Final Fantasy 8: The Story 2nd Instalment

by Emerald Princess of Vernea

The second instalment of a complete novelisation of Final Fantasy VIII. This instalment covers the second disc of the game. See Instalments 1 and 3 for the rest of the story. Please read and review!

16. Part 05: Chapter 15

Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]

Grace Barton

Chapter Fifteen

"Please! Listen to me!"

Squall stopped and turned towards the door. …The headmaster's here?

He headed towards the door, with Rinoa following him. Behind them the lift, which had gone up again once they had stepped out, came back down again. The doors opened and Quistis stepped out. When she saw Squall and Rinoa in the room she stopped and stared at them in surprise.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked them. Seeing the questioning looks on their faces, she then said: "Huh? Oh, I'm looking for the headmaster."

"Let go of me!" came the headmaster's voice. "I'm not finished!"

They turned to the chamber door. Inside they saw Headmaster Cid. There were two members of the Garden Faculty on either side of him. To their shock they saw that the Faculty members had grabbed the headmaster by his arms and were carrying him towards the door. They threw him out, with no less courtesy than they would have shown a sack of potatoes. The headmaster did not fall but skidded on the ground, and his glasses fell from his face. Instead of picking them up, Cid turned back to the chamber, his face red.

"Greedy son-of-a-bitch!" Cid shouted in outrage. "Why did I even bother talking to you! SeeDs were brought up for the future! And that future is now! Why can't you understand!"

The two Faculty members stood in the doorway. They looked at one another. Then one of them nodded, and his comrade walked out of the chamber. He approached Cid and stood in front of him. He grabbed Cid by the collar and then pushed him further from the door. Cid staggered and fell. Rinoa gasped.

The headmaster sat up. He rubbed his arm. Then, clenching his fist, he struck the floor. "Dammit!" he cursed, and his voice was full of rage. "I should've never trusted you! I wish I could go back ten or so years." Cid got back onto his feet, while the Faculty turned and walked away. "To tell myself that you're nothing but a money-grabbing son-of-a-bitch! Then I would've never built this place."

His angry words were unheard. The Garden Faculty members returned to the chamber. One of them stood guard in the doorway and kept his eyes on the headmaster. Their message was clear: Cid would not enter the chamber again.

The headmaster, seeing that he was getting nowhere, sighed. His shoulders dropped low, and the creases on his forehead eased. Instead of looking angry, he looked tired. So very tired and worn out, as though the burden that he carried was slowly crushing him. The headmaster brushed his sleeve across his eyes and then picked up his glasses from the floor. He wiped them on the hem of his sweater and put them on. His lip trembled, and he bit his lip. Cid then turned from the doorway, and it was only then that he spotted Squall. His eyes widened.

"Squall!" he exclaimed. He hesitated, and his cheeks flushed. "…You heard everything?" he asked.

Now Squall hesitated. "…Yes," he replied.

Cid's face flushed redder, and he scratched his head. "I'm embarrassed," he said, "but sometimes even old men like me lose their temper." He pushed his glasses up and then walked past Squall, heading for the lift. "Let's get out of here."

But Squall did not follow. He suddenly remembered something. Oh… He turned to the headmaster. "Sir. I still have to give you my report."

Headmaster Cid stopped and turned back. He looked at Squall and then at Rinoa and Quistis. He saw that they were not ready to leave yet, and he also guessed why. He nodded. "Please come to my office later," he said. He turned away again.

Rinoa whispered to Squall. "Oh, and that doctor…"

Squall nodded, remembering. "Oh, and um, Dr Kadowaki wants you to go to the Infirmary," he said to the headmaster. "She sounded very serious."

"Heh heh," Cid chuckled. "Looks like I finally made her mad." He smiled—a weak, tired smile—and then went over to the lift. He got in and it went up.

When the headmaster had gone, the Faculty member guarding the door stepped aside as one of his comrades came out and approached the group.

"You're the SeeDs who returned from Galbadia, correct?" he asked them.

Squall turned to him. "Yes," he answered. Behind him, Quistis looked at Rinoa, who smiled and put her finger to her lips. As with Galbadia Garden, it was much simpler for them to pretend that Rinoa was a SeeD as well.

"It's about time," the Faculty said, scowling at them. "Master NORG has been waiting for you. Come."

The Faculty went back into the chamber. Squall and the others followed him.

Inside the chamber there were more members of the Garden Faculty. They all stood before a large, peculiar-looking pod that stood against the back wall of the chamber. The pod was closed now, but it hummed as though it was alive. Lights flickered over it, and there were two large, coloured orbs on either side of it. Squall wondered what the orbs were for.

The Faculty led them to the front of the pod where another Faculty member was waiting. There he stopped and turned to them, his face grimacing. "Whenever Master NORG calls you," he said, "be sure to be there within three seconds."

At that moment a loud rumbling rocked the chamber. The Faculty members stiffened and turned to the pod, their eyes wide. Squall looked around in alarm before he also turned to the pod, where the rumbling noise was coming from.

The rumble echoed throughout the chamber. Then a deep, warbling voice boomed from within the pod. "THREE-SECONDS-ARE-UP!"

Everyone looked up at the pod. The rumbling sound came again, rattling from inside. Latches on the front of the pod flicked open. The hatch lifted an inch, and steam seeped out in a thick cloud. The hatch then gave a whoosh and it opened.

There was a creature sitting in the pod. He could only be described as a creature, for Squall had never seen anything like him before.

He was humanoid in shape, but that was as far as the similarity went. His skin was creamy-yellow and somewhat flabby, though whether that was natural or a result of gluttony, Squall did not know. He was tall and had a wide face with an equally wide mouth and tiny, narrow eyes. His hands were large, ten times the size of a human's, with long, fat fingers. He was dressed in the ornate robes befitting the Master of Balamb Garden, and he looked down upon them with a look of smug contempt.

Following the revolt, Squall had done a little digging about the Garden Master. He had not discovered much. All he had found out was that the Garden Master was the one who had put forward the money to help build Balamb Garden. He was the owner of the Garden, though he did all the running from the background. Headmaster Cid who took care of the goings on in Garden, but it was the Garden Master who controlled everything. No one had ever seen him before, or even knew his name. Until now, that is.

Squall stared at the creature sitting in the pod. …This is the Garden Master? The proprietor of Garden? …He's not human? Come to think of it, we didn't know anything about him. …What a shock.

The creature known as NORG opened his mouth. Another deep rumble sounded throughout the chamber, causing his lips to wobble.

"GIVE YOUR REPORT ON THE SORCERESS," the Garden Master commanded.

Squall stiffened. He did not like the way the Garden Master had ordered his report, without any explanation of any kind. Still, he was the owner of Balamb Garden, and so Squall supposed he had a right to demand a report. The swordsman folded his arms, trying to think.

Now, where do I start…?

Seeing him pause, one of the Faculty members by the pod stepped forward. "Answer him quickly," he said. "Be concise."

Squall looked at him and then up at NORG, who was waiting. The Garden Master's lips were turned downward into a scowl, and his fingers drummed against the edge of the pod. Squall made up his mind and then came to attention. He saluted the Garden Master.

"…We failed to assassinate Sorceress Edea," he began. …It's going to be a sad report. "Confirmation of Headmaster Cid's order was made at Galbadia Garden. After Irvine Kinneas of Galbadia Garden joined our party… …We set off to carry out the 'Sorceress Assassination' order from Balamb and Galbadia Gardens…"

He did not get any further, for Garden Master NORG suddenly roared and cut him off. "BALAMB AND GALBADIA'S ORDERS!" he roared, and the pod trembled. "YOU WERE FOOLED!"

Fooled! Squall shook his head. "I… don't understand."

NORG's lips curled, scowling further. He rumbled, and those lips quivered. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the Faculty. "EXPLAIN TO THEM," he ordered.

The Faculty member bowed low in reverence to NORG and then turned to the group. "Master NORG has known about the alliance between the President of Galbadia and the sorceress," he explained. "He heard it from the Galbadian Garden Master himself."

"The Galbadian Garden Master…?" Squall repeated. Who was that?

NORG's voice rumbled and he answered the question for him. "THE MASTER OF GALBADIA GARDEN IS A SUBORDINATE OF MINE NAMED MARTINE."

Squall folded his arms. Martine…? Wasn't that the name of Galbadia Garden's headmaster? It couldn't just be coincidence, could it? Did this mean that Martine was the Garden Master as well as the headmaster? What did this mean? And what was this talk about them being 'fooled'? Squall put his hand to his head, trying to figure it out.

Around him, the Faculty members were still talking.

"Yes," said the other. "In fact the sorceress and Galbadia are closely connected. That is why the sorceress will definitely try to gain hold of all Gardens."

The first one took over. "So, Master NORG sent an official order to Galbadia Garden. It was to kill the sorceress. An assassination was thought to be the best means. But…"

Overhead NORG rumbled and he slammed his fists against the controls of the pod. "THAT SLY WEASEL MARTINE USED YOU AS A LAST RESORT FOR THE ASSASSINATION," he bellowed. His lips quivered in rage. "HE GAVE THAT ORDER TO PLACE THE BLAME ON ME! THAT-THAT BASTARD." He gave a roar and slammed his fists on the pod again.

Squall's head was beginning to hurt. He could not grasp all of this. "Are you saying that Balamb Garden had nothing to do with that order?" he asked.

The Faculty staff nodded. "You just happened to show up just before the mission was to be carried out," said one of them, and there was a hint of smugness in his voice. "They used you. But the operation failed. The sorceress is still alive and…"

"The sorceress retaliated," the other one finished. "Just as we expected. No doubt, it was the sorceress who ordered the missile attacks."

The first one took over again. "Something must be done to calm the sorceress' anger," he said. He looked at his colleague, and they both smiled.

Seeing those smiles made Squall shiver. A warning bell rung in the back of his mind, and he frowned. Something about what they had just said worried him. 'Something to calm the sorceress' anger'… …They couldn't possibly mean that…

"Wait a minute," he started to object. "That's just…"

But the Faculty member cut him off. "In order to do so, we needed to hand over those involved in the assassination to the sorceress. We had to show Balamb Garden's sincerity."

Squall started to object, but he was interrupted when NORG gave a loud bellow. Both fists came crashing onto the pod, making it shake. "OFFER THE SEED'S HEAD ON A SILVER PLATTER AND PRETEND WE OBEY THE SORCERESS!"

"Wha…"

The pain in Squall's head was beginning to get worse, just like this conversation. Dozens more questions ran through his mind now, and he did not know where to start. Only one thing was clear: The Garden Master wanted to hand him and his friends over to Sorceress Edea, presumably in some pitiful attempt to appease her wrath and save their own cowardly skins. Anger swelled up inside of Squall. He stepped up to the pod and glared up at NORG.

"Why aren't we fighting the sorceress!" he shouted at the Garden Master, and behind him Rinoa and Quistis nodded. Squall stepped closer to the pod and pointed to the ceiling, where the faint echoes of those living above sounded. "What about all the training we endure everyday! What good is it?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" NORG demanded. His face turned a sickly pink as he spoke. "YOU LOST TO THE SORCERESS! QUIT YOUR WHINING!"

One of the Faculty members turned to his comrade. "Headmaster Cid was saying the same thing…" he said in a low voice.

The other one paled. "H-Hey…" he said, and his eyes darted fearfully at NORG.

But NORG had heard. At the mention Cid's name the Garden Master roared in anger and raised both his fists into the air. The Faculty members jumped and then fled from the room in fright, as did all the others. Now only Squall, Rinoa and Quistis remained, sanding before the raging Garden Master.

"CID!" roared NORG. He unclenched his fingers. Lowering one arm, he pointed at Squall. "THAT IDIOT CID DISPATCHED SEED TO KILL THE SORCERESS! AND IF YOU FAIL? THIS GARDEN WILL BE DONE FOR!"

The Garden Master paused and then threw up his hands again.

"MY GARDEN!" he cried. "IT WILL ALL BE OVER! THAT IDIOT CID! HAS HE FORGOTTEN THAT IT WAS I WHO PUT UP THE MONEY TO ESTABLISH GARDEN! I WANTED TO OFFER THE SORCERESS CID'S HEAD ALONG WITH SEED'S! I ORDERED THE STUDENTS TO FIND CID BUT THEY SIDED WITH HIM!" He roared, and Rinoa clamped her hands over her ears. "THIS IS MY GARDEN!"

Squall had heard enough. "NO!" he shouted. "It's not just yours."

The Garden Master lowered his gaze and glared at him. "THEN WHAT IS IT!" he challenged. "IS IT CID AND EDEA'S! THAT PATHETIC MARRIED COUPLES!"

Squall froze. "What…?" he breathed. He looked at the floor, his eyes darting. The headmaster and Edea are married? Squall shook his head. …I don't get it.

"NOW I UNDERSTAND."

Squall looked up. The Garden Master was no longer looking at them but had his gaze to the ceiling. His eyes narrowed, as though he could see through the ceiling and to the levels above, where the headmaster, his SeeDs and students walked. The Garden Master frowned, and his fingers clenched.

"CID AND EDEA ARE TRYING TO TAKE GARDEN AWAY FROM ME," he announced. His gaze snapped down at them. Those eyes widened and he jabbed a fat finger at them. "YOU'RE ONE OF CID'S FOLLOWERS AREN'T YOU! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Before anyone could say anything, the Garden Master roared and slammed a fist on a button on the arm of his chair. The pod closed over him, shutting him inside.

Rinoa had a very bad feeling about this. "Squall!" she cried, running to him.

The swordsman said nothing and drew his gunblade. Somehow he had known it was going to come to this.

The pod shuddered. Small tripods emerged from the underside, lifting the pod a few inches off the ground. Vents in the sides opened and released clouds of hot steam into the air. The two orbs Squall had observed earlier hummed and began to glow. The colour of the orbs shifted for a few moments before settling on a vibrant blue, surrounded by an aura of magical energy. Squall eyed them, wondering again what the orbs were meant for.

The steam coming from the two vents ceased. The Garden Master's voice echoed from inside the pod.

"BLUE, YELLOW, RED," he called to them. "LOTS OF MAGIC WHEN RED. AS LONG AS COLOUR STAYS. I WILL ATTACK SEED WITH MAGIC!"

The Garden Master's voice roared throughout the chamber. Squall stood unafraid, and he raised his sword high. Though he had no idea why, if the Garden Master wanted to fight then so be it. They would fight.

As he watched, the left-side orb glowed. It pulsed and its colour began to shift, changing from blue to yellow. After a moment the right-side orb did the same. Now both orbs were yellow—the same.

Once both orbs had changed, they glowed bright. The air began to ripple and a ball of water formed in front of the pod. Bubbles of air rose and burst on its shifting surface. The ball rippled and swelled, growing larger. Squall tightened his grip. Here it came…

The ball of water condensed sharply, and three thin spouts of water fired out. Squall dodged out of the way as one of the spouts shot by him and crashed into the back wall. The metal wall gave a heave as the water struck, and Squall saw that there was a dent in the metal where it landed.

The water ball fired again, and Squall once more dodged the blow. Behind him he heard a cry, followed by a loud thud.

"Rinoa!" cried Quistis. She hurried over to Rinoa, who had been hit by one of the spouts and had been flung against the wall of the chamber. Another water spout fired close by, but Quistis ducked under it and then carried on running.

By the wall, Rinoa struggled onto her feet. She gasped and clutched at her side. She had only caught the edge of the water spout, but the blow had left her winded and she could hardly breathe. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

Quistis reached her and knelt by her side. She placed her hand on Rinoa's side and cast Cure into the wound. As the green light flowed into her, Rinoa's breathing became easier. The woman nodded to Quistis, who removed her hand and then helped Rinoa onto her feet.

"Look out!" called Squall.

Another water spout was heading towards them. As it left the ball the water froze over, becoming a deadly ice spear. Quistis saw it coming and stepped in front of Rinoa. She thrust out her hand.

"Fira!" she shouted.

Flames swept across her arm and into her hand. The whipmaster waved her hand just as the ice spear struck. Her fingers scraped the ice, and even with the flames Quistis flinched at the piercing cold.

Her strike knocked the spear just a little off-course, but it was enough. The spear missed her and Rinoa and hit the wall behind her. The flames on her hand caused the ice to shimmer and melt, decreasing its strength. Yet even partially-melted the spear was powerful and dented the wall. If that spear had hit either of them, they would have been finished.

Inside the pod, NORG's lips quivered, and he rumbled. He pushed buttons on his control panel, and the two orbs glowed. The colour of the right-side orb shifted and turned red. There was a pause and the left-side orb did the same. NORG grinned. Now both orbs were the same colour, their power at maximum.

The water inside the ball rippled and then stood still. As the orbs glowed bright the water began to move again. Instead of rippling it began to spin, moving faster and faster. The ball then stretched out, reaching the ceiling and the floor, until it became a swirling typhoon of water. Once formed the typhoon began to move faster. It moved away from NORG, heading towards them.

Quistis and Rinoa dived out of the way as the tornado came towards them. Rinoa, now fully recovered, dropped and rolled to her feet. She fired her Pinwheel at the typhoon. The Pinwheel struck the typhoon's surface and then bounced off, thrown clear by the speed of the water.

The water spout gave a roar. Its speed increased, swirling ever faster. It then swelled and split into two, forming two water spouts. These two spouts separated and began to move free about the room. To make things even harder, the typhoons began to fire thin but powerful water spears at the group. The trio were kept on the defensive, with little room to attack.

Inside the pod, NORG laughed.

Squall dived out of the way as a frozen water spear came at him. It crashed into the floor, embedding itself in the metal. Squall rolled onto his knees and looked at the spear, which was already beginning to melt.

Why was this happening…! he asked himself. Why was the Garden Master doing this? Couldn't he see that they had to join together to fight the sorceress, instead of hiding away?

Another frozen water spear headed towards him. Seeing it come, Squall got onto his feet, stepped to one side and swung his sword. The gunblade sliced through the spear, cutting it in two. The two halves flew through the air. One fell onto the floor, while the other struck the left-side orb. It hit hard, scratching its surface.

As the spear hit, the orb's surface shimmered. It flashed and its colour shifted, changing from red and back to yellow.

At the same time as the orb's colour changed, the water spouts stopped firing spears at them. The spouts themselves also stopped moving, standing still in the middle of the chamber.

Squall stared at the spouts. Why had they stopped attacking? He turned to the yellow orb beside him. Of course, he realised. NORG had given them the answer himself. 'Blue, Yellow, Red. As long as colour stays. I will attack SeeD with magic!' The key to his magic was those orbs. For NORG to use magic, both orbs had to be the same colour. If even one was out of sequence, he was helpless.

Squall bent down and picked up the spear that had hit the orb. It couldn't be that simple, he thought. For NORG to be able to use magic, he had to have something else helping him. A GF, perhaps? Squall gripped the spear. It was already beginning to melt, but it was still sturdy. He approached the orb.

Realising that his magic had stopped working, NORG clawed at his controls. He had to get that orb working again! His console flashed and beeped, and finally he got it working. The Garden Master gave a triumphant yell and punched a button. The orb's colour shifted again, switching back to red.

From the base of the pod there came the sound of smashing glass. NORG peered through the window, and his small eyes widened.

One of the SeeDs, the outspoken swordsman, was at the foot of the pod. He had the ice spear in his hands and he had thrust it into the orb, shattering the glass. The orb's light flickered and then went out.

"NO!" bellowed NORG.

Squall withdrew the spear. It was melting fast. Squall turned and threw it at the other orb. The spear hit and the glass broke. Smoke poured out of it, and a second later the orb exploded. Splintered glass went flying through the air.

The water spouts stopped moving about the room and stood still. The movement of the water slowed to a complete stop. The water then began to retreat off the floor, returning to their original water ball shapes. These two balls swelled and then burst like bubbles, sending water falling like rain upon the room. It fell on Squall and the others, and onto the surface of NORG's pod.

At Squall's signal, Quistis raised her hand. Lightning crackled around her fingertips. She channelled more energy into it, and the light of the Thunder magic grew brighter, and its flickering became more intense. This was Thundara magic, the second level of Thunder magic.

Quistis released the electricity from her hands. It shot through the air and hit the pod. What remained of the two orbs exploded as the lightning flicked across the pod, its strength enhanced further by the water covering it.

The pod shuddered. It then exploded, bouncing on its tripods. One of them snapped and the pod lurched sideways, falling forward. It stopped on an angle, balancing on its rounded edge.

A second explosion came from the top of the pod. The hatch protecting the Garden Master was blown clean off and crashed onto the floor.

Inside the pod, NORG had his arms raised over his head to protect his face. Smoke billowed around him, and electricity danced over his console. When the smoke cleared the Garden Master lowered his arms and peered out. His eyes settled on Squall and Quistis, standing together at the foot of the pod.

The Garden Master's eyes narrowed. "DAMN THOSE SEEDS!" he shouted with a rumble "THIS IS MY GARDEN! YOU CAN'T DO AS YOU PLEASE!"

Then he stopped. He counted. One, two SeeDs. Where was the third one! NORG looked around him and then turned right. Rinoa was on the pod, running towards him with her arm outstretched, more lightning crackling at her fingers. Before she could attack, NORG reached out and swiped her aside. Rinoa slipped and fell, sliding down the pod.

"Rinoa!" shouted Quistis. She ran forward. She caught Rinoa before she hit the floor, catching her in her arms.

Squall used this moment to dart forward. When he reached the pod he leapt into the air and ran up it to reach the Garden Master. He swung his gunblade, and it crashed into a barrier of Protect magic. Squall grunted. So the Garden Master had other barriers beside the pod protecting him.

NORG waved one of his large hands. The barrier flashed, and Squall cried out as he was also thrown away. He landed on the ground beside Rinoa and Quistis. Quistis at once made to go to him, but Squall waved her away. He got back onto his feet and raised his sword high.

Overhead, another water ball began to form. It seemed NORG had given up using his pod and was now using his GF—Squall was sure of it now—to use magic.

The ball contracted, and several spurts of water fired out. A light flashed in front of Squall and Carbuncle appeared, hovering in the air. The gemstone on the GF's forehead shone bright, and a barrier of Reflect rose in front of him.

The water spurts hit the barrier. It shimmered, absorbing the magical energy. The water collected in the barrier and drew together, forming into an identical water ball. Copying the same move by the Garden Master the ball contracted and fired just as many spurts back at him.

NORG shrieked and covered his face. As these were magic attacks they passed straight through his Protect barrier. None of them hit but they landed around him, creating spray that fell over the Garden Master, drenching his robes.

When the water stopped falling, NORG dared to lower his arms. No more attacks came at him. NORG smirked. So much for their counterattack, he thought. He raised his hand, preparing to launch another wave of ice and water spears.

He then stopped as he saw Squall leap onto the pod and run towards him again. NORG lowered his arm and pressed it against his barrier, giving it strength. Squall smirked, and lightning suddenly swept across his blade. NORG's eyes widened. He tried to switch barriers—from Protect to Shell—but he was not quick enough.

Squall yelled and thrust out his sword. With the magic-lightning over the blade it passed right through the Protect barrier and struck home. The magic jumped from the blade and onto the Garden Master. The water on the Garden Master's robes enhanced the magic further, giving it strength. NORG screamed.

The barrier flashed and Squall jumped away. He landed, slipped on a puddle and fell to the ground. At once Rinoa was at his side, and she helped him up.

Quistis, meanwhile, faced the Garden Master. NORG was still shrieking; trapped in a blanket of electricity that was contained inside his barrier. The whipmaster fired another bolt into the fray, causing NORG to scream even louder. Quistis then clenched her fist and the lightning drew together into a single point. It detonated in a single, deafening explosion. A bright light filled the air. The Garden Master's pain-filled scream was lost in the sound of the explosion. Rinoa raised her hands and covered her eyes, shielding them from the light.

After a few moments the light began to fade. Rinoa lowered her arms and stared up at the pod.

The Garden Master was still at his controls. What was left of his barrier crumbled away and dissolved around him. NORG was slumped over, his hands splayed out over the edge of the pod, his fingers twitching. Sparks of electricity were crackling over his clothes, which were singed black. There was no sign of life. Cautiously, Squall and the others lowered their weapons and approached the pod.

NORG twitched. The group froze and raised their weapons again.

The Garden Master groaned. He pushed himself up, his body twitching, and slumped back into his seat. His breath was raspy, his skin burned. He coughed, and then rumbled. He looked down at them and met their gazes. His lips began to tremble and he drew back in fear, pressing himself into his chair.

"I'M DONE FOR!" he wailed, a pathetic cry. He pressed himself even further into his chair, his whole body trembling. "I'M AFRAID OF YOU! ME, WHY ME…?"

NORG stiffened. His pupils narrowed, and he made a gasping breath. He then slumped inside the pod, his eyes rolling back. His hands fell limp against his sides, and they moved no more.

As the Garden Master stopped moving, a light began to shimmer around him. The water ball, still floating above him, swelled and grew larger. It descended and hovered in front of the group. Inside the water, Squall could see a serpent swimming. Its long head turned and looked at him. The GF Leviathan, and source of the Garden Master's power.

The swordsman placed his hand on the surface of the ball. It rippled at his touch, like a gentle wave. Leviathan's eyes flashed once, and the GF disappeared. The water splashed onto the floor at his feet.

With the GF gone, the body of the Garden Master began to glow. The light spread over him and then expanded. It formed a large, glowing cocoon around him, sealing him inside. When it sealed the cocoon flashed and then settled, glowing gently. It was over.

Quistis walked up to the pod and looked up at the cocoon. She could not see through the cocoon's shifting colours, and she could hear nothing from the inside. The Garden Master was dead, though it was the most unusual death she had ever witnessed. "What happened to the Master?" she asked, turning back.

Squall sheathed his sword. "Forget about it for now," he said.

Both Quistis and Rinoa stared at him in shock. "I can't believe you said that," said Rinoa. "I think what just happened is really serious."

"What's the point of talking about it now!" Squall demanded, and Rinoa flinched. "You don't know what's going on, either!"

Rinoa said nothing, and she turned her gaze eyes.

Squall grunted and turned away from her. He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. He put a hand to his head, clutching at his hair.

"This is crazy," he said, mostly to himself. "I don't know what's going on anymore. I feel like a helpless puppet being manipulated in some major scheme." His fingers clenched, and he tugged.

Rinoa heard his words, and she heard the plain, simple anguish in his voice. She had misunderstood him. Squall knew the severity of what had just happened. It was just that there were so many things going on around him that he did not know where to begin. And, as always, he kept his thoughts to himself. He would not share them with anyone.

Rinoa walked up to Squall. She placed her hand on his back.

"Squall…" she began, but words failed her. Instead she laid her head upon his shoulder, hoping the simple comfort of her presence would ease his frustration. She reached out to take his hand, but Squall pulled away from her.

The swordsman headed towards the door. Once there he stopped and glanced back at the Garden Master's pod, and the glowing cocoon that now shrouded his body. Squall put his hand on his hip. It was time he had some answers, he decided. And he knew just who to ask to get them.

"Yeah… I'm going to see the headmaster," he announced. And with that, he walked out of the Garden Master's room.