Chapter 16
Bang
(Irvine)
Galbadia Garden eased to a stop and lowered to the ground. A thump echoed through the whole school, vibrating in Irvine's boots. He and Selphie stood—along with a handful of students and soldiers and Headmaster Martine—in the makeshift parking area where the Garden's front gate turnstiles used to be.
Irvine looked at Selphie, trying to gauge her mood. The previous night had been restless for him, following their argument. He couldn't help but constantly think about Selphie, about how to patch things up with her, how to make himself look like less of a callous bastard.
(But I still think I'm right. We can't save Seifer.)
(And we shouldn't even bother to try.)
He'd expected her to bring up the issue of Seifer again in the morning, but instead she had sleepily stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, shouted, "NO PEEKING!" at him, and then shut the door and proceeded to have a hot shower.
By the time she got out, the bathroom was so foggy even the floors were soaked. But Irvine was struck by her appearance when she reentered the room: enlivened, fresh, and energized. It was as if the shower had washed away more than just weeks of Trabian dirt, but also the troubles and concerns that weighed her down. She no longer wore her snug woolen cap, instead allowing her hair to flare up at the tips in her favored style, swaying and bouncing with her movements.
Irvine was entranced to the point of speechlessness. He took a shower immediately after her, hoping that he could impress her as much as she'd impressed him. He spent a half-hour in the cramped little shower stall, cleaning himself with almost obsessive attention to detail. When he finished, he spent another ten minutes grooming himself in the foggy mirror until he felt he was presentable.
But Selphie didn't seem very surprised by his transformation. She smiled at him, but Irvine couldn't tell if she liked what she saw or if she was just smiling to acknowledge him. He'd sighed, disappointed, and went about his business.
Now the two waited as the heavy metal door folded down, forming a ramp leading to the ground. Irvine stole more glances at Selphie, hoping to catch her secretly checking him out, but her eyes were focused ahead, observing the proceedings. They both clutched their weapons in hand, ready for anything that happened next.
(Might be she's still upset about last night.)
A Galbadian soldier climbed behind the wheel of one of the nearby military escort cars. Martine opened the passenger side door and put one foot inside. He stopped to look at Irvine and Selphie. He gestured for them to get into the back seat. Wordlessly, the two climbed into the vehicle. Martine sat in the passenger seat and closed the door, then nodded to the driver. The driver fired up the ignition and rolled the car down the ramp, turning the wheel towards Deling City.
Irvine settled in his seat. The inside of the car smelled of plastic, engine oil, and sweat. It made his nose wrinkle, but he didn't comment on the odor. Instead, he leaned forward and spoke.
"I didn't know you were plannin' on coming with us," Irvine said. "Thought you were gonna stay with the Garden."
"I actually have business to attend to in Deling City," Martine said, turning his head to look at Irvine.
(Now I'm curious.)
"What kind of business?" Irvine asked with a raised eyebrow.
Martine smiled, looking pleased with himself. "Well, since you asked. I intend to run for president."
Irvine and Selphie jerked in their chairs, as if their seats were electrified.
"What?!" Selphie said. "P-President? You?"
Martine looked at her, offended. "Is that so surprising? All sorts of people have been throwing their names into the running. Politicians, businessmen, dignitaries. I meant to enter the race sooner, but my obligations to G-Garden came first. I only hope that I've returned in time, before they stop accepting new entrants."
Irvine scrunched up his face in thought. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.
"… Deling City's having an election?" he asked, mostly to himself.
(That's weird…)
Martine laughed, one of the very, very few times Irvine had ever heard him do so. "You two truly were off the grid in Trabia weren't you? Oh my, the things you don't know…"
A short distance of grass and soil separated the vehicle from the main road into the city. The driver gripped the wheel tightly in both hands as the car jostled along the uneven ground. The tires squawked when they hit the asphalt, then the driver straightened the car out and accelerated, speeding towards Deling City.
Irvine could see the city lights approach in the evening sky, like a field of yellow stars before them. Deling City stretched across the horizon, close and growing closer as the car neared the city limits. The sun was setting in the west, sending a few sharp rays through the side windows of the car. Irvine angled the brim of his hat to keep the glare out of his eyes.
A few minutes later, they crossed through the perimeter wall of Deling City. The capital of Galbadia was not a tall, imposing city. Rather, it was sprawling, giving the appearance of being endless. The highest building in the city stood only a few stories high, but next to that building was another building, and then another and another, stretching on in sequence down immaculately paved roads. It was impossible to live in Deling City without either owning a car or making use of the city's extensive and complex bus routes.
The city, to Irvine, had always felt cold and unwelcoming. A distinct air of superiority was poured into every street and every building. Deling City's gaudy bright lights combined with its stately and expensive houses gave Irvine the feeling that he was unwanted, intruding in a land meant for other, nobler people.
(Or maybe I just think that 'cause of my foster parents.)
Irvine felt his skin crawl.
The driver took them through the complicated net of streets. Irvine found himself longing for the hard-packed ground underneath Trabia Garden's sound stage, the chill mountain air, the treeless fields. Trabia was a land that was cold and harsh, but at least the locals were friendly to visitors.
They passed extravagant water fountains, lit up by colored lights so that the water appeared to change from green to blue to red in the dying sunlight. Statues of long-forgotten war heroes and politicians stared down dismissively on the passing pedestrians. Bright banners decorated store fronts, trying to look pleasant, but appearing garish instead.
(I hate this place.)
The driver came to a stop at the end of the long sidewalk that led up to General Caraway's mansion. In the narrow street, there was no room to pull over to the curb, so the stopped car blocked an entire lane of traffic. Cars backed up behind them, honking their horns angrily. Martine ignored them and turned to his guests.
"Here is where we must part," Martine said. "I'm going on to the Government Building to officially announce my candidacy. General Caraway has been notified of your coming and is expecting you. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Irvine said. "How are we getting back to Trabia?"
A car horn behind them blared, uninterrupted, for a few seconds. Martine waited until it stopped, then continued.
"Caraway will arrange for a train to talk you to Dollet," Martine said. "From there, a boat will take you from Dollet to Trabia. Sound reasonable?"
Irvine shrugged. "Sure."
Martine nodded. "Good. I hope things go well between you and the General. I'd hate for my first act as president to be an act of war against Timber and SeeD."
Irvine smirked derisively.
(You ain't been elected yet.)
Irvine tipped his hat to the Headmaster. Selphie opened the door and hopped nimbly onto the sidewalk. Irvine slid across the seat and joined her, then slammed the door shut. The driver pulled away, finally releasing the row of cars behind him, silencing the symphony of their horns. Irvine and Selphie stood on the sidewalk, watching as the car sped out of sight. When it was gone, the two turned to the mansion and began walking.
General Caraway's mansion stood about a block or so off the street. Its long sidewalk was lined on both sides with a perfectly landscaped garden, growing local plants of almost every variety. At the end of the sidewalk stood the mansion itself, a stern-looking two-story building with white walls and red curtains in the windows. A series of spotlights around the perimeter of the building cast their light upon the façade, making the building glow like a billboard.
The two reached the front door and paused. Irvine rapped on the heavy wooden door with his gloved knuckles and waited. A few moments later, an elderly butler with sparse gray hair and a drooping face opened the door and sniffed at the two arrivals.
Irvine tipped his hat, "Howdy, uh, we're Irvine and Selphie. We're here—"
The butler bowed formally. "Yes, the General is expecting you. Come with me."
The butler stepped off to the side and gestured for the two to enter. When they crossed the threshold, the butler closed the door behind them and locked it.
They found themselves inside a massive foyer, with an elaborate marble staircase dominating the center of the room. The floor was black-and-white checkered marble, with exquisite red carpets placed in straight lines upon it, creating pathways between the rooms. The butler silently guided the two to the left, towards a side room which Irvine knew from past experience to be the General's drawing room.
The drawing room had not changed since Irvine and Selphie had last been inside. A handful of soft leather couches and a coffee table sat in the middle. At the far end of the room, an imposing wooden desk watched over rest of the furniture. There were fine art paintings on the walls, a cabinet of crystal glassware, a statue of a robed woman tucked in a stone recess, and several windows overlooking the city. The butler directed them into the room, then stood off to the side.
"Do you care for refreshments?" the butler asked.
"Naw," Irvine said.
"You got any Mega Fizz?" Selphie asked. Irvine rolled his eyes and smiled. Mega Fizz tasted like cherry syrup and cough medicine, and made his hands shake with the intense sugar rush it caused. Just the thought of it almost made him gag, but Selphie could pound the stuff by the case like it was no more than water.
"Sorry, but I am afraid not," the butler said. His tone indicated that he wasn't sorry in the slightest.
"Aw… okay. Nevermind then," Selphie said. She plopped down on one of the couches and stretched out, propping her boots up on the armrest. She tossed her nunchaku on the coffee table. They clattered hard on the varnished surface. The butler bit his lip, fighting for composure, but he was too well-trained to comment on her rudeness. He nodded to the two.
"The General will be with you shortly," he said, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.
With a start, Selphie sat up, looking at Irvine with nervous eyes. "You don't think he's gonna lock us in here, do you?" she asked.
Irvine grinned confidently. "If he does, you know how to escape, right?"
He hadn't been with the others when they had their adventures underground, but Selphie had relayed the story to him a couple times, emphasizing the horrible stench of the city sewers and the weird monsters that looked like human shadows with long fingers.
Selphie stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Ugh… I don't wanna have to go through the sewers again," she said. She flopped back down on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
"Well, neither do I," Irvine said. "I'm just sayin' that we won't be trapped if he tries that trick again."
Selphie continued to gaze at nothing, gnawing on her tongue. "What kinda nutcase puts a secret door to the sewers in his house anyway?"
(Good question.)
Irvine didn't answer. Instead, moved over to the intimidating desk and rested his shotgun across it. He stepped around and slid into the comfortable leather chair behind it, rubbing his hands up and down the soft armrests. He kicked up his feet and tipped his hat down, resting his eyes. Last time they had paid a visit to the General, he'd taken quite a while to actually arrive, and he expected no different this time.
After a few minutes, Irvine could hear Selphie roll over on the couch.
"Maybe we should leave?" Selphie said.
"Why's that?" Irvine asked, not looking up.
"If Rinoa needs our help in Timber," Selphie said. "Then we should be in Timber, right? Not here."
"We're tryin' to talk Caraway out of a war," Irvine said, still keeping his eyes shut. "Not help Rinoa start one."
(If that's actually what she's doing.)
Irvine was beginning to have his doubts. Some things about Martine's story didn't quite make sense to him.
"I guess. Didn't think of it like that…" Selphie said.
For the next few minutes, the only sounds were the steady ticking of a wall clock, mixed with Selphie's restless movements. She changed position on the couch several times. Finally she stood up and paced the room for a bit. He could hear her messing around with the glassware, adjusting some of the paintings, and fidgeting with the throw pillows.
(Imagine how hyper she'd be if they actually had some Mega Fizz here.)
Irvine smiled to himself. At least she was acting like herself again and not talking about Seifer.
Finally, they heard footsteps approaching from outside. They both perked up at the sound. Irvine lifted the brim of his hat as General Caraway, dressed in his military uniform, entered the room. He nodded at the pair and shut the door behind him.
"Ah… now I remember you two," Caraway said. He pointed at Irvine. "You were our sharpshooter."
Irvine made a gun shape with his thumb and forefinger. "That's me."
Caraway looked to Selphie. "And you were on the Gateway Team."
Selphie wasted no time with introductions or courtesies. She marched up to Caraway and said, "Is Rinoa okay? You haven't hurt her, have you?"
Caraway looked confused. "I'm sorry. I don't understand. You mean my daughter?"
"Yes! Who else?" Selphie said, just shy of yelling. "I can't believe a father would go to war with his own daughter! You are the craziest family ever!"
Caraway was now quite confused. He shook his head. "I… I am afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. You will have to explain to me."
Suspecting what the problem was, Irvine decided to butt in. He hopped out of the chair and took a couple steps towards the General. His lingering distrust of all Galbadians made him stay within arm's reach of his shotgun, just in case.
"Martine told us that Rinoa was leading a rebellion in Timber," Irvine said. "That's how he got us to come here."
Understanding washed over Caraway's face. Understanding, then frustration.
"Martine…" he muttered. He shook his head.
(Damn… I shoulda known better.)
Irvine sighed and closed his eyes. "I take it we've been had?"
Caraway looked at Irvine. "Indeed. To the best of my knowledge, Rinoa has nothing to do with the Timber rebellion. It's another sorceress entirely, one named 'Ciel,' who is the root of the problem. Not my daughter."
Selphie pointed an accusatory finger at Caraway. "You LIED!"
"Martine lied," Caraway said. "I only asked him to bring you here. I assumed he would do so without deception, but… I was mistaken."
Without missing a beat, Selphie turned her accusatory finger at Irvine. "YOU lied!" she said. "You said Martine always told the truth!"
(Yeah, I thought so too.)
Irvine shrugged. "… He's never lied to me before. I figured this was too big for him to lie about."
Caraway nodded, agreeing with Irvine's statement. "Ordinarily, he's a very honest man. But he is prone to taking dishonest measures to ensure that things go his way. I assure you, on my honor as General of the Galbadian military, that I will not lie to you. There is too much at stake here for such childish nonsense."
"Yeah, sure," Selphie mumbled. She flopped down in a chair and didn't look at anyone.
There was an awkward pause. Irvine looked to the General. "So what's really happening? What's the truth?"
The General quickly summarized the events of the past few days. He started with Ciel's takeover of the TV station and her declaration of Timber's independence. He went on to give a very brief summary of his debates with Commander Quistis.
"Whoa whoa, wait," Irvine said. He held up both hands. "Slow down. Commander Quistis? You didn't talk to Squall?"
Caraway shrugged. "I expected to speak with the Headmaster. But apparently she is the ranking official at Garden right now. If you want any further details about that, you'll have to ask SeeD. I don't know any more than you do."
Irvine rubbed his chin, thinking.
(If Quistis is Commander… then where's Squall?)
"Is Squall okay?" Selphie asked.
"Again, I wouldn't know," Caraway said. "It seems there's some disorder in SeeD right now, but that's only the impression I got. Anyway, their initial attack on Timber has been repelled. They must have underestimated the size of our presence in the city. Garden withdrew its troops and has been in a holding pattern in the ocean ever since. I assume that they are planning another attack, but I intend to preempt them and seize the TV station before Garden can interfere again."
"So… when are you gonna attack?" Selphie asked.
Irvine didn't think the General would answer that question, since it revealed details of Galbadia's military strategy, but Caraway responded quickly.
"I would have attacked earlier today, if Martine hadn't told me you two were coming," Caraway said. "You see, the problem is we have no idea how to truly neutralize a sorceress. Were it just a cluster of average citizens holed up in the TV Station, we would have attacked long ago, at the onset of this debacle. But our ignorance of the sorceress has forced us to be guarded. Our mutual experience with the Sorceress Edea has taught me to err on the side of caution. I am hoping that you two will be able to help me resolve this issue as swiftly and peacefully as possible, by providing any information you have on sorceresses."
Caraway moved across the room and gazed out the window. Irvine could see the transparent reflection of his face in the glass. His expression was stern, emotionless. His white-gloved hands were clasped behind his back.
"There is something I must ask you," Caraway said. "I've already deduced the answer, but I want one of you to tell me plainly, so as to leave no trace of doubt in my mind." He turned his head and looked at Irvine. "Is my daughter a sorceress?"
Irvine was struck by the question. In the interest of protecting Rinoa, his first instinct was to lie. It would be stupid for him to reveal such a dangerous secret about one of his closest friends to the General of the Galbadian military, even if he was her father. Furthermore, the fact that Martine had lied to bring them to Deling City in the first place still grated on Irvine's nerves.
(Why should we tell the truth to a bunch a liars?)
But Irvine looked at the General, at the steely eyes of Galbadia's highest-ranking soldier. Caraway was many things, but he was and always would be Rinoa's father, even if their relationship was strained to the point of being broken. While Irvine didn't trust Caraway the Galbadian, he did trust Caraway the father.
(And maybe he'll be kinder if he knows the truth.)
"Yeah," Irvine said. "Rinoa's a sorceress…"
Caraway nodded, and then turned his gaze back out to the city. On the couch, Selphie slapped a pillow and glared at Irvine, shooting bullets through her eyes.
"You weren't s'posed to tell!" Selphie said. She spun around and faced the General. "Er. I mean… He's lying! Rinoa's not a sorceress! What are you talkin' about?"
Caraway ignored her, as did Irvine.
"You said you already figured it out," Irvine said. "How?"
"I knew for sure when you told me that you expected Rinoa to be leading the resistance," Caraway said. "Even if you had lied just now and told me she wasn't a sorceress, your previous actions betrayed your true thoughts. You knew that a sorceress was leading the Timber rebellion, and you assumed it was Rinoa. That was your error."
(Damn it, we've gotta be more careful…)
"But, honestly, I suspected that she was a sorceress even before that," Caraway said. He turned around and faced the pair. "I know much more about the world than you think I do. Would you care to know how much I know?"
(Yeah, definitely.)
Irvine waved his hand. "Go ahead."
"Good," Caraway said, nodding. "You see, I think we're beyond the point where lies can do any service to either side. We are on the verge of yet another war between Galbadia and a sorceress. Like these things always do, it will come down to power versus power. Whoever has the most power will be victorious. Lies are mere words, and serve us no purpose now. Only strength matters."
(So you say…)
Caraway stepped forward, gripping the backrest of a nearby chair with his gloved fingers. Despite Caraway's reassurances, Irvine was still on edge, listening to the general and combing his words for falsehoods and contradictions.
"After Sorceress Edea took control of Galbadia," Caraway said, "She ordered G-Garden to pursue and destroy Balamb Garden. I haven't the slightest idea why she did this, but I do know all the details surrounding that incident. During the battle, you two, along with my daughter, were seen storming G-Garden. An unseen conflict happened somewhere in the school and afterwards, one of G-Garden's students saw five of you leave, carrying my daughter, unconscious, with the Sorceress Edea walking beside you, seemingly of her own free will."
Selphie gasped. Even Irvine was taken aback.
(If he knows about that… then…)
Caraway held up a hand for silence. "Before you explain, let me continue. G-Garden and Balamb Garden separated after that, the battle decided in favor of SeeD. From here, SeeD and Garden fall out of my knowledge, so I hope you can tell me what happened during this time. G-Garden eventually tracked SeeD to Fisherman's Horizon, hoping to spy on the Sorceress Edea and learn her fate. They did not find the sorceress, but they did find Martine. After a long period of inactivity from Balamb Garden, Martine convinced his students it was safe to come out of hiding. His belief was that the Sorceress Edea had been defeated somehow, or was currently a prisoner of SeeD."
(At least Martine was telling the truth about that.)
(Well… some of the truth.)
"Martine then gave his report directly to me," Caraway said. "And I… At first I assumed that my daughter had been killed in battle. She and I have had our differences but… she is still my daughter."
A twinge of real emotion flickered in his eyes. He clenched his jaw, breathed in and out, then continued. "Martine and I set about trying to learn as much as possible about what had happened during that battle, as well as the current status of the Sorceress Edea and my daughter. It was then that the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.
"A sorceress with blue skin and strange clothes suddenly appeared in Galbadia Garden," Caraway said. "She passed on her powers to another girl, a student, and then vanished. The girl who received the powers had now somehow become a sorceress."
Irvine felt himself go a little faint.
(So much has happened…)
Caraway shook his head sadly. "Martine… overreacted. He killed the girl. Or, rather, he tried to. But even after death, even after sustaining wounds that were impossible to survive, the girl continued to live. Martine quarantined her in the detention center of G-Garden, keeping her away from all the other girls in the school, and asked for my advice. I, frankly, was stumped. Until I remembered that the Sorceress Edea had left G-Garden with you."
(Seifer…)
(He was telling the truth about that girl in the detention center.)
Irvine's mind was already reeling with all this new information, but Caraway did not slow down to let him process it all.
"Now, correct me if I'm wrong," Caraway said. "But the Sorceress Edea passed on her powers to my daughter, didn't she?"
(He's got this all figured out.)
(I don't think I could lie to him, even if I wanted to.)
Irvine nodded. "… Yeah."
"And is my daughter dead?" he asked. He asked the question calmly, revealing no emotion.
"No," Irvine said. "She was just unconscious."
Caraway's face twitched a little, visibly relieved. "That is good to hear. Despite what you may think, I don't wish for my daughter to come to harm."
"You're still her dad," Selphie said.
"Exactly," Caraway said. "While I am glad that my daughter is alive, you do realize that we are now in a situation where we have two sorceresses aligned against Galbadia? One in Timber and one in Garden, with a potential third locked away inside G-Garden? This is unprecedented. I have tried everything to keep SeeD out of the fight, to keep the two sorceresses from uniting, but my efforts have failed. Against the combined power of two sorceresses…" He trailed off.
(Sounds like your problem, not ours.)
"That does seem pretty bad for Galbadia, yeah," Irvine said.
"It's bad for everyone," Caraway said. He stepped over to the cabinet in the wall and pulled one of the expensive glasses from the shelf. He popped open a bottle of red wine and poured himself a glass. He took a small sip and continued.
"The sorceress is power," he said. "It is a power not held by a government or an army or a committee. It is absolute power, held by one person without any oversight by others. No one stands above a sorceress, keeping her in check. What's worse, it's a power that we do not fully understand. And powers that are not understood are feared. I would say that there is nothing in the world so frightening to people as a sorceress. And now we have at least two running around. Maybe more that we are unaware of."
Caraway took another sip from his glass, allowing his words to settle over his audience. Irvine and Selphie didn't respond. Irvine was curious to see where the General was going with this. How he was going to try to get the two on his side, when Irvine still sympathized with Rinoa and—to an extent—the sorceress in Timber. Irvine didn't know this other sorceress, but he agreed on principle with the rebellion in Timber.
"You say that the combined powers of the sorceresses are bad for Galbadia," Caraway said. "This is true. But it's short-sighted to only consider Galbadia's perspective. Let me bring you up to date on current events. Right now, in Galbadia—even in Deling City, just outside my door—people are beginning to panic. They hear stories about the sorceress in Timber. And in time, those stories get bigger, more convoluted. Some are saying that the sorceress is immortal. Some say that a girl can become a sorceress by completing a dark ritual. There are stories of women supposedly sacrificing an infant to the moon to become a sorceress. People say that they eat men alive, growing stronger by drinking their blood. All sorts of crazy tales are spreading on the streets and on cable."
Caraway chuckled mirthlessly into his glass and took another sip. "It's all nonsense, of course. Folk legends that should have died off generations ago. But the point is, people are afraid. And they are afraid, not just in Galbadia, but in Timber as well. In Balamb. In Dollet. In the entire civilized world, people are watching this drama unfold and wondering how many of those rumors are true. What you two fail to understand is that a victory by the sorceress in this war will not bring peace, but utter chaos.
"If Galbadia falls to the sorceress, all this pent up fear among the people will have nothing to hold it back. The people, panicked, will splinter apart. Already the holes are beginning to form. People are leaving the cities, moving away from major population centers. Charlatans in the streets are selling charms and trinkets to defend the people against sorceresses. Arms dealers are selling weapons and munitions to civilians. Every day we break up more and more of these illegal transactions. Yesterday, a girl on the north side of town was shot. Accused of being a sorceress by an angry mob. Events like this will only grow worse if the sorceress is not stopped. Irvine. Selphie. I am not asking you to help me save the nation of Galbadia. I am asking you to help me stop global anarchy."
Caraway paused and took a long, meaningful sip from his wineglass, letting the accumulating silence add weight to his words. But it would take far more than a dire speech and Caraway's air of authority to convince Irvine to do anything that might harm SeeD or Rinoa in any way.
(Global anarchy be damned. I ain't fighting against my friends.)
"Well, I ain't buying into your doom-and-gloom just yet," Irvine said. He smirked and shrugged. "No offense, but it seems to me like you're just spitting out a whole bunch of hypotheticals at us and hoping we'll fall in line. But we've faced off with sorceresses before, and the world didn't go nuts. I think we can safely say the same will be true this time too."
Caraway emptied the last of his wine glass in one quick swallow. "What you are saying is true. There have been sorceresses in the past, and they all have been defeated. Some more easily than others. But that is because there has always been a power greater than the sorceress to keep her in check. If Galbadia is defeated by the sorceress, there will be nothing standing between her and the rest of the world. Nothing, except maybe Esthar. But we know nothing of the silent country or of their current condition. Many in the world believe that the Sorceress Adel still rules in Esthar, waiting for the opportunity to wage war again. If she does, then—"
"She won't," Selphie said. "We whooped her butt."
Irvine scratched the back of his neck, wondering who really deserved credit for removing Adel from the world's stage: Laguna and the rebels, who sealed Adel in space or Irvine and the others, who finally defeated her after she was freed? He didn't know, and decided not to argue with Selphie's point.
Caraway raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "I see. But whether or not that's true, you'll find it hard to convince people that a handful of teenagers toppled the most powerful sorceress in living memory without any news of the event reaching Galbadia." He paused and refilled his glass. "No offense," he said to Irvine.
Irvine sniffed, both amused and perturbed to have his own little dig thrown back at him.
Caraway continued. "You're both missing the point. As far as the sorceress is concerned, it doesn't matter what is or is not true. What matters is what the people believe to be true. And right now, the people believe that if this Sorceress Ciel defeats Galbadia, then there will be nothing and no one to stop her from sneaking into their houses in the night, stealing their babies, and eating their husbands. I wish I was joking about that."
He took the time to pour himself another glass of wine, but did not drink. Instead he stared pensively at the red liquid in the bowl.
"But… we can tell them the truth," Irvine said. "Public Service Announcements or whatever. Tell the people the facts about the sorceress. Let me tell you, the sorceress is a lot less scary when you understand her and what she can and can't do."
"And what facts do you have?" Caraway said. He lowered his glass, the wine swirling in the glass. "What do you know about the sorceress that can compete with the mountains of misinformation we are dealing with? Is there some spell that can nullify her power? A ward to keep the people safe? Perhaps a magic bullet that can kill her in one shot? Tell me, Irvine, is there any easy solution for defeating a sorceress?"
Irvine looked to Selphie, then back to Caraway. He slumped his shoulders a little, sighed, and raised his hands in defeat.
"No. There's no easy solution," Irvine said.
"Then what you're suggesting will take time. And evidence," Caraway said. "Neither of which we have. You can't battle hearsay with hearsay. And although I personally believe you two are telling the truth, no one else is likely to agree."
Irvine puffed out his cheeks, exasperated. "So then what'll you have us do about it? Why'd you even bother bringing us here?"
"Several reasons," Caraway said. "For one, I was holding on to the dim hope that you had an answer for me. A quick way to kill or neutralize a sorceress. Seeing as you do not, I have to move on to my next plan. The first step to defusing this situation is to remove Garden from the equation."
"Whaddya mean?" Selphie said.
"I can get you two in contact with Commander Quistis," Caraway said. "You must convince her and my daughter to stand down, withdraw from Timber, and return to Balamb peacefully. Right now, very few people outside this room are aware that there is a second sorceress involved in this situation. If we can keep it that way, we can help stop the spread of panic."
"What happens after that?" Irvine asked.
"When SeeD withdraws, we must then eliminate the sorceress," Caraway said. "Without SeeD's interference, it should be relatively simple. And then… that's it. With both sorceresses out of the way, life can return to normal. The fear will subside, and the threat of war and anarchy will pass. At least for now. Until the next sorceress."
Irvine had to admit, it was hard to argue with a relatively peaceful solution. Granted, it wasn't entirely bloodless, as the second half of the plan hinged on attacking and probably killing the Timber sorceress, but overall it still seemed better than open war with Galbadia, SeeD, and Timber.
But also, he knew that Quistis and the others wouldn't have gotten involved in the first place if they didn't have good reasons for it. Irvine himself didn't know the Sorceress Ciel, but if Quistis trusted her enough to go to war on her behalf, then it would be stupid of Irvine to try to break up their alliance.
(I should probably use this chance to learn Caraway's plans.)
"What're you gonna do with Timber?" Irvine asked. "When all this is said and done?"
"That's up to the next president to decide," Caraway said. He took a sup from his glass. "My only goal is to restore peace and finish this election. I'm not interested in deciding Galbadia's long-term policies."
Before Irvine could ask another question, Selphie spoke up.
"What about the sorceress?" she asked.
"What about her?" Caraway asked, sipping wine.
"She can't die until she passes on her powers, you know," Selphie said. "So who's gonna take her powers if you kill her?"
Caraway hesitated, his wineglass hovering just outside his mouth. The blank stare in his eyes indicated that he was unsure of what to say to the pair for the first time since he'd walked in the room. In that moment of Caraway's indecision, Irvine went from being slightly sympathetic to Caraway's ideas, to being totally against him and the rest of the Galbadians.
(What would he do, if he killed the sorceress?)
Caraway certainly wouldn't allow her to pass on her powers to another girl. The way Caraway spoke of the sorceress, the way he'd built her up to be a global threat to world peace, he would never be able to accept that as a solution. Most likely he would lock her up, far away from any other women, and leave her in a half-dead stasis until he found a better answer. Irvine didn't know the sorceress Ciel, but he believed that no one in the world deserved such a horrible fate.
(It's no different from what Martine is doing with that girl in the detention center.)
Irvine sneered and rested his hand on the desk. His anger and derision towards the General were masked behind an air of flippant nonchalance. Grinning, he looked at Selphie.
"So whaddya think, Selphie?" Irvine said, grabbing the brim of his hat between his thumb and forefinger. "Should we sign up with the Galbadians?"
Selphie snorted. "Psh. No."
(Glad to see we're on the same page this time.)
Caraway sighed. "Unfortunate. But I am a man of my word, even if my subordinates sometimes are not. If you're concerned that I'm going to retaliate or imprison you for not helping me, you can set aside those fears now. I honestly wasn't expecting much help from either of you, and my plans will not be changed because of your refusal to take part in them. But there is one thing I would like you to do for me before we part."
"We ain't gonna help you," Irvine said. He crossed his arms, closing the debate. "We've made up our minds."
"No, I believe this will serve your purposes as much as mine," Caraway said. "You see, I would like for you to get in touch with your Commander. Seeing as how you two have been deprived of contact with the outside world, I imagine you would appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to her. Am I correct?"
Warily, Irvine said, "You can do that?"
"Not right away, no," Caraway said. "Like I said, Garden is in a holding pattern in the ocean, and they are not responding to any radio signals. If they're even in range to receive them right now. I will have to send an envoy to the ocean to find them and make contact directly. Then I can get you in touch with the Commander of SeeD."
(Why do this? What's he after?)
"And I guess you want us to tell her to back down?" Irvine asked.
"You can tell her whatever you want," Caraway said. "I only want for you to speak with her."
"Why?" Irvine asked. "What's in it for you?"
"I still believe that you two will come to see reason in the end," Caraway said. "And, through your intervention, maybe she will come to see reason as well. You can tell her as much or as little as you like, and discuss whatever topics suit you. I only ask that you make the connection."
(Hard to argue with such a simple request.)
"Sounds easy enough…" Irvine said.
"Then there should be no reason for you to refuse," Caraway said, confidently sipping from his glass.
(This has gotta be some kind of trap.)
Irvine put up his defenses again, and tried to think how Caraway would use this to his advantage. Obviously, Caraway wouldn't make the offer if he didn't gain something from it, but it all seemed so harmless that Irvine couldn't think of any way that Caraway would profit. Was there a hidden snare that Irvine wasn't seeing? If so, then what was it?
"You don't have to consent right away," Caraway said. "I'll ask you again in the morning. In the meantime, you are free to make use of my mansion. My office upstairs has a connection to HD cables. You are welcome to fact-check all of my statements online, and better acquaint yourself with what's going on in the world. If you would like, my butler can show you to my guest bedrooms, where you may rest for the night. If there's anything you need, you are welcome to ask. Any questions?"
"You seem pretty calm about all this," Irvine said. "Here you are, talkin' about world wars and global anarchy and chaos, all while sipping wine in your drawing room like you're talking about stock options."
"What would be gained if I abandoned my senses and gave in to fear?" Caraway asked. He looked at Irvine and Selphie, waiting for one of them to ask another question. After a pause, he stepped forward, topped off his wine glass, and spoke. "If there is nothing else, I will wish you all a good night, and excuse myself for the evening."
Caraway nodded to the pair, taking his glass with him as he left the room. He shut the door behind him.
Irvine looked to Selphie. For the first time all day, he was able to clearly read her emotions. Her brow was furrowed, and her nose was twitching back and forth like a rabbit's. Clearly she was thinking everything over, trying to figure out their next move and where Caraway's trap was—or if he'd even set a trap at all.
"Whatcha thinking?" Irvine asked, though he already had an idea.
Selphie sighed. "… Really wish they had some Mega Fizz."
Irvine closed his eyes slowly, a smile creeping across his face. Laughing in short breaths through his nose, he rubbed at his eyes with one hand.
"Selphie," he said, "You're… you're something else, you know?"
She ignored the comment. "So d'ya wanna check out the cable?" she asked. "I'd reeeally like to know what's going on around here."
"Yeah, me too," Irvine said. "Let's mosey."
Selphie nimbly hopped out of her chair and picked up her nunchaku from the coffee table. Irvine grabbed his shotgun with one hand and rested the barrel on his shoulder. He led the way to the door and settled his fingers on the knob. For one uneasy moment, he wondered if Caraway had sealed them inside. He twisted the knob. It turned easily, and the door slid open.
(Whew.)
"C'mon," Irvine said.
They stepped back out into the foyer. As the two exited the drawing room, Irvine was struck with the realization that Caraway had neglected to mention where his office was located. More than a half dozen doors were visible on both levels of the mansion, with more doorways down the hallways, out of Irvine's sight. All the doors in the mansion were closed, giving no indication of where they led.
"Uh… Should we ask the butler where the office is?" Irvine asked.
"He said it was upstairs, right?" Selphie asked. Not waiting for his response, she ran past him, and headed up the stairs. Irvine jogged to keep up with her, taking the steps two at a time. She reached the top and ran to the nearest closed door, twisting the knob.
"Locked," she said. As she moved to the next door, Irvine looked around the second floor. The hallway ran left and right, perpendicular to the stairs. The soft red carpeting muffled the sounds of Selphie's boots as she stomped along. Fancy table stands held elaborate flowered vases. More expensive art hung up on the walls. The hall was lit by a row of yellow electric lights shaped like candles.
Instead of following Selphie as she checked every door one by one, Irvine gathered in the details of his surroundings, memorizing them. The door nearest him, as well as many other doors, had keypads next to the doorknobs. Irvine looked beyond her, down to the far end of the hall. Among the many closed doors, one stood slightly ajar.
"Hey, Selphie," he called. She paused and turned to him.
"What?" she asked.
"What about that door?" he said, pointing. "The only one that's open."
She spun around and looked.
"OOOOHHHHHhhhhhh," she said. "Yeah, let's try that."
She hurriedly jogged to the open door, as if it was set on a timer and could close by itself at any minute. Irvine took his time following her, absorbing the details of the mansion as he walked. Time and familiarity were beginning to dull his initial mistrust of the General, but he still didn't want to be caught off guard later, should something go wrong.
"You're right!" Selphie yelled to Irvine, before disappearing into the open doorway. She said something else, but her voice was caught in the room and didn't carry out into the hall. Irvine followed after her.
The door opened up into a sort of library. Tall bookcases lined all four walls, every space filled with textbooks and literature from around the world. A globe was placed prominently in one corner, next to a cozy reading chair and a lamp. At the far end of the room, tucked into a small recess, was a computer terminal atop a polished wooden desk.
"Bingo!" Selphie said. She flopped into the wooden chair in front of the desk—the chair groaning under the impact of her body—and fired up the monitor with a few keystrokes. Irvine closed the door, then stood behind her, leaning over her shoulder to get a better view of the monitor, and a better view of Selphie herself.
He was aware of her closeness, of the sound of her breathing, and her bare shoulders mere inches from his face. He leaned forward even further, resting his free hand on the desk and towering protectively over her. He could smell the scent of the Galbadian shampoo from her morning shower. Although it was the same bland scent he'd washed his own hair with for many years back when he was a student at G-Garden, he found himself appreciating it more, now that it was attached to Selphie.
He wanted to touch her, just reach out a hand and place it on the pale, smooth skin of her shoulder, but he didn't think it was the right time. Things had normalized between them, it seemed, ever since their argument the previous night, and he didn't want to undo his forward progress with hasty, unplanned movements.
(Patience. Patience is key.)
Maybe he couldn't touch her just yet, but with her eyes fixed to the screen, Irvine could steal as many sideways glances as he wanted without her knowing. Of course, he took full advantage of the situation.
Smiling to himself, he realized that once again he'd be bunking with Selphie in one of Caraway's guest rooms. Without Seifer around to ruin everything this time, and with the romantic air of the stately mansion providing the ambiance, Irvine felt his chances with Selphie were pretty good.
(Maybe this night will be better…)
In the next few hours, the two got caught up on global events, scanning through the archives of various independent news aggregators, double-checking facts to make sure that they were hearing the truth from as many sources as possible.
From what they could see, Caraway hadn't been lying about anything he'd told them. There indeed was an uprising in Timber, led by a Sorceress named Ciel. The two watched her video, in which she declared Timber's independence. Irvine thought she was cute, and commented on her appearance, which earned him a swift elbow in the stomach.
But Selphie didn't seem too upset, which Irvine took as a good sign.
SeeD had joined into the battle only yesterday, launching an attack on Timber that proved to be unsuccessful. Both of them were especially curious to find details about the mission, but even the best news sources only posted vague answers.
(I wonder what went wrong…)
And true to Caraway's word, people were posting bizarre and panicked stories about how to defend against sorceresses. Some were organizing people into mass exoduses to the mountains, or to the distant valleys of the countryside. Anywhere a sorceress was unlikely to go.
Caraway had neglected to mention that he'd sent a large force into Balamb to search for sorceresses, but Irvine was more disappointed to learn this than angry. Irvine expected at least some lies and omissions. He had to be content that at least Caraway had been mostly truthful about the things that mattered.
Still, even with all the evidence online, it was hard for Irvine to buy into Caraway's fears about the future of the world, should the sorceress prevail over Galbadia. To Irvine, the General's vision of a world thrown into anarchy by the threat of an unchecked sorceress seemed to be just the paranoid ranting of a frightened old man who locked every door in his mansion and had secret passages leading into the sewers.
As they searched, Irvine examined and reexamined Caraway's offer from every possible angle. No matter how he tried, he couldn't find any possible way that Caraway would profit from connecting Irvine and Selphie with Quistis and Garden.
(Unless we try to convince her to back down, which I'm not gonna do.)
Maybe Caraway thought that having some time to think about the situation and peruse the cable news would change their mind? Irvine didn't know. Not knowing made Irvine even more suspicious of the General's motives.
He glanced back at the screen to discover that Selphie had gotten bored and distracted and had clicked on a video of cats.
"Selphie!" he said, in a playfully admonishing tone.
"Irvine!" Selphie replied, echoing his tone of voice. "This. Cat. Is. A. Butler. It is a Butler Cat, Irvine. Can you even imagine what you can do with a Butler Cat?"
Irvine grinned.
"Probably the same things you can do with a regular cat," he said.
"But as a butler!" Selphie argued.
(Gotta admit though, that cat is pretty awesome.)
"Okay, fine," Irvine said. "One cat video."
"WOO HOO!" Selphie said, letting the video play out.
Honestly, this worked out in Irvine's favor, playing perfectly into the script he had for the evening. Now that Selphie had gotten her fill of depressing news and stories of death and war, they could transition to brighter subjects. A few silly cat videos, then some other adorable videos that Irvine knew could melt a girl's heart like ice in the desert. A slightly sexy video, paired with a well-timed joke or comment. A brush of physical contact, his fingers "accidentally" touching her shoulder, her neck, or her arms. Maybe all of the above. A longing, meaningful gaze in the low lights of the library, with no witnesses around except for the rows and rows of silent books around them. The door shut firmly, so there would be no interruptions.
(And then…)
And then, there was an explosion from the foyer, loud enough to rattle the computer monitor and shake the floor. Instinctively, Irvine grabbed his shotgun in both hands and ran out of the room, throwing open the door and sprinting into the hall. Selphie spun in her chair, snatching up her nunchaku and chasing after him.
He ran down the empty hall and reached to the top of the steps. He looked below into the foyer. The remnants of the front door lay in charred pieces on the ground. Scorch marks blackened the doorway and the floor, and bits of the carpet were smoldering. Irvine glanced around, his gun tucked tightly against his shoulder, ready to fire, but he didn't see anything or anyone. Selphie charged past him, flying down the steps. He sighted down the barrel of the gun and ran down after her, leaning over the railing and looking to the first floor, to make sure the way ahead was clear.
There was another explosion and a pair of agonized screams. The screams were abruptly silenced, replaced by gunfire. Selphie hit the marble floor running and chased after the sounds of fighting, with Irvine only steps behind her.
(The hell's going on!?)
Underneath the stairs was another hallway, with more scorch marks along the walls. The lights, damaged in the attack, were flickering wildly. Selphie slowed down to a fast walk, cautiously moving forward to avoid being caught in the crossfire she couldn't yet see.
Irvine got in front of her, trying to shield her body with his. He had his shotgun to his shoulder and his finger on the trigger. They passed the body of the butler, limp and sprawled on the floor, his clothing singed and smoking.
At the end of the hall, a doorway had been blasted open with fire. Beyond, there was the sound of magic spells being cast, more screams, and a small-caliber weapon firing again and again. Once they were sure that magic was being used, they both brought up pinkish defensive shields, which would dampen the worst effects of any spells hurled in their direction.
Working as a pair, Selphie and Irvine turned the corner and looked into the room. They only had a moment—just a brief glimpse of the scene. Bodies of Caraway's servants were tossed around the room, slumped over furniture, bleeding onto the carpet and staining it a deeper shade of red. Caraway himself was slouched over a desk, a handgun held in his limp fingers. Blood dripped from his body and over the edge of the desk.
In the middle of the room was a young woman, short, with blonde hair and a red bandanna. She stood defiantly amidst the carnage, holding her head high and proudly. Irvine recognized her from the video he'd watched earlier.
(It's the sorceress!)
He brought his gun to his shoulder, but was too slow. The sorceress noticed them and instantly shot out an inferno, as if her arm was a flamethrower. Irvine and Selphie's magic shields absorbed the heat of the flame, but still the spell's impact hurled the two violently backwards. Irvine flew through the air, weightless, until his body slammed into the far wall of the room, his head snapping against a painting and knocking it down as he collapsed to the ground. He and Selphie hit the floor in a heap, dazed, but alive.
"FOREST WOLF!" the sorceress yelled triumphantly. Irvine, stunned, couldn't lift his head to look, but he could hear another discharge of magic followed by the sound of shattering glass. He managed to open his eyes and with blurry, double-vision, he saw a smoking hole where the window used to be. Aside from the corpses and Irvine and Selphie, the room was empty.
The sorceress was gone.
Irvine went limp and closed his eyes, unconsciousness threatening to drag his thoughts into darkness. Despite the screaming pain in his head, his mind turned to Selphie. He fought to stay awake, if only to make sure she was okay. He forced his eyes open and looked at her. She was breathing alright, but not moving.
Footsteps marched past the two fallen students and into the room. Irvine didn't know who they belonged to, but he knew there were several pairs.
"General Caraway!" someone shouted.
Irvine, aching everywhere and his head spinning, began to lose the battle against his injuries. Darkness covered his vision, and his eyes closed of their own accord. His head rested on the hard, cold marble floor.
"He's dead," a voice said. "General Caraway is dead."
The voice sounded like it was echoing from down a long, long tunnel.
And then Irvine faded into oblivion.
End of Disc 1
Please insert Disc 2