June 7

"It's truly an honor to have you here, Mr. President," said the school headmaster as he led Laguna down the hall to the classrooms. "If we'd had some warning you were coming, we would have organized some sort of reception, or —"

"Hey, I don't want a parade!" Laguna insisted. "I just came by to see how your schools are doing, and visit an old friend. That's all."

"Of course, Mr. President. But still, if we could call an assembly so that you could speak to all our children — just for a short while, of course — I'm sure it would be a wonderful experience for them."

"Uh..." Laguna wondered for a moment if he should. "Sure! I'd love to —"

"Laguna," Kiros whispered. "You've got to be at the economic forum in thirty minutes."

"...but not for too long, though!" Laguna finished.

"Of course not, Mr. President," said the headmaster. "I understand how precious your time is — Ah! Here's Ms. Leonhart's class."

He opened the door to show a room with about a dozen children facing a young woman with short, brown hair. "...so let's open our books to..." the woman was saying; but she abruptly trailed off once she identified the figures on the other side of the door. "Oh, my...Uncle Laguna?"

"Hi, Elle!" Laguna said, beaming. "Just thought I'd drop in and —"

The two of them collided in a joyful embrace. Kiros, Ward and the headmaster looked on with varying degrees of confusion and resignation regarding the lack of formality.

"Um, everybody," Ellone said, regaining her composure. "This is a very good friend of mine. And he's also the president of the whole country of Esthar. Let's all make him feel welcome, okay?"

"Hello, Mr. Laguna!" a chorus of children uttered.

"Hi, kids!" Laguna replied. "So, you guys know who I am?"

"Yoo're th' Pwesident!" shouted one boy. "But, my dad says yoo're a figure-head!"

"My mommy says yoo're a bumblin' idiot!" said another boy.

Laguna nodded. "They say that, huh? Well, tell them I said thanks. Okay?"

"Okay!" both said cheerily.

"Yoo don't look like yoo're a puppet!" said a girl accusingly. "I don't see any stwings!"

"Yeah; I left them back at the office," Laguna replied.

"Hey, why don't you kids let me talk to Mr. Laguna for a bit?" Ellone asked. "I'm sure Mr. Kiros and Mr. Ward will be happy to keep you company."

Laguna and Ellone stepped out into the hall as Kiros and Ward attempted to make sense of the storm of questions fired off by the children. "Now, of course I'm happy to see you," Ellone said once they were safely away from the others, "but what brought you down here all of a sudden?"

"Well, you know." Laguna unconsciously scratched the back of his neck. "I was just wonderin' how you were doing. I mean, I haven't seen you since you started working here, and I thought —"

"Come on, Uncle Laguna," Ellone interrupted, smiling. "You're a terrible liar. I could tell when I was four years old. Now what's the matter?"

"Really, I just wanted to see you!" But it was clear that Ellone wasn't buying it. Laguna sighed. "...You know, I always wished I'd gone back with you, to Winhill. But there are some days when I just can't stand it." He looked around nervously, a little worried that someone might be watching. "I mean, I stayed here because I thought I could help, but nowadays, I wonder if I'm making any difference at all."

"Anything in particular?" Ellone asked; then she frowned. "It's about Garden, isn't it?"

Laguna nodded. "I know I can help, but I can't even ask the Parliament to try! I mean..." He shook his head. "His whole life, I haven't been able to do a single thing for him. Just once, I'd like to be able to help."

Ellone took his hand in hers. "Uncle Laguna, I know you want to do something for Squall, and I know how horrible you feel for not being there. But I also know that I've never met anyone more dedicated to doing the right thing than you. And I know you'll find a way. Just don't give up on yourself."

After a moment's pause, Laguna laughed. "You know, Elle, one of these days, I'm going to learn not to think of you as that little girl I knew back in Winhill."

Ellone smiled. "No, you won't."

"Mr. President!" The headmaster was hurrying down the hall, accompanied by a few other administrators. "We're having all the children gather in the auditorium, and if you'd just come for a few moments —"

"Right, sure," Laguna agreed, with a shrug at Ellone. "Catch you later, baby Elle."

She nodded. "You know where to find me, Uncle Laguna."

"Welcome to Galbadia's Deep Sea Research Center. I am Administrator Derrick. This is Colonel Graize, our chief of security and your superior for the duration of your presence here."

The nine SeeDs had been escorted from the airship to a meeting room in the facility's control tower. They now stood in a relatively well-furnished room which offered a view over much of the landing areas. Derrick stood behind a desk oriented perpendicular to the windows.

"The nature of our research here is classified, however I'm certain that some of you —" there was a rather pointed accent to the words, "— might think yourselves able to guess. So you might also understand our desire for personnel of your capabilities and training to maintain security here. Colonel Graize will inform you of the details."

Graize stepped forward, handing Squall a data tablet. "The details of your assignments are here. Note that you are restricted to only green- and yellow-level security zones. Entry into red-level zones without permission will result in immediate discharge from service, and entry into blue-level zones will most likely result in your death, one way or another." He scanned the faces of the SeeDs, especially the younger ones, as if hoping some of them had been particularly frightened by his words. Your duties will begin in one hour's time."

"You will now be shown to your rooms," said Derrick, tapping a button on his desk. "Dismissed."

A pair of Galbaidan soldiers escorted them to their rooms, which were down an elevator and a much less inviting hallway, and resembled those on the airship, though only large enough to house three persons each. After that, they were left alone.

"I'm still a bit lost on what we're supposed to be doing here," said Karenna, who had been placed in a room with Squall and Irvine.

"The way I read it," Irvine said, "these guys are scared that they won't be able to handle it if some of their experiments get loose, so we're being kept around to clean up any mess they make."

Karenna nodded. "Okay. And what does this mean for those of us who haven't defeated a Weapon or fought through Time Compression?"

Irvine shrugged. "Well, you might still get your chance."

The door slid open to admit Quistis, who had been roomed across the hall. "Squall," she said, "I'm really concerned about all this. Galbadia must be restarting its GF experiments. You saw what they were able to do here before the facility was abandoned; what if they actually succeed this time?"

"I'm kind of worried about what'd happen if they fail again," said Irvine.

"Either way, there's nothing we can do about it," said Squall. "We've got our assignments, and we're bound by contract. So, we have to abide by it, regardless of our personal opinions."

Quistis frowned at him. "Squall —"

"That's the way it is." Squall sat down on his cot, rummaging through his gear. "There's no point in discussing it."

Quistis and Irvine exchanged a glance, but neither attempted to continue the conversation. Quistis departed, and for a few minutes, Squall worked at unpacking. He finished quickly, not having brought much with him, and then lay back on the cot, staring up at the ceiling and tuning out anything that might remind him of the presence of others in the room.

I could be stuck here for months, he thought. First I'm trapped in Garden, unable to help Rinoa, and now I'm stuck here, away from both of them. Why the hell am I even doing this?

He was on the first shift; so he couldn't allow himself to sleep. So, he simply lay on the cot, staring up at the ceiling for the remainder of the hour.