CHAPTER 2

Everyone in Garden understood that the SeeDs could have been in the Training Centre for a matter of minutes, hours or days. They would be in there until the problem was solved – even if, at this point, it was unclear what the problem actually was. But what Zell's squad were doing, they were doing for the good of them all, so naturally, everyone was willing to support them all the way.

But it was three days after the squad was first deployed when Lianne overheard a conversation going on between two girls in the Cafeteria. She recognised them as fellow SeeDs that had earned their ranks during the same exam she had – their names were Dante Mastic, and Shin Akito.

Lianne walked past their table, her breakfast on a tray in her hands, and caught a few words from Shin.

"…and Squall's doing nothing about it!" she was saying to her friend.

Catching her father's name, Lianne took a sharp turn and sat at the table behind them. Keeping her head down and trying not to be recognised, she listened in.

"You're kidding?" Dante replied, raising her eyebrows.

"Nope. They've had no feedback, or anything, whatsoever." Shin shook her head. "And nobody is even blinking an eyelid. I don't think Squall even cares!"

"He should take responsibility, don't you think?" Dante sounded incredulous. "He sent them there in the first place."

"Well, it doesn't look like he's going to bother even looking for them. As far as he's concerned, they've disappeared without a trace," Shin shrugged.

Lianne was getting angry just listening to the conversation. She didn't enjoy hearing the two girls criticising her father's actions. With an angry sound, she stood up sharply and left the Cafeteria entirely, her food untouched. Dante and Shin stared after in surprise, no doubt realising their mistake.

She didn't look back as she marched towards the bridge, searching for her father. She knew as much as the rest of Garden about the disappearing act Zell's squad had performed, but she felt as though she was entitled to know more. After all, she was Squall's daughter. She wanted some answers, even if nobody else had them.

When the elevator doors opened on to the bridge, the first thing she heard was a loud conversation going on above her. Intrigued, she went a little closer and hid under the second lift, listening. She couldn't see who was talking, but she knew the voices well enough to guess who they were.

"I have had enough! I am not leaving them in there – they have been gone for three days, with no contact to speak of. Something has to be wrong!" That was her father, and he sounded furious.

"Squall, please… you've got to see sense. You can't just rush in there. We have no idea what's going on!" came Quistis's voice.

"I don't care. All I know is that Zell and the others are in trouble, and I can do something about it if you just let me."

"Okay, well, let's just think for a minute before we rush into things…" Irvine's voice this time.

Before Squall got another chance to protest, a huge rumble shot though the floor of Garden, sending Lianne flying.

"What's going on?" she heard Selphie cry from above.

The Garden took a few horrible lurches, making Lianne's stomach turn with every movement. Trying to keep her concentration on what was happening on the bridge, she heard Nida cry out, "We've got some major trouble down on the first floor!"

"Why?" Squall demanded.

"A T-Rexaur has broken through the shutter of the Training Centre!" Nida explained, panicked.

Lianne felt the bottom fall from her stomach. That shutter had been solid steel.

"I told you, we've waited too long!" Squall yelled. "If you'd let me go in there earlier, I could have prevented this!" Frenzied footsteps preceded the sound of the lift descending. Squall came into view, and he jumped down from the moving platform before it even reached half-way.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Lianne asked, panicked, as he landed right in front of her.

He looked at her blankly for a moment. "I haven't got time for this now!" He eventually snapped. "Just stay here, and don't move! You could be in danger."

Squall disappeared behind the sliding doors of the main elevator before Lianne could react. She ran to hammer the button, to try and stop the lift descending. She had realised her father's plan: he was going to fight this super-powered T-Rexaur, alone.

As soon as the elevator came back up, she hopped inside, following her father down the first floor. When the doors reopened, three Garden Faculties were blocking her path to the stairs. Knowing there was no point in trying to argue with them, she ran around the tier to get a view of the Training Centre entrance. The monster she saw made her wretch in disgust.

It was a T-Rexaur, there was no doubt about that. Or at least, it had been one, once upon a time. The flesh of its mouth had been ripped back and sewn over its eyes, so all that was left of its mouth were two rows of terrifying teeth. Along its back and forehead were tiny metal spikes that looked like small electronic devices, and large metal plates protruded from its skin at all angles. Behind it, the ruins of the steel shutter curled outward like a burst blood vessel. Bits of scaly flesh clung to the sharp points of the ruins, where the monster had forced itself through the tiny space. The T-Rexaur swept its tail through a crowd of scurrying students, and bellowed a roar that echoed up against the tall ceiling.

The she saw her father charging at it, his gunblade raised. She stifled a scream. The beast was so enormous and bloodthirsty – how could he hope to handle it alone? Lianne wanted to help him herself, perhaps with her magic, or anything… but she was frozen, rooted to the spot, terrified. But the thought of losing him, that terrified her even more.

All fell dramatically silent within Garden. All that could be heard was the rumbling breath of the T-Rexaur as it squared up to her father. Both were standing their ground, daring each other to make the first move.

Then, without warning, the monster took a wild swipe at Squall with a vicious claw. Lianne let out a scream as her father flung himself to the side, dodging the attack by a hairsbreadth. No sooner had Squall landed than the T-Rexaur lifted a huge foot, ready to squash him beneath its scaly heels. The watching students held their breath as Squall rolled out of harm's way. Splinters of the floor flew up as the enormous foot crashed down beside him. The watching crowd released a collective breath, and the T-Rexaur took up its assault once more, snarling and biting at Squall. Her father was back on his feet, and he blocked each of the fatal snaps with a head-on collision from his gunblade.

Lianne couldn't understand why he wasn't attacking it. There had been more than a few moments of weakness where even she could have seen the opportunity for him to strike a few blows. And yet everything he was doing was defensive. All he was doing was prolonging the battle and increasing his chances of being hurt, or worse.

The clang of bloody teeth against the blade of Squall's weapon echoed around the Garden, again and again, until Squall took a sudden lurch upwards with his gunblade, jamming it into the roof of the T-Rexaur's mouth. It let out a deafening roar of agony, and Squall looked right into the throat of the beast, globs of blood and spittle showering down upon him. He held his position for a moment too long, and the beast began to thrash its head from side to side in an attempt to free itself. Lianne realised then that the gunblade was stuck. Squall was holding on, just barely, but his weapon was as good as lost. She tried to shout out, to tell him to leave it and run, but she was drowned out by another of the T-Rexaur's screams of agony. But Squall wasn't watching the beast any more. Lianne followed his gaze up, towards the higher balconies of Garden. There, in the rafters, was Irvine, rifle propped expertly upon his shoulder. Lianne smiled – had this been his plan all along?

But the monster broke free, and reared back its head. The gunblade came loose, and clattered to the ground far out of reach. It gnashed its jagged teeth at Squall once more. The plan was falling to pieces, and Squall was defenceless.

"Dad!" Lianne cried out, in fear.

She was sure the monster's mighty jaws were about to close on her father, when shots echoed, and the creature jarred from the impact. It screeched, a horrifying sound that caused everyone watching to cover their ears. For a moment, the creature wavered on the spot as though in a trance, before falling with an enormous crash to the ground. The Garden rocked with the impact, and sent more people stumbling, including Squall. As he rose to his feet, staring in disbelief at his felled opponent, cheers rallied up all around him. He gave a rare smile to Irvine, who saluted back in his usual cocky manner. But even from a distance, Lianne could see his hands were shaking.

She let a tear of happiness run down her cheek, before dashing it away vigorously and hurtling down the steps, running all the way to her father's side. She threw her arms around him, a watery smile on her face. Squall's arms gripped her back.

"That was so close!" she gasped, finding it hard to even form words.

"I know…"

"I thought I'd lost you," she said quietly, pulling him even closer so he couldn't see her tears.

Squall let out a gentle laugh. She could hear relief in his voice as he said, "I don't go down that easily."