone quickly backed up in fear and asked, "A-Are you angry!?"

The teenage leader of the team let out a sigh and shook his head again. We're not gophers… We're SeeD...special forces. Letting out a small groan, he looked into Zone's eyes and said, "This is the last time for this kinda thing."

For some reason, Zone got down on his knees, facing away from Squall, and clutched his stomach as if in agony. "Ow Ow Ouccchhh."

Sighing again, Squall left him to his own devices and left the room to go and find the 'princess', whoever the hell she was.

Left with his fellow team members, Zone, and Watts, Naruto released a sigh and shook his head. "Trust me Zone, Squall's a pretty serious guy and we were hired to do a mission for you at a pretty low price apparently. It's better not to waste our time with small errands like this when you clearly hired us for something more. SeeDs are not simple errand boys, but trained professionals who do what they can to help the people and do the right thing. Still, I apologize for Squall's attitude. He means well, and he is a good guy, but he still has a tendency to be a little closed off and can be kinda grumpy at times."

Zone got to his feet again and looked at Naruto curiously. "You seem to know him pretty well. Are you friends or something?"

Naruto nodded and gave Zone a smile. "Of course we are. We're best friends. I'm also really good friends with Zell here, and despite only having recently met each other, I'd like to say that Selphie-chan and I are good friends as well. We just kinda mesh well together. And, just so you know, I think you got one hell of a team when we were put on the job. We won't let you down."

"I'm glad to hear it. Why don't you tell us about your qualifications and your skill sets while we wait? Unless you'd rather hear about our group and get some information on what you can expect while here?"

"We'd prefer to keep our abilities secret for the time being. Suffice it to say, you can trust us to get the job done. However, aside from that, no matter what, it's best to keep what we know and what we are capable of on the down low. Never know when an enemy will reveal themselves, nor do you know when a spy is watching. So, if you'd please, tell us more about the Forest Owls." Naruto said, being absolutely serious.

Selphie and Zell watched Naruto in astonishment. He both looked and sounded like a pro SeeD rather than a rookie. It sounded like he knew exactly what he was doing and was already proving to be quite the leader in Squall's absence. Wow. Selphie thought to herself. Naruto is sooo cool!

As Selphie gushed over how awesome the blonde was, Zell couldn't help but grin at him. Damn I'm glad to be friends with you, man. You're one hell of a guy!

After a short while of discussing things with one another, Naruto turned to Watts with a grin. "You play cards, don't you? Let's play a few games. I can just tell you've got a rare card on ya. Well, it'll soon be mine."

Watts frowned at this, but slowly nodded his head and pulled out his deck of cards. "I won't lose to you. Not when I've got this card." he said, sounding quite confident in himself.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Naruto said with a wicked grin on his face.

Squall

As Squall entered the princess' room, the train suddenly lurched to a stop. He watched as the 'princess' slowly came to and was surprised to see that it was a familiar face: the woman from the party.

Looking at the man that had entered her room, the woman blinked a couple of times to be sure she was seeing this correctly. "Hey… You're…! You know, from the party… So...does that mean… You're a SeeD!?"

Squall nodded and stepped a bit closer. "I'm Squall, the squad leader. There's 3 others with me."

The woman suddenly hopped off the bed and glomped Squall, spinning around with him. "YEEESSS! SeeD is here!"

Squall couldn't help it as he chuckled a bit. Taking a step back, away from her, he said, "Take it easy."

The woman began to pace a bit as she said, "It's just that, I'm so happy! I've been sending requests to Garden forever, but nothing...I'm so glad I spoke to Cid directly!"

Squall stepped closer to her and said, "Oh… So you were looking for the headmaster at the party?" he asked, though when he thought on it, it made sense. After all, if you're having trouble getting SeeD to help, it might be a good idea to talk to Mr. Cid.

The woman shook her head a couple of times before asking, "You know Seifer?"

The scarred teen scowled at the name, but nodded anyways as he folded his arms across his chest. "...Yeah."

"Well, he's the one who introduced me to Cid. Cid is such a nice man. I really didn't think SeeD would come out to help a measly little group like us. But after explaining our situation to him, Cid gave the go ahead right away! Now that you guys are here, we'll be able to carry out all kinds of plans!" she exclaimed joyfully.

After she walked over to her table and began to look things over, Squall stepped up to her and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Yes?" she asked as she turned to face him.

Squall sighed and rubbed the back of his head for a moment. "I'm goin' back to the others."

"Ok, let's go!" she exclaimed before making for the door. However, after a moment, she paused and turned to face him again. "Umm, Squall. Is 'he' here?"

'He'? He wondered to himself curiously. Who could she mean?

"Seifer." she said.

That one name caused Squall to sigh and shake his head. Of course. I had a feeling she'd be asking about him. "...No, he's not a SeeD."

"...Oh." she said, sounding a bit disappointed. With that, she left the room. However, after just a second or two, she rushed back into the room and said, "Oh yeah, my name's…Rinoa. Very pleased to meet you, Squall. SeeD members dance quite well, don't they?" she teased.

"Approach your target inconspicuously at a dance party… There may be missions requiring this sort of subterfuge. It's expected of SeeD to learn various skills." Squall stated, not quite sure what else he could or should say.

"Ohhh… So it's work related. That's too bad…" she said, sound somewhat disappointed with his response.

… Squall lost himself to his thoughts, not quite sure what he should say or do. She seemed interested in Seifer, and while he didn't like the man, he also recognized that Rinoa seemed fond of him for some reason. Still, it was best not to dwell on it.

At this point, a dog stepped into the room and approached Rinoa. Kneeling down to pet him, Rinoa said, "Here, let me introduce you. This is my partner...Angelo. Angelo is really smart! Here, let me tell you…" She proceeded to explain how her limit break worked and how Angelo would come to her aid in such times. After she had finished, she asked, "Smart, huh?" Turning around, she kneeled down in front of Angelo and said, "I have some important work to do now. Be good, Angelo." Turning back to Squall, she said, "Ok, I'll meet you there." And with that, she rushed off.

Sighing to himself, Squall looked at Angelo for a moment before he left the room to go and return to his team.

Upon catching up to Rinoa at the front of the train, he wasn't surprised to see Naruto grinning from ear to ear as he held up a Triple Triad card. Shaking his head and chuckling in amusement at the dejected look on Watts' face, he could only assume the poor guy had lost miserably to the Card Guru.

Ignoring that for now, Squall stepped forward to introduce his teammates to Rinoa. "This is Zell… And Selphie. And Mr. Card Guru there is Naruto Uzumaki, my best friend. Pretty sure he just won a rare card from Watts."

Naruto turned to Squall and Rinoa, waving at the beautiful young woman. Afterwards, he held up the Angelo card and grinned. "Of course I did! Kinda hard to keep something like this hidden from me. I'll easily sniff out all the rare cards and come out the victor in every match I play!"

Rinoa began to giggle as she turned to face Squall again. "Well, your friend is certainly interesting, isn't he Squall?"

The scarred teen chuckled and nodded his head. "He most certainly is a unique person."

Looking around at everyone, Rinoa decided to greet them properly. "Hi everyone! This way." Turning around, she began to lead them through another door deeper into the train so they could hold their strategy meeting.

Upon entering the meeting room, Zone said, "Just stand anywhere you want. This is a full-scale operation. Our resistance, 'The Forest Owls', will be forever known in the pages of Timber's independence! Exciting, huh?" Waiting to see their reactions, he noticed that Squall seemed a bit disinterested, but the others seemed at least a little interested in what he had to say.

Composing himself, Zone continued. "It all started when we got a hold of top-secret info from Galbadia."

Watts stepped up and exclaimed, "I got the info, sir!"

"There's a VIP from Galbadia coming to Timber." Zone continued.

"Super V-I-P!" Watts exclaimed, interrupting Zone once again.

Sighing softly, Zone shook his head and spoke again. "The guy's name is Vinzer Deling! Our archenemy, and the President of Galbadia."

"Vinzer Deling is a scoundrel! He's a dictator, not a president. Not even popular in Galbadia, sir!" Watts exclaimed, interrupting once again.

Rinoa spoke up at this moment with a bit more intel. "President Deling is taking a private train from the Galbadian capital."

"Our plan is to…" Zone began, only for Selphie to interrupt him.

"...Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher!?"

Zone and Watts quickly backed away from her. "Ahh...not quite…" Zone stutered out.

Zell, having enough of them beating around the bush, said, "So get to the point! Just tell us what to do!"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Zell, you've really gotta work on your patience, man."

Before Zell could reply to that statement, Rinoa spoke up again. "Shall we begin?" Motioning towards the nearby model set, she said, "First, I'll go over the model. The yellow train on the top right is our 'base'. We're riding in it right now. Right next to it is the 'dummy car'. We made it to look just like the president's car. Their train has three cars. First, there's the 'locomotive' followed by the '1st escort'. The red car is the 'president's car'. Deling should be inside. The last car is the '2nd escort'. Once we get on this one, we begin the operation. Our ultimate goal is to seize the president in his car using our 'base'. That means, we'll have to switch our 'dummy car' with their 'president's car'. We'll use the 2 switch points leading up to Timber to carry out this operation. Ok, now I'm going to explain the procedures in seven steps."

"1) Sneak on board the '2nd escort'. We'll get on the roof of the '2nd escort' by jumping from our 'dummy car'.

2) Proceed cautiously across the roof of the '2nd escort'."

Watts spoke up at this point, saying, "The '2nd escort' car is the only one that is equipped with sensors, sir."

Rinoa took over once again. "A high tech officer is onboard. I'll talk about the sensors later.

3) Proceed across the roof of the 'president's car'. We can move across the roof of the 'president's car' without worrying too much."

Zone picked up from here. "Deling hates the company of his guards and being surrounded by sensors, and keeps them away from his car."

"4) Uncouple the '1st escort' car. We'll have to complete the uncoupling before the 1st switch point. If we don't…" Rinoa said.

"BOOM! ...Game over, right?" Selphie questioned.

Rinoa nodded a bit uneasily. "...Yeah. So we'll have to move fast. I'll explain the uncoupling process later.

5) Have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' move in after uncoupling. After the car is uncoupled… We'll have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' move in. At this point, our train and their train will be linked and be moving together.

6) Uncouple the '2nd escort' car. This is the last uncoupling. The process will probably be similar to the first one.

7) Escape with the 'president's car' and our 'base'. If all goes well, we should be able to escape with the 'president's car'. After that, we'll return to our base and prepare to confront Deling."

At this point, Squall and his team looked over everything again, recounting the steps.

Get on the '2nd escort'.

Proceed across the '2nd escort'.

Proceed across the 'president's car'.

Uncouple the '1st escort' car.

The 'dummy car' and our 'base' move in.

Uncouple the '2nd escort' car.

Escape with the 'president's car'.

"We have exactly 5 minutes to complete the 7 procedures. If we fail, our train will collide with theirs at the switch point and it'll be all over. Don't forget that." Rinoa explained.

"5 minutes…? You sure that's enough?" Zell questioned a bit unsurely.

Naruto looked at his friend and shrugged his shoulders. "I've done more than that in less than 3 minutes before. It's not impossible, but it'll take some precise timing to pull all of this off. If need be, I can probably handle most of the steps myself."

Rinoa frowned at this and asked, "Isn't that a little cocky of you, Naruto?"

The blonde shook his head and offered her a small smile. "Let's just say I'm not your average guy and leave it at that. If it starts to look bad out there, I'm willing to pull out some things from my bag of tricks."

Before anyone could say anything more, Zone spoke up, interrupting their little conversation. "According to the simulation that we ran, it should take only 3 minutes to complete the operation. Piece of cake for SeeDs, right?"

Selphie grinned and pumped her fist into the air. "Of course! Too easy!"

"..." Squall was silent as he thought over what they'd soon be doing. This isn't going to be that easy. Something's bound to go wrong, but I don't know what it is. My gut's saying that something isn't right, and I've learned to trust it. So what's the big problem here…?

Before he could think on it any further, Rinoa spoke up again, getting his attention. "Ok, now let's talk about how to avoid the sensors on the '2nd escort'. …...Go ahead Watts."

Watts nodded before he began to explain, "The guards have a 'sound sensor' and a 'temperature sensor', sir. Any sound will trigger the 'sound sensor', so move across very quietly, sir! The blue guard is carrying this sensor. The 'temperature sensor' will go off if you remain stationary, sir! The guard in red is carrying this one, sir. When a guard opens the blind, that means he is checking the sensor, so be careful! The range on these sensors is equal to the length of one window. So keep an eye on the window below, sir."

"...So exactly how do you avoid 'em?" Zell questioned unsurely.

"Umm...basically, run or stop, depending on which guard is below you." Watts said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Naruto sighed and said, "STOP if there is a blue guard below you. RUN if there is a red guard below you."

Zell nodded his head in understanding, but before he could say anything in response, Rinoa spoke up. "That's about it for the sensors. Next, let's talk about how to uncouple the escort cars."

Before she could continue, Selphie threw up her hand and waved it about for a moment. "Question…! How can you uncouple the cars from a moving train?"

Naruto had to admit, she had a good point. It just shouldn't be possible to do such a thing. At least, nor normally.

Rinoa said, "Umm...we can't uncouple the cars directly."

Zone took over for her. "Instead, we'll have to tamper with the control system that manages the coupling. If we temporarily disable the circuit for the connection, the car will uncouple automatically. To disable it, we have to enter several codes."

"...And we have the codes. Rinoa has them, sir!" Watts exclaimed.

Rinoa nodded her head and said, "I'll be in charge of relaying the codes to Squall. Squall, you'll slide down on the side of the train using a cable and enter the codes into the system. Now, I need you to listen carefully. Each code is made up of numbers between 1 - 4 and has 4 digits: 2341 is an example. But the keypad won't have numbers. Instead, it'll have four buttons. For instance, if I relay the code 3124, you'll push Pink, Red, Blue, Green, in that order. You'll have to be quick and precise. You'll have about 5 seconds to enter each code. Otherwise, the code will change and the past entries will become invalid. So like we said, we have to enter all the codes to disable the connections. After we uncouple the cars, we'll wait for the others to operate the rail switch. Remember, we only have 5 minutes to do everything, so make sure that you're prepared. Ok, let's try practicing entering the code. Enter 3 codes and you'll be finished. If you want to quit, just tell me."

Rinoa quickly relayed a code to Squall, and almost as quickly, he selected the right buttons: Red being 1, Blue being 2, Pink being 3, and Green being 4. After he entered all three codes correctly, Rinoa asked, "You got it? In the real thing, there's a strict time limit leading up to the switch point. Don't forget that. Umm...that's all."

Squall nodded in understanding, but before he could say anything, Selphie said, "By the way...this model's nice, but the president's car looks kinda shabby. …...Why is that?"

Watts decided to explain. "Yeah, Rinoa made it. That's why. We bought everything else at the gift store."

Zell, being 'tactful' as ever, said, "Oh...I thought some kid made it. The paint job sucks, too."

Squall got a closer look at it and couldn't help the tiny smirk that found its way onto his face. …? Yeah… It kind of does. He thought humorously.

Naruto facepalmed and shook his head in mild disbelief. Zell, you fucking idiot! You don't diss a girl like that unless you're prepared for a beatdown!

Rinoa pouted before exclaiming, "Oh, shut up! I made it look like that on purpose. It represents my hatred towards Deling."

"Hatred, eh…? Yeah...right." Zell said, not quite believing her story.

"It's one of the...ugliest things that I've ever seen in my life. You must really hate him." Selphie said, sounding a bit unsure.

"..." Squall was silent, but he certainly found humor in this situation.

"Are you guys finished!? Enough about the model! Can we get on with it now!?" Rinoa exclaimed somewhat angrily. After taking a breath to compose herself, she asked the party, "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Squall replied.

"Let's decide on the party!" Rinoa exclaimed.

Watts quickly stepped back and said, "Gathering information is my specialty, sir!" before running away.

Zone quickly turned around and collapsed to his knees, clutching at his stomach. "OuuuucHHHHH… My stomach!"

Rinoa shook her head and sighed in disappointment. Some help they were. "We're moving again...I'll go take a look. Talk to Watts when you're ready. The sooner, the better." Rinoa said.

After she left, Squall and Naruto examined the nearby bulletin board and couldn't help but notice several magazine clippings titled 'Anarchist Monthly'. Deciding to give them a read, they focused on the first issue and read,

Galbadia's dictator, President Vinzer Deling Special! How does he stay in power!? We reveal his darkest secrets!

Looking at the second issue, it read as follows:

President Deling became the president after the 2nd Sorceress War ended. To gain support quickly, he carried out the invasion of Timber. It was only a ploy to decorate an already corrupt man's immoral career… Our land Timber was brutally destroyed. Here began Vinzer Deling's road to dictatorship…

Moving on to the third issue, they read:

To imprison anti-government sympathizers, the D-District Prison was built in the desert south of Deling City. Millions were spent to build the facility. The threat of being sent to the prison intensified Deling's unpopularity. The prison began imprisoning Galbadian anti-government sympathizers just as they did in Timber. Moreover, the leaders of the resistance movements faced the threat of having family members imprisoned as well. Around this time, Deling began surrounding himself only with loyalists, which turned him into an even more fierce dictator.

When they reached the final issue, they read on:

With the exception of Esthar, the Galbadian Military possesses the world's only long range missiles. Although never used in combat, their existence has become a worldwide threat. It is said that the missiles have the ability to hit any target with astounding accuracy, even without using radio signals. Will the time come for the president to push the button!? When the time comes, Ti…

The print is blurred on the last part… Squall thought to himself as he tried to make out what it said to no avail.

"Well, damn." Naruto said. "I wonder what the rest of it was supposed to say?"

"Who knows?" Squall asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "Oh well."

After they had finished, they decided to check Rinoa's room real quick, as they were curious about something. When they arrived, Squall quickly found the Pet Pals Vol. 2 magazine, which would allow Rinoa to teach Angelo a new trick that he could use to assist them in combat.

After finishing their little exploration of the train, they approached Watts at the front. "Have you seen the dummy of the president, sir? If you haven't, please take a look-see! It's like a piece of art! I know the kidnapping plan must be tough, but best of luck to you, sir!" After Squall confirmed that they had, indeed, seen the dummy of the president on their way back to the front of the car, Watts asked, "Are you ready, sir!?"

Squall nodded and said, "Yeah." And with that, they proceeded outside and up on top of the train car. They heard Rinoa shouting at them from across the car. "Squall, over here!" So they quickly rushed across the top of the car to reach her. "We'll catch up with the 2nd escort soon. Let's get ready. We should time our jumps well after we catch up to them to save some time. From now we have exactly…...5 minutes to complete the operation. Let's try to use every second."

As they proceeded to jump onto the 2nd escort car, they followed Rinoa as she made her way across the top of the car. When it was time for the team of four to cross over, they paid attention to the guards down below. However, it seemed that their sensors were on the fritz, so they simply ran across the car and caught up to Rinoa, proceeding on to the next car.

Meanwhile, inside the President's car, a soldier approached him and said, "Sir, everything is in order, sir!"

Deling grumbled as he glanced over his shoulder at the guard. "You again… That's 27 times now. How many more times do you plan to disturb me with that meaningless report?"

"Sir, I'm sorry sir. ...But it is my duty, sir!"

"...It's hard to believe that anyone would put up with this nonsense." Deling said irritably. "I guess it's none of my business. Dismissed."

"...! Sir, yes, sir!" the guard exclaimed. Sighing to himself, he muttered quietly, "There goes next month's paycheck. How am I gonna propose to her now? I'm gonna have to put it off again…"

Back outside, Squall's group caught up with Rinoa and listened as she said, "This is the 1st escort. We're gonna uncouple this first. Like Watts said, there should be 2 guards on this car. Selphie, Naruto, and Zell, you guys keep an eye on the guards. Let us know early if you see them coming."

Zell quickly nodded and rushed across the roof of the car until he was above the blue guard. "Alright. I'll watch the blue guard."

Selphie soon joined him and said, "I'll take red."

Naruto remained quiet as he sensed them out, making sure he was ready for anything. After all, if they got caught, they'd need to silence their foes quickly and efficiently.

Rinoa looked at Squall and said, "The red guard is closer. Squall, you might wanna keep an eye on him, too. When you're concerned, look to your left. If he's too close for comfort, come back up and we'll wait a moment to continue. Alright?" When he nodded, she said, "Ok, are you ready to enter the codes? You remember everything, right?"

Squall nodded in the affirmative. "Yeah."

"We'll have to enter 3 codes to disable the circuit for this uncoupling. Ok, Squall. Get the cable ready." she said, motioning for him to get a move on. "The system to enter the code is down there. You can't miss it. You won't be able to come up while you're entering the codes, so be careful. Ok, let's do it."

Squall quickly descended and began to enter the codes one by one. After entering the second code, Naruto informed him that both guards were heading his way, so Squall quickly leapt back up on top of the car, just to be safe. Once they had both gone away, he descended and quickly entered the last code.

Once he was finished, they hopped back onto the escort car and watched as the trains uncoupled, allowing the dummy car and the base car to slide in between the cars and couple with them.

Back inside the president's car, the soldier from before quietly muttered to himself again. "What should I do…? I know he's not gonna like it. But it's my job." Turning to the president, he saluted him and said, "S-Sir… Everything is in order, sir!" When the president didn't reply, he breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself again. "Huh… He's not angry. Phew. That's strange. Oh, he's reading the paper. I wonder where he got it?"

It was at this point that a Galbadian Officer entered the car and shouted, "What!? Is there a problem!?"

Immediately after hearing that, the 'president' shouted, "I'm in a bad mood right now! If there is nothing in particular, I order you to leave immediately!" Yes, the soldiers had entered the dummy car with the fake president.

Turning to the fake president, the Galbadian Officer shouted out, "S-S-Sir...aye aye… YESSIR!" Quickly spinning around in a panic, he shouted at the soldier, "YOU! Don't just stand there! Get back to your station!"

"S-Sir, yessir!" the soldier in blue shouted. "There goes another paycheck. That's two in one day." he muttered to himself dejectedly.

He watched as the Galbadian Officer rushed through the far door, only to rush back into the dummy car again. "W-W-What the HECK!? Is this the right train?" Frowning to himself, he looked around and mumbled to himself, "The interior looks different. Looks shabbier. Maybe not."

After the Officer left, the Galbadian Soldier sighed again and muttered to himself, "What am I gonna do? No ring, and now no more candlelight dinner. I'm never gonna be able to get married."

Back outside, the group was on top of the 2nd escort car. "This is the 2nd escort. After this, we're home free." Rinoa said. "I think there are 2 guards on this car, too. Zell and Selphie are up ahead, working on uncoupling our train from theirs. So we're going to need to count on just Naruto this time. Watch your right side, just in case. Let's get this over with. You know how to enter the codes, right?"

Squall sighed, but nodded his head in the affirmative. "Yeah."

Rinoa nodded in acceptance of this before saying, "We'll have to enter 5 codes to disable the circuit for this connection. Are you ready, Squall?"

Naruto took care of warning Squall whenever one or both of the guards were on their way to check. With his help and Rinoa relaying the codes, Squall easily went about entering the codes and avoiding detection. Afterwards, they returned to the base car and watched as the base and president's car went down a separate track once the cars had been uncoupled.

Now they stood in the base car. "Finally… We've waited so long for this encounter with Vinzer." Zone said.

Watts excitedly asked, "Was that perfect, sir!? Amazing, sir! You're the best, sir!"

When the team of four heard a beeping on their phone-like devices, they checked to see what the message would relay to them. When they read that their SeeD ranks had gone up by 1. Smiling at this, Naruto thought to himself, Yes! More spending money!

"Well then…" Rinoa began saying.

"Leave the intelligence up to me, sir!" Watts exclaimed, interrupting whatever she was about to say.

Once again, Zone turned and fell to his knees, groaning about his stomach pains. "Ow Ow Ouccchhh."

Rinoa shook her head in disappointment once again. Looking at the four SeeDs, she said, "You 4! Tell me when you're ready to go. As soon as you're ready, I'll begin 'serious negotiations' with the president!"

Naruto chuckled a bit at this and nodded his head, liking her style. Serious negotiations, huh? I know what that means. We're gonna be having some fun!

'Serious negotiations'... Better make sure my GF's set up. Squall thought to himself silently.

Walking deeper into the base car as they tried to prepare themselves for what was to come, the four of them bumped into a man in the nearby room wearing a blue shirt and hat. "The Forest Owls' are…" Deciding to hear him out, they waited for him to continue. "Watts and Zone's fathers founded 'The Forest Owls'."

"Forest Owls' used to…" the man continued, and once again they decided to hear him out without interrupting him. "18 years ago, on the day before the big invasion, there was an all out hunt for resistance members. Watts and Zone's fathers both died to protect everyone in the city. Galbadian soldiers shot them in front of everybody as a warning. Everybody looked away as they were executed. But...Watts and Zone were watching. They saw the whole thing. Deling glared down at the two of them like they were dirty rats. He had just become president. So, to show his power… He took a soldier's gun and shot their fathers' already dead bodies. From that day on, they decided to carry on with their fathers' work as 'Forest Owls'. I decided to become a member after hearing that story."

After a moment, he said, "We 'Forest Owls'... We may look like a bunch of jokers to you guys. But we all have our stories. So try to understand, eh? When it all comes down to it, we get the job done. Still, we've got a long ways to go to live up to our 2 founding fathers."

Now that he had finished, the group couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for the members of the 'Forest Owls' resistance group.

Returning to Rinoa, she asked, "...Ready?"

Squall nodded and said, "Yeah." And with that, the party followed Rinoa into the next car where Deling was waiting.

"...President Deling!" Rinoa exclaimed as she approached the president. "As long as you...don't resist, you won't get hurt…"

Naruto was curious about why she was having such a hard time speaking to the man. Something doesn't feel right about this… he thought.

"And if I do resist… What would you do…? Young lady?" Deling questioned with a sadistic grin on his face.

"!" Rinoa backed away in shock.

Squall frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Before Rinoa could answer, the president stood up and said, "Boo-hoo… Too bad...I'm not the president. I'm what they call...a body double. All these rumors about the many resistance groups in Timber… You pass along a little false information and they fall for it… How pathetic… Seems like there are only amateurs around here."

Naruto scowled and quickly moved forward, pushing Rinoa behind him as he took hold of his sword, preparing himself for combat against this man...or rather, thing. What he sensed from this person was not the typical feeling he got from humans. No, this was a monster.

Rinoa, not quite able to believe her ears, shouted out, "Ama...teurs…!?"

The fake president chuckled as he glared into Naruto's eyes. "Ahh… My butt hurts from all this sitting… Young… LADY… Ahh… So what did you have in stORE for me had I resiSTED…? Why doN'T you teLL mE…" Taking a swing at Naruto, the blonde quickly picked Rinoa up and leapt aside, avoiding the blow. When the fake president turned to him, Naruto scowled.

"This guy's not human. He's a freak of nature!"

The fake president began to chuckle darkly. "QuiTE aMUsing thouGH… For beINg such amAtEurs…! HoW daRe YOU InSUlt the presIDent!"

And with that, the battle was on. Team Squall vs. the Fake President. Let it begin!

As the fight began, they were a bit shocked to see the fake president lumber towards them at a surprisingly quick pace. Swinging his fist towards Selphie, she quickly dodged, only to see him lunging at her in an attempt to bite her neck. Squeaking in surprise, she whacked him with her nunchakus and watched as he stumbled back a few steps, clutching at his face.

Taking advantage of the monster's distracted state, Naruto quickly swapped out his sword for his guns and proceeded to unload an entire magazine from both guns into the fake president.

Things took a turn for the worse as the fake president seemed to shed his skin, revealing a grotesque, humanoid monster. It was clearly an undead creature and it had one major weakness: holy/curative magic and items. In fact, like most undead enemies, simply using a Phoenix Down or an X-Potion would kill it in one hit. However, the four SeeDs wanted to draw what magic they could from it before killing it, so they did just that.

When they finished drawing all the magic they could from the undead monstrosity, making sure to cast Esuna whenever they needed to recover from a negative status ailment, Zell used a Phoenix Down on the beast, known as Gerogero, and they watched as the mighty beast collapsed to the ground, dying fast.

With the battle over, the party and the 'Forest Owls' returned to the meeting room in the base car and began to discuss what had just transpired. "Man, I can't believe the president was a fake!" Zone exclaimed in disbelief.

"I can't believe we fell for it!" Rinoa exclaimed angrily.

Watts came rushing in at this point shouting, "Info, sir! New info! It's big news! I found out the real reason why the president's here, sir! The president's going to the TV Station! Security's super tight, sir!"

Rinoa quirked one of her brows in curiosity. "...The TV Station? Why in Timber? They can broadcast just as easily from Galbadia."

Selphie decided to pose an interesting question. "Do you think the Dollet communication tower has anything to do with this?"

Squall and Naruto looked at each other unsurely, but before either of them could say anything, Zone spoke up. "What's that?"

Squall decided to explain it to them. "Dollet has a communication tower that can transmit and receive radio waves. It had been abandoned for a long time, but the Galbadian Army got it up and running yesterday."

Zell's eyes widened in realization and he said, "Ohhhh...I get it…"

Zone nodded in understanding at this point. "The only TV station that can handle broadcasts over the air is in Timber. Other stations use HD cable, which only supports online broadcasting."

Rinoa tilted her head and stared curiously at them. "So, what's that supposed to mean?"

Zone looked at Rinoa and said simply, "They're planning on using radio waves. This way, they can transmit images to regions without cable."

"I know that…!" she exclaimed angrily. "What I want to know is, what is the president going to broadcast!? Why use radio waves? There must be something they want to say to the whole world. What can it be?"

Selphie, having a moment of 'genius' (in her mind anyway) shouted out, "Everybody! Love! And! Peace!" and held up a peace sign with her fingers as she bounced in place.

While everyone else shook their heads in exasperation, Naruto chuckled and gave her the peace sign back. "I like that! Wouldn't it be nice if they really did want to broadcast a message like that?" he asked, continuing to chuckle at Selphie's antics. I swear, she's freaking adorable!

Deciding to get things back on track, Zone said, "If I remember correctly, radio waves haven't been used in 17 years."

"It's been that long? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the first broadcast could be the declaration of Timber's independence!?" Rinoa questioned, hope sounding in her voice.

"Hey! That might be possible." Zone said, sounding hopeful.

"Let's come up with a plan then!" Rinoa exclaimed, also sounding pretty hopeful. Looking at the SeeDs, she asked, "Can you guys give us a minute?"

As Rinoa and the other two members of the 'Forest Owls' began to work up a plan together, Squall decided to talk with his team members. Staring with Selphie, he waited for her to speak first. "Can't we go home now?" Selphie questioned hopefully. "What about our contract? Shouldn't we check it, Squall?"

Patting her on the shoulder gently, he simply gave her a smile before going over to Zell, who was watching the 'Forest Owls' with a frown on his face. "They call that a strategy meeting!?"

Squall shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess so. It's not much, but if it works for them…"

Zell nodded in understanding and just leaned back against the wall, waiting to hear whatever cockamamie idea they'd cook up this time.

When the scarred teen approached the last member of his team, Naruto looked at him and smirked. "So, having fun yet, Squall?"

Sighing to himself, the slightly younger SeeD said, "If you count doing all that crap we did earlier and then having to fight some undead freak, then sure, I'm having a lot of fun. Otherwise...no."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head at that. "For our first SeeD mission, this has turned into quite the clusterfuck. Still, at least it's amusing."

"Yeah, for you maybe. Then again, from what you've told me, you've already dealt with worse than this back in your world. So, I guess I can't complain."

"Yeah, but I still manage to look on the bright side of things. At least we proved ourselves capable SeeD members. On top of that, our SeeD ranks went up by one, which means more cash flowing in. Every little bit helps, after all." Naruto said with a smile.

"I suppose you might be right, Naruto." With a shrug of his shoulders, he approached Rinoa.

As he got close, Rinoa rose to her feet and turned to smile at him. "Oh, good timing! We've come up with a plan!"

Squall sighed and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Before we get into that, can I see your contract with our Garden?" he requested.

Rinoa was a little confused, but complied anyways. "Oh, sure." Kneeling down, she went through a few boxes before pulling out the contract and handing it to Squall. As he looked it over, the other three SeeDs practically hovered over his shoulder.

"What's it say?" Zell questioned, genuinely curious about what the contract said.

"...'Balamb Garden' (hereafter referred to as 'Party A') acknowledges 'The Forest Owls' (hereafter referred to as 'Party B') as the hiring party. 'SeeD' (hereafter referred to as 'Party C') shall be dispatched upon signing of this contract. Party C shall operate under the supervision…" Squall read.

"...The hell…?" Zell questioned, not quite sure he followed that.

Selphie looked like she had swirls in her eyes. "I don't get it."

"Oh yeah, that one's pretty confusing." Rinoa said as she began digging around for something in the boxes again.

Naruto looked around at the others and shrugged. "It made sense to me."

Squall gave Naruto a dry look and said, "Yeah? Good for you."

As Rinoa dug around for whatever it was she was looking for, she said, "When I told him I didn't understand, he gave me a different one." Pulling out the second contract, she handed it to Squall and said, "Cid is such a nice man."

Selphie tried to peer at the contract from where she was, but she couldn't really read it because, from her angle, it was upside-down. "What's it say this time?"

"..." Squall sighed and read it aloud. "To the Forest Owls,

This SeeD deployment contract will last until Timber achieves independence. Please make good use of each SeeD member.

I wish you the best with your objective. Please understand that this contract is an exception, and no replacement of any SeeD members can be made.

Balamb Garden Headmaster Cid Kramer"

Zell's eyes went wide and he shouted out, "Until Timber's independence!?"

Selphie pouted as she stood back up. "That is soooo vague!" she complained somewhat childishly.

Naruto shrugged and looked at the squad captain. "Well, looks like we're just going to have to give this mission our all and win them back their independence, huh captain? Should be a piece of cake for us, right?" he teased good-naturedly.

Before Squall could say anything, Rinoa piped up. "Hey, you're paid professionals. No complaining! Ok, let's decide on the parties!"

Once more, Watts backed up and said, "Gathering information is my specialty, sir!" before running off.

Zone once more doubled over, pretending to be in pain. "OuuuucHHHHH… My stomach!"

Rinoa slumped her shoulders and shook her head, sighing in disbelief at their cowardice. "So, of the 5 of us, the ones who'll be heading to the TV Station will be…"

Squall looked at Rinoa and then at his fellow SeeDs, taking some time to think on it. "Hmm...you, me, and Naruto. Zell, Selphie, try to gather some information and have a look around the town. See what you can find out and, if given the chance, do what you can to help our mission. Understood?"

Leaving the meeting room, they approached Watts who said, "The TV Station, sir!? It's quite close if you take the local train… But the local and transcontinental trains have stopped running, sir… Nothing to worry about, sir! There must be someone in town who knows. Are you ready, sir!?"

Squall sighed, but nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Best of luck, sir! I'll be keeping watch here!"

Meanwhile…

A group of Galbadian Soldiers were gathered together on the walkway above the train tracks. "A guy dressed as a cadet… Gathering information?" the soldier in red questioned.

As the Galbadian Officer pressed off of the rail he was leaning against, the soldier next to him shouted out, "He was asking about the president's stay! I found it strange that a cadet would keep asking about the president. He was very polite and kept addressing me as 'sir'."

The third Galbadian Soldier said, "I think I know who you're talking about! He was taking are of 4 suspicious-looking characters from Balamb! I'll go question every teenager in the area!"

The Galbadian soldier in red turned and shouted, "No! We can't just go up to anybody and…" When he saw that the soldier he had been trying to reprimand had already run off, he turned and coughed in an attempt to regain his composure. "Ahem. These are citizens. We can't inflict any…"

Soldier #3 quickly shouted out, "How dare they try to kidnap the president!? Not only is it disrespectful to the president, but also to us Galbadian soldiers as well! I'll be sure to find 'em and throw their sad be-hinds in jail!" And with that, blue Soldier #1 and blue Soldier #3 both ran off, leaving the soldier in red by himself. "...Please… Hear me out...to the very end…" he said as he hung his head.

Squall's Team

After the train they were on pulled up to the platform, Squall, Naruto, and Rinoa all got off together. Watts quickly followed after them and exclaimed, "...Say! I remember now, sir! I think the TV Station is located behind a building called Timber Maniacs! Please head in that direction, sir! I hope you find it!"

It was at this point that they each heard Zone yelling, "WaaaaaaTTTS! C'MON! The Galbadian soldiers are comin'!"

Watts turned to Squall's team and shouted, "Lots of guards patrolling the city now! Please be careful, sir! Seems like the hotel's not available, either! Should you need to recover, use the Owl's Tear, sir! Heard it works wonders! I believe you can find it at the old man's house…...I guess you won't be needing it anyway. You're all SeeDs, you'll be fine, right, sir!?"

It was at this point that Watts noticed that the train had gone off, leaving him standing on the platform on his lonesome. Quickly hopping down, he gave chase towards the 'base' train, hoping to catch up to it.

The party of three headed towards the Pet Shop first, where they purchased Pet Pals Vol. 3 and Pet Pals Vol. 4 to help teach Angelo some new tricks. Afterwards, they returned to the train platform and went past it to the walkway above the train tracks. Rinoa went and leaned over the railing, staring at the tracks down below. "Looks like the trains have stopped running… Usually, the local trains would be running here. A lot of hustle and bustle…"

After saying that, she rejoined Naruto and Squall and they continued on, fighting the occasional red or blue Galbadian Soldiers. Rinoa was stocking up on magic from these enemies after junctioning Diablos to herself while on the train.

As they rounded the corner, they saw the weapon refinement shop and the Timber Hotel. Sadly, when they checked to see if they really were booked full, they found out that Galbadian soldiers had taken up all the rooms. So, with a sigh, they left the hotel and continued along the path until they stumbled upon some Galbadian Soldiers up ahead.

"Better keep your eyes peeled. If you let one resistance member in here, your dear kids are...well, dead meat. Heh heh heh." one of the soldiers said, chuckling cruelly afterwards.

The security guard turned away from the Galbadian soldier, remaining silent so as not to lash out at the soldier for his cruelty.

Rinoa, seeing this, said, "We have to get to the TV Station fast. I can't bear to watch them suffer like this."

"Agreed." Naruto said, clenching his fists tight. "They'll pay for this, I guarantee it."

Approaching one of the Galbadian soldiers up ahead, they listened as he said, "So I heard everyone here supports the resistance. You guys are such fools. Just imagine how much this place would thrive if you were loyal to us. This place is gonna be stuck in the backwoods forever."

The security guard he was talking to turned around and snapped at him. "...And you? Are you happy with your life? Blindly following orders everyday, doing things you probably don't believe in?"

The other security guard, the one that had remained silent earlier, turned and said, "So what if we're undeveloped? We're not looking to thrive. All we want is to be able to stand on our own feet; to be independent and live according to what we believe."

The first security guard that spoke continued by saying, "You guys will probably never understand, having thrown away your pride and dignity. We're not the fools. You are."

One of the Galbadian soldiers was shaking with rage. "You're both DEAD!" he exclaimed furiously as he prepared to strike them both down.

"No!" Rinoa exclaimed before she charged into battle against them, her teammates backing her up.

The fight wasn't difficult, as the soldiers were fairly weak, but it did give them a good chance to continue stocking up on any magic they needed, especially Rinoa. After they were dead, one of the security guards said, "Thank you for your help. I got a little carried away."

The other security guard frowned as he said, "We appreciate your help… But we can't let you through here. I'm sorry."

Sighing, the group returned towards the train platform, spotting a man standing on the walkway above the numerous train tracks down below. Upon spotting them, namely Rinoa, he began to stutter, "Ahhh… Hi...Rinoa…? T-The...weather…...s-sure is...nice...today…"

Rinoa offered him a smile and asked, "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

The man turned to stare out over the railing and mumbled to himself, "Why can't I...say anything interesting? ...I'm such a loser…"

As he began to pace, Squall tapped his foot impatiently before tapping the man on the shoulder. When he looked back at them, he focused on Rinoa once again and said, "Oh…! Umm...Rinoa? Aaahhh...mmmmm… P-Please… Take this… Here! ...W-Well… B-Bye…"

Rinoa took what was offered to her, a Potion, and watched as the man ran off. "Well, that was nice of him." Naruto said, a small smirk on his face. "I'd say he liiiikes you." he teased.

The beautiful ravenette sighed and shook her head. "It is pretty obvious, but I'm not interested. Poor guy."

This time they headed past the train platform and ventured towards the Timber Maniacs building. Approaching the guy standing just outside the building, they heard him say, "Looking for Timber Maniacs? It's right here. Anything else?"

Squall decided to ask, "Where's the TV Station?"

"Yeah, that's in this town. You wanna know more about it? Maybe the lady next door would know…"

Entering the Timber Maniacs building, they spoke to the receptionist at the front desk, who said that cute boys are always welcome, which made Squall and Naruto blush a bit. Entering the nearby room, they found a Blizzaga draw point which Naruto drew from. Afterwards, they entered the room in the back and began to talk to the man standing by the window.

"Oh man. Why do battle series books sell so well? We're sure living in a terrible age." As if just noticing his guests, the man said, "Oh. You're looking around? Is there anything you want to know?"

Squall nodded and asked about Timber Maniacs in general. "Ok. Well as you know, the name of the company is Timber Maniacs. We are a publisher that was established 20 years ago. We used to publish a magazine called Tim Mani, short for Timber Maniacs. It was a compilation of freelance writing: letters, reports, etc… The majority of the fans wanted to become journalists. I joined the company because I wanted to become an editor for Tim Mani."

As the man droned on, the party of three decided to get comfortable. "But times have changed. Now the only things that sell are books like the battle series. It's so sad. I've lost my will to work here."

Squall internally groaned and thought, ...He's gonna go on forever. This is so typical. Adults reminiscing and talking on and on about the things they couldn't do or didn't do. ...I hate it.

As they left the room, unable to take it anymore, they heard the editor yell out to them, "Hey guys! A word of advice! You're still young! Don't let your life pass you by!"

Despite having no desire to talk to him again, for fear that he would just go off on another long tangent, they reentered the room and spoke to him again. This time, Squall chose to bring up the dream he had about Laguna. "Recently, I had a strange dream that I became a Galbadian soldier named Laguna. Actually, it was too realistic to be just a dream. My friends had a similar experience, too."

The editor nodded in understanding and said, "Yeah. Dreams are really strange. This morning I dreamt that…"

Once again the man went off on a tangent and Squall couldn't help but mumble to himself, "Why did I bring this up…? Now, he won't shut up about his dreams; this morning's dream, yesterday's dream, childhood dreams… Big mistake."

Once again, the party fled the room to escape the man's incessant rambling. And once more, they entered the room to talk with the editor one last time. This time Squall decided to bring up Timber's current situation. "I don't care about what's happening in Timber today. You know, in my childhood, it wasn't like this. Back then, we were in the middle of a war against the sorceress. So I kept writing letters to Timber Maniacs stressing how meaningless the war was. I was really happy, even though there was a war going on. It gave me hope about my future."

Squall sighed and listened as the man rambled on and on. Inside his mind though, he couldn't help but think, ...This is getting so boring.

"It was different back then. Those were the good old times. It was great to be young. Look at the young people these days. They're all so lazy. I don't know what they're thinking…"

After a while had passed with the man refusing to shut the hell up, Squall thought, Just another stupid story by a boring adult. This guy needs to grow up.

This time, as they were evacuating before they were literally bored to death, Naruto picked up an old issue of Timber Maniacs off the floor so they could peruse it later. Once back out in the lobby, they found a copy of Girl Next Door in one of the many magazine stacks lining the hallway.

Entering the house to the right of Timber Maniacs, they approached an elderly woman and explained their current situation to her. She then asked, "What? You're walking to the TV Station?"

"We have no choice. The trains aren't running." Squall explained.

"Let's see… There used to be a way through the back alley of this house… The Pub was built around the time they stopped broadcasting. We haven't used the back alley too much since then. Why don't you look through the 2F window? You should be able to see the back alley. If you want to go through the back alley, why don't you talk to the owner of the Pub? He's scary lookin', but…. Well, I guess he ain't so nice, either. Just go talk to him anyway."

Naruto frowned and said, "Well, this sounds lovely. Guess we don't have much of a choice, though."

Heading upstairs, they peeked out the window at the back alley down below for a short while to get a good layout of the area. Upon pulling their heads back inside, the kid that was doing a handstand in the corner flipped himself upright and said, "That'll be 10 gil pease…" only to have his mother come upstairs and spank him for being a bad boy. Afterwards, the party of three left to continue on their way to the TV Station.

As they approached the train station, they encountered a woman who asked, "Mountain…?"

Not quite sure what she was asking, they tried asking, "River…?"

"Secret Info #1… You should go to the Aphrora Pub for a drink. I guess 'Aphrora' means 'Aurora'. Drink until you see an aurora!"

Talking to her again, they said, "Sky…!" this time to see what she'd say in response to that.

"Secret Info #2… Laser beams are everywhere outside the TV Station. I lose sleep when I think of what those beams could do to me."

Finally they said, "Forest…!?" to see what she'd say to this.

"Secret Info #3… Timber was named for its rich vegetation. Used to be that we were surrounded by this beautiful forest…"

Passing the woman by, the entered the train station proper and proceeded up the stairs and into what they thought was the station office. Oddly enough, it turned out to be a house with 5 people living in it. It was so tiny it was hard to imagine how five people could possibly live in it. However, the old man invited them to drink from the faucet, as the water was actually Owl's Tears, which was known to revitalize people that drank it. So, taking advantage of the old man's kindness, the three of them took turns drinking from the faucet before thanking the old man and leaving his home to continue on their way.

Returning to the previous area, they proceeded to go down the stairs towards the Pub. However, as they started to make their descent, they overheard some Galbadian soldiers talking down below.

"That was too easy, man. Heh heh...for a country bumpkin, he sure had some good stuff."

The second soldier replied with, "Yo, better ease off a little. These Timber hicks hate us enough as it is."

It was at this point that the first soldier took notice of Squall's team. "Let's get 'em!" they shouted as one before attacking the group.

Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "They just never learn, do they? Stupidity must run rampant where they're all from."

Rinoa giggled a bit at this before they began fighting back against their much weaker opponents.

As expected, these enemies were merely cannon fodder and went down fast. Afterwards, Squall picked up a Buel card off of one of their bodies and decided to add it to his deck. Hey, every little bit helps! Afterwards, they did a bit of shopping at the item store nearby before venturing into the Pub.

Upon entering the Pub, they heard a Drifter shouting, "I've had enough of this city! I came from Dollet to have me a good time. And now… Trains are no longer running… Can't even stay in a hotel because of some stupid official…! Harassed by Galbadian soldiers… Had my precious card stolen… This hasn't been my day…"

"Those jerks… They think they can use brute force to get anything they want. Hell… This town's a good example…" another person said in reply.

The Drifter spoke up again at this point. "Yeah… Everything's jacked up because the resistance tried to kidnap the president. Thanks to them, the trains have stopped… There's Galbadian soldiers all over the place… All because of them! Don't they understand I'm the one suffering from their reckless actions!? Stupid, boneheaded, good-for-nothing, resistance! You can just kiss my…"

Unable to take it anymore, Rinoa ran forward a ways and shouted, "Hey!"

Another patron of the Pub stood up and yelled, "You don't understand anything! The resistance is fighting for Timber's future! They're all doing the best they can. It's the Galbadian soldiers and their leader who are at fault!"

"Pshhh…" the Drifter scoffed in reply.

Walking up to the owner of the Pub, they tried to ask him if they could use the back alley. "You wanna go through the back alley? Might be a little difficult right now. He's being pretty stubborn. The guy throws a fit when you try to move him from that spot." he explained, pointing towards the door that led to the back alley and the Drifter who sat against it.

As they approached the Drifter, Rinoa asked, "What should we do?"

Squall and Naruto both agreed on it when they said, "Observe for right now."

"Ugh, this stuff stinks!" the Drifter complained as he looked at the bottle he was currently chugging from.

"He's drinking from a bottle with a red label. He looks quite drunk." Rinoa observed.

It was at this point that Squall stepped up to the man and said, "We need to get through."

The Drifter scoffed again and said, "Geez, and now I'm getting dissed by some punk…!? Owner, gimme another drink!"

Naruto frowned and looked at Squall. "Looks like we've got a few options. Buy him a drink or return that Buel card to him. What do you wanna do man?"

Squall sighed and withdrew the Buel card and showed it to the man. "Is this your card?"

The Drifter blinked a couple of times before narrowing his eyes as he looked at the card through bleary eyes. "Huh? ...It is! Why do you have it!?"

Squall decided to simply tell a half-truth here. "...Found it outside."

"Are you serious? …...Okay. Thanks. Know what? I'm feelin' generous! So you can keep that card. And also...this one! I'll move out of the way now." the Drifter said happily as he gave Squall a Tonberry card. "Hey, owner. I can't stand up. Can ya help me?"

Squall and the others watched as the owner helped move the drunken Drifter, allowing them access to the back alley, finally.

After reaching the back alley, they began to climb up a series of stairs outside the TV Station. Upon reaching a certain point, they couldn't help but notice an outdoor TV displaying a bunch of red gibberish instead of any pictures or something similar. It was also emitting a high frequency sound that was, quite honestly, bothersome. "Well, don't see that everyday." Naruto said as he folded his arms across his chest and watched the screen for a while.

"This is creepy… What is it?" Rinoa questioned, a little concerned about what she was seeing.

"This noise is broadcast over most of the frequencies. Something has to be done about this before they can broadcast it over the air." Squall said with the utmost seriousness.

Naruto nodded his head in agreement and said, "Damn right. Can't let them get away with this kind of crap."

It was at this point that Watts rushed up the stairs behind them and got their attention. "The president's in the studio now, sir. Too many guards now, so we won't be able to storm the place, sir!"

After Watts ran away again, Rinoa frowned as she turned to her companions. "So we can't just rush in… We've gotta come up with a new plan now! If the president leaves, maybe the guards will be gone, too? That's when we do OUR broadcast. It might not be as influential, but it's better than nothing, right? We don't stand a chance if we take 'em head on, right?"

Squall and Naruto couldn't help but smirk at this. "Don't worry about us." Squall said. "Trust me when I say that Naruto and I could probably take all of them down pretty fast. But, we'll fight your enemies based on your decision. That's our duty."

The blonde couldn't help but chuckle a bit and nod his head. "Yep. So say you wanted us to storm on in there, guns blazing and all that, we'd do it and come out on top as well. All for pretty little you." he said with a wink in her direction.

Rinoa blushed a bit, but nodded her head in understanding. "I...I see. And...you'll act on my decision? That's your duty? Oh, what an easy life it must be, just to follow orders…"

Squall shrugged dismissively. "Call it what you want. All we want is for you to achieve your goal using our help. I find it hard to believe that you can do it, though…"

Rinoa didn't seem too happy about this as she turned to him and yelled, "W-What did you say!? If you have something to say, just say it!"

Squall sighed and shook his head. Still, against his better judgment, he went ahead and told her what he meant. "How serious are you…? Really…? The 3 of you plop down on the floor to discuss strategy? On top of that, you can't make a decision without our input, right? How do you think we feel, working for such an organization?"

Naruto frowned and placed a hand on Squall's shoulder. "You're being a little harsh there, buddy. Maybe you should just leave it at that, huh?"

Squall sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah, sure." he replied, turning away from Rinoa and looking over the railing on the walkway/stairs.

"You know…" Rinoa began, "Maybe this was all a big mistake. I thought everything would work out fine once SeeD came to help us. But, I guess it's not that easy. You were all hired. It's not like you're one of us. Um, let's see… We'll cancel the plan, and we'll disperse for now. We don't stand a chance if we take 'em head on, right?" she asked once again. Before either of them could answer, she continued by saying, "So...you guys probably think this is all a game to us. ...Well, it's not! We're serious. So serious...it hurts."

As Rinoa ran off following these words, Zell and Selphie appeared, climbing up the stairs after them and passing Rinoa who was on the way down the stairs. Watching her go for a while, Zell looked at Naruto and Squall and said, "...Huh?" Ignoring it for now, Zell and Selphie joined with their friends and looked at the TV as it started making a buzzing sound. "They starting?" Zell questioned curiously.

The screen suddenly began showing a live broadcast. A man that was obviously an announcer stepped up to the podium and said, "T-Testing...1...2… Testing… Testing… Ohhhh! P-People of the world! Can you see me!? Can you hear me!? Oh, this is incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a recording! This is an actual broadcast over the air! Yes, it's been 17 years since a live broadcast has been possible!"

Realizing he had lost his composure, the announcer took a moment to gather himself before continuing. "Oh, please excuse me...I seem to have lost my composure. We would like to present to you today a message from the lifelong President of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling. Ladies and gentlemen, President Deling."

It was at this point that President Deling walked up to the podium after the announcer left, allowing the president to take the stage, essentially. "Greetings. I am Vinzer Deling, lifelong president of Galbadia. Today, I stand before you to make the following proposition. We, the people of this world, have the power to end all wars."

Selphie, growing excited, shouted out, "See, see! It's a peace proposal to the world. I knew it!"

Naruto shook his head at that and said, "No, I don't think so. As nice as that would be, I don't trust this guy one tiny bit. Something's off about this whole damn thing."

Before anyone could reply, the president began to speak once again. "Unfortunately, there are some trifling problems standing between Galbadia and other nations, and they must be resolved. I plan to convene with other nations' leaders immediately to resolve these problems. At this time, allow me to introduce the ambassador who will be my representative for the conference."

Zell scoffed at this and said, "Man! All this just to introduce an ambassador."

"The ambassador is the Sorceress…"

Squall frowned at this and asked, "...The Sorceress?"

It was at this point that the broadcast was interrupted when Seifer rushed in and attacked the soldiers and soon took the president hostage. Shortly after this, Quistis appeared as well, much to their shock. She held a soldier off and shouted, "Stay back!"

Selphie couldn't help but ask, "What's he doin'!?" as she watched Seifer in action.

Zell, on the other hand, was shocked to see Quistis. "Instructor Trepe!?"

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at the screen. "Q-Quistis-chan? What the hell is going on? Why are you there?!"

Selphie noticed Naruto's reaction and quickly stepped up to him, taking his hand in hers. When he looked at her, she said, "It'll be okay, Naruto. I'm sure of it. I know you're worried about her, but…"

The blonde sighed and shook his head. "I know. I should...I should get over her, but it's hard, y'know?"

"I understand. Just know that I'm here for you whenever you need me, okay?"

Naruto nodded before they all turned back to the TV to watch whatever was about to happen. Zell, however, shouted out, "Squall, what are we gonna do!?"

It was at this point that Quistis could be heard saying, "For the last time, stay back! You're only going to provoke him."

Squall sighed and shook his head. "...Nothing. Our job is to assist the Owls. It's none of our business."

Naruto scowled at this, but before he could say anything in protest, Quistis' voice broke through to them. "Timber Team, are you watching? Get over here right now! You HAVE permission! I need your help!"

Squall scowled, but quickly nodded his head and said, "Let's go! Hurry!"

When they arrived moments later at the TV Station, they found Seifer still holding the president hostage and Quistis there trying to calm him down. When they looked around, they couldn't spot any Galbadian soldiers, however, which they felt was a little odd. Before they could question it, Quistis said, "We need to restrain him!"

Squall took a step closer and asked Seifer, "What do you think you're doing?"

"It's obvious, ain't it!? What are you planning to do with this guy?" Seifer questioned, feeling as if the answer was, indeed, obvious.

"...Planning to do?" Squall asked unsurely. That's right… He knows Rinoa. Is that why he's here?

"I get it!" Zell exclaimed suddenly. "You're Rinoa's…"

"Shut your damn mouth! Chicken-wuss!" Seifer shouted at him angrily.

Quistis turned to Squall and Naruto and looked them in the eyes. "He broke out of the disciplinary room, injuring many in the process."

Zell, furious at what he was hearing and what Seifer was doing finally shouted out, "YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

Squall frowned at this and shook his head. Zell, please. Turning to face his tattooed friend, he said, "Be quiet."

"Instructor, I know!" Zell exclaimed. "You're gonna take this stupid idiot back to Garden, right!?"

"Shut up! NO!" Squall exclaimed, trying desperately to shut Zell up before things could go horribly wrong.

Naruto facepalmed and let out a loud groan. "Damn it Zell! You fucking IDIOT!"

As Zell looked at his two best friends goggle-eyed, not quite sure what the heck the problem was, President Deling chuckled to himself. "I see… So you're all from Garden." As Zell looked to be realizing his mistake, far too late for it to matter, Deling continued. "Should anything happen to me, the entire Galbadian military will undoubtedly crush Garden. You can let go of me now."

Seifer scowled at Zell and said, "Nice going, Chicken-wuss! You and your stupid big mouth! Take care of this mess! Instructor and Mr. Leader!" And with that, he backed off of the stage, dragging the president along with him.

Left alone with his friends, Zell looked like a kicked puppy as he said, "Damn. Sorry guys. I guess I wasn't thinking."

Naruto scowled at him and punched him in the top of his head, sending him crashing to the ground. "That's for being an idiot! The whole Garden's in danger now because you couldn't shut the hell up!"

Zell groaned as he got to his feet. He was unable to look his best friend in the eyes. "I know. I know! Alright?! I'm sorry. I don't know what else to do or say to make this right again! I'm sorry. I really am."

Squall sighed and placed a gentle hand upon Zell's shoulder. "It's fine, Zell. We'll figure something out, I promise. Hell, if it comes down to an all-out war with Galbadia because of this little fiasco, I'm damn sure we'll come out on top. There's no way we'll give up without a fight. On top of that, we've got this guy on our side. He's a one-man army all by himself." Squall said as he gently rapped his knuckles on Naruto's chest.

Naruto chuckled a bit and shook his head. "I can only do so much, man. But thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, what are we going to do about Seifer and the president? Things really aren't looking well for us right now."

"All we can do is follow them and see what happens. That's pretty much the best we can do right now." Squall said.

Seifer

Seifer was confused when a beautiful woman stepped out of practically nowhere and said, "...Poor, poor boy…"

Scowling at her, Seifer shouted, "Stay away from me!"

Ignoring his 'advice', she paced around a bit and said, "Such a confused little boy. Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide."

"Stay back!" Seifer exclaimed again, this time a bit more forcefully.

As Quistis caught up to Seifer, the woman used some kind of magic power to push her back and keep her away from Seifer and the president. Afterwards, she turned to Seifer again and said, "The boy in you is telling you to come. The adult in you is telling you to back off. You can't make up your mind. You don't know the right answer. You want help, don't you? You want to be saved from this predicament."

"Shut up!" Seifer yelled, trying to make her stop talking. Her words were like honey to the ears and he was struggling just to make sense of it all.

"Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Besides, you're only a little boy."

"I'm not… Stop calling me a boy." Seifer bit out through gritted teeth.

"You don't want to be a boy anymore?" the woman questioned.

"I am not a BOY!" Seifer exclaimed as he released the president and glared harshly into the woman's masked eyes.

"Come with me to a place of no return. Bid farewell to your childhood." the woman said. She was a temptress, and a master at that.

It was at this point that Squall's team arrived on the scene, only to see Seifer waving at them, as if he was saying goodbye to them. When they tried to approach, they hit the same magical wall that Quistis had run into earlier. "Whoa! What the hell?!" Naruto questioned as he poked at the wall a few times. "Damn, this is one hell of a barrier. What the hell's going on here?"

It was at this point that Seifer walked off, disappearing with the strange, but powerful woman. Once they were gone, everything seemed to return to normal. Quistis went to check the area where Seifer and the woman had disappeared, but rather than follow her, Naruto stayed with Squall and the others.

After a moment, Rinoa came running in and said, "Hey guys! Where's Seifer?"

Squall looked at Quistis, hoping she'd know what to say. However, she simply shrugged and left it up to him to decide. So, with a sigh, Squall looked at Rinoa and said, "We don't know."

Rinoa looked worried as she asked, "...He'll be ok, right?"

Without waiting for a response, Rinoa ran off with Quistis right on her heels. Not wanting to let them get too far ahead, Squall and the others quickly dashed off in pursuit of their friends. I swear, this day just cannot get any worse. Squall thought with a heavy sigh.

As they caught up to Rinoa and Quistis, Rinoa paused to tell them something. "They found our base. It's completely destroyed."

"And everyone else?" Selphie questioned hopefully.

"They're fine. They're good at escaping." she said with a giggle. And with that, she and Quistis ran off ahead of them again, leaving Squall's team to play catch-up.

When they caught up this time, Rinoa said, "We have to stay away from Timber for a while. Is there a safe place you can take me?" When Squall began to look unsure, she said, "This is an order, an order from your client, remember?"

Squall sighed and, after taking some time to think on it, he said, "...Alright." I wonder what the safest place for her would be… Hmm…

Naruto sighed and shook his head after Rinoa and Quistis ran off ahead again. "Just like I thought. This whole thing turned into one giant clusterfuck. Seriously, just how much worse could this day possibly get?"

Squall looked at his friend and said, "I don't think we want to find out."

The entire group couldn't help but agree. Whatever else they'd have to deal with in the coming days, they'd just have to face it head on, as a team. For now, they just needed to follow after the two women and see where things would lead them. Damn. Just...damn. Naruto thought to himself with a sigh as he followed after his friends.

---

A/N - Okey dokey, that's the chapter. I really couldn't figure out where the hell to end the chapter, so I just kinda went with that spot right there. Seemed as good a place as any. *shrugs*

As you can see, a lot happened in this chapter. Edea made her appearance, so at least Naruto knows about her and her power now, so that should be an interesting confrontation in the future.

Okay...I can't really think of what the heck to say. I'm so tired. lol. I'm going to go and get some sleep. You guys keep being awesome.