Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its beautiful characters .. but I will one day ! x) It all belongs to SquareSoft. :salutes: -.-;;
Balamb Garden Amazing Race
Chapter Fifteen ll The Final Showdown
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"Whaa - this is so bizarre!" Irvine shouted over the splashes of water their Chocobo was tredding on and the increasingly cold wind blowing against his face, "This is really... bizarre!" he repeated in an awestruck voice, gazing around the mountain and ocean scenery. Giggling behind him, Selphie wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.
"Giddy up, Choco!" she yelled euphorically, lifting her head up to enjoy the feel of the wind, "Look! I see Trabia up ahead!"
Irvine glanced up, gripping tightly onto the Chocobo as it deftly stepped on the shallow waters, and saw snow-covered land up ahead, set against the darkening sky. As he was jolted up and down with the Chocobo's quick tredding, Irvine chanced a look back to see the yellow Esthar cliffs shrinking away in the thick grey mass of clouds.
It was getting late and night was approaching. In a matter of minutes the yellow team felt snow underneath their feet and Selphie was slowly moving up towards the graveyard, plotted aside the newly refurbished and renovated Trabia Garden. Giving their Chocobo one last, grateful pat before it scampered off, Irvine turned and watched softly as the short brunette bent down to one of the gravestones. A sad look crossed his face and Irvine's heart stirred with sympathy and sorrow for the girl who had lost so many old friends and comrades.
Selphie came out her slight reverie as his shadow appeared behind her and, her green eyes still locked on the tombstone, she said softly, "She was one of my closest friends." She reached out tentatively to trace the engraved name. Her arm dropped and she sighed dejectedly, sinking to the ground, "We were studying to become SeeDs together... she was so happy when she heard I was taking the field examination at Balamb... but she never did find out I became a SeeD." Selphie blinked and said no more; she simply stared at the gravestone as though soughting for forgiveness.
Irvine slid down beside her, also looking carefully at the grey stone. Selphie tilted her head slightly over toward him.
"Irvy... did you leave any friends behind at your old Garden?" she asked quietly, her breath coming out in misty puffs.
Something like a grimace tightened his face, "Me?" he chuckled slightly bitterly, " 'Sharpshooters are loners by nature', remember?" Irvine lifted his head up as gentle snow dusted down from above, and he smiled gracefully as though remembering something pleasant.
"My real friends..." he said meaningfully, casually reaching for her hand and grasping onto it comfortingly. She glanced up and smiled at him heedfully, her eyes glistening.
"...returned to me the day a bunch of oddball SeeDs came to Galbadia Garden and recruited me as their sharpshooter."
---
"When I said, 'whatever it takes to win', I did not mean for you to go and hurt yourself," Seifer said heavily, feeling like he had stolen Quistis' authoritative, stern role as he reached out for her wrist. They had just scrambled up of the Trabia Crater after fighting an aggressive Wendigo; the crater was full of angry, vindictive monsters that they had tried in vain to escape.
Quistis winced as he very gently touched it, and Seifer frowned.
"Quisty..." he said with a sigh as she withdrew her arm away from him, "You know I'm never going to forgive myself if you're permanently injured."
"Oh, really?" the headstrong, haughty instructor asked, not about to relent easily, "I thought you didn't care. After all, you yourself said your desire was for no women to be on this trip with you."
Seifer sighed again, feeling as though he was dealing with a snobby, unforgiving little girl. Glad she can't read my thoughts... He looked into her stubborn face and reached out to take her arm again, while saying yieldingly, "Okay, okay, I said a stupid thing... you know I always do that. But don't let that stop me from nursing your wrist.
"Besides," he mumbled, very tentatively inspecting her hand, "You know I care about you... I haven't forgotten. Remember?" He swooped his red bandana up and her blue eyes followed it as it sailed in the air.
Quistis didn't pull her sore arm away, but an apprehensive look crossed her face, "I am not letting you fix this up, Seifer."
"Hey, I know I'm no Dr Kadowaki, but - "
"Seifer. Honestly," she fixed her gaze on him firmly but not severely, "I'd rather Dr Kadowaki take a look at it... but if you could just help me bandage it..."
"That's exactly what I was going to do," Seifer reaffirmed dismally, shaking his head as he took out a white cloth, "Gee, you never believe in me, do you, Quisty?" She couldn't help chuckle at his exaggerated disappointed look as he gently wrapped up her wrist, and he glanced up into her eyes slightly sceptically but also in relief.
The two blondes were sitting on dark brown ground, where they last found themselves when a panicked Seifer had pulled Quistis out of the Crater just as a swarm of monsters came to attack them. She'd hurt her wrist while fighting the Wendigo and Seifer had been unexpectedly concerned by it. Since the Nortes Mountains Quistis had been giving him the cold shoulder, and a slightly fed up Seifer returned it to a lesser degree.
After her wrist was bandaged up, Seifer studied her carefully and reached out to tuck a couple of blonde strands, some a bright red, away from her face. Quistis immediately looked up at him, a little startled at his gentle touch.
"You're tired," he stated simply, looking a little pitifully at the shadows under her eyes and her loose hair.
Quistis felt herself heat up underneath his gaze and she diverted her eyes downward, "No I'm not," she muttered half-heartedly. She never did like admitting weakness to anyone, least of all Seifer Almasy. It was the same feeling she got when she fell down in battle; she felt so insignificant and vulnerable. Quistis Trepe always succeeded in something she put hard work into and never looked back.
Or at least tried not to.
Seifer half-smiled, "Don't lie, Quisty. I'm tired too." He relaxed beside her with a deep sigh, his eyes taking in the scenery around him, "I've never been happier to see snow. See?" he pointed at the mass of white in the not-too-faraway distance, "There's a Chocobo forest near the Garden, so if we just catch one, take a picture with it, and then ride it near the shore... we're almost home." Quistis felt relief and warmth bubble inside her at his words and at the sight of the snowy Trabia up ahead.
They sat in peace and contentment for a few relaxed minutes, until Quistis slowly realised how organised and encouraging he'd become.
"You know what, Seifer?" she said lightly, feeling somewhat abashed but proud at the same time, "I think you're going to pass your SeeD exam this year." When his eyes widened slightly, Quistis looked away, "You've... you've finally obtained the qualities needed to become a SeeD."
Though taken-back, he grinned ruefully, "You mean by having my ego smashed by Squall and the rest of you just a few months ago? Well, if there's one thing I've learnt, it's to admit my weaknesses and accept them." He yawned and stretched, looking out over to Trabia again, "Maybe you should do that, too, Quisty... it's human to have weaknesses."
He said it in such a carefree and lazy manner, yet Quistis felt his words sink in deep once again. She studied him quizzically, wondering when Seifer had suddenly become so philosophical, but his gaze was faraway and half-dreamy. Be yourself... admit your weaknesses...
A few moments later, Seifer turned back to her again with an innocent smirk, "You know when you lost your licence?"
She tried hard to act indifferent, "Yes."
"Did you know that the Headmaster spent forever trying to replace you?"
Her heart skipped a beat, "No..."
"You know what my opinion was?" When she shook her head mutely, Seifer continued placidly, "I thought - I knew - there was only one person who could ever fill your shoes."
Oddly flattered, Quistis raised an elegant eyebrow curiously, "Really? Who?"
He looked at her and answered honestly, "You."
---
"It's - so - cold!"
"Rinoa - wait!" Squall yelled after the running-skipping girl with chattering teeth, slipping on the snow he was running on. The blue figure in front whirled around in a perfect pirouette, her arms aloft and her sheet of dark hair swinging around, and continued traipsing along the snow. Squall just frowned wonderingly. How she managed to keep her balance would forever remain a mystery to him.
They'd dropped Boko off at the Chocobo Forest near Trabia Garden (arriving much earlier than the yellow team), which they later found out was a mistake. With the sun retreating further down the sky, the blue team had made up their mind to run all the way to the Trabia coastline, where Squall swore he'd seen a rent-a-sailboat. The plan was for them to row their way to the Balamb town, put away their boat, then run back to Garden, ready to burst through the (unbroken) finish line with great relish and tauntingly wait for the others... especially Seifer.
"I see Balamb!" Rinoa cried flourishingly, also through chattering teeth. She paused to look back gleefully at the panting Squall, then ran up towards the shore where freezing waves of water were crashing noisily.
The sky was quite dark by now and Squall checked his watch. It was about ten minutes past five. They were almost there.
Rinoa had stopped near the coast to stare avidly at the fringe of the Balamb continent. Unfortunately, the high mountains at the back blocked any view of Garden or the harbour town. Noticing her quivering, Squall took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. She whirled around in alarm and accidentally thwacked him on the nose.
"Oww!" he moaned as she gasped and immediately held onto his hand.
"Oh my goodness, Squall, I'm so sorry," she apologised with a stricken face, "But you scared me!" Holding the jacket tighter around her shoulders she reached out to hold the side of his face, "Is everything alright? No broken nose?"
Squall gingerly removed his hand from his nose and she grinned, "Still as handsome as ever!"
He just made her face at her and she said contritely, "You know, if the wind changes, your face will stay like that forever." Squall just raised an eyebrow and a frown crossed her face as she took off his leather jacket.
"Hey, why'd you give me this? You're cold, too..." Rinoa reached up and put it on him. He was about to protest when she ducked underneath the jacket as well, curling up beside him. She smiled, "Remember this? Keeps us both warm."
Squall half-chuckled, "Of course. How could I forget?"
They looked out towards the Balamb continent and the dark, bobbing waves. Rinoa drew in a small breath in reverence, "Imagine if the sky was indigo and the moon and stars were out... I could paint a picture."
"It is nice," Squall admitted as the waves rolled smoothly onto the sand and the icy wind blew through his hair, "Especially if a shooting star just streaked across - right there." He drew an imaginary line in the sky above them, "Sis - Elle always loved shooting stars. She'd make us all lie out in the grass on warm nights to wait for one. I remember the first time we saw it Zell began to scream."
Rinoa furrowed her brow in amusement, "Why?"
"He thought Hyne was punishing us for setting off fireworks the other week," he glanced at her and they both laughed at Zell's predictable behaviour. Squall looked fondly up at the darkening sky again, "When Sis left, I'd sneak out to wait for a shooting star, too. She always said it was a sign of hope. So I guess... I was hoping for her to come back."
He trailed off and she looked at him sympathetically. After a moment's pause, Squall noticed her staring at him.
"What?"
A tentative smile crept across her face, "Squall... that was so sweet." He felt himself flush at her words and the way her brown eyes were glistening, even in the bluish darkness. His mind was vacant of all thoughts as she raised her head and leant up towards him, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Oi! You two at the rocks!"
A sudden loud shout made both of them leap back from one another in alarm. Irritated, Squall swiftly glared in the direction of the voice to see a biggish wooden hut, the window lit up brightly. Connected to the hut was a small wooden dock, fenced with white railing with a few steps that led down to several sailboats anchored to the shore. A man was standing on the balcony of the hut, looking suspiciously over at Squall and Rinoa.
"You might wanna be careful over there, they're pretty slippery!" came his words of caution over the wind.
"Thank you," gasped out Rinoa after she and Squall had ran over to him, in spite of his frustration.
The man looked at them carefully. He was a middle-aged man and was dressed in blue overalls and a comfortable white shirt with a black waterproof jacket on top.
"The Trabia ski resort isn't too far from here, you just wanna head north-west - "
"No, no, it's not the ski resort we're going to," Rinoa hastily explained, beginning to shiver again, "We'd like to rent a sailboat, actually." She pointed out toward the ocean, "We're rowing back to Balamb, you see."
He looked astonished, "Rent a sailboat? At this time of day?" The man frowned at them oddly, "Ahh... are you sure? It's getting pretty dark... and it will be dangerous. Maybe you should just stay in Trabia until the morning - "
"We can't, we're on an Amazing Race," Squall cut in urgently, glancing over his shoulder, "And we have to beat the others. Don't worry," he added for the man's benefit, "I can row a boat perfectly fine.
The man just looked at them fearfully, then moved his gaze out to the choppy waves.
Well... they would have to wear life jackets.
---
"MOVE FAAASTER!" Zell was screaming at the ferry. They were the only ones standing outside on the passenger deck, the cold wind rushing against them and whipping their hair everywhere. Passengers inside craned their heads to look out of the glass at the muffled yell.
---
He watched dubiously as those two strange teenagers rowed out towards Balamb, actually moving quite swiftly and quickly. Well, he only hoped that they reached land before night really fell. He was about to walk back inside his hut when another two people crashed onto the balcony, quite out of breath and both sporting a red bandana.
"Um - can I help you?"
"We - need - boat - please," the boy with blonde-and-fluro-red hair gasped out, clutching at his side, "Quick!"
The blonde girl nodded in a strained way, also clutching at her side and heaving deep breaths. Preferring not to ask any questions, he quickly led them down to the dock and got a boat ready for them while they composed themselves.
"You do know it's dangerous to sail in the dark," he said timidly as they climbed in impatiently, having strapped on orange life vests.
"We'll be fine," the young man said contritely, grabbing onto the oars. They both began to row out towards the ocean, obviously in a hurry.
"Say," he suddenly called, unable to help himself, "Are you two involved in an Amazing Race by any chance?"
The two blondes turned back and even through the dark he could see the surprised expressions on their faces. Feeling the need to explain himself, he added, "There were another pair just a couple of minutes ago."
"Oh, crud! That means someone's ahead of us! Must - row - FASTER!" And the boat began to speed away at an alarming rate.
"Thank you!" the girl remembered to yell.
---
"Aha, found it," Selphie said triumphantly, looking up at the structure in front of her, "Hmm... all we have to do is pick this lock and climb up onto that platform."
They had reached the east of Trabia's shoreline, where a cluster of small, green islands were clearly visible. Irvine also glanced up to see a long black wire sloping from the top of the wooden structure down near the ground of the nearest green island. And on that island was another structure with another wire that connected to yet another green island.
"They're flying foxes," Selphie said happily, "We used to always want to try these. They were part of a recreational camp but it's been abandoned for years. But lookit! We can get to Balamb from here by using them. You can't really see clearly from here, but on that second island - " she pointed accordingly where the second flying fox ended, " - there's the third and final flying fox that actually connects to Balamb. You land on the very edge, sort of near the Fire Cavern."
Irvine whistled, "Wow. That's pretty intense. How come there aren't any that come back?'
Selphie looked quizzical, "That's a good question. I really don't know. Maybe they used to sail back to Trabia."
"I have another question," Irvine said, staring at the rather high structure, "How are we supposed to climb up there?" The bottom of the stump had a sort of hut built around it, and the door was locked. The thick wooden log then rose from the top of it. It had obviously been built to stop random passer-bys from climbing up and using the flying fox for their own interests.
"We pick the lock," Selphie said jubilantly, revealing a very fine hair clip, "You're supposed to put on harnesses and everything, but we don't need them. We're not silly enough to let go of the bar. A cinch for us SeeDs, huh?"
"I'm not a SeeD," Irvine took care to remind her.
"You're as good as one!" she told him emphatically, now picking the heavy lock of the wooden door. She jiggled the clip a little, and then a loud click sounded. Grinning, she pushed open the door and an apprehensive Irvine ducked in.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking up to the top of the dark hut. Selphie flicked on her torch and shone it around, having re-locked the door. "It looks so high up from here! Man..." He glanced at Selphie seriously, "You sure are adventurous."
"Aww, c'mon Irvy, don't tell me you've never gone on a flying fox before!" she exclaimed cheerily, sticking her torch securely in a strap of her bag so that it continued to illuminate the way, "Hey, we better start climbing if we want to make it before it gets really dark. Okie, Irvy, let's march!"
"Are you serious..." Irvine muttered, glancing up in dread, "Alright... here goes nothing..."
He bravely put one foot on the thick metal ring and reached for the highest one he could touch with his hand. He heaved himself up and continued to climb up, Selphie's torch bobbing light everywhere.
A few seconds later, he had climbed out of the hut and dared to glance down. Irvine's breath caught in his throat. It looked like they were so high up already. And suppose the pole just collapsed into the ocean right now?
Irvine just stared in sheer terror at the moving waves in front of him below. His limbs stiffened. This is insane...
Taking a deep breath, he kept his gaze on the log in front of him and climbed. As he got higher and higher, his legs felt more and more like jelly, and he really expected for his body to fail him and to just fall limp at any moment. Selphie was climbing right below him, seemingly with no trouble and evident enjoyment.
"Booyaka! It's so great to be up this high!"
Hyne... that girl really has no sense of fear, Irvine found himself thinking desperately. Finally, he reached the little wooden platform and very gingerly crawled onto it, his legs trembling so badly he thought he might stumble off. He managed to slide himself into a standing position, then stood with his back against and his arms around the pole, gasping in horror at how far below the monstrous sea was.
"Sef..." he mumbled, actually sweating in terror, "What... what do I do now?"
Selphie was still hanging off the pole, clutching onto the metal rings, "Just hold onto the bar and jump off! It's really fun. You'll love it! Oh, and when you reach the other side, press the little red button on the pole and that'll send the bar back up to me."
Irvine stared fearfully at the metal bar hanging off the thick, black wire. "Just hold onto it and jump off?" he repeated hazily. He took another deep breath and held onto the bar tightly with both hands. Now that he had moved out of the way, Selphie climbed up onto the platform. The sight of the ocean and land ahead made Irvine slightly dizzy.
"Alright - now - jump!" Selphie cried exuberantly, giving him a gentle push.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Irvine yelled in shock as he stumbled off and was immediately launched into thin air, his only means of survival being the wire and bar he was desperately clinging onto. Then his terror began to evaporate as a thrill went up and down his spine - Selphie was right, this was exhilarating!
The tyre at the end slowed him down so that Irvine was able to drop off, his knees giving way as soon as he hit solid ground. Panting in relief, excitement and terror, Irvine looked back up to the small figure of Selphie who yelled, "THE BUTTON, IRVY!"
"Oh... right..." he muttered, still trembling as he punched the red button on the pole. The wire continued to move back in a circular motion, bringing the bar back with it.
While Irvine sat, shivering, on the green patchy grass to recover from his thrill, he watched Selphie jump off happily off the platform, screaming, "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
She jumped off neatly when she reached the island and immediately threw her arms around Irvine.
"You did it, Irvy! See, wasn't it great?" she said smugly.
"Yeah..." he grinned suddenly, "Come on, let's go do it again!" He tugged at her hand and together they ran up to the next flying fox, embarking on their unusual journey back to Balamb.
---
The blue team climbed back up onto the familiar Balamb pier, looking frozen but very relieved to have ground underneath their feet. Rinoa rubbed her arms vigorously and breathed in deeply. People were walking to and fro around the harbour square which was lit up brightly with many street lamps, and the cafes, restaurants and shops along the side were full of life and laughter.
Squall looked around gratefully. It really was good to be back in civilisation, but also odd to think that none of these people knew what kind of week he'd just been through.
And then he saw something that made his blood run cold.
"Please tell me I'm imagining things," he said blankly, "But is that Seifer and Quistis pulling in a boat over there?"
Rinoa spun around and clapped a hand over her mouth. She tore her eyes back to Squall in a mixture of fear and panic, "Let's go!" Unfortunately, at her shout, Quistis looked up and caught sight of them. Her jaw dropped open.
"Seifer - look!"
The blonde looked round, pausing in the middle of his paddling, and almost dropped his oars in his haste, "SWEET MOTHER OF ODINE!" He rowed so vigorously and ferociously that their boat began to rotate around in circles. Finally, they both stumbled out and, without even bothering to register in their arrival, tore off after the blue team.
Just as they reached the exit of Balamb, Squall glanced back - and almost tripped over when he saw Seifer and Quistis catching up with him and Rinoa.
"Rin - they're coming!" he shouted, running even harder so that his feet felt numb. I'm not going to wear a skirt, I'm not going to wear a skirt, I'm NOT going to wear a skirt!
Rinoa didn't bother to reply. She was running harder and faster than she ever had before, most likely even more than that Galbadian soldier who had tried to run after his hijacked train. Her lungs were about to burst and she felt as though she was slowly suffocating.
It really was dark now; the first few stars were already present in the night sky. The two teams flew past the beautiful Balamb beach they'd fished at oh-so-many-days ago and the green forests they'd fought their T-Rexaur in. Seifer and Quistis were closing in on them fast, both being older and the slightest-bit faster than Squall and Rinoa respectively.
"Hehe, get ready to choose your instructor uniform, Squally!" Seifer managed to taunt through the searing stitch in his side.
Squall mentally cursed and tried to sprint even faster. Finally, they reached the entrance of Balamb Garden and the four competitors were pretty much neck-to-neck as they fled up the steps and towards the front gate. The receptionist watched, astonished, as the four of them jumped the gates without a word and dashed off into Garden, their coloured bandanas swaying.
"Hey, what the - ? Is that our Commander?" one of the students asked as Squall and the others ran past in the main corridor, faces set in a sinisterly determined way.
"I think it is! Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around in a while..."
"Haha, look at their stylish bandanas!"
Even though the students didn't know about the race, they gathered pretty much the obvious and stopped to applaud and cheer. Well, anything to postpone revision and studying for exams.
"Go blue!"
"Keep it up, red!"
"What, is that what you get to do when you become a SeeD? Man, I'm studying harder from now on!"
Squall and Rinoa dashed up the stairs and reached the elevator first; they ran right into it and Squall immediately hit the button. The doors began to slide shut when there was a defiant, "ARGHHH!" and a hand shot through the gap, preventing it from closing any further.
"AHHHH!" Rinoa and Squall screamed as Seifer's trapped hand groped around.
"Make it go away!" Rinoa shrieked, leaning up against the back of the elevator.
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Squall panicked, repeatedly hitting the 'close' button. A growling Seifer withdrew his hand at last and the blue team watched, in relief, as the metal doors closed fully.
"Let's take the stairs!" they heard Quistis yell painfully as the elevator began to ascend.
Squall and Rinoa had to endure a minute of agony as they slowly reached the second floor and, with a 'ding', the doors finally slid open. They sped down the corridor just as Seifer and Quistis appeared at the top of the stairs and they rejoined each other again.
It now became desperate. Seifer and Squall, with a growl of fury, sprinted at lightning fast speed towards Quistis' classroom. The girls didn't even bother to try and keep up with them. It was down to the boys now.
"ARGHHHHHHHHH!" they both shouted as they leapt from the ground and dived through the purple ribbon tied in the doorway. Squall and Seifer landed heavily onto the ground at the same time, rolled onto their backs and began taking laboured breaths that wracked their bodies.
Rinoa and Quistis also appeared at the doorway, looked at the torn ribbon, looked at their male companions sprawled on the ground on the verge of hyperventilation, then also collapsed.
The classroom was full of the sounds of deep, painful breathing that sounded like stabs to the heart. Only two minutes later, there were yells and a thump, and Irvine barelled his way in with Zell on his back in a weak attempt at a headlock. Just behind them were Selphie and Shizuka, both of whom also fell down onto the ground, their faces shiny with sweat.
For at least five minutes, the eight competitors of the Amazing Race just lay there on the ground of Quistis' classroom. Had their lungs not been about to explode, they would have seen that there was a colourful banner strung across the back, reading, "Welcome Home" and the classroom was littered with colourful balloons. A camera was also fitted in the corner, the red light flashing occasionally.
Finally, one by one, they dragged themselves up into a sitting position and lay slumped against the walls and desks.
"Congratulations, everyone, you all made it!"
A middle-aged woman walked into the classroom, wearing an old-fashioned black dress and her dark hair flowing down near the middle of her back. Edea smiled in amusement as they looked up toward her, their chests still rising and falling. Xu stepped out from behind her and grinned at them.
"Wow, you guys look really... beat."
They could only glare at her, still unable to manage coherent speech.
Edea laughed heartily and beamed fondly at her grown children. She had never seen them more careworn than now, all slumped on the floor, their hair dishevelled and faces strained.
And yet she could tell by the glow in their eyes that they had had a rich week, and that was exactly what they needed after saving the world.
She took out a digital camera and brought it to her face. They all groaned and looked away.
"Alright, children, say cheese!"
There were no smiles in that picture.
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A/N: OMGOODNESS, they made it to the end!! Aren't you so proud? xDD I am. (pats their heads) Hehehe! Sooo .. both blue and red made it through the ribbon at the same time, but WHO will ultimately win? Guess you'll just havta wait for the next chapter! (Of course it's not over yet!) x) Hehe, not gettin' rid of me that easily. Muahahaha, Happy Halloween my little monsters! - msq.