Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]

Grace Barton

Chapter Eighteen

Outside of the Garden, three men stood waiting. The Garden had come to a stop after crashing into the docks. It had caused a lot of damage. The docks were more like horizontal beams of metal that stretched out over the water on the outer edge of the city. Now these beams were crumpled and broken, crushed beneath the Garden. Little damage was done to the Garden aside from a few scrapes and dents in its walls.

One of the men raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He scanned the walls, until his gaze settled on the deck just ahead of him. When he saw the door open he lowered his arm and turned to his comrades. "Here they come," he said.

His comrades also looked up at the deck. As the door opened a dog came leaping out, barking and wagging its tail. This dog was followed by three people—a man and two women. Each one of them, they saw, was armed. The three men of Fisherman's Horizon shared glances. These people were just teenagers.

The three teenagers stopped and looked around. No one else came out. The young man stood at the head of the group, marking him out as the leader. The leader of the Fisherman's Horizon convoy—a tall, robust man whose skin was browned from working in the sun—stepped forward to address them.

"We've come to warn you before you go ashore," he called out. "Do not engage in any type of armed conflict in the city. We do not tolerate belligerence here."

"Do you understand?" asked the man behind him. He, like the other man, had deeply tanned skin and kept his head covered with a black cap.

"Yes," Squall replied, and he stepped forward. "We are representatives of the Garden and we come in peace."

The first man turned away and shared a look with his companions. They shared his thoughts. For a teenager, this one seemed a little… odd. The man shrugged and turned back. "Welcome to Fisherman's Horizon," he said. "We just call it FH."

"You should go visit the mayor," said the second man. "His house is in the middle of the city."

The third man, who was smaller than his two rather robust companions, chimed in. "He's the head of FH."

Squall nodded. To see the mayor was their intent all along, but these guys made it sound more like an order than advice. Still, the headmaster had said not to do anything to offend the people of Fisherman's Horizon, so… "We'll do just that," he said, placing his hand on his hip.

"Good," replied the first man, folding his large arms. "Looks like we understand each other." He turned away, took off his cap and scratched his head. "Man," he said with a heavy sigh, "this is a hell of a mess!"

He was referring, of course, to the destruction of the dock. The scattered remains of the windmills were littered about the area. Broken blades drifted across the water, while waves splashed over the rocks. There was a lot of damage. It would take them a good while to rebuild everything.

"I'm terribly sorry," said Squall. He walked down the steps that the Fisherman's Horizon technicians had set up next to the deck to connect the Garden to the town. "It was inevitable. We lost control of the Garden." Not that we ever had much control to begin with, he added to himself.

The man turned back and grinned at Squall. "Nah, don't worry about it," he said. "What's important is that nobody got hurt. We love fixing stuff anyway. Kick back and enjoy your stay. With that he turned and ran off, along with the third man.

Squall looked back at Quistis and Rinoa. He nodded to them and then carried on down the steps, with the women following behind. The steps were narrow with nothing but the ocean waters below. They would have to be careful not to fall off.

As they walked Squall noted that there were several technicians already gathered around the docks. They were setting up additional platforms and walkways around the site. Already they were beginning to fix the damage the Garden had caused. Squall paused for a moment to watch them, impressed. The people of FH did not waste any time.

Once Angelo was safely on the walkway, the group headed on. They walked along the dock until they reached the second man, who had stayed behind while his two comrades ran off. His gaze was not on them but at the Garden, and there was a wistful look in his eyes as he gazed upon it.

"Hey…" he said to Squall as they passed. "That's Balamb Garden, right?"

"That's right," replied Squall. He also turned to look up at the Garden. "How did you know?"

The man pointed. All along the surface of the wall, Squall could see a number of painted patterns. Age and weather had dulled the paintwork now, but when it was first done it must have been very beautiful. Squall could not recall having seen the paintwork before, but then again, he did not walk around looking at the walls. Or maybe it was because he was so used to being in the Garden that everything was just part of the scenery.

"From those patterns," the man was saying, recapturing Squall's attention. "We painted it a long time ago. Those were the good old days." The man sighed and lowered his hand. He looked upon the walls one last time before he tore his eyes away and turned back to Squall. "Tell the mayor I said 'hi'," he said.

"Yo," called a voice. Squall and the man turned around. The first man from before was standing on the stairs behind them, an impatient look in his eyes. "Let's go!" he said, and then he ran off again. The second man bowed his head to the group and then followed after his colleague.

With the two men gone, Squall and his friends headed on into the city. There was only one walkway to follow so they knew they could not get lost that easily. They ascended the stairway, and when they reached the top they stopped and stared, amazed by what they saw.

The town of Fisherman's Horizon was powered through a combination of water, wind and solar power. The ocean waters around the town were filled with windmills. As the wind turned the blades the water was churned, and the energy produced by both wind and wave were converted into power for the town's use.

Yet it was the source of the city's solar power that awed Squall, Rinoa and Quistis. Right at the heart of the city was an enormous sun dish. The dish was shaped like a bowl and covered in thousands of large, rectangular panels that would absorb the sun's light and converted it into energy. When the sunlight hit the panels they grew hot and emitted a faint glow. Even when winter's chill made everywhere else cold, these panels would be a source of heat for the town.

Rinoa walked up to the rail and leaned over, looking down at the sun dish. It was a spectacular sight, nothing like she had ever seen before. Fisherman's Horizon was a town that was completely self-sufficient. It depended on nothing but what nature provided. It was a nice change from places like Timber or Deling City.

Fisherman's Horizon was built right in the middle of the ocean, almost exactly halfway between the western continent of Galbadia and the eastern continent of Esthar. It was built beside an intercontinental railway bridge, known as the 'Horizon Bridge'. Named for the way it stretched off into the horizon, it was built to join the two continents together, allowing people to cross freely between the two great nations. Yet after certain events almost two decades ago the bridge was abandoned and as a result Fisherman's Horizon remained isolated from the rest of the world.

The town's populace comprised mostly of technicians and engineers. The older generation, who had built the town all those years ago, had now retired and took pleasure in more relaxing hobbies such as fishing. As for the younger generations, like their fathers, they had a fondness for fixing and building things. Evidence of these was visible all throughout the city—the windmills and the great sun dish being just examples of the things they had built here.

Leaving the sun dish, the group continued down the walkway. It wound around a large metal pillar until it came to an end at the other side. Here they met one of the men they had met outside of the Garden—the first man, who had given them their 'warning'. He stood at the controls of a lift, which went down into the town.

The man seemed to be waiting for them, for as they approached he turned and grinned at them. "Going down?" he asked.

Squall nodded. "Yes," he answered.

"Ok." The man turned to his console. He pushed a button and the gate blocking the lift opened up. Rinoa, Quistis and Angelo went inside and waited on the platform. Squall was about to join them when the man turned again and asked: "So, you guys going to Esthar?"

Squall turned. "Esthar?" he asked.

"You know… that hi-tech city. It's just beyond the train tracks." The man scratched his head. "I guess you're not going there," he said. "A lot of people who stop here go there. The trains are down, so the best way to get there is to walk from here. What a joke, huh?" When Squall did not reply the man scratched his head again. "Anyway…" he said, "you guys had an accident and come here, huh? I guess I shouldn't keep you. Ok, get on."

Squall got onto the lift. The man pushed some more buttons and the gate closed. The lift hummed and began to descend down the pillar to another station at the bottom. Another man was here, operating the lift from the ground. When the lift settled in the station this man, who was dressed in a white shirt, pushed a button. The lift gate slid open and the group piled out. The man then turned from his console and waved at them. Squall stared back at him, his face blank.

Seeing the blank look in his eyes, the man paused and then lowered his hand. "What? You don't remember me?" he asked in surprise. "We just met by your Garden's entrance."

Squall stared at him. Was it him…? he asked himself. Hmm… He looked the man over, but try as he might he could not recall having seen him before. "…I'm sorry," he answered at last, with a shake of his head.

The man's face fell. "I can't believe it…" he said in dismay. "Oh well. I'm operating this lift with my brother. You saw him up there, right?"

Again Squall had to think to recall the man they met above. Uh… oh yeah.

"Don't we look alike?" the man asked, his face beaming. When he again saw the blank look in Squall's eyes, his face fell a second time. "Man, what's wrong with you?" he asked. He then sighed. "Oh well, let me know when you want to go up."

He turned back to his controls, shaking his head all the while. Squall put his hand on his hip, thinking. Was he really that unobservant? Then again, did it even matter if he remembered them or not? Why was he even thinking about it?

Behind him Rinoa started to giggle, and Quistis hid a smirk with her hand. The swordsman ignored them both and walked away from the lift. The women shared smiles with one another and then hurried to catch up to him.

As they walked along they came across a man standing by the rails, looking down into the water. When Squall and his group approached this man turned from the rails and stood in front of Squall, blocking his path. Squall stopped and met this man's gaze, waiting for him to move.

"Are you a SeeD by any chance?" the man asked suddenly.

Squall hesitated before replying. "…Yes," he said.

The man shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I heard that you guys are, like, mercenaries, and basically fight anybody for money," he said. He looked right into Squall's eyes. "Are you happy with that kind of life?"

What's his problem? Squall wondered, looking the man over. Is he trying to pick a fight?

The hard look in the man's eyes faded, and he turned his head away from Squall. "Never mind," he said. "The way you live your life is none of my business. Just don't cause us any problems." The man turned back to the rail and leaned against it, looking into the water again. "I hope I didn't offend you," he added.

Squall stared at him. His manner sounded very familiar. It was just like… He sounds like me, Squall realised. He crossed his arms and looked down. I guess it doesn't sound very nice, he admitted.

They headed on, leaving the strange man behind.

The mayor's house was impossible to miss, for it stood right at the centre of the sun dish. When they knocked on the front door a window opened from the first floor and voice called them inside. Squall opened the door and headed straight upstairs to where the mayor and his wife were waiting.

Mayor Dobe and his wife Flo were a middle-aged couple who had lived in Fisherman's Horizon since its construction. In fact they two of the founders of the town, others of whom still lived here to this day. Like the rest of the people of FH they led a simple life and took great pleasure in constructing and building things, all of which was evident as Squall looked around him. The house was filled with all kinds of machines, some strange and some more recognisable. A propeller blade from an old aircraft hung from the ceiling, turning in the wind coming in from the open windows. In the garden behind the house grew a large tree, its branches tapping against the walls.

The mayor was kneeling on the floor in the middle of the room, with his wife sitting just behind him. Both had serious looks on their faces as they gazed upon the group. It appeared they were expecting them.

"Please, have a seat," said the mayor, waving his hand to the floor in front.

Squall nodded to Rinoa and Quistis, and they sat down in front of the mayor. Angelo on the other hand was not content to sit and be quiet, and so he began to wander around the room, sniffing about with interest. Rinoa whistled and tried to call Angelo over to her, but the mayor's wife smiled and waved her hand. She did not mind the dog having a wander around. Rinoa relaxed.

Once they were all seated the mayor got right to business. "Allow me to get straight to the point," he said. "When are you leaving?"

He's not wasting any time, Squall thought. "…We'll leave as soon as the Garden is capable of moving," he informed the mayor.

"Any idea when?"

"I'm afraid not. We only discovered that our Garden is mobile a short while ago. Therefore, we don't even know how to move it. We're still in the process of understanding everything."

The mayor nodded his head. "Our technicians will assist you," he said. "They should be able to repair and service everything. How does that sound?"

Squall frowned. It certainly sounded like a reasonable solution. The people of Fisherman's Horizon were experts in building and repairing. With their aid, the Garden could be repaired in record time. Still…

That means we'll have to let outsiders into the Garden, he thought to himself. I can't make this decision alone.

The mayor seemed to read his thoughts, for he bowed his head in understanding. "Go consult with your leader if you don't have the authority," he said.

Squall nodded and rose to his feet. He would do just that.

"S'cuse me," Rinoa piped up suddenly. Mayor Dobe looked at her. "Why do you want us to leave so bad?" she asked him.

Squall put his hand to his head. Please just keep your mouth shut! he pleaded silently. They must have their reasons. Who cares?

"We don't want military organisations in FH," the mayor replied. "You rely on force to solve problems. That is in direct defiance of our principles."

"We believe that any problem can be settled by discussion," said Flo. "If you reach a mutual understanding, there's no need to fight."

No arguments there, Squall thought. Trite, and dull as hell, though.

The mayor continued. "Violence only leads to more violence. We believe your presence here will attract violence. That's why we want you to leave as soon as possible."

Rinoa frowned, and her dark eyes flashed. Squall sensed trouble. He could sense that Rinoa did not like the way the mayor spoke about them, as though they were here to cause trouble for their peaceful town. Seeing her cheeks begin to flush, Squall decided it was time to bring their conversation to an end, before Rinoa said something that would anger the peace-loving mayor and his wife.

"Let's go back to Garden," he said, cutting Rinoa off as she opened her mouth to speak. Before Rinoa could protest he walked out of the room. Angelo, seeing him leave, left the machine he was sniffing and hurried out after him. Quistis also stood and left the room and, after a moment, Rinoa followed as well.

"…Gosh, that was unpleasant," remarked Quistis once they were outside.

Squall did not stop. "Forget it," he answered. "You can't expect everyone to welcome us."

He and Rinoa headed up the stairs leading to the top of the sun dish. Quistis folded her arms and looked back at the mayor's house. She could see Mayor Dobe and Flo standing at the open window, watching them go. Quistis brushed back her hair and then ran after Squall and Rinoa, hurrying to catch up.

They were no more than halfway up the stairway when they heard a loud, metallic clank. This was shortly followed by the sound of people screaming, and a man's terrified cry split the air.

"G…! G…! G…! G…! G…! G…! Galbadian soldiers!"