Angelus Errare
Written by -Laguna-
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- Chapter 2: Confusion
Squall slowly and groggily awoke to the sounds of splashing water. He found himself lying on his back in the grass right where he and Rinoa had their picnic. As he sat up straight, he could see the small stone Rinoa tripped over, and the tree that provided a bit of shade.
What did just happen?! He asked himself.
He carefully felt the ground around him with his hands, wondering what happened to the hole he remember falling through. But to no big surprise, the slightly moist grassy soil was as solid as it should be, and around him everything seemed in order as well. The Balamb plains looked as peaceful as ever.
But…where was Rinoa?
Squall peered around but couldn't see anyone. Nor could he find any evidence of their picnic. The basket was gone, complete with any traces of food. There weren't even any crumbs left behind.
Did I…dream everything? Squall wondered.
"Aah!" He yelled out in pain as he got another sudden burst of headache. Whatever happened was, like the pain, very real, he concluded. Jumping up, Squall looked around again. In the distance he could see the town of Balamb. It was too far away to be able to tell if anyone was there.
He turned to the direction of Balamb Garden but couldn't see it because of a hill in between.
Hmm, He thought. From up there I'll have a better view.
As he started walking towards the hilltop he nearly fell over. Obviously whatever had happened to him was more than just falling asleep during a picnic. But Squall wasn't ready to start making wild guesses yet and waited a bit to regain his sense of balance, then he moved on, determined.
"Rinoa!" He yelled several times and after the last time he waited. There came no reply. He only heard the sound of waves rolling gently on the beach.
Squall topped the hill and Balamb Garden came into his view. He was relieved to spot some students walking in front of the Garden. He had felt very alone waking up in the middle of the Balamb plains, more than he consciously realized even, but now he was back home.
He walked at first, until he reached the road that snaked across the plains towards the Garden. There he began to run for no particular reason. Rinoa was fine, he convinced himself -all the while going faster- she was probably inside the Garden. Still he ran faster and faster, not knowing why but feeling strangely compelled to as if he needed to catch up with her, or risk losing her for good…
The students at the Front Gate noticed a man running towards them and sprung into action.
"Stop right there!" One of them yelled when Squall was nearly there.
Amazed by the number of students suddenly standing around him, he stopped before crossing the Gates. The students were armed with guns and blades. Their outfits were smudged, and stained.
Squall instinctively held up his hands, aware of threatening looks and stances, although he had absolutely no idea what went on. The students had been guarding the Gates he understood now, but he didn't see why they seemed to regard him, of all people, as a trespasser. And there were the weapons, and stained uniforms. He wondered if there had there been a battle while he was out.
An older looking student approached him though stayed exactly an arm length away. The small rectangular tag on his uniform read B. Liosa.
Squall wasn't in much of a mood for shaking hands either but this was more than just that.
"Your ID please." The student who was clearly the leader asked, tone neutral, but with a sword held in his hand.
Even though it didn't need to be used much, everyone at the Garden was required to keep an ID card with them at all times. Even on picnics…
Slowly with one hand Squall reached for his coat pocket. He was aware the guards were watching his every move with a worrying kind of suspicion, some -though they tried to hide it- with a certain amount of fear.
-"I don't think he carries a weapon, Sir." One of the other, younger students reported. He was holding a relatively small electronic device. "But I do detect one junctioned GF. There may be more but I can't identify them."
The older one gestured for a student to fetch Squall's ID card from his hand.
"Why are you carrying a Guardian Force, Sir?" Liosa questioned with quite a degree of intimidation. And the way he said 'sir' was more the friendly-to-civilians way than it was respect for someone of higher rank.
"I always keep one GF junctioned at all times." Squall told him. "And I don't want to be out on the Balamb plains without sufficient defense. I'd have to check to see what I'm carrying right now."
He looked like he understood only too well. "That won't be necessary."
Squall's ID card now got more attention than he did, so he took the time to observe the Garden. What were just specs when he was up on the hill, now were holes and tares in the Garden's exterior. It looked different from when he had last seen it. Worse, definitely.
-"What happened here?" He asked.
The students however were more interested in his identity than in giving answers.
-"Squall Leonhart. A high-rank SeeD apparently." Liosa said out loud, still keeping his eyes on Squall. "The Headmaster must have called for reinforcements as well as supplies."
Squall looked increasingly puzzled. What does he mean…?
Then he sheathed his sword. "Stand down."
"I'm sorry for all this Sir. But it's necessary." He excused, handing Squall his ID card back.
He turned around.
"Nida!" He called. "Escort him to the Cafeteria."
Still under influence of confusion Squall wasn't sure what to do, and saluted the older student.
He smiled and saluted back. "We don't have much SeeDs here, always good to have one more."
"Has anyone see Rinoa? Rinoa Heartilly?" Squall asked.
-"Who is that?" One of them asked and a discussion lit up.
The older student ordered them to quiet down.
"I have heard of her." He said. "But I'm not sure where she is now. You should talk to the SeeDs here. They're all in the Cafeteria now, having a meeting."
-"This way Sir." Nida said, gesturing Squall to follow.
Nodding, Squall walked right behind Nida. As he looked back, he saw the students resume patrolling the entrance.
He turned to Nida. It was the same person he graduated with, the same Nida that flew the Garden. But there was something wrong. He was wearing a student uniform.
-"Were you demoted?" Squall asked as they walked past the fountain and near the main entrance.
"Demoted?" Nida asked with a surprised look. "No Sir."
As they entered the main hall, Squall noticed structural damage on the inside as well. There were holes in the ceiling and walls, and debris was lying around everywhere here and there on the floor. It wasn't severe enough to worry about everyone's safety…but it sure looked nasty.
Squall suddenly stopped. One thing at a time now. Nida wasn't demoted? Then why isn't he in SeeD uniform…?
Nida turned and looked at him questioningly.
-"You are a SeeD, right?" Squall asked just to check. "You graduated after the Dollet exam?"
Looking down at the floor, Nida's body sagged a little "No, I didn't pass the exam."
"Well, anyway," Nida changed the subject with haste, looking up at Squall again. "The Cafeteria is over there. Do you want me to walk you there, Sir?"
-"No that won't be necessary." Squall replied, hiding his state of shock as his mind was racing to figure things out. .
He watched Nida walk off to the Garden entrance then turned to examine the interior of the Garden further.
"Something is very wrong with this picture." Squall said to himself. Bullet shells were lying between the debris. Both had been swept aside in piles to prevent obstruction of the main hall. Students walked past it without so much as looking at it. They all had serious looks on their faces. Not one of them seemed to be smiling.
A jogging junior student passed Squall.
"Hey. Slow down for a minute." Squall ordered.
The student stopped and turned around. He was still in running motion but remained still.
-"Sir?"
Squall pointed at one of the holes in the wall. "What happened here?"
The young student sighed. "Ah, that's from a battle between this Garden and Galbadia Garden. A few weeks ago."
He narrowed his eyes and stared at Squall. "Where have you been? Inside a cave or sumthin'?"
"That was all. Move along." He told the kid.
Playfully the young student playfully saluted Squall and bolted off.
Noticing a bench next to the lobby board, Squall took a seat.
Squall ran his hands through his hair.
What's going on? He wondered. Nida didn't graduate. The damage of the battle with Galbadia Garden is still there. How is this possible?
-"Is everything okay with you young man?" A feminine voice asked.
Squall looked up. Doctor Kadowaki stood in front of him.
She tilted Squall's head a bit. "Are you injured?"
-"No." Squall answered, removing his hands from his head so he didn't give the impression he had an injury there.
She sat down next to him. "Then what's wrong?"
-"Rinoa. She…she suddenly disappeared out in the fields." Squall explained.
Shaking her head, Doc Kadowaki held out her clipboard in front of her.
"Let's see now…Rinoa Heartilly, yes?" She asked sifting through the pages.
He nodded.
"Ah, there it is. Rinoa was dropped off in Timber some time ago." She said.
Squall glared at the doctor questioningly.
"What? That's impossible! She was here this morning."
Doc Kadowaki shifted through the pages on her clipboard again.
"No, I'm sorry. If she was here I would have known." She said. "You see, I'm charged with keeping the records of students, SeeDs, Instructors and any other people staying here at this Garden. I have to be very meticulous about it these days, you know."
His face fell. "This can't be…"
Taking a pencil, the doctor shifted to the last page in her clipboard.
"And you are Squall Leonhart? A SeeD?" She asked. "I just got a call from the gate saying you had arrived."
He jumped up from the bench staring at Dr. Kadowaki with eyes wide.
"What?" He exclaimed. "You don't know who I am?!"
-"Calm down Mr. Leonhart, please." Dr. Kadowaki urged.
She looked at her clipboard again.
"There isn't any previous record of you being here, did you come from Trabia Garden?" She asked Squall.
This isn't real. This can't be happening! He thought.
"Are you alright? You don't look so good." The doctor asked.
-"My forehead hurts." Squall sighed. The way he had exploded just now had hurt, so he forced himself to indeed calm down and to not got emotional- an old habit he was quite good at.
He glanced in the direction of the Cafeteria. "The other SeeDs are in there?" He asked.
Dr. Kadowaki stood up, and followed Squall's gaze. "Yes, I believe so."
"Now, should I note you as Squall Leonhart, SeeD from Trabia Garden?"
He sighed heavily and reached for his ID Card.
"Read what it says right here." He told her, handing his card. This should proof it.
-"…Stationed at Balamb Garden…" Kadowaki read out loud. She sounded as perplexed as Squall had been feeling the last ten minutes.
She handed back his card and made a note on her clipboard.
-"I'm sorry," She said with a sudden worried look. "Things have been very chaotic around here."
She left and he watched her go back to the Infirmary. Squall shrugged and walked over to a nearby, small hole in the floor. It had been created by several gunshots, the empty shells still lying close to it. Whoever had swept the main hall clean after the battle wasn't very thorough.
Picking up one of the bullets from the floor, Squall examined it.
Definitely Galbadian standard issue slugs. He realized. Maybe he'd had hoped to find blanks, which would possibly prove some sort of elaborate joke on Selphie's part. She did love organizing things…
Squall looked up as he heard loud footsteps from the direction of the Training Center. Zell was running as fast as he could towards the Cafeteria.
"Zell, wait!" Squall called, but he didn't hear him. Sighing, Squall ran after him, hoping to get some answers.
Before Dr. Kadowaki reported back to her post in the Infirmary, she approached the Garden Faculty guarding the entrance.
-"What can I help you with doctor?" The Garden Faculty asked in the usual drone-like voice.
Slightly trembling, she cleared her throat. "Call Headmaster Cid, tell him to get down here right now. I think there's a spy in the Garden."
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"Halt!" Two Garden faculty guarding the Cafeteria yelled in synchrony as Squall approached. The two dark-robed figures side stepped towards each other and formed a barrier, blocking the narrow corridor. Squall gave him an annoyed look, and showed his ID card once more. Another thing he didn't understand, why did he constantly have to identify himself?
The guards examined the card for a moment until they got out of the way, motioning Squall he could proceed.
-"Why all the guards?" Squall asked in an attempt to grasp the situation in the Garden.
"We are vulnerable right now, so we expect an attack from the Galbadians." The Garden Faculty explained. "Thus Commander Gantt tightened the security around here."
Commander…Gantt? Squall thought. The name didn't sound familiar. He considered it was possible he was a Commander at Trabia Garden and was now stationed here. But last Squall checked he was in command of Balamb Garden. He wondered now how long he had been out in the fields.
He headed inside the Cafeteria.
Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and one man Squall didn't recognize were standing around a table in the middle of the room. A large worldmap lay on the table with several dozen pieces of paper along side it.
Quistis crossed her arms. "The refueling should be done tomorrow, they're working as fast as they can."
"With Esthar still licking its wounds, things don't look good for us." Irvine told them. "Where are the Galbadians now?"
Quistis studied the map for a second. "We believe they're--"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him approaching. The others around the table eyed Squall. He walked up and stood with them in a circle.
-"Okay, what game are you playing with me? What is going on?!" He demanded to know. He was near to exploding again but a faint headache reminded him this was a bad idea.
Zell banged his fists together. "Game? Hey man, this is serious!"
"Dincht, can it." The longhaired man standing at the head of the table said.
Squall took a moment to examine this newcomer. He looked in his early twenties. He was wearing a SeeD battle outfit; black body armor, thick outfit- complete with gloves and big boots. Like the students at the gates, somehow the guy looked like he'd only just been in combat. In particular Squall noticed a holster at the guy's hip, he was carrying a customized handgun, and plenty of bullets for it on his belt.
-"I'm Commander Kenan Gantt. " He introduced himself, giving a quick salute. "So you're a SeeD as will then? Just got a call saying you'd arrived."
"The name's Squall. Squall Leonhart." Squall said with eyes narrowed in withheld anger.
Selphie smiled. "And my name's-"
"Don't bother." Squall interrupted her. He tried to remain as calm as he could. "I know all of you except Gantt here."
Raising an eyebrow, Selphie's smile quickly faded.
"What I don't know however, is what is going on here." Squall continued. "Something strange happened to me out in the fields and now it's as if nobody knows who I am anymore."
-"Are we supposed to know you then?" Irvine asked curiously.
"The orphanage." Squall explained. "We all grew up in the orphanage except Gantt."
There was a short moment of silence in which they genuinely took this into consideration.
"It's true Zell, Selphie, Quistis and I all grew up in the same orphanage, but I don't remember you." Irvine calmly said.
"Neither do I." Quistis said.
Leaning asking the table, Gantt studied the map and papers. "Well, Leonhart, never mind that right now. There are more important things to attend to. We'll discuss the past later, now we need to plan ahead. As long as Esthar is still struggling to regroup we're on our own."
"Okay." Squall calmed down just enough to have a normal tone of voice. "Can someone fill me in? We're on our own against what?"
Clearing her throat Quistis turned to him.
"The situation is this; Sorceress Ultimecia, in control of Adel's body, is believed to be gathering Galbadian forces together in the Lunatic Pandora. Currently the Lunatic Pandora is stationed near Deling City. We expect them to head over here soon." Quistis explained, leaving Squall even more frustrated than before.
Together they had defeated Ultimecia; Squall himself gave her the finishing blow! He knew he had defeated her when he saw Ultimecia handing over her powers to Matron. He witnessed the succession!
Squall looked out the Cafeteria window.
A few students walked by outside. All appeared as worn as the ones he'd seen in the main hall. During the struggle against the Sorceress he had seen that look on people's faces quite often, but it was over now, wasn't it?!
-"What's wrong?" Zell asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"We have defeated her already. I know it, I was there!" Squall suddenly yelled. He couldn't stand this non-sense, and he didn't even care about his headache in that moment.
Gantt looked amused. "You seem to have a screw loose Leonhart."
Squall stared at him. For some reason this guy reminded him of Seifer.
"Although this information we've gathered here is about a day old," Quistis reasoned slowly, logically, like a good-will ambassador trying to keep the peace between two nations. "I very much doubt Ultimecia has been defeated in the mean time."
"But I'm telling you, we did it! All of us here, except Gantt."
Irvine frowned. "Suppose its true, how the hell did we defeat her?"
"Yeah!" Both Zell and Selphie yelled at the same time.
Surprised by the synchronized outburst, Selphie stuck out her tongue out towards Zell.
Quistis and Kenan stood with arms crossed, waiting for Squall's comeback. Sifting through a few papers, Squall found a rough schematic for the Lunatic Pandora.
"Firstly, Selphie flew the Ragnarok straight into the Lunatic Pandora. Right about here, and--" Squall said.
"Whoa. Hold it. Ragnarok? What's that? " Zell asked. Already he couldn't follow the story.
-"We don't have the Ragnarok at our disposable?" Squall asked.
"Uh…no, I don't think so." Selphie answered as she tried to figure out what Squall was on about.
Covering his head with his hands Squall felt further away from finding answers than before.
Rinoa. How he missed her. The smile on her face, the way she could always make Squall feel better, even in the most dangerous and bizarre situations. He needed to see her now more than ever.
Squall sighed and uncovered his face. "Okay, let's start at the beginning."
They agreed. Maybe now this whole deal would make some sense.
Squall thought for a moment. Where did it all start?
"Yeah," He said aloud. "The mission to Dollet. The SeeD exam. Tell me about that."
Zell raised his hand. "Okay I can do that."
"See, me and Kenan were assigned to the Squad which had this guy Seifer as captain." He said, with an annoyed looked as he mentioned Seifer.
Kenan…he took my place? Squall began to ponder.
Zell paused for a moment to make sure he got the facts right.
"Shortly after the landing at Dollet we arrived at our designated post, Seifer ran off to the Dollet tower and--"
-"Stick to the short version, we don't have much time." Kenan interrupted Zell, tapping his wristwatch.
"Eventually, with help from Selphie here, we found out the Galbadians were messing with the tower. In short we kicked their ass. Then we returned to the landing vessels, followed along the way by a robot…uhm…friend…"
Kenan sighed. "Blah blah yadda yadda, and eventually me, Selphie and Zell here graduated."
So indeed Nida didn't graduate? Squall thought. But that means…the past…has been altered? Is that what happened? Why Rinoa isn't here? Why the Garden is damaged?
He had to learn more.
Selphie jumped in. "After that, our first mission together was in Timber, aiding the resistance. While still on that mission certain, uhm, events took place."
"The TV Station was taken over, I know." Squall sighed. "I was there as well."
Selphie glared angrily at Squall. "No you weren't! Liar!"
"He's just flipped." Zell concluded.
Exploring his options, Squall decided to play along with their story. Maybe listening to the events as they happened according to them, he might get some insight in the whole matter.
"Okay, but please continue…" Squall reluctantly said.
Scratching the back of his head, Zell turned to the Commander questioningly.
"Well obviously he needs to be filled in. But be quick about it. And you're gonna have to explain yourself in a minute Leonhart." He said.
Zell continued. "Well some bad stuff happened. Seifer showed up to hold President Deling hostage, but the Sorceress appeared and took him away. Our team with the addition of Quistis tried to help but..err..I accidentally got the Gardens involved, and as a result we were forced to retreat to Galbadia Garden, since we were cut off from this one. Anyway, receiving orders to assassinate the Sorceress, we headed for Deling City. Irvine was assigned to our team as the sniper. The one who would actually make the kill."
Irvine coughed to signal his turn. "In short, we failed and everyone but me and Rinoa were imprisoned. Oh, and we found out that dog Seifer joined the Sorceress."
Seems to be right so far Squall thought. Except that I'm not a part of it.
Carefully thinking back, Quistis remembered something they had forgotten to mention.
"And what about those dreams? The ones caused by Ellone, remember?" She asked.
-"Yeah, but we'll explain that in a moment." Kenan said, nodding towards Quistis.
Right. Squall thought. Ellone…She could have something do with all this…I should see her…
"So anyway, if I may continue!" Zell pouted.
They all motioned him to go ahead.
"We found out missiles were gonna be launched at Trabia and Balamb Garden. As you may know, Galbadia Garden had become the Sorceress' Garden. Anyway, we escaped the prison and divided into two teams. One headed for the Missile Site, and the other back here to warn everyone. Missiles had already been fired at Trabia Garden, but we still had time to save this Garden."
Panting a bit from the high-speed explanation he just performed, Zell took a deep breath and continued.
"The Missile Site was blown up, but not before the missiles were launched. Luckily, Kenan found out the Garden could fly and we moved out of the way just in the nick of time. We went to assess the damage at Trabia Garden and Irvine told us about the Orphanage that you apparently know of. Kenan didn't really agree, but we decided to go back there, the place we grew up."
-"Why don't you go get a glass of water," Irvine interrupted as he heard Zell's voice got dryer.
Body sagging, Zell reluctantly agreed and he bolted off.
"We dropped off Rinoa in Timber, and headed for the Orphanage." Kenan explained as he took a quick glance at his watch again. "Got in a fight with the other Garden, which was hovering around that area. The damage of this battle is still visible as you may have noticed."
Finally they were getting somewhere Squall realized.
-"May I ask why you dropped her off?" Squall said, staring at Kenan.
"Never minding our the contract we had, I decided it was too dangerous to involve her in this Sorceress hunt we were -and still are- on." He calmly replied. "After all, she hadn't received our training."
-"And Ellone?" Squall asked. "I need to know where she is too."
"DON'T ANSWER!" A yell echoed inside the Cafeteria.
Headmaster Cid stood at the Cafeteria entrance with at least five Garden Faculty.
"Detain him!" He ordered, pointing at Squall.
Without further thought Irvine reached for his gun and aimed it at Squall.
Zell popped up from behind the lunch counter. "Hey, what's goin' on?!"
"Catch," Cid said as he threw a pair of cuffs towards Kenan. "I have reasons to believe he's a spy."
"NO!" Squall yelled. "I'm Squall Leonhart. I graduated here at this Garden! Why doesn't anyone know who I am?!"
If he had his gunblade with him at that time, he was sure he would force it at Kenan Gantt's throat and demand the whole story. But the fact is he was unarmed, and outnumbered. He had to talk himself out of this one. He knew Headmaster Cid as an intelligent man, and a good leader- it could work.
"Please listen to me." Squall practically begged. Something he had never done before.
As a sign of good intention Squall voluntarily put his arms on his back.
Kenan smirked and cuffed Squall.
"Alright." Cid said walking closer to Squall. "You get your say."
Irvine slowly lowered his gun.
Sitting down on the edge of the table, Squall wondered why this had to happen to him of all people. After years he finally has made some friends and now they turn on him, and side with someone he doesn't even know.
"Well?" Selphie said. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
"The Orphanage, that's the earliest recollection I have--" Squall started to tell.
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"And that's how we defeated Ultimecia." Squall said, relieved he was almost done telling his part. "And on my way back to the present time, I saw how Matron received her powers from a dying Ultimecia in the past. The succession."
"Well, I must say, that's a fascinating story you just told." The Headmaster said.
There was a silence in the room.
"Do you believe it, Sir?" Quistis asked with a calm tone of voice, considering the amazing tale she just heard.
Squall stared down at the floor. He had now done most he could. Although he left out certain parts about him and Rinoa, he had told almost the complete history.
"Well," Cid reasoned. "I…don't know. I've seen and heard some strange things in my lifetime, but this…"
Kenan nodded in agreement with Cid. "IF all you say is true Mr. Leonhart, how did you end up here?"
"I was out in the fields. There was a strange blue light--" Squall explained.
"Geez, r-ight!" Selphie pouted. She seemed to be the least convinced of all.
"There was a flash. Rinoa who was with me at that time suddenly disappeared." Squall said, reaching for his forehead. "I looked down at the ground…it swallowed me up. I lost consciousness not long after."
Squall looked around the room. "And when I woke up, and proceeded here, this is what I found." He pointed towards a gap in the ceiling. Presumably caused by an explosion of some sort.
"A damaged Garden. People who don't know who I am anymore…" Squall sighed.
Cid stood with arms crossed. "Commander, what do you think of this?"
-"According to him I never even graduated. Let alone met any of you, fought along side with you…" He grumbled.
"You might have been a student here. Maybe I just never met you." Squall reminded him. He could imagine why the guy didn't like it, but it was the truth.
-"Well, I don't believe a word of it." Kenan replied.
Resting his shotgun on his shoulder, Irvine leaned against the table. "Hey, what if the Sorceress can read our minds?"
"She could have come up with everything in that story to fool us!" Selphie exclaimed.
-"Quistis, what do you think?" Kenan asked.
Zell jumped up from behind the lunch counter. "Hey! Why doesn't anyone ask what I think?"
Glancing over at Squall, Quistis thought for a moment.
"Why would a Galbadian spy come up with such a story?" She said in Squall's defense. "It's too amazing to serve its purposes I think."
At least he could still rely on her to be impartial. That Kenan guy seemed to really dislike him from the start. Just what he needed, another Seifer, another rival.
Cid was visibly conflicted and unsure of what to do. Greet the newcomer, or imprison him.
As if reading his thoughts, Kenan grabbed the cuffed-Squall by his shoulders ready to escort him off.
"Consider this, we know the Sorceress wants to achieve time-compression. He wants us to deliberately make this happen to supposedly defeat her. In my book that makes him another one of her lapdogs." He argued.
-"That's a good point there." Irvine said, agreeing with him.
Squall silently moaned. Of course it was a good point. But it had worked.
Cid's face lit up slightly. "I see no other solution for now." He spoke with a soft voice. "Take him to the brig."
A Garden Faculty came up to Cid and whispered something in his ear.
-"No matter, there already are two guards posted." Cid said to the Garden Faculty. "Please, take him away for now."
Kenan started pushing Squall towards the Cafeteria entrance. "Walk." He ordered.
"Headmaster, I'm telling the truth!" Squall said to him.
-"I…I would like to believe everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, but you've come at the wrong time at the wrong place. We will question you again later." Cid told him.
A Garden Faculty gestured Squall to follow him. Kenan reluctantly let go of Squall's shoulders.
"Don't try anything." He warned him.
They watched the young man being escorted out of the Cafeteria. The Headmaster followed close behind.
"Weird character he is, huh?" Zell said from behind the lunch counter.
-"HEY, you'd better not be eating all our hotdogs!" Selphie yelled.
Quistis and Irvine sighed and rolled their eyes.
"Now Quistis, you were saying?" Kenan said, focusing on the gathered intelligence on the table.
She frowned. "Excuse me?"
He pointed towards a piece of paper on the table in front of her. "Your report on the Galbadians."
Putting his gun away, Irvine headed over to the lunch counter.
Zell nearly choked on a hotdog he was devouring as Irvine managed to jump over the counter and land right next to him. Irvine raised an eyebrow as he saw the mess Zell had made in such a short time. A sticky sauce covered the floor around him. Small pieces of hotdogs lay scattered all over.
He grabbed Zell by his hair.
"Ow, ow, ow, oooooww!!" Zell uttered.
-"And you call yourself a SeeD?" Irvine asked. "C'mon, we have a meeting to attend."
He dragged Zell over to the table.
"Okay, now we're all here," Irvine laughed. "Please continue Quistis."
Dusting himself off, Zell moaned and got up.
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Squall was being escorted down the second floor hall towards the brig. He had never been in there before, and hardly even knew where to find it. Probably in some dark-corner on the second floor he thought. Passing students looked strangely at the handcuffed Squall. Some carefully watched him, others pretended to ignore him all together.
Xu whom hastily walked by didn't recognize him. But neither did anyone else…
Again Squall noticed how different the Garden looked in comparison to the one he was walking through this morning. The structural damage was just one thing. Besides that, Squall noticed how the dark the hallways were. The lights had been muffled. A procedure to conserve energy, Squall had learnt in one of his many classes.
They walked up to a door with two guards posted aside it.
-"Here's another." A Garden Faculty said.
A guard nodded at the Garden Faculty and turned to a panel on the wall. After entering a series of numbers, a light blinked and the door slid open.
Squall slowly stepped inside the room, and as he turned around the door closed up.
He glared across the room. The brig was about as big as half a classroom. At least he couldn't feel claustrophobic. There were three narrow windows on the opposite wall, through which a bit of sunlight managed to shine, but it wasn't much. On opposite sides of the room bunks had been attached to the wall with chains- the decorator had managed to get that prison kind of feel very well.
Squall noticed he wasn't alone.
A girl stood close-by one of the bunks. Even in the dark room, Squall could clearly see her long red hair, which grew blonde at the ends. It sort of resembled fire. The Selphie Squall left earlier this morning would love this as a fashion tip…
The girl herself seemed quite young, or actually, perhaps about Rinoa's age.
She was staring out one of the windows when he had entered. As she stepped in a ray of light, Squall noticed she was wearing a shabby student's uniform.
"And who are you?" She asked, in the tone people use when their privacy is invaded.
Squall was surprised as he saw she was wearing a reflective bulky bangle of some sort around her wrist. Even he, accused of being a spy, hadn't gotten such a thing- so what did she do to deserve that?
Her eyebrows furrowed for an instance.
"Oh, don't mind this," She said. "By the way, you're cuffed yourself, you know?"
He remained silent and walked over to the bunk on the opposite side of hers.
-"Is something wrong?" She asked him, eyeing his every move.
"No." He simply answered, not feeling the need to get into that conversation with the girl. How many times had he wondered about that today? Of course things were wrong. About as wrong as they could be. What could be worse than seeing the woman you care about the most disappear before your very eyes? He had never felt worse in his life. In one morning, his life had been completely thrown upside down.
The girl took a seat on her bunk. She smiled. "You don't look like a dangerous criminal or something to me."
-"Great." Squall replied, not going easy on the indifference.
The girl's tone had changed. She had become inquisitive, as if she was happy with the company instead of upset.
"Oh c'mon. Cat got yer tongue?" She said.
-"…That thing on your wrist? What is it?" Squall asked as he slowly lay down on the cold, uncomfortable bunk bed.
She stood up and tried to remove the bangle with her free hand. No luck.
"I don't know. They put it on, saying I would be too much of a danger otherwise."
The girl had a friendly face and she looked innocent enough. Squall wondered why they locked her up. Another one thought to be a spy? They seemed paranoid enough for that.
She walked up closer to Squall so she could get a better look of him.
"So what's your name?" The girl asked.
-"Squall." He rested his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling.
She smiled. "Hi Squall. And welcome to this deluxe five star prison."
He found it strange she was so cheery given her current situation. And he didn't like the sound of the word prison. He preferred to think of it as half a classroom that was simply redesigned to look like prison.
"The food here's good, although the rest is..well..lousy." She joked.
His face remained stern, those words reminded him of Rinoa. He thought about what that Gantt had said. They dropped her off in Timber?
Suddenly he realized that he actually considered their story, even though he knew it couldn't be right…could it? Unfortunately, the damaged Garden seemed to suggest they spoke the truth.
Squall thought back to the moment Rinoa disappeared. That eerie feeling, was it time-compression?
Sighing, he realized he hadn't gotten much closer to finding out what happened. Finding more questions than answers, that's all he had done.
"You frown a lot, don't ya?" The girl said laughingly.
He turned to her.
-"H-ey, what?" She asked, suddenly uncomfortable.
"You're not a student here, right?" Squall asked, unable to recognize her.
-"No. I was found washed ashore two days ago. They brought me here for a medical check-up." She answered, not sounding too cheery anymore.
"Washed ashore?"
-"Yeah. The doctor believes I was involved in some an accident at sea." The girl replied.
"And they locked you up for that?"
-"No, I don't why they did that. It wasn't until I talked to the Headmaster." She said, looking down.
A sudden feeling of tiresome came over Squall. Even though it must have hardly been after noon, it felt as though an entire day had passed. He couldn't help but yawn.
-"Oh, am I boring you?" She asked with a surprised tone of voice.
"I'm just tired." Squall answered.
They stopped talking for a while. The girl walked over to the prison door. She carefully knocked on it, the sound of it too faint to be heard on the other side of the door. Judging by the sound, it was quite the sturdy door. Squall wished he had taken a better look at it when he got in.
-"I don't know how," The girl said with a determined look. "But I'm getting out of here."
Her fire-like hair seemed to glow for just an instance. Or maybe it was just the sunlight shining on it at just the right angle.
"So who are you, where are you from?" Squall asked, and was amazed by his own sudden interest. He had his own problems right now, yet curiosity got the better of him. This girl being here did not make sense.
Frowning, she shook her head.
-"I can't remember. Doctor Kadowaki diagnosed me with amnesia." She said. "Although according to the identity tag I was wearing, my name is Skye."
"Amnesia?"
She looked aside. "When I was first brought here, they asked me all kinds of questions. There was this one guy, I think they called him the Commander…he was pretty mean."
Squall managed a short laugh but it died almost instantly. "Yeah, I've met him."
"Hey Skye, can I see that bangle?" He asked as he got a hunch what it might be.
-"Yeah, sure." Skye moved to Squall and extended her arm.
Squall examined the shiny white object closely. The metals used in it were foreign to Balamb-- and even Galbadia.
She frowned. "Well? What is it?"
He nodded as if to himself. "It's definitely from Esthar. Odine brand."
Sitting down next to Squall, the girl looked puzzled.
"It's designed to suppress a Sorceress's powers. So,--"
-"I'm a Sorceress?!" She yelled in astonishment.
"Probably."
"No…" She said shaking her head in disbelief and she let herself drop to the floor. "A Sorceress?"
She balled the fist of the arm with the bangle around it.
Squall got up from his bunk and stood next to her.
"There aren't only bad sorceresses, you might be one of the good ones." He said.
She purposely looked away for some time. "If I was a good Sorceress, would I have been locked up?"
Squall watched Skye. She was on her knees, looking utterly devastated. He sympathized, despite it being a relatively new concept for his persona. But he knew how hard it was on a person. Rinoa too had become a Sorceress without wanting it.
-"If you were really a bad sorceress, you wouldn't be locked up, you'd be dead. SeeD's mission is to fight those sorceresses like Ultimecia and Adel." Squall explained, not sure if he was any good at this comforting deal.
Skye smiled a little as she picked herself up and sat down next to Squall.
"I never noticed I had any powers or extra senses when I was found, back when I didn't have this thingy yet." She said gesturing with hints of annoyance at the Odine bangle.
Squall frowned. "Sorceress Skye…never heard of you. I'm sure I would have if you were considered any threat."
-"So, I'm not considered a threat, because if I were I'd already be killed. But I'm not a good one either, 'cause they wouldn't lock up one of the good ones, right?" Skye asked.
Sighing, he leaned his back against the wall.
"Actually I am one of the good guys. I'm a SeeD." He stated. He would have said 'SeeD Commander' but now, he mused, wasn't the time to develop an ego.
She looked at him suspiciously. "Really? So why did they throw you in here?"
-"They suspect I'm a Galbadian spy." He answered. "I'm not. But it's a long story."
She smiled warmly. "Please, tell me. It's not like I don't have time to listen to it."
He sighed and wanted to leave their conversation at that, but when he considered he might be imprisoned for quite some time decided share his troubles. The fact that Skye reminded him slightly of Rinoa also played a part in it.
"It all started with this orphanage, run by--"
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"Okay, that concludes this meeting." Kenan Gantt said, relieved. He folded up the world map and put all the pieces of paper and notes on one pile. "Let's hope we can get outta here before those Galbadians get to us."
Zell and Irvine nodded at each other.
-"Training Center here we come!" Zell yelled as they ran out of the Cafeteria.
Selphie pouted as she walked after them. "H-ey! Can't I join in? Three makes a partee-hee complete!"
Kenan looked up and noticed Quistis still stood at the table, absently staring.
"Quistis?" He asked. "Is something bothering you?"
She blinked and realized she'd been completely zoned out.
Turning to Kenan, she shrugged.
"What if Squall was telling the truth? Maybe he really had defeated the Sorceress…maybe something did happen to him. You saw the look on his face." She said.
The young Commander crossed his arms and considered Squall's story again.
"Well," He said. "I don't know what to think Quistis. I just don't know."
He leaned against the table. "It's just an incredible story to believe. Using time-compression, the one thing the Sorceress wants to achieve to stop her; Rinoa disappearing in front of him; falling through the ground! "
-"I suppose it is, yeah." She agreed.
"But that's not the only reason to distrust him, you know." Kenan said as he brushed a strand of his dark long hair out of his face absent-mindedly.
-"What do you mean?" Quistis asked.
"The Sorceress here. She arrived her a few days ago, and Cid thinks the Galbadians could be after her." He said.
She looked surprised.
"You don't know about our other prisoner?" He asked.
Quistis looked even more astonished. "We keep a Sorceress prisoner here? In our Garden?"
The two lunch-ladies walked in and took place behind the lunch counter to prepare for lunch.
"Ew!" One of them shrieked in surprise as she looked down at the floor that Zell had befouled a few minutes earlier. "What in the name of Odin happened here?!"
Kenan held a finger in front of his mouth, gesturing Quistis to keep quiet. "Not a word to anyone else about this matter. We don't want the students to panic."
-"We can't keep her here, it would be endangering everyone." She said, trying to keep her voice down a bit.
"Don't worry about it," Kenan replied as he picked up the map and several notes. "A Trabia SeeD is on the way over here as we speak to escort her off."
Quistis picked up the pile of papers from the table and stared at Kenan questioningly.
-"So is she being taken to Trabia Garden? I thought it was still damaged?" Quistis asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know about that. But it's none of our concern."
Kenan walked towards the Cafeteria exit. "C'mon, let's get this stuff locked up before another spy comes by."
"Hey," She said as she followed him. "I thought you said you didn't know whether or not he was a spy."
Grinning, he kept walking. "You got me there. I just dislike anyone who claims I don't belong here or something."
He stood at the Cafeteria entrance and noticed the long line of students waiting for lunch. The bigger, older ones were practically pushing the younger students aside. It seemed so chaotic, nothing like a military unit is supposed to look.
"About bloody time you guys got outta there!" A student yelled. "Man…I'm hungry…"
The Intercom rang. "Commander Gantt and SeeDs, please report to the Headmaster's office."
Kenan nodded slightly and made his way through the crowd of students. Quistis followed close behind in the path the Commander left for her.
------------------------------------------
The elevator doors slid open and Kenan stepped out, followed by Quistis who was still holding a big pile of papers.
Kenan turned to her and pointed at a corner of the room. "You can put it down there."
Relieved, she threw it down. It wasn't really that heavy, but walking with such a high pile is always uncomfortable.
Turning the knob of the door to the Headmaster's office, the door flew open and the bright sunlight hit them directly in their eyes. Covering them a bit, they walked in his office. They noticed Zell, Selphie and Irvine already stood in front of the smaller elevator leading up to the Garden's controls. The small platform descended, and a worried Headmaster Cid stepped off it. Taking of his glasses, he pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned them.
"I have some bad news." He started.
Cid put on his glasses again and examined the faces of the SeeDs standing in front of him. They looked as worried as he did, if not even more so.
"I just received a communiqué; Galbadia Garden is heading over here." He calmly spoke. "Our refueling is only about two-thirds complete. The workers are severing the lines now so we'll be able to head out, but this will take time. Too much most likely. I suspect the enemy was waiting for this exact time to strike."
Zell smashed his fists together. If it weren't for knuckle pads they'd have heard some bones crack. "I'm ready to fight!"
Headmaster Cid smiled. "I know Zell. I know everyone here is ready."
"Has this been confirmed? And is the Sorceress on the Garden?" Kenan asked. Information was ammunition, he had always been taught.
-"Yes and no. A SeeD out in the fields saw Galbadia Garden fly over him moments ago. But we believe the Sorceress has remained in the Lunatic Pandora, which is still hovering near Deling City. Seifer is most likely commanding the Galbadian troops." Cid answered.
Irvine nervously ginned. "How long until they're here?"
"We have about fifteen minutes. Maybe less." The Headmaster estimated.
Commander Gantt saluted Cid. "The defense plan is ready. We know what to do Sir, leave it to us."
The rest of the SeeDs saluted Cid as well, and ran out of his office. Each knew their tasks and responsibilities.
Cid and Kenan stepped on the small elevator and they went up to the Garden controls.
"Should we move the Garden when able to?" He asked.
-"No, but we will hover so a ground assault is made impossible." Cid said, looking at the student behind the control panel as the elevator came to a stop.
She had heard what Cid said down in his office and had become nervous.
"Don't worry, " Kenan assured her. "Everything is gonna be fine."
He ran his hand through his long hair, wondering if he really believed that himself. He loaded his handgun with live ammunition, sure to be ready for the battle. For a brief moment Kenan found himself wondering about Squall Leonhart's story. He said Galbadia Garden was supposed to have been incapacitated already.
If only that were true…
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Galbadia Garden hovered over and past Timber at full speed. Any minute now they would see Balamb appear. Seifer stood triumphantly in the main hall in front of a few squads of Galbadian soldiers.
"Give 'em hell." He said as he gripped his gunblade tighter, ready for action.
-"Yes Sir!" A chorus of voices yelled as one.