Here's Chapter 16. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter too. Sorry for the long...long...long delay.

Kayden stood, watching as the day dawned once more. There he stood, with Kohana leaning sleepily into him, her dog sitting next to her and the rest of his friends surrounding the group. Further on stood their cautious Instructor, along with a group of five other people that Kayden was not familiar with, dressed in the finest Galbadian SeeD uniforms. A tiny black speck on the horizon was what those standing on the platform were waiting for.

It was only a day after they had gotten the news that the tribunal was being formed in Balamb Garden and they were expected to speak for their actions. This would not be easy on his girlfriend. She found it hard to speak to adults, especially ones that she did not have a history with, and would frequently grow quiet and extremely introverted under such situation. Thankfully, in the tribunal, there would be many Kohana knew; from her previous stay at Trabia Garden, as well as those from Galbadia. 'But if she was that quiet when I met her, she was probably worse in Trabia. I bet she never even met the Headmistress and barely spoke to her instructors. And even worse, Commander Leonhart will be the one asking the questions. He's scary enough by himself and doesn't need the help of the tribunal to terrify her.'

Kayden knew why Martine had handed over authority of them to Balamb Garden. With his history of breaking as many rules as he could possibly find, it made sense. So all he had to do was only break the ones he held a technicality over. He really wanted to show Kohana the Balamb beaches at night, when there was no one else around and the stars reflected off the water like glowing metal spikes. It was a nice sight, watching the moon and the stars over the water, sending flickering reflections over the surface.

There was also the fire cavern and the dangerous beauty of the lava pools that had once been the home to a Guardian Force. Kayden found himself wondering if all the Guardian Forces had been found already by his parents and their friends. As he had learned, there were only a few weaker ones missing, and one that bore no recorded name but appeared in the shape of a wolf. The missing wolf Guardian Force was stated as belonging to the gentler side of Hyne, and had vanished shortly after the power she had been blessed with was passed to the first sorceress so long ago in history that the year was not known. The wolf was stated as being the first Guardian and was the actual lord of all that came hence. Kayden doubted it existed, that was only a story told to others. He was aware that attempts had been made to discover if there was truth behind the rumored wolf Guardian Force, but all had failed in locating it, and thus probably did not exist, except for in stories.

But what if it where unbound? The GF could then appear in any form it wished and with any person as well. 'It might appear in a form close to its original.' He mused. 'So something in the form of a canine….'

Bast whined slightly at his side, and Kohana turned and knelt down beside him, stroking his black head with one hand. Bast stared up at him, golden eyes gazing solemnly into his, almost as if he were answering his question.

Kayden shook his head a moment later, moving his eyes away from the icy stare of the dog. 'What was I thinking about?' he wondered to himself. He had been thinking something, and he was pretty sure it was important, but it was as if his mind had gone blank before the discovering thought could emerge. 'I guess it wasn't too important if I can't remember what I was thinking about… I hate it when that happens!'

All of them were ready to go, having packed quickly when returning to their own dorm rooms. He and Ryu had informed the others of their group of the plan and the three that were not included began to gather what they needed too. It had not taken long; SeeDs had to be ready to be deployed at a moment's notice and could not spend valuable minutes packing essentials. What mattered more were the weapons they had. Kayden himself was holding seven backup daggers, a shuriken, and a gun, all hidden in varying places in his uniform. He also carried his Hyperion style gunblade at his waist. He wondered how the others had equipped themselves.

Of the six, he and Kohana were the most suspicious. Having dealt with so many ambushes from the monsters surrounding Galbadia Garden that they, whenever they did sneak out and even when they did not, both were usually in a half state of preparation for an expected attack. Even with six trained SeeDs along, including their Instructor, Kayden was still half wondering if an attack would come. He had surveyed their location, standing on a solitary platform not far from Garden itself, but still no where near help if they needed it. This train they would take would lead them into Deling City in a few hours and after that they would all be on their way to Timber.

This was a familiar trip to the boy; having completed it several times during his stay in Galbadia Garden to see his parents during the break. He had invited Kohana along with him, several times, but at each she had balked and had stated she would be happier staying in Galbadia then having been forced into meeting more new people. But despite this familiarity and the common occurrence, he would still watch the situation. SeeDs, after all, had to be prepared for an attack at any time.

The small speck of the quickly moving train began to close in on the platform. It was only minutes until they left.

"Got any worse case scenario's?" Kayden asked.

"Train gets used to level some of Galbadia by the resistance factions or we level some of Timber due to a terrorist attack or the train gets bombed for no particular reason other then it's possible. We all could get kidnapped and used in an anti-Garden plan…"

'My Hyne she's paranoid.' Kayden thought.

"We never did find out what happened to the enemy army." Kohana continued. "They could be planning an assault on Garden, and use us as captives or just kill us in revenge for their attack on Dollet failing."

"You are paranoid." Ryu announced, seemingly following his thoughts.

"Instructor Bane says that SeeDs are born paranoid and curious." Kohana answered back.

"How true." Kayden responded, noting that the entire group was now listening to their conversation. "But you take it to an extreme."

"I do not!!! Everything I've said was a reasonable assumption!"

"But you've probably considered all and what you would do in each situation." Ronna spoke, continuing with the teasing talk.

"I only got to what I would do if the train was attacked, nothing further." Kohana defended.

"You think too much." Breana concluded. "It's not healthy! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Enough so that you'll believe it?" Kohana questioned back, in a falsely sweet tone.

"Hey… that wasn't very nice. You're supposed to be the cute but serious one of the group."

"I am?"

"Yep yep. The one good at getting us out of trouble."

"Since when?!"

"Since you're the smallest, and adults would still consider you to have a child's cuteness."

"Are you calling me a child?!"

"Well… the height thing threw me." Breana continued.

"Shouldn't talk like that Bre." Toby broke in. "If mom heard you, she'd be mad, and you're not too much taller than mom."

"Yeah. Thankfully we got a tall dad that evened out mom's genes." Breana continued.

"Or I'd be shorter than what I am." Toby responded, shivering at that thought.

"You're both taller than I am." Kohana pointed out.

"Then you got screwed on height with both parents." Toby answered.

"Both my parents are tall."

"You said you thought you were adopted." Ronna began curiously.

"Well… I don't know for sure. There could be a repressed brunette gene in my family, and as the darker tones are dominant over lighter..." She trailed off there. 'If there was a repressed dark hair gene on one side of my family, one of my parents should have had dark hair, but their both as blonde as Kayden.'

"Do any of your grandparents have dark hair?" Kayden asked.

"No…. not from what I remember. I never met them though."

"Really?" Ryu asked. "We don't have grandparents, don't worry about it."

"Yeah. I… only saw them in pictures and film."

"Well… I'd say that's enough evidence that you were adopted." Kayden thought out loud. "Ever think to find your real parents?"

Kohana sighed. "If I was adopted, it must have been for a reason. Maybe they were young when they had me and couldn't support a baby. Maybe they weren't good parents and I was removed from their care. Maybe they died. Maybe they never wanted me."

'Whatever orphanage gave her to those people should be shut down!' Kayden thought to himself. 'It's their fault she has such a hard past to get over and barely trusts anyone!'

"Well then, they're idiots!" Ryu defended. "If they didn't take the chance to get to know you then they don't deserve one now."

"I would still like to see them." Kohana mused. "Just to know that I was supposed to belong somewhere; and to see if I looked like them or acted like them. I wouldn't tell them who I was though." She stopped for a moment before continuing with that thought. "But from what I know, I am their daughter. If I was adopted they never told me, and I don't have any information to go on. I don't know where I came from or what orphanage gave me to them. I don't even know my real name; they probably renamed me as they wanted. I don't think I'll ever meet my real parents."

"Does Kohana feel like your name?" Ronna asked.

"It's a name. I don't feel anything for it." Kohana answered. "What about you, Kayden? Any scenario's I haven't considered?"

Kayden blinked at the sudden change in conversation, but accepted the matter as being closed. "Just one that would be so horrible that we would all wish death." Kayden said.

"What?" Breana spoke up.

"You singing the train song."

Breana glowered at him, while he stood there smirking back.

"Train song?" Kohana asked, bringing his attention back to her. "The train's coming; does it have anything to do with that?"

"No. It's just a song Mom taught her, that she likes to annoy us with." Toby answered.

Breana took a breath. "Train, train. Take us away."

"Oh no… it begins." Kayden muttered.

"This is your fault." Ryu responded. "We, that still have ears after this, swear revenge!"

"Take us away… FAR AWAY!!!" Breana continued.

Beside them, Instructor Bane started as the song continued to get louder and louder.

"What did you say? I can't hear over the screeching." Kayden remarked.

Breana smacked the back of his head before taking in the final breath. "TO THE FUTURE WE WILL GOOOOO!!!! There was that so bad?"

"It's over?!" Toby remarked. "My ears aren't bleeding yet. YAY!!!"

"I hear ringing… only ringing." Kayden responded.

"You're lucky you can hear that." Ryu continued.

"You guys are mean….You – You- You Meanies!!!"

Kohana and Ronna exchanged looks and shrugged, both looked slightly bored.

"Mom really rubbed off on her." Toby answered. "And no, it's not that bad, Sis. It's just fun to tease you."

"TRAIN, TRAIN!!!!"

"Was it absolutely necessary for you say that, Toby?" Ryu asked. "That just got her going again!!! Now we will all suffer."

"TAKE US AWAY!!!!!!"

"I was just trying to be nice!" Toby defended.

"TAKE US AWAY!!!! FAR AWAY!!!!!!"

"Well it failed." Ryu spoke.

Kayden would have said that, except he was too busy plugging his ears to bother answering.

"TO THE FUTURE WE WILL GOOOOOOO!!! ONE MORE TIME!!!!"

"No…" Kohana almost whimpered, placing her hands to the temples of her forehead.

"What's going on over there?" A familiar voice questioned.

Kayden turned around, followed quickly by the rest and fell into the SeeD salute.

"They're teasing me, Sir." Breana informed pouting slightly when she said that.

Martine's expression faded until a softer amused look flickered in over his aged face. "As much as I appreciate the singing, the train is just arriving and we will have to board soon."

The group nodded and, as the dark train pulled up ahead of them, sending an ominous shadow over the group, none found any humor in the situation. They were heading back to Balamb, not for a holiday, but to support their friend. This was bound to be an uncomfortable vacation, no time for relaxing at all. With the stress of having to speak at the tribunal growing ever more as the time ticked away that the council would begin.

Single file, they followed their amused Headmaster through the rich and lavish interior of the train and into a sitting area. It was coloured dark blue mostly. A dark blue thick throw rug, with flickers of white and silver tones within it, was positioned over the dark wood finishing on the floor. There were several pictures situated on the walls behind them, showing softly painted scenes of nature and one scene of the Garden. On the door there was a carving of the SeeD insignia, a symbolic mixing of light and dark.

The decorated sitting room came with two large white couches, with dark blue blankets folded in the corner, in case a SeeD personal wanted to nap on the train. The three dark wooden tables sat in the center of the room, large enough to spread a fairly large area map over all three, in case strategic planning had to occur before the group reached their destination. A curtain separated the window from the light outside, sending an opaque shadow throughout the room.

On the opposite side of the room, stood framed maps of the surrounding country. Kayden could just make out Galbadia Garden and Deling city on the furthest ones.

Martine excused himself once more, and went to sit with the adults, who were just across the hall from their own room. They would be checked in on multiple times during this trip by their headmaster and their instructor. Kayden wandered further into the room, watching from the corner of his eye as Ryu and his sister took up one couch, while the Kinneas children occupied the other. He followed Kohana up to the maps of the country and watched her serious eyes taking in as much detail as possible.

"What are you doing?" He questioned finally, when she did not speak.

"If the train does get attacked and we are separated from the SeeDs and the Headmaster, we should have some knowledge of the land in case we have to find our way to Timber. I didn't think to look at a map of Galbadia." She answered.

"Do you think that's going to happen?" Kayden remarked in disbelief.

"You never know. It's better to be slightly prepared for every situation then find yourself in one you have not prepared for at all."

'Where have I heard that before?' Kayden mused to himself. "You're right." He responded. "I'd rather be prepared too. Need help?"

"Two people's memories are better than one. If we both have a sense of the lay of the land it would be more beneficial if the worst case scenario occurs. I think the others would laugh at us if we tried to get them up here though."

"It will be fine." Kayden reassured.

"I'm not so sure." Kohana said.

The conversation died there as the two continued studying the maps. He tried to memorize as much as he could, despite his thoughts on how small a chance her concerns would come true. 'If it makes her feel better…' he thought. 'She's just worrying over the tribunal and the Garden's decision. But Kohana knows she can't do anything about that, so she's trying to worry about something she can do something over? How confusing! Mom would like her. Now that's a scary thought! Maybe it's not such a good idea to let her meet mom; they're gonna team up on me. Especially since Mom knows that she's my girlfriend! How did she get me to admit that!!! I'm so screwed! Dad's going to rub my face with this!!! I'll never live it down!'