Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]
Grace Barton
Chapter Twelve
Once the lift was free, Squall called the elevator back down. When it reached the bottom the group piled in and headed up the 2F.
By the time they reached the 2F, Xu was nowhere to be seen. Knowing that she had to be somewhere on this floor, the group ran to the corridor by the classrooms. It was there that they at last spotted Xu. The SeeD was running past the classrooms, and did not seem to have spotted them. They hurried after her.
Hearing the sound of chasing footsteps, Xu glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw them, but instead of stopping she just scowled and then quickened her pace. Squall and the others did the same.
They caught up with her at the end of the corridor. There was no place left for Xu to run, and the only way out was through the emergency exit door, which led to nothing but an outdoor balcony. Xu turned to face them and put up her fists. Her knuckles were bruised and she had cuts across her cheek. Though she was visibly tired she stood her ground, ready to fight if necessary.
Xu glared at them. "Whose side are you on!" she demanded.
"Neither," Squall replied, shaking his head. "We have urgent news. We need to see the headmaster now. Where is he?"
Xu did not reply. She just clenched her fists and continued to stare them down. Quistis shook her head, dumbstruck by her old friend's behaviour. Just what had gone down in Balamb Garden that Xu would look even at them with suspicion?
"Just trust us, Xu!" Quistis pleaded with her. "There's no more time to waste."
Xu looked at Quistis, her face torn. She then looked to Squall, who said nothing. Her eyes darted about, uncertain. Finally she nodded and she relaxed her arms, keeping them at her sides. "Ok," she answered. "I'm listening…"
Behind Squall, Rinoa sighed in relief. The swordsman stepped forward. "Galbadian missiles may be heading this way," he told the SeeD.
Xu jumped. "Here!" she cried. Squall nodded. Xu's face paled. She turned away from them, her mind racing. Once she had calmed and composed herself she turned back to them. "Alright," she said. "I'll inform him right away."
"Where is he?" Squall asked her.
Xu smiled. "In his office," she replied. "We made it look like he's hiding, but he's been there all along." Quistis nodded in approval, and Xu bowed her head. The SeeD then turned and started to jog back up the corridor. After a few steps she stopped and turned back, beckoning to them. "Follow me," she said."
Squall and the others hurried after her, and she led them back to the lift. Once inside, Xu pressed the button for the 3F, the headmaster's personal floor. The doors closed and the lift went up. When it reached the top the group got out. Xu instructed them to wait for a moment while she went into the headmaster's office to inform him of their arrival. They did as she bade them, waiting in the hall.
After a minute or so the doors opened and Xu came out again. "He's waiting for you," she told them. Squall bowed his head in thanks. Xu returned the gesture and then walked past them and stood in the doorway of the lift. "I'll go tell everyone to evacuate." She then went inside and the lift went down again.
Once Xu was gone, Squall and the others turned to the door. After all their searching, and the battles they were forced to fight, they had finally found him. Squall took a breath and then ran through the door, into the headmaster's office.
Headmaster Cid was waiting for them. When Squall and the others came running in he turned to greet them. He seemed to have aged dramatically since the last time they saw him. His face was drawn and pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep. Yet despite this, the headmaster still managed to greet them with a smile, tired though it was.
Squall, Quistis and Rinoa stopped in front of him. "Sir," said Squall. He and Quistis stood at attention and saluted the headmaster.
Headmaster Cid bowed his head. He then waved his hand, indicating that they could relax. They did so. "Xu has told me about the missiles," the headmaster informed them. He folded his hands behind his back. "The intercom is down so we can't announce the order to evacuate. Xu, Raijin and Fujin are taking care of that. I want you to assist them and then evacuate."
Now Squall had to blame his on his own tiredness and his nerves possibly playing tricks on him, but right then he got the distinct impression that the headmaster was trying to get rid of them. He had nothing to base it on except for his own instincts, but as he had been taught to rely on those instincts he was inclined to believe them. The more he looked at the headmaster, the surer he became. Something weighed heavily on the headmaster's mind, and he didn't want them to know. He hid it behind that tired smile.
…What's on your mind? Squall wondered. "But I have a lot to report," he said.
The headmaster waved his hand. "You can tell me later," he replied. He then performed a mimic of the SeeD salute and grinned at Squall.
But Squall did not return the smile. You might be dead later… he thought to himself. The way the headmaster was acting—so purposefully cheerful—sent a warning shiver down Squall's spine. Surely the headmaster wasn't planning to…
"Do you have a problem with that?" Cid asked, seeing the look on Squall's face.
Yeah, Squall replied in his mind. What are you going to do? He decided to just ask. "Sir, what are you going to do?"
Now it was Cid's turn to hesitate. The headmaster turned his head away from Squall. "I'm going to stay here and see this to the end," he said. He raised his eyes and met Squall's gaze again. "After all, this place is like my home."
Squall started to nod, understanding. But Rinoa, who had been listening to all of this, shook her head. "No…!" she protested. "You can't!" Brushing away Squall's hand, she pushed her way past him and stood in front of the headmaster. "Just come with us," she pleaded, and her eyes were filling. "Please! You can always rebuild this place!"
"Sir!" said Quistis, sharing Rinoa's sentiment.
The headmaster gazed at Rinoa, and he smiled as he saw the earnestness in her face. He reached out to her and patted her hand. "You can rest assured," he said. "I am just going to try something. There still may be a way to save the Garden."
Releasing her hand, Cid turned and headed towards the door. He walked no more than a few steps when his legs suddenly buckled and gave way. The headmaster fell to his knees, breathing hard. His face paled, and a bead of sweat rolled down his brow.
Squall looked down at him. Against missiles…? he wondered. How? He watched the headmaster as he struggled to catch his breath. The headmaster was exhausted. It was a struggle just to stay on his feet. What could he possibly do in his current condition?
Before him, the headmaster began to chuckle. He groaned and heaved himself onto his feet. He wobbled and for a moment Rinoa feared he might fall again, but he remained on his feet. The headmaster pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow. "Heh heh… I'm too old for this," he remarked.
Squall made up his mind and stepped forward. "Sir, I'd like to handle whatever it is that you're planning."
The headmaster paused. He looked at Squall for a long moment, before he folded his handkerchief and put it back in his pocket. "And why is that?" he asked, gazing at Squall over the rim of his glasses.
The swordsman blinked, surprised by the sudden question. He averted his gaze. …I don't know… he confessed. Because you might screw up… Because I want to do more than announce the evacuation. Because this place is important to me, too. Because I want to find out your plan. Because this is my home. Squall shook his head. I have too many reasons. I don't know why… Who cares?
"My feelings have nothing to do with it, sir," he said aloud, facing Cid.
Again the headmaster smiled, and he chuckled. "Heh heh. Quistis was right. You do have a hard time expressing your feelings."
Squall, at once, spun around to face Quistis. The instructor said nothing and just turned her gaze away. She looked up at the ceiling, her face a picture of pure innocence. Rinoa giggled, holding her sides.
Squall frowned. Why bother? he asked himself. And what's this? Why am I being judged? The swordsman shook his head and turned back to Headmaster Cid. "Sir! Please tell us your plan!" he asked, raising his voice.
The headmaster nodded and folded his hands behind his back once more. "This building used to be a shelter," he told them, "long before it was remodelled into the Garden as we know it." Cid walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. He rummaged about until he found what he was looking for. Turning, he threw it to Squall. "Use that key to open the lock on the elevator. Opening the lock will give you access to the MD level.
"Rumour has it that below the MD level, there is some kind of a control system. It was used when this place was still a shelter, so I've never seen it. And I have no idea what it does. All I know is that it was used for the shelter, so it might prove useful against the missiles. That's what I'm betting on."
Squall looked down at the key in his hand. It was very old and was covered in rust. It probably hadn't been used in years. Squall raised his eyebrow. Sounds pretty farfetched, he thought. But I guess it's better than nothing. He slipped the key into his pocket. He then stood at attention and saluted the headmaster. "I understand," he said. Behind him, Quistis also saluted. "We'll find the control system and check it out."
Headmaster Cid nodded. "Good luck to all of you," he said.
Squall lowered his arm and turned to Quistis and Rinoa. They all nodded. Squall and Quistis then turned and ran out of the office.
Rinoa remained behind for a moment. She looked at Headmaster Cid, and her face was still torn. Seeing her worried face, the headmaster smiled back at her, and he also nodded his head. Rinoa saw there was still hope in the headmaster's eyes, and she realised then that he had not given up. He did believe there was a chance to save the Garden.
She knelt down beside Angelo. She patted the dog and whispered in his ear, before she got to her feet again and handed his leash to Cid. The headmaster looked at her with a puzzled expression, but then nodded as he understood. Angelo went over to stand by the headmaster's side. He would guard the headmaster while his mistress was gone.
Rinoa hurried out of the office and caught up to Squall and Quistis by the lift, where they had stopped to wait for her. Once she joined them they walked inside.
Squall went over to the locked panel the headmaster had described. In truth Squall had often wondered what the keyhole at the bottom of the keypad was for, but now he knew. He pulled out the key and inserted it into the lock. There was some resistance but then the key turned, and Squall pulled the bottom of the keypad open. Inside there was a single button, labelled 'MD LEVEL'. Squall pushed the button and the lift doors closed. It began to head down.
While Squall and the others were heading down in the elevator, the Galbadian missiles had completed their upward arc into the sky. Now the missiles turned and began their downward descent, breaking into the clouds.
Squall and the others waited as the lift headed down. They went past the 2F and the 1F, below the BF and down to the MD level. The outside became dark and all the noise coming from above dulled and faded away. The only sounds left to hear were those they made themselves, such as their own nervous breathing.
The lift headed deeper beneath the Garden. Then the lift gave a groan and shuddered to a halt. Squall looked up in alarm as the walls and floor shook. The overhead lights went out, leaving them in almost complete darkness. The group stood still, gazing around them, waiting for the lift to resume its movement. Yet nothing happened, and the lift remained dark.
After a minute, Squall turned to the door. He pressed on it, and then hit the door gently with his fist. The lift did not move, and the doors remained closed.
"Hey," said Rinoa, "there's no way I'm gonna get stuck in here."
Quistis agreed. "Look, there definitely has to be a way out," she pressed.
Squall also had to agree. Of all the times for the power to fail, why did it have to be now? Was it just a coincidence that the power failed, or was it a sign that the fighting up above them was growing more intense? Whatever the reason was, it did not spell good news for them.
He turned to the control pad. The lock was still open. Squall pushed the MD level button again, but nothing happened. He pushed it again, harder this time, but still nothing happened.
…It's not responding, he realised with a groan.
Squall flipped the control panel shut. He had not really expected it to work, but it was worth a try. The swordsman looked around the lift. If they could not get the lift to work then they would, as Quistis said, have to find another way out.
He examined the walls and door. He could force the doors open, but there was nothing out there but a long drop. Squall looked up, thinking maybe they could climb out of the roof, but there was nothing for them to climb out of.
His gaze then went to the floor. There was a hatch built into the bottom of the lift, to use as a means of escape. Strange, Squall thought. He could not recall having ever seen that hatch before. He knelt beside it. After a struggle, he managed to get a grip on the edge, and he pulled the hatch open.
"Alright, Squall!" Rinoa cheered, clapping her hands.
Squall peered down the hatch. There was a long ladder running down the side of the wall, heading, he presumed, to the bottom. It was still a long way to the bottom. Much of the area was in darkness but there was a faint light coming from part way down, probably coming from a hole in the wall.
The air coming from beyond the hatch was stale and musty. "Nobody's been here for a while," Squall observed, wrinkling his nose. "Be careful."
Quistis and Rinoa nodded. Squall sat down by the hatch and lowered his legs through the hole. It was a narrow fit, and he only just managed to squeeze through. He placed his feet on the rungs of the ladder, careful to first test their strength before putting his whole weight on it. He began to climb down. Rinoa came down after him, and Quistis came last.
They climbed down the ladder as quickly as they dared. The ladder was old and it creaked with each step they took. When Squall placed his foot on one rung it wobbled, and he lifted his foot away from it. He called a warning up to Rinoa and Quistis before bypassing that rung and using the next one.
The trio headed down. As they climbed, Squall spared a quick glance downwards. The light he had seen earlier was just a few feet below them. It was coming from a hole in the wall—a large gap where the plate covering the wall had fallen away.
Overhead there was a low clunk, followed by the sound of a hum. A light came on and Squall looked up in alarm as the lift sprang back into life again. It shuddered and then started to descend, heading rapidly towards them.
"Hurry!" Squall called to Rinoa and Quistis. "To the hatch!"
They began to climb down the ladder. The lift was gaining on them fast and Squall knew that it was going to be close.
He reached the hatch first. As he had hoped it was a large opening and he was able to dive through it without any difficulty. Rinoa jumped through after him. Quistis jumped through last and she was lucky she did, for the moment she landed the lift came slamming down right behind her. As luck would have, it the lift's power failed again at that point and the lift stopped again, blocking the exit. They were trapped.
They found themselves standing at the entrance of a wide tunnel. It was dark at first, but after they jumped in the lights switched on automatically. Squall figured they must be activated by movement and he was surprised that they were still working, even after all this time.
With their only exit blocked, they had no choice but to head down the tunnel. It was only short and they soon came to its end. There were no doors but Squall noticed another large hatch embedded in the floor. It was rusted over and very stiff, but after a few tugs Squall managed to pry it open. He peered down to make sure it was safe and then jumped through into the tunnel below.
As he landed, Squall was hit by the strong scent of oil. It was stale but thick and very overpowering. Squall felt his head begin to spin, and he put his hand to his head. After a moment the sensation passed, and Squall signalled to Quistis and Rinoa. They jumped down, and they too were overwhelmed by the smell.
Squall glanced around at their surroundings. It was a large, cylindrical tunnel with nothing else to it all. The walls were caked in rust, and the floor was stained with dried black smudges—oil. Squall folded his arms.
"An oil stratum…" he said. His voice echoed. He lowered his voice and turned to the women. "Watch out for enemies weak against fire around here."
Rinoa and Quistis nodded. In a place as old as this, it was probably that a variety of strange and bizarre monsters had spawned. Whatever kind of creatures they were, they would have had to adapt to the metallic and oily terrain. That meant they would be weaker against Fire magic, and so by adding that element to their weapons they would have an easier time dealing with those enemies.
"Ok, let's go," said Squall.
They headed down the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel they found a ladder that went down even further below the Garden. The group got on and followed it down to the bottom. It led them to a large, circular room with a strange, plated floor. There was only one door out of this room, and so they went on through into another room. Here they found themselves at a dead end, and spread out to examine the room.
The room was cramped, and there wasn't much to examine. The most prominent object was a large wheel by the wall. Squall went over and examined it.
"What do you suppose this wheel is for?" he wondered.
"Maybe," said Quistis, "it's for opening something."
"Like a valve or something?" Rinoa asked. She gave the wheel a tap.
Quistis shook her head. "No, it's too large for that." She turned back towards the door. "Did you see the floor outside? It was plated in the middle." She turned back. "I'm thinking that wheel is for opening up that floor."
"Opening the floor?" Rinoa asked. "But why would they design it like that?"
"Security," replied Quistis. "Squall, you said yourself that this is an oil stratum. If a fire were to break out below, it would spread rapidly to the levels above. By sealing off the lower floors, they could prevent an outbreak by trapping the flames here. Try turning the wheel, Squall."
The swordsman nodded and went over to the wheel. Like everything else in this place, the wheel was old and rusted over. It might not even turn, he told himself. Still, it was worth a try. Squall gripped the wheel and pulled. As he expected, it did not even budge. He pulled again, but still the wheel refused to move. Squall released the wheel and rubbed his wrists.
Seeing that he was not getting anywhere, Rinoa went over to help him. She examined the wheel and gave it another tap before she also took hold of the wheel. She added her strength to Squall's and they tugged on the wheel together. At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, the wheel started to move. Rust flaked off its joints as the wheel turned. A pillar on the wall also started to turn, and a grating noise could be heard from outside.
While the two worked, Quistis peered out of the door. As she had theorised, the floor outside was turning, opening up to reveal another downward passage. When the floor was fully open the wheel stopped turning. Squall and Rinoa stepped away from the wall, and both of them rubbed their wrists. Rinoa smiled at Squall, pleased that they had managed to do it together. Squall stared at her, wondering why she was smiling. Rinoa then winked at him and headed out of the door.
A slim path now bordered the edge of the tunnel. It led to yet another ladder that went down even further beneath the Garden. It went down a long way, and there was a light shining at the bottom. They got on and climbed all the way down.
The ladder came out in a very large, open room, at the top of a set of steps. When the group got off the ladder they gathered at the top of those steps and peered out at the room around them.
The room was incredibly large. Squall reckoned that it must have spanned about half the size of the whole Garden. There were about twenty long pipes coming out of the walls and heading into the floor, plated with glass and emitting a very dim white light. A large, wide pillar stood at the centre of the room, rising up to the ceiling. A number of rooms lined the upper parts of the floor, far beyond their reach. Squall stared at the room and shook his head. Had all of this really been underneath Balamb Garden all this time?
He recalled what Headmaster Cid had said. The Garden had once been a shelter, so it would make sense that its original makers would have built much of the base underground. But Squall had expected hidden rooms and chambers, secure places where people could live and hide and be protected from the dangers above ground. Not… this. Just what was this place?
The group headed down the steps and came out beside the central pillar. They circled the pillar once and then stopped next to it. There were no doors anywhere on this floor. It seemed they could go no further.
…A dead end? Squall thought. He folded his arms, thinking.
Rinoa looked around at the room. She turned to the pillar and noted that there was a ladder built against it, heading upwards.
"We have to climb out again?" she asked in dismay. She was getting fed up of all this climbing and stuff.
"I wonder where it's connected to?" wondered Quistis.
They turned their gazes upwards, following the ladder's route. It stopped at the top of the pillar. There was a bridge at the top, heading out across the floor. It stopped at a door in the wall, seeming to head inside.
"Looks like it's connected to that room," said Rinoa.
Quistis turned to Squall. "Make a decision, Squall," she told him.
Rinoa also turned to Squall. The swordsman sighed. …I have to decide, he thought, and then looked at the ladder. This one was more rusted than the others, and it did not look like it could take much weight. It was probably safer if just one person climbed it. "I'll go take a look," he said. "You two wait here."
The women nodded.
Squall placed his foot on the ladder, testing its strength. It wobbled a little, but it seemed to be sturdy enough. The swordsman put his full weight on the ladder and, after a moment's hesitation, he began to climb. Quistis and Rinoa waited at the bottom, watching as he headed up.
When Squall was close to the top, the screws holding the ladder to the wall came loose and it pulled away from the wall. Rinoa screamed as the ladder tilted away, taking Squall with it. The swordsman looked about in alarm and held onto the ladder as it started to fall back towards the wall.
At the last moment, before the ladder crashed, Squall jumped. He smashed through a glass window and skidded onto the floor. He covered his face with his arms, protecting himself from the falling glass. A second later the ladder also crashed through the window and bounced against the window ledge. It wobbled for a moment or two and then became still.
Squall lowered his arms and got to his feet. His heart was racing. That was too close. He brushed shards of glass from his clothing, thankful that the thickness of the leather had protected him from being cut to pieces. He did not come away completely unscathed, as he realised when his cheek started to sting. He healed the cut with Cure and then turned to examine the room he had landed in.
It was a simple enough room, filled with consoles. These were covered in thick layers of dust, as he expected them to be after being abandoned for more than twenty years. Squall went to one nearest the window and wiped off some of the dust. It came off in thick clouds, causing him to cough. When the dust cleared, Squall examined the console.
Most of the console was dark, as its power had been shut off for years. Only one section seemed to be active: a switch right at the base of the console. Curious that this was the only thing still working, Squall flicked it.
Nothing happened.
He was about to turn away when a loud hum filled the room. Squall looked around him and then turned to the broken window, where a loud grating noise sounded.
Around the pillar the floor was starting to open up, much like the floor they had seen on the upper levels. It opened to reveal yet another hidden floor. Squall could only stare in amazement. Just how many hidden chambers did this place have?
Beneath the hidden floor there was a long path, leading to a large door at the far end. That must be where they had to go, Squall realised.
He turned from the console and went over to the door. It was locked, and he could not get out. With nowhere else left to go, Squall returned to the ladder. It was perched against the window ledge. It was not secure, but it seemed to be his only way out.
It looks like I'll have to use this ladder again, he observed. He then shrugged and got on the ladder, climbing back down.