After Raven disappeared, the six of us hurried to the elevator and rode it back down to the first floor. Because Kayla had lost her crutches in the struggle, Tal and I were practically dragging her down the hall as we hurried to our parents. When we got to them, Uncle Squall was awake and kneeling next to Aunt Rinoa, who wasn't moving. Fearing the worst, I watched for a second until I saw that her chest was rising and falling shallowly. She was alive, but barely. Uncle Zell, the only one who wasn't hurt, was still sitting next to Aunt Cammi, who hadn't moved at all. I was almost certain she was dead but when Cale inquired as to his mother's well being, Uncle Zell assured him she was alive, although badly wounded. He scooped Aunt Cammi up and hurried to the infirmary with her. Cale stayed behind to help the rest of us.
After seeing that Aunt Rinoa and Cammi were alive, I went immediately to my dad to see how badly he was hurt. Across the hallway, Luke knelt next to our mother, who was sitting up and talking with him. When I knelt down next to my dad, I grabbed his hand and patted it.
"Daddy?" I called, tears slipping down my cheeks and burning in the cuts I had received from the flying marble. "Daddy, can you hear me?"
He groaned once and his eyes fluttered open. He blinked a couple of times and then focused on me. "Kaisa?"
"Yeah Daddy, it's me," I assured and the tears came faster but they were tears of relief. He was alive.
My dad sat up and cupped his head with one gloved hand. He looked around the hall. "Where's your mother? Is she all right?"
"She's over there." I pointed to where Luke was helping her to her feet. Once she was standing, she shakily walked over to us. Luke followed.
"Seifer, are you all right?" my mom asked and knelt down next to us.
"Yeah," he assured with a smile, "What about you?" He reached out and brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes.
"I'm okay," she answered with a smile of her own. "Can you sit up?"
"Yeah." After a few curses and hisses of pain, my dad managed to get himself into a sitting position. My mom wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow and kissed his cheek.
"Are you sure you're all right?" she persisted.
"Hyne woman, I said I'm fine," my dad said, annoyed. He never liked to be coddled.
Taking no offense at his tone, my mother nodded. "We need to get to the infirmary." She looked around the hall. "How are the others?"
"Uncle Zell took Aunt Cammi to the infirmary already," I informed, "She was alive but hurt pretty bad I think."
As I spoke, Uncle Squall scooped up Aunt Rinoa and he and Tal headed towards the infirmary as well. I could tell that Tal was worried about his mother. He clutched one of her pale, limp hands in his own and kept whispering things to her unconscious body.
"Rinoa…" my mother gasped when she saw the condition of her long-time friend.
"Raven tried to steal her powers," I explained, "She's alive though."
"What happened to Raven?" my mother asked.
Luke and I looked at each other and then he answered. "She left the Garden and then disappeared into a flash of lightning."
Our parents stared at him for a few seconds as if they thought he was lying, then looked back at their other companions. Aunt Fujin had recovered from her injury, as had Uncle Irvine. Fujin went to Uncle Raijin and was unusually gentle as she tried to bring him back to consciousness. Uncle Irvine, after a few words with Vaughn and Kayla, picked up Aunt Selphie and cradling her like a baby, headed towards the infirmary.
My mother got to her feet, as did my father. My mother swayed as she stood and my father caught her as she started to fall. He scooped her up and turned towards the infirmary.
"Seifer, put me down!" she ordered, "I'm fine!"
"Like hell you are," he growled, "You're going to the infirmary whether you like it or not." He turned to us. "Are either of you hurt?" We shook our heads. "Luke, go and help Fujin with Raijin. If you need a stretcher, come and get one. Baby girl, you should get those cuts looked at."
I stared at him in confusion for a second, then remembered the slices on my face. I nodded as he turned and headed towards the infirmary, limping slightly. Luke looked down at me, then went to help Aunt Fujin and Uncle Raijin. I considered going too, then decided to go over to where Kayla and Vaughn were. Kayla was still crying slightly and Vaughn had his arm around her, trying to comfort her. They both looked up as I approached.
"How's Aunt Selphie?" I inquired.
"She's still unconscious," Kayla informed.
"She'll be fine," Vaughn assured, "She's just winded from the spell. It shouldn't take too long for her to come around." He frowned at me. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I replied, "Why?"
"Those cuts on your face look pretty serious," he said. He reached forward and touched my cheek. His finger came away wet with blood. "You should get those taken care of."
"Dr. Kadowaki has bigger things to worry about than little cuts like these," I insisted, "I'll be fine."
"You should still get them cleaned out," he told me, "They could get infected. Come on, I have a first aide kit in my room."
I hesitated a moment, then helping Kayla, I followed Vaughn to the dorms. We walked all the way around the Garden so that we wouldn't be going right through the carnage. We heard several people in the hall where Raven had attacked and I assumed they were treating the wounded and getting them to the infirmary, and tending to the dead. We arrived at the Dormitory hall and I couldn't help but glance in the direction of the battlefield. Several SeeDs were loading others onto stretchers or zipping them up into black bags. I turned away and caught Kayla's eyes. She had seen it too. We stared at each other for a minute, then followed Vaughn to his dorm.
Inside Vaughn's room, I was surprised to see that it was pretty neat. The bed was made and there were only a few things out of place, such as a few dirty T-shirts and a pair of boots in the middle of the floor. I expected the entire room to be in chaos. As we entered, he picked up the T-shirts and tossed them into the closet before sliding the door shut, then kicked the boots under the bed.
"Sorry about the mess," he apologized as he grabbed a chair for Kayla, "I didn't expect to have company." He put the chair in front of the bed and Kayla let go of me and sat down. He turned to me. "Have a seat and I'll be right back."
I looked around and seeing no other chair, perched lightly on the end of the bed. My eyes traveled around the room, checking out his living quarters. It felt kind of weird to be in a guy's room, and it was even weirder to be sitting on his bed. I felt a light blush color my cheeks.
"If I were you, I'd be careful where I sat on that bed," Kayla warned with a wrinkled nose, "Hyne only knows what kind of things are on it."
I grimaced and didn't contemplate her meaning. A second later, Vaughn returned from the bathroom with a small, white, plastic box with a red cross on it. He sat down next to me on the bed and opened it up. He pulled out a small package that I recognized as a wet wipe and tore it open. The scent of disinfectant filled the room and he leaned forward. I turned to face him and he began to wipe the blood off of the wounds with the cloth.
"Turn more towards me," he instructed and I had no choice but to scoot farther on the bed and cross my legs in front of me so he could get to the other side of my face. Once the blood was cleaned away, he opened another disinfectant cloth and wiped the clean wounds with it. After the wounds were disinfected, he pulled out a tube of Neosporin and coated the scratches lightly with it. After they were disinfected and treated, he coated each one with a liquid bandage.
"There you go," he said after he had finished. "Hopefully, they won't leave scars. It'd be a shame to ruin a beautiful face like yours."
My face turned bright red and the scratches throbbed. I turned away from him. "Thanks."
"No problem," he assured as I stood up quickly. Kayla, who had remained silent, did as well.
"We'd better go," I mumbled.
"Yeah," Kayla agreed as she held onto my shoulder. "We'd better go see if we can find my crutches."
"If you see my hat, let me know okay?" Vaughn said.
"Okay." I hadn't noticed it until now, but he wasn't wearing his cowboy hat.
Kayla and I left the room and headed down the corridor to our own rooms.
"Maybe we should get your crutches later," I suggested as we neared our rooms, "We don't want to get in the way."
"Okay," Kayla agreed, "I want to change anyway."
Both of us were still wet from our dive into the fountain. I agreed as we stopped outside our rooms.
"I'll be over once I change," she told me.
"Okay."
She disappeared into her room and I went into my own. I got a pair of jeans and a T-shirt out of my closet and changed quickly. I was sitting on the bed wondering how things were in the infirmary when Kayla knocked. I let her in and she came over to the bed. We both sat down and looked at each other. She had finally stopped crying on the way to Vaughn's room and my cuts had given her a moment to forget about what had happened but now it was catching up to her again and she looked at me, fear in her eyes.
"What happened?"
I didn't need to ask her what she meant. I already knew. "The sorceress got her."
"How?"
"I don't know," I admitted and then fell silent. If the sorceress was powerful enough to take over Raven, why not others? Why not my dad or mom? Why not Matron or Aunt Rinoa? The possibilities were endless.
"We're not even safe when we're on the move, are we?" Kayla asked, voicing the same thing I had just been thinking.
"Not really, no."
She nodded but didn't say anything. Finally, she spoke. "Do you think everybody's okay?"
"I'm sure they're fine," I comforted and hugged her briefly. "Your mom's a fighter. The spell just dazed her. She'll be fine in a few hours."
"What about the others?" she persisted, "Aunt Cammi and Aunt Rinoa?"
"I don't know."
"How many others were injured, do you think?" she questioned after a moment.
"I have no idea," I told her.
"There was probably quite a few people in the cafeteria," Kayla surmised, "She could've hurt a lot of them."
"I know."
"I wonder where Gavin, Morgan and Kit are," Kayla commented, "And Raine. Do you think they were in the cafeteria at the time?"
I shuddered at the thought. They weren't even SeeDs yet. "I hope not."
"Do you think maybe we should call them and see if they're all right?" Kayla suggested.
"They're probably in the infirmary with Aunt Cammi and Aunt Rinoa," I said.
"Yeah," Kayla agreed, "Probably." She paused. "Do you think they'd let me go and see my mom?"
"You'd just be in the way," I told her, "She's not hurt like Aunt Cammi and Aunt Rinoa. There's no reason to go."
"I guess you're right," she admitted reluctantly.
"Besides," I added, "Once everything calms down, I'm sure your dad will come and get you."
Kayla nodded. She was silent a second, then looked up at me, a questioning look on her face. "It just occurred to me that my brother was flirting with you."
Completely caught off guard by her subject change, I gaped at her. "Huh?"
"After he finished cleaning your scratches," she reminded, "He said something about it being a terrible waste if your beautiful face was scarred."
I remained silent, trying to think of something to stay. Kayla spoke again before I had the chance.
"Now that I think about it, he was pretty much flirting with you the whole time," she said, "The whole thing about cleaning your scratches and stuff. That was classic Kinneas Charm."
"He was just being nice," I defended lamely.
"Vaughn is never 'just nice,'" Kayla told me, "He's only nice if he's gonna get something in return."
"Well I'm definitely not giving him anything," I assured with a slight blush.
Kayla stared at me again, this time with a slight smile. "You're lying."
"Excuse me?"
"You were flirting back."
"I was not!" I exclaimed.
"You went to his room to take care of your injuries when you know full well that I have a first aid kit in my room," Kayla smirked, "So do you."
"So?" I said childishly, then trying to redeem my pride, added, "Vaughn was just being nice. If I had turned him down it would've been rude."
"You like him don't you?" she accused.
"No!"
"Liar!" Kayla shouted with a laugh. "You like Vaughn! You like Vaughn!"
"I do not!" I contradicted, my face turning even redder.
"Then why are you blushing?" she inquired.
"I'm not!" Yeah, that was a lie.
"Kaisa likes Vaughn!" she chanted in a singsong voice, "Kaisa likes Vaughn!"
Having no other defense, I blurted out, "Yeah well, you like Tal!"
She stopped teasing me and the smile left her face. "I do not!"
"Now who's lying?"
Luckily, before any more damage could be done by our accusations and childish teasing, my phone rang. I answered it quickly. "Hello?"
"Hi Kaisa, it's Uncle Irvine. Is Kayla in there?"
"Yes."
"Could you tell her to come to the infirmary?" he asked over the phone, "Her mom's awake and wants to see her."
"Sure, I'll tell her."
"Thanks."
I hung up the receiver and turned to Kayla. "That was your dad. He says your mom's awake and wants to see you."
Kayla was off the bed and hopping to the door before I had finished relaying the message. She noticed that I wasn't following and turned back to me. "Come on! I can't hop all the way there by myself!"
I joined her by the door and, leaning on me, we made our way towards the infirmary. When we got there, we weren't surprised to see that the waiting room was filled with SeeDs, cadets and underclassmen. Most were waiting to hear news about their friends but others were waiting to be treated for minor injuries. We looked for a place to sit, but all of the chairs were full. We decided to lean against the wall by the door and wait. We weren't there two minutes before Uncle Irvine came out of the back, where the exam rooms were.
"Hey," he greeted and hugged his daughter. "Your mom wants to see you."
"Okay," she nodded. I could tell she was trying to be brave but she was fighting to hold back tears.
"I'll see you later," I told her and turned to leave.
"Wait Kaisa," Uncle Irvine called. I turned to face him. "I think your dad wants to see you. He's in with your mom. They're in room 4."
"Thanks," I said and followed the two Kinneas' back to the exam rooms. They entered exam room 3 and I went one door farther to 4. I knocked quietly. From inside, my dad answered.
"What?" he growled, obviously thinking I was an unwanted visitor.
I opened the door and peeked in. "Dad?"
"Oh," he smiled, "Come in, baby girl."
I opened the door wider and slipped in, then closed it behind me. I walked across the small room to where my dad was sitting next to the hospital bed that held my mom, clutching her hand. She was either unconscious or sleeping, neither of which made sense. She had been conscious last time I had seen her.
"What happened?" I asked, pulling up a chair next to my father and eyeing my mother with worry.
"She's fine," he assured, "Dr. Kadowaki sedated her so she could heal faster. You know your mother. She insisted that she was fine and wanted to help the doc with triage. Sedating her was the only thing we could do to keep her in bed."
I smiled, thinking about the fight that my mother probably put up. "Is she gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," my dad answered and stroked my mother's pale hand, "she just needs to rest to get her strength back. The spell didn't do much damage and she only got a mild concussion from slamming into the wall."
"What about you?" I continued, "I noticed you were limping when you carried Mom in."
He grinned. "Nothing a little Curaga won't cure." He looked from my mom's sleeping form to me. "So, how are you doing? Did you get those cuts taken care of?"
"Yeah," I nodded, "Vaughn cleaned them for me." Even as the words were coming out of my mouth, I realized what a mistake it had been to utter them.
"Vaughn?" my father spat, his features twisting in anger, "Vaughn Kinneas? That perverted little cowboy punk? He touched you? Where is he? I'll kill him!"
"Calm down!" I insisted, "It's no big deal. He just cleaned the cuts. Isn't that what you told me to do, get my cuts taken care of?"
"That Kinneas kid wants to take care of more than your cuts," my father told me. I rolled my eyes. "You stay away from him. He's bad news."
"I'm sixteen years old Daddy," I sighed, "You can't protect me forever."
"The hell I can't!" he said. "I'm your father!"
I was really getting tired of his overprotective behavior. If he was this bad now, I shuddered to think what would happen if I ever wanted to go on a date. Thank Hyne my mother was a little more levelheaded, although she would be just as quick to hurt someone if they did something to me.
"I'm gonna go back to my room," I told him and stood up. "Call me if Mom wakes up, okay?"
The anger melted from his features and, letting go of my mom's hand, he stood up next to me. "I'm sorry Kaisa. It's just…I didn't have parents to look out for me when I was your age and neither did your mother. All this growing up parenting stuff is new to me."
"Luke was sixteen once too," I reminded.
"Luke's a boy," my dad stated, "The only thing I had to worry about with him was some girl's dad trying to kill him."
I smirked. "What makes you think dads are that crazy?"
"Ha ha," my dad grinned, "Point taken. Look baby girl, I just don't want you to get hurt and that Kinneas kid is a heartbreaker."
"Don't worry about me, Dad," I comforted, "I'm an Almasy, I can take care of myself."
"I know." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. He pulled away slightly and kissed the top of my head. "I'll call you when your mom wakes up."
"Okay."
I left the infirmary and headed back to my dorm. I contemplated waiting for Kayla but I didn't know how long she was going to be and I didn't want to stand around in the overcrowded waiting room. Once I was back in my room, I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out just what in the name of Hyne was going on in my life. I sighed. Growing up sucks.
I laid in my room for about an hour, contemplating the events in my life, before Kayla returned from the infirmary. She knocked on my door and I answered it. I was surprised to see Vaughn was with her, but then I quickly deduced that he had helped her back after she was done visiting.
"So, how's Aunt Selphie?" I asked.
"She's doing okay." Kayla let go of Vaughn and hopped into the room. I stepped aside to let her by and was unhappy to see that Vaughn followed her in. I sighed and locked the door behind them. Kayla got to the bed and sat down heavily. I joined her.
"The spell zapped her pretty good," Vaughn informed as he too made himself comfortable on my bed. I scowled at him but he seemed not to notice. "Dr. Kadowaki has her sedated to speed up the healing process. She should be completely fine in a couple of days."
That was the great thing about magic, if it didn't kill you, it only made you stronger.
"We saw Luke on the way out," Kayla informed, "He said to tell you that your mom is still out but she should be awake before tonight. We also saw Tal. He looked white as a sheet but he said that Aunt Rinoa's stabilized. The stuff that Raven was sucking out of her was her sorceress powers and until they replenish themselves, she'll be unconscious. He said the doctor said that once they do replenish, however, she'll be as good as new."
"How long will that take?" I inquired.
"Tal said the doctor told him she should be fine in a few days," Kayla replied.
"What about the others?" I asked, "Uncle Raijin and Aunt Cammi?"
"I don't know," Kayla said, "I didn't get the chance to find out."
I nodded and the three of us were silent. I looked over at Vaughn and saw that he was wearing his hat again.
"I see you found your hat."
He looked up at me. "Actually, this is a backup hat. I haven't been able to look for the other one. They have the entire area between the cafeteria and the infirmary blocked off to everyone but the medical crews."
"Which is why I still don't have my crutches," Kayla explained, "I asked Dr. Kadowaki for another pair but she was out of my size."
I nodded and we fell into silence again. We all jumped as suddenly the intercom rang to life.
"Attention everyone," Xu's voice emitted from the small speaker, "In light of recent events, Headmaster Cid had decided to keep the Garden stationary for a few more hours until the situation can be resolved. The cafeteria and the Quad will be closed until further notice, as well as the area surrounding each of those rooms. Headmaster Deline of Galbadia Garden has graciously allowed members of Balamb Garden to dine in their cafeteria for as long as we are here. If you intend to do so, bring your Garden ID. G Garden officials will be checking them. Except for moving between the two Gardens, Headmaster Cid has declared that no one leave the Garden for any purpose and that while in transit between Gardens, move in groups and as quickly as possible. We expect to be mobile again before nightfall. Also, a list of the injured will be uploaded to Garden's computers and updated every half hour so that you may check on loved ones or friends. The list will be accessible from any Garden terminal connected to the Garden Network. Please use this list and refrain from calling the infirmary. That is all."
After the intercom fell silent, the three of us looked at each other but didn't say anything. Finally, Vaughn scoffed.
"Headmaster Deline has graciously allowed us to dine in his cafeteria," he repeated, "I wonder how much gil Cid had to shell out to pull that one off?"
It was widely known that Headmaster Deline of Galbadia Garden was not a generous person.
"Who cares?" Kayla grinned, "We get to dine with the Galbadians. There's got to be some cute SeeDs over there, right Kaisa?" Her grin widened into a sinister smile. "Oh, that's right. You have your sights set on someone already, don't you Kai?"
My eyes widened as a blush erupted on my face and I glared at her with a warning. Kayla Allie Kinneas, don't you dare!
Vaughn smiled and looked amused. "Really, who?"
Kayla turned to him and I was just about to lunge for her throat when she answered. "It's none of your business. It's between me and Kaisa."
I sighed with relief but could still feel the blush burning my cheeks. I had the abstract thought that if I kept up with the blushing; my face was going to stay that way. Kayla turned back to me and with the smile still in place, winked mischievously. At that moment, I felt like killing her.
"Aw come on!" Vaughn persisted, "You brought it up, now you have to tell me. Maybe I could talk to him for you?"
I glared at Kayla for a few more seconds, then turned to her brother. "I don't have my sights set on anyone."
"She's in denial," Kayla informed in a loud whisper. "She won't admit it."
"Oh, I see," Vaughn nodded, "She's embarrassed, which means it must be someone who you know. Let me think." He turned his eyes towards the ceiling and rubbed his chin in a pose of contemplation. Then he snapped his fingers and looked back at us. "I've got it! It's Tal!"
"No!" Kayla and I both insisted at the same time, but with different tones.
Seeing my chance to get even with Kayla, even though I had already talked to Vaughn about it, I smirked. "You've got the wrong girl if you think I like Tal. You need to talk to your sister about that."
Kayla's face turned beet red and she glared at me. "I do not like Tal!"
Grinning at having turned the tables, I suddenly marveled at our ability to have a little fun even after all that had happened recently. I guess without the laughter, we'd never be able get through the hard times.
My attention was drawn back to Kayla as she addressed her brother. "Fine, you want to know who Kaisa likes?"
Before she could continue, I pounced on her and clamped my hand over her mouth. "She's lying to you. I don't like anyone, she just thinks I do."
"She likes you Vaughn!" Kayla informed, but my hand muffled the words so they came out like "She looks ooo Ba!" I looked at Vaughn quickly, hoping he hadn't deciphered her words.
"She likes who?" he asked.
"Ooo!" Kayla repeated but she was still incoherent.
"I can't understand you."
"Ooo! OOO! She looks ooo!"
"Zip your trap Kinneas!" I yelled.
Kayla struggled under my hand and managed to wiggle free. She sat up again, gasping for air but with a grin on her face.
"If you tell him, so help me Hyne, I will never talk to you ever again, Kayla," I warned.
"So then you admit it?" she asked gleefully.
"No."
"Then why are you so mad?" she inquired.
"Because, that's how rumors get started," I told her.
Kayla was silent for a moment. "Fine, I won't say anything else."
"Aw!" Vaughn whined, "Come on! That's not fair!"
"It doesn't matter anyway because it's not true," I assured him.
"Well, if it's not true, why won't you tell me?"
"Because I can tell that you don't believe me when I say that I don't like this guy and if I tell you, he's going to find out."
Next to me, Kayla snickered.
"I promise I won't tell a soul," Vaughn swore.
"Now who's lying?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Fine," he sighed, "Don't tell me. I'll find out eventually."
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the wall.
The three of us fell silent again but the silence was interrupted this time by Kayla's stomach grumbling. Vaughn and I looked at her questioningly and she smiled sheepishly.
"We missed lunch, remember?" she said to me.
"Yeah."
"Wanna head over to G Garden and get something to eat?" Vaughn offered.
"Yeah," Kayla agreed quickly.
"Let's stop by the infirmary and check on our parents first," I suggested.
"We can check on them with the computer," Kayla reminded and pointed to the laptop sitting on my nightstand. My parents had bought it for me for my sixteenth birthday.
"Oh yeah." I plugged the computer into the Garden Network and switched it on. We waited patiently while it came up and then I clicked on the Garden Network icon, which allowed me access to the entire Garden Network. The Network opened and provided me with a list of options to choose from, such as Garden activities, Garden mission statement, Garden schedule, etc. I clicked on Infirmary updates and a list appeared of all the names of the patients in the infirmary. I scrolled down the As until I found my mom.
Almasy, Quistis A
Patient Number: 23987
Condition: Stable, sedated
Nature of Injuries: Magic spell to abdomen, slight concussion
Well, that was good. She was okay but still out. I scrolled down to the Ds to check on Aunt Cammi and Uncle Raijin.
Denko, Raijin L
Patient Number: 24084
Condition: Stable, awake
Nature of Injuries: Magic spell to abdomen, mild concussion
"Uncle Raijin's stable and awake," I informed and continued scrolling.
Dincht, Cammila E
Patient Number: 23978
Condition: Critical, unconscious/sedated
Nature of Injuries: Severe Magic impact, severe concussion, cuts and contusions.
I read the diagnosis of Aunt Cammi to Vaughn and Kayla.
"Do you think she's gonna be all right?" Kayla asked fearfully.
"I don't know," I admitted.
"Don't worry," Vaughn assured with a grin, "She's tough. She'd have to be to stay married to Zell."
Kayla and I chuckled at that remark and I scrolled down some more.
Kinneas, Selphie A
Patient Number: 23981
Condition: Stable, sedated
Nature of Injuries: Magic spell to abdomen, concussion
"Your mom's been sedated again," I informed them.
"Why?" Kayla's face melted into a mask of worry.
"So she can heal faster," I reminded, "The best way to recover from a magic injury is to sleep it off."
"Oh yeah."
Last, I checked on Aunt Rinoa.
Leonhart, Rinoa C
Patient Number: 23980
Condition: Critical/Stable, unconscious, sedated
Nature of Injuries: Severe magic related wounds, loss of some sorceress powers
After reading the screen to the Kinneas', I turned to Kayla. "Do you think we should scan the names for anyone else we know?"
"Yeah," Kayla agreed.
I turned back to the screen and started back up at the top, scrolling slowly down through the names. Some I recognized but didn't really know who they were. The first one I came to that I really knew was Tristen. Kayla saw his name about the same time I did and we both crowded close to read it.
Denko, Tristen F
Patient Number: 24045
Condition: Stable, sedated
Nature of Injuries: Slight magic shock, mild concussion
Note by Dr. Kadowaki: Mr. Denko was sedated for his own good and the safety of those around him, as he became belligerent and hostile while being treated. He will remain under sedation for as long as I deem fit. Signed Dr. Kadowaki
"Wow," Kayla whispered.
"He must've really lost it," I stated.
"Talking about Tristen?" Vaughn asked. We nodded. "Luke told me that he was trying to leave the infirmary and go after Raven. He ended up punching out one of the nurses before Dr. Kadowaki managed to sedate him."
"Are you serious?" Kayla questioned, her eyes wide.
"Yep."
"Wow," I repeated, much like Kayla had done. It was hard to believe that Tristen Denko would ever lose his cool. I guess it just proves how much he loves Raven. I suddenly found myself wondering what it would be like to find love like that. I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind and continued with the list.
We only found one other name that we knew, Ariel Dunton, one of the girls who had passed the SeeD exam with us. She was in stable condition, with nothing more serious than a minor gash on her forehead from flying shrapnel. She was expected to be discharged before the end of the day.
After checking out the infirmary reports, I shut down my computer and the three of us left my dorm. Kayla was in between Vaughn and me, using us for support as she hopped down the hallway with us. We were headed towards the front gates when Luke and Cale joined us.
"There you are," Luke called, "We've been looking all over for you."
"I've been around," Vaughn assured.
"We were just on our way to G Garden to get some grub," Cale informed, "You game?"
"Always."
"Have you been in to see Mom recently?" I asked Luke.
"No," Luke replied, "The old man chased me out. He said that she needed rest."
"She's sedated, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Luke nodded, "But Dad said something about her being able to hear even though she's unconscious or something. I don't know. You know how he is when it comes to Mom. He just wants to make sure that she heals as quickly as possible."
I nodded, understanding what he meant. My dad was fiercely protective of my mom. I always kind of figured his overprotective streak emerged because of the rough childhood and adolescence he'd had. I once heard him tell my mom before she was going on a big mission that everything he'd ever loved in his life had been taken away from him at some point and he didn't want to lose her.
The five of us continued on to Galbadia Garden, constantly looking over our shoulders in search of any sign that Raven had returned. We all kept our hands close to our weapons and didn't relax until we entered the red Garden, all though it was a false sense of safety and we knew it.
After showing our Garden IDs to a G Garden official outside the cafeteria, we were allowed to enter and get our food. The five of us took a table together and dug into the Galbadia food.
"This stuff is crap," Cale commented as he took a bite of what was supposed to be macaroni and cheese.
"Of course it is," Luke agreed, "Nobody has a better kitchen staff that Balamb Garden."
They fell silent again as they tried to digest the strange tasting food. I didn't really have a problem with it because most of it tasted like cardboard. I think I was still a little in shock from the events of the day and it was starting to catch up with me.
After a few minutes, the boys began to talk again while Kayla and I remained silent.
"I heard my dad talking to your dad," Luke started, directing the words at Vaughn, "He said that as soon as they can, he wants to go after the sorceress."
"You're kidding right?" Vaughn chuckled, "Like either one of them is in any state to fight, let alone against the sorceress!"
"That's the same thing I thought," Luke agreed, ignoring the hideous Galbadian food, "Even if they wanted to fight, they were hurt during the struggle too and even if they went, they'd be too preoccupied worrying about our moms back here."
"When do you think they'll go?" Cale asked.
"I heard my dad say something about leaving two days from now," Luke informed.
"Two days?" Cale repeated, "There's no way. Like you said, they'd be way too distracted."
"That's not even the best part," Luke assured, "My dad then joined up with Squall and Zell and they agreed to the plan. And here's the clincher, they aren't going to take anyone else. Just the four of them are going to go and fight alone against the sorceress."
"Are you serious?" I demanded. "That's crazy! They'd get killed for sure!"
"I know," Luke agreed, then turned back to his friends. "So I figure, if we go before they do, we can take on the sorceress and defeat her before they leave."
Vaughn and Cale looked at him, then slowly nodded in agreement. I stared at them in disbelief.
"If four of the Legendary SeeDs can't defeat the sorceress alone, what in the name of Hyne makes you think you three can?"
"I didn't say the four of them couldn't do it," Luke contradicted, "if they were 100%, but they aren't. All of them were injured or would be distracted by thinking about their wives or both. There's no way they could pull it off. Us three, however, wouldn't be side-tracked worrying about what's going on here."
"You're just as stupid as they are," I insisted, "but if you're gonna do this, take us with you."
"Yeah right," Luke scoffed, "Why would we do that?"
"Because you're going to need us," Kayla told him, speaking for the first time.
"No," Luke said simply, "There's no way you're coming along. It's way too dangerous."
"Don't try to pull that big brother protection crap on me," I snapped, "you know damn well that I can fight just as well as any of you and so can Kayla and Tal. You just don't want us to go because you don't want to have to share the glory with your little sister."
"That's bull," Luke insisted, "Fighting a sorceress is dangerous business. Do you have any idea what Dad and Mom would do to me if I let you come along?"
"They're not going to get the chance," I assured him, "Because if the three of you go alone, you aren't going to be coming back. You need us."
"Like hell we do," Luke said.
"Fine!" I stood up and threw away my trash, "Go on a suicide mission. See if I care!" I turned and stormed out of the Galbadian cafeteria. I could hear Kayla calling after me but I didn't stop. I hurried out the front of the Garden and by myself, went back to my own Garden. I stalked down the halls to my dorm and locked myself in.
Once in my room, I let out a frustrated yell and after throwing a few pillows around the room, sank onto my bed. I was so mad at Luke I would've punched him right in the face if he'd been there. It wasn't fair that he was acting like he was a superior SeeD. He wasn't. Suddenly, I realized that in order for them to go on this mission, they would have to sneak out of the Garden and steal a mode of transportation as well. I smiled, knowing that I now had something on them. If they didn't agree to let us go, I could simply snitch them out. Then no one would be going. I didn't really want to do that because then my dad and the others would go so I hoped Luke wouldn't test my determination by trying to go without me. I decided to keep my little plan to myself until the time was right. If I let Luke know what I was going to do too far ahead of time, he would devise a plan to counter my own. It was best if he was kept in the dark.
About ten minutes later, Kayla returned from G Garden. She was accompanied by Vaughn, Luke and Cale, but they left her at the door and went somewhere else. Once inside my dorm, I told Kayla about my plans to blackmail the guys into taking us with them. She agreed and promised not to say a word of it to anyone.
By dinnertime, the cafeteria was reopened, although some parts were roped off because they were still damaged. We were met by Tal inside and the three of us had dinner together. We talked about how our parents were doing and when they would be recovered. Aunt Rinoa had been upgraded from critical to stable, but she still hadn't regained consciousness. While we ate, Kayla and I told Tal about the guys' plan to go after the sorceress and about our own plan to accompany them. He agreed to go along with it and all three of us vowed to be ready to leave at a moments notice.
After dinner, my dad called my dorm to tell me that my mom was awake. I went and visited her for about a half hour, then returned to my room. Because of the hectic day and frightening events, I had no trouble falling asleep, although my dreams unusually dark.