Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]
Grace Barton
Chapter Twenty-Five
A cold wind was blowing through the icy wastes of the Bika Snowfields, nestled deep in the mountains. The dry and rocky ground was almost completely frozen over, and the leaves of the few shrubs that had managed to grow were outlined with glittering frost.
Selphie made her way across the ice-covered ground. She moved quickly, her boots skidding over the stones. Clouds of white steam came from her parted lips as she exhaled, and then sucked in more of the cold air. Its crispness made her alert, and she worked her muscles harder to keep them going. A bead of sweat trickled down her brow. She wiped it away. Her lungs and muscles burned from exertion. She ignored them. Once she tripped and her knees scraped on the ice, drawing blood. She ignored this also, got to her feet and kept on running.
She rounded the bend in the path and saw her destination ahead. The gates of Trabia Garden loomed before her, with the Garden behind it. Even from a distance Selphie knew that something was wrong. The gates, which were normally open to all, stood closed. They looked distorted, denting outwards and burnt to a hideous brown colour, as though they had been blasted from the inside. Selphie's heart skipped a beat and she pushed her body harder.
When she reached the doors she stopped, sliding on the ice. Pressing her body against the doors she pushed, but they would not budge. Selphie pressed her ear to the door, ignoring the cold, but she could hear nothing from inside. She tried to peek through the doors, but all she could see was darkness. Selphie stepped back and looked up at the doors. The walls on either side—built of concrete and fifteen inches thick—were crumbling.
She sagged, dropping her head. "A direct… hit?"
"…Terrible," remarked Rinoa, as she walked up with Squall. Both were out of breath from trying to keep up with Selphie, but when they saw the state of the Garden their breathlessness was forgotten.
Selphie shook her head. She took a few steps back, trying to peer over the top of the walls. There was not much to see. The Garden's main building, which should have towered above them, was barely visible. It stood at downward angle, with great cracks in its structure. It looked like a soufflé that had collapsed in the oven. Fear gripped Selphie's heart, and a chill more intense than the cold air made her shiver. Her lips started to tremble, and she was forced to bite them to make them stop. Clenching her fists, she raised her head.
"…I'm going in," she declared.
She ran over to the wall to the right of the doors, where a large net of mesh wire had fallen. Selphie tugged on the net to see if it was secure. Satisfied that it would hold her weight, she took hold and put her boot on it. Then she paused and looked back at Squall.
The swordsman nodded. "Be careful," he warned her.
Selphie nodded back. She turned back to the mesh, and with trembling hands she started to climb. The net held, and she reached the top within moments. Swinging her legs over the wall, she dropped down on the other side.
Squall looked back at Rinoa. The young woman stood silent, her eyes still on the sloping structure that was Trabia Garden. She was trying to picture what they would find inside, Squall guessed, for he was thinking the same.
They climbed over. When they reached the top they saw that a large pile of rubble was piled up against the main doors, which was why they could not get through. The rubble piled high enough for them to use it as a stepping stone, allowing them to climb down into the Garden. Rinoa at first refused Squall's offer of aid in climbing down the rocks, but changed her mind when her boot slipped on an icy patch.
Once inside the Garden, the two walked into the ruins of Trabia Garden. Ruins were what it was, for the Garden was unrecognisable for the structure it once was. The pathway ahead was cracked and littered with debris. The gardens, once luscious even in the cold, were crushed beneath rocks and burnt to a cinder.
At the end of the path was the Garden's main building. It was modelled on the same design as Balamb Garden, with three main floors and a central, circular complex. The similarities could no longer be seen, for the missile strike had cleaved right through the Garden, causing it to collapse. The third floor had caved in altogether, while the second floor tilted at a dangerous angle. The symbol of Garden, which once stood proud at the front of the building, was cracked into two halves, and a chunk was missing from the upper half.
On seeing the extent of the destruction, Rinoa gasped and put her fingers to her lips. It was awful. Everything was in a state of utter chaos. It seemed hard to believe that anyone could have survived such a disaster, yet there were survivors. The area in front of the main building was filled with students, all of whom bore the marks of their ordeal.
Selphie was just ahead. There was a pained expression on the young woman's face as she also looked around at the ruins of her once beautiful home. Her gaze was on the main building, where the rising ring—same as the one that had once been above Balamb Garden—sloped to one side. Squall saw Selphie's hands clench, and then she ran down the road and into the Garden.
Squall started to go after her, but he stopped. Seeing the look on his face, Rinoa walked over and laid her hand on his arm. He turned to her, and she gave him a warm smile. She knew what his thinking. What they saw now had almost happened to Balamb Garden.
"Squall!" a voice called.
Squall and Rinoa turned as Quistis walked up the path towards them. Zell and Irvine, who had also managed to catch up, were just behind her, helping Angelo down from the wall.
Stopping, Quistis looked around. "Hm? I thought Selphie was with you."
Squall was about to reply when a bark interrupted them. They turned in time to see Angelo scrabbling down the last few rocks, which had fallen loose. Irvine ran in to catch him, and ended up pinned to the floor with the dog sitting on his chest. Angelo looked around in confusion and then got up, shook himself off, and then bounded over to Rinoa.
Zell helped Irvine to his feet. The gunman brushed himself off and then walked with Zell to re-join the others. Like Quistis, Zell also looked around. "…Aren't we missing someone?" he asked.
"Selphie…" replied Squall, jerking his thumb behind him. "I let her go on ahead."
Irvine peered ahead, but Selphie was nowhere to be seen. "I bet you she's in shock…" he commented, pushing back his hat. "Come on, let's go after her."
With that, Irvine walked down the path towards the Garden. After a moment the others followed him, each one walking in sombre silence.
Only Squall remained behind. He looked up at the Garden again. It had been so close… If he, Rinoa and Quistis had not found the control panel in time, then Balamb Garden would have looked like this. It made Squall's heart ache to think about it. The feeling surprised him. Was it the thought of losing the Garden that made him feel that way, or the thought of losing the people inside it?
Up ahead, Rinoa stopped and turned back to him. Squall gazed at her. Suppose the Garden had been destroyed, and Rinoa was among those lost… How would he feel then? Squall couldn't find an answer, but when he thought about it, his heart ached a little more.
"What's wrong, Squall?" Rinoa asked, seeing him frown. Squall shook his head. "Hurry up then, or you'll get left behind." She smiled and ran on.
Squall paused, watching her go. That ache was still there… Squall shook his head again and jogged down the path to catch up with her and the others.
As he caught up with them, he noticed that the scenery around them had changed. The gardens were gone, and the ground was no longer made up of plain, grey concrete, but a mixture of concrete and broken tiles. Right ahead of them, Squall saw the ruins of a stone fountain. It was broken beyond recognition, though Squall guessed that it once must have been quite elegant. The water no longer flowed out through the statues but instead leaked out of broken pipes at the base of the fountain. These pipes had layers of tape wrapped around them—evidence that someone had tried to stop the water from leaking out—but their efforts were in vain, as water continued to lake through the edges of the tape.
The rubble around the fountain had been cleared—someone had already started a clean-up job of the area. All around they saw the ruins of walkways, doors, and even rooms where the walls were blown apart. As they looked around at these scenes the companions stopped, as it suddenly dawned on them where they were. They had not noticed for the roof was gone, but now it was crystal clear. They were standing inside the perimeter of the Garden itself.
The fountain they saw marked what was the centre of the Garden lobby. The students who gathered here were working to clear the area of rubble and debris, clearing the walkways. Though they looked tired and weary, no one was frowning. They all wore smiles and were laughing with each other, keeping one another in good spirits.
Selphie was also by the fountain, talking to a girl with long, thick, dark brown hair and a stripy top. Like the other, Selphie was full of smiles and laughter as she chatted with her old friend. When Selphie spotted them walking she turned and waved, her smile growing wider—a little too wide.
"So, you've been looking after Selphie?" asked the girl once Selphie had explained who they were.
"Not really," Squall replied offhandedly. He wasn't exactly looking after her.
The girl looked at him, confused, and then turned to Selphie. "Oh, don't worry about him," Selphie assured her, waving her hand. "That's just the way he is."
The girl nodded. Then she smiled in a mischievous manner and said in a loud whisper: "Maybe it's his way of hiding his feelings for you?"
"Yeah!" cheered Selphie, clapping her hands. "Right on!"
Quistis giggled. Irvine winked at Squall and gave him a playful clap on the shoulder. The swordsman, in response, frowned and crossed his arms.
…Whatever, he thought.
"I'm so glad I saw Selphie," said Selphie's friend, once she had also finished giggling. "I feel a lot more cheerful after talking to her!"
At this Selphie could not help but blush, and she covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment. Selphie's friend put her arms around the modest Selphie, stroking her hair affectionately.
"There should be a basketball court in the back," Selphie told them when Squall and the others made to leave. "Wait for me there, ok? I want to catch up with some of my friends."
Seeing the earnest look in her eyes, Squall could not say no to her. This was Selphie's first time back to Trabia Garden since she transferred to Balamb Garden for the SeeD exam. She wanted to know what had become of her friends.
They left the lobby and went down the west-side path. From what they could make out amongst the rubble, Trabia Garden had more similarities to Balamb Garden than its exterior design. Like Balamb, the lobby seemed to extend in a large circle around the Garden, with classrooms and other rooms both branching off and heading inward. Trabia Garden was the smallest of the three Gardens, and was a result it was designed to be more compact, so it did not take long to move from one area to another.
With most of the rooms inaccessible, including the Infirmary, the students had made up temporary beds on the floors outside of the classrooms. The students lying on these beds were either injured or simply too tired to keep going.
When they paused to look up at the Garden again, a male student came over and told them that the entire second and third floors were destroyed and difficult to get at. They had managed to rescue some students from those floors, he told them, but with the extent of the damage, the cold, and the amount of time that had passed, they held little hope of finding anyone else alive.
To their surprise, however, the number of deaths in the Garden was quite low. The students were in the middle of their afternoon break when the missiles struck, and so most of them were outside in the quad or in the outer gardens. It was those students still inside who had suffered the most, and most of the deaths had been those.
Another thing they learnt was that Trabia Garden, like Balamb Garden, was also built on an old shelter, and by reasonable deduction they assumed that it also would have had the capability of flight to escape the missiles. However, unlike Balamb Garden, there had been no warning of the strike, and so no one had time to think about seeking it out. It was another lucky break for Balamb, and an unlucky one for Trabia.
Seeing all the injured students, Rinoa at once offered to help. The others followed, using their Cure and Cura magic to begin healing the more seriously injured students. Trabia Garden did not sanction the use of Guardian Forces and as a result there was no one who could use para-magic. Their healing arts were a welcome relief for the students, who accepted their aid with sincere gratitude.
While the others were busy helping, Squall decided to go back to the lobby and check on Selphie. He knew this side-trip was important for Selphie, but it was costing them time. He wanted to be underway again in an hour or so to continue their search for the sorceress. Angelo, not wanting to sit around and watch while his mistress worked, padded along with him.
Squall returned to the central lobby, but Selphie was no longer there. The girl she was talking with was still there, changing the bandages of an injured student.
"Selphie?" she said when Squall asked her where Selphie had gone. "Oh, she's by the cemetery. I didn't want her to feel sad, but…"
Squall asked her where the cemetery was. With a sombre face, the girl pointed to the east side of the Garden. Thanking her, Squall tugged on Angelo's leash and the two set off towards the cemetery.
By sheer luck, the cemetery was one of the few places left almost untouched by the missile strike. Trabia Garden was isolated, deep in the mountains, with no nearby villages. As a result they were forced to bury their own dead, and in the days following the missile strike more graves had been erected, with fresh headstones to mark the graves of those who died.
As the girl had said, Selphie was indeed here. She stood alone in front of a row of newly planted gravestones whose names Squall could not read. He guessed that these were the graves of some of Selphie's friends who had lost their lives in the missile strike. Rather than approach her, Squall stood at the cemetery gateway, watching from a discreet distance.
"… I… I did it, everyone…" Squall heard her say to the graves. "I know the stage got destroyed, but I performed… My dream band… I was able to carry out my dream… You remember how we promised… that we'd do something memorable for ourselves. …Right? Remember? My performance… Our performance we were supposed to do… You all saw me, right? You heard me…?"
Selphie fell silent for a moment, and Squall had the feeling that she was trying not to cry.
"I… I'll keep playing for however long it takes for you to hear!" she declared. She raised her head and looked to the sky. "Our dream… It's much bigger and better than before!"
She did cry now. She placed her hands over her mouth as she sobbed. Squall wondered if he should go over to comfort her, but he felt that he had intruded on her privacy enough. It was better that she let out her grief now, in her own time. So he turned and left the cemetery, with Angelo in tow.
He returned to the lobby, where Zell and Irvine were waiting for him. Rinoa and Quistis were still helping the students, and Squall could hear a few wondrous cries as students remarked on the effects of the healing magic.
After a few minutes, Selphie came running out of the cemetery. She did not see them and ran straight past them, heading to the western side of the Garden. Thinking that she was heading for the basketball court, Squall told the others that they should hurry to catch up before they lost sight of her.
Selphie did not head for the basketball court, but instead stopped outside one of the classrooms where more students lay injured. Squall was just about to go over to her when a young boy and girl—junior classmen—came running past him. They ran over to Selphie, calling her name.
"Selphie!" the little boy cried. He looked close to tears as he grabbed Selphie by the hem of her dress. "I'm sorry, Selphie! Can you forgive us?" The girl with him was also crying, and she wiped her face with a grubby hand.
Selphie looked at them both in surprise. "What? Why? Why are you apologising?"
"That teddy bear you gave me…" sobbed the boy. "I couldn't save it!"
"I can hear him crying…" wailed the girl. "He's lonely!"
Both children wept. Selphie looked at the both. The two children had been heartbroken when they heard that Selphie was going to Balamb Garden, and so Selphie had given them her favourite teddy bear as a goodbye present, and also as a promise that she would one day return as a full-fledged SeeD. The bear was probably buried beneath the rubble, never to be found again, and she could see the sadness in their eyes.
Smiling, Selphie leaned over and stroked the boy's head. "My teddy bear's a lot stronger than you think!" she told him. "As long as you're all safe, Mr. Bear's very happy!" Selphie paused and tilted her head, as though she had heard something. "Heeey!" she said, kneeling down and dropping her voice to a whisper. "I can hear him! Mr. Bear's watching over you secretly."
The two kids looked startled. They looked around them, as though at any moment they might spot Mr. Bear peering at them from amongst the rubble. Of course, they could see nothing, nor could they hear anything. They turned back to Selphie, who nodded. She took their hands in hers, holding them tight.
"So don't be naughty or sad all the time!" she told them both. "Just remember, Mr. Bear's watching you."
To Squall, who was listening, this seemed a rather frightening concept, but it seemed to have a pacifying effect on the two children. They nodded and wiped away their tears, assuring Selphie that they would behave and that they would always wear a smile, so that Mr. Bear would have no reason to worry about them. Then the kids ran off, joy rekindled in their hearts.
Satisfied that she had done her job, Selphie turned and ran off towards one of the classrooms. The others used this chance to sneak by, and headed further into the Garden.
They entered another open area that was once the quad, or rather what was left of it. Like in Balamb Garden, the quad was a popular hangout for the students, and it was here where most of the students had been when the missiles hit.
There was a wooden stage at the back of the quad, where students would watch performances or films. This stage was now destroyed, and they saw, to their horror, that there was a Galbadian missile standing right in the middle of it. A malfunction in its detonating system meant that it had not exploded, and now it stood as a startling reminder of how clos to death everyone had been. With most of the students hanging out in the quad, the death toll would have been much higher if this missile had gone off.
A few students were gathered around the missile, presumably in the middle of deactivating it. More students, they noticed, were hanging up fresh signs advertising the Garden Festival. So it looked like, even here, the Garden Festival would still be going ahead.
They left the quad and arrived at the basketball court, which stood at the back of the Garden. The playing field was in terrible shape. The shockwaves from the missile strike had torn the ground asunder, and the place was littered with debris. The basketball nets were still standing, though at a somewhat lopsided angle.
"We're leaving as soon as Selphie comes back," Squall told the others as they arrived. "We're on standby 'til then."
The others nodded and spread out across the playing field, looking around them. Squall, meanwhile, turned and looked up at the Garden. From this angle he could see what little remained of the upper floors, and he wondered just how many people were still trapped inside there, and if any of them were still alive.
Doesn't seem like the enemy has invaded this Garden yet… he thought. Are they on their way?
Somehow, he thought this unlikely. Squall folded his arms. Trabia Garden was well out of the way, secluded in the mountains and the Bika Snowfields. He doubted the Galbadians would even bother checking. They would assume that the missiles had destroyed the Garden, and whatever few survivors remained would succumb to the cold. It was only luck that had saved those still alive, and the students, in true Garden fashion, would give their all to see their home restored.
Squall turned away from the Garden and turned his thoughts back to the task at hand. Where is the sorceress? We have to find her and…
His thoughts were interrupted as a basketball rolled onto the field. It rolled off a rising piece of concrete, bounced a little, and then stopped. Running after the ball was Selphie. She ran into the courtyard. Her face was clean of tears and she was smiling once more. She waved.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she said, and ran to the centre of the field. "Thanks so much for coming all the way out here everyone."
Irvine gave her a casual wave. "Cheer up, eh?" he told her.
Selphie gave him a trembling smile. "Thanks." She then turned to Squall, her face growing fierce. "Take me with you when you fight the sorceress, ok? I wanna get even. I want my revenge!"
Squall started to reply.
"Um…"
Everyone paused and turned to Rinoa. The young woman had a troubled expression on her face, as though there was something heavy weighing on her mind. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she raised her head and walked over to Squall.
"Do we… have to fight?" she asked him. "Isn't there another way? Y'know, to avoid any bloodshed?"
Squall placed his hand on his hip. What was this about?
Zell must have felt the same, for her ran over to her. "Yo!" he exclaimed. "What the…! What are you sayin' all of a sudden!"
Rinoa's brow creased, and she looked even more troubled. She rubbed her arm. "Maybe someone really smart can come up with a way, so we wouldn't have to fight anymore…" She looked right at Squall as she spoke.
What are you getting at… thought Squall. If someone can come up with something, that'd be great. He turned away, unaware that everybody was watching him. But no one's doing anything… They're all scared, uneasy. All they do is complain. They just pretend to be thinking.
He walked across the field, and everybody's eyes followed him.
They criticise others, but in the end, they can't do anything, either. He stopped, frowning, and then turned to Rinoa. She gazed at him, her eyes wide in earnest, pleading for a solution. Rinoa, he thought, why this, all of a sudden? What do you expect from me? I grew up in Garden. I'm a SeeD. Do you understand?
"Squall?" said Rinoa. "You have to voice your feelings, or else I won't understand."
The swordsman sighed and laid his hand on his hip. "You were… part of a resistance movement in Timber, right? Unlike others who were all talk"—he thought particularly of Zone and Watts—"you took to your weapons and fought… And now you're saying all this? What happened to you?"
Rinoa lowered her head and looked at the floor. "I guess… I'm getting scared," she confessed. Folding her hands behind her, she shuffled her feet on the floor. "Sometimes… when I'm with all of you… I… feel like we're on the same wavelength… you know?
"But when the battles start happening, it's different. Everyone's tempo seems to pick up and… I get left behind. I try to catch up, but it's no use… How far is everyone going? I can't hear anymore… Once I catch up, I wonder… Is everyone safe? Will they welcome me with open arms? …Is everyone ok? Will we all make it back together?" She raised her head, and everyone was startled to see tears in her eyes. "When I start thinking like that…"
"Rinoa, I understand."
Everyone turned to Irvine. The gunman walked forward and stood in front of Rinoa. He placed his hands on her shoulders, nodding his head.
"Someone might not be there," he said, guessing her thoughts. "Someone you love may disappear before your very eyes. It's tough when you live your life thinking that way. But that's why I fight…"
Rinoa stared at him, not understanding. The gunman smiled and turned away. Bending down, he picked up the basketball that Selphie had followed in. He turned it over in his hands as he walked across the court, talking as he went.
"When I was a little kid… I was about four or so… I was in an orphanage.
He stopped in front of the net. He threw the ball. It circled the net and then slipped through.
"Plenty of kids… All with no parents… It was around the end of the Sorceress War, so I guess it couldn't be helped. Anyway, that's where I was. And out of all the kids there, one was very special to me."