Final Fantasy 8: Future Bound

by Darsar

The continuation of the events of Final Fantasy 8, shortly after the conclusion of the game.

51. Chapter 51: Damage

Chapter 51

Damage

(Zell)

Dying wasn't as painful as he had always been led to believe. Or, at least, the way Zell was dying wasn't very painful. He couldn't compare it to the agony of dying from disease, starvation, or any of the other long, slow deaths that frightened most people. But, in his limited experience, dying suddenly from a massive explosion hurled by an otherworldly dragon was a fairly pleasant way to go, all things considered.

Coming back to life, however. That was painful.

Nerve endings that had been abandoned by his dying brain instantly awoke again, with a feeling similar to the tingling of a sleeping hand or foot, only magnified a thousand times. Blood vessels reopened, filling his muscles with life and vitality, but each heartbeat hammered through his entire body with the pressure of a small explosion. His lungs sucked in air, but it was hot and burned his insides as if he was breathing directly into a smoking bonfire.

His eyes snapped open, his vision blurry. He leapt to his feet and swatted at his body, as though he was covered with insects.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Zell yelled, dancing on his toes as he moved around.

Soon, a pair of arms wrapped around him, restraining him, preventing him from hitting himself.

"Settle down, man!" the student said. "You're okay!"

He took a few breaths and calmed down. He felt weak and tired, as if he'd been sprinting nonstop for an hour, but otherwise he felt quite good. Better than he had a few moments before. He held still while the strong arms of a Trabia Garden student continued to hold him in place.

Zell realized that other students were gathered there as well, a cluster of three or four dozen students huddled around Zell in a circle, holding their hands up as if to keep Zell from running away.

(T-Garden?)

He glanced around. Ruined and twisted metal surrounded him on all sides. A few ragged tents were set up, multi-colored and stained from the weather. He realized that he was on a wide, flat disk, and the sigil for Trabia Garden was beneath his feet. Beyond the edges of the disk was the ocean, dotted with a couple of Esthar ships. Balamb Garden was a short distance away, sailing north and leaving a pleasant wake in its trail.

Zell saw his home and he took a deep breath.

(I'm okay…)

Zell struggled a little, trying to break free of the man who was holding him.

"Dude, I'm fine," Zell said. "Stop huggin' me!"

"You're not gonna freak out?" the student asked, refusing to let go.

"Nah, I'm done," Zell said.

"Alright," the student said, slowly releasing Zell. Once freed, Zell stretched in place, raising his hands high above his head and arching his back. He suddenly felt itchy all up and down his body, so he liberally scratched himself and yawned. The other students watched him, but no one said anything.

"Anyone got any food?" Zell asked.

A girl handed Zell a slice of seasoned bread wrapped in an old newspaper. Zell snatched it up with a quick, "Thanks!" and devoured the bread in three bites. It didn't ease his hunger by much, but it did make the emptiness in his gut more bearable.

"… Got any more?" Zell asked. He stifled a burp with his fist.

"Maybe later," a girl with long brown hair said to him. Zell squinted when he looked at her. She was familiar, and Zell had that feeling that he should know this person's name, but didn't. It was the same feeling he got whenever he talked to Ami's friends.

(Is she friends with Ami?)

(No, she's on T-Garden.)

(So where do I know her from?)

To avoid looking awkward, he grinned sheepishly and said, "Uh… hi. Good to see ya."

"You too, Zell," the girl said.

(Gah!)

(She knows my name!)

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "You jumped up before I finished healing you. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Relieved at the change of topic, Zell twisted his back and bent all around, looking over his body and patting himself down, feeling for sore spots and wounds. He noticed that his clothes were damp and his muscles ached, but otherwise he couldn't complain.

"Nope," Zell said. "I feel pretty good. Why am I wet?"

"We just pulled you out of the ocean," the girl said. "You were floating there, completely knocked out."

"Oh…" Zell said. He frowned. "Was I?"

He couldn't remember many details, aside from a few vague images of a white burst of light and the sound of Bahamut's roar. He had a good idea of what had happened to him, but he would find it difficult to tell the whole story from beginning to end.

"But you're okay now, right?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Zell said. "Totally fine."

"I don't mean to rush you or anything, but do you know what's going on inside Garden?" the girl asked. "Did something happen recently?"

(A lot's happened.)

"Uh, whaddya mean?" Zell asked. "Gotta be more specific."

"I mean, why are there guards stationed at the entrances?" the girl asked. "How come no one will let us in or even speak to us? And where's Selphie and Rinoa and the others?"

"Those are, ah…" Zell said, scratching the back of his head. "… Good questions."

(Guards in Garden?)

(Wait…)

(Galbadia!?)

"Were they Galbadian soldiers?" Zell asked. He gripped the girl's shoulders urgently. "Did Galbadia take over Garden?!"

"No, that's the weird part," the girl said. "They were SeeDs, dressed in uniform. They were really unfriendly and told us we weren't welcome. That we should go."

(Unfriendly SeeDs?)

(Oh.)

(Now I get it…)

"Mireya," Zell said, whispering her name like a curse. He released the girl's shoulders and turned away.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked.

"Mireya," Zell said, looking back at her. "Mireya… somethin' or another. Dunno her last name. She hates sorceresses and wants them out of Garden. She was stagin' a coup on Garden and…" He paused in thought. "… And if she's got guards at the entrances, then I guess that means her coup worked."

That was the only explanation that made sense. Obviously Quistis and Headmaster Cid wouldn't place guards at the entrances, barring T-Garden students from coming inside. That was only something Mireya would do. A flash of anger built up in Zell's chest at the thought of Mireya being in charge of the school.

(She doesn't deserve it!)

"She hates sorceresses…" the girl said. "I guess that's why she seemed to really dislike me."

(Oh, so this girl's a sorceress?)

The pieces began to line up. A sorceress. Trabia Garden. Long brown hair. Knows Zell.

"OOHhhhhhh," Zell said. He pointed at the girl. "You're Selphie's friend! Uh, Tomomi, right?"

"Yeah," Tomomi said, looking confused. "You just figured that out now?"

"Well, eh," Zell said. He winced and rubbed the back of his head. "I did just get blown up by a dragon. And I was never very good with names to begin with. So I think you should cut me some slack, okay?"

Tomomi shrugged. "Alright. It's not important anyway. So what are we gonna do?"

"Do about what?" Zell asked.

She gave him a withering look. "Garden's been taken over by an anti-sorceress fanatic, Galbadia has been beaten back—but will probably return eventually—and your Garden is now missing a chunk so huge that you can literally drive a boat into it. I saw the White SeeD ship do exactly that. We need to come up with a plan."

(A plan?)

Zell grimaced. "Ah, I dunno what you heard about me, but I'm not the 'plan' guy. That's Squall. Or Quistis. Or hell, anyone but me. I'm just the muscle. Tell me who to punch and I'll punch 'em."

Zell swatted his fists through the air a couple times to demonstrate. He felt weak and slow, slightly off-balance. He looked at his hands, clenching and unclenching them for a few seconds.

(Must still be recovering.)

"But you're also the only one who knows what's going on inside Garden," Tomomi said. "I sure don't know anything. And neither does White SeeD. So that makes you the most qualified of all of us."

(… Me?)

Zell coughed and swallowed, suddenly feeling the weight of all the T-Garden students around him. The students stared at him expectantly, as if he was suddenly going to take charge and tell everyone what to do. He found himself wishing he was back in the ocean, where at least no one would be looking to him for answers.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the White SeeD ship approaching, its giant fin-like sails glittering in the sunlight.

(Aw, hell.)

(More people who are gonna ask me questions I can't answer.)

"Look," Zell said. "I can draw you a map of the school, I guess. But really that's about it."

Tomomi nodded. "That's a good start."

A T-Garden student approached Zell and handed him a beaten up notebook and a pen. Zell took one in each hand and gazed at them like he'd never seen such devices before.

"What's this?" Zell asked.

"Draw us a map," Tomomi said. "It'll come in handy, I'm sure."

"Gotcha," Zell said. He clicked the pen and flicked open the notebook. The first dozen or so pages were filled with a previous student's notes about chemistry and math, as well as a few essays. Zell skipped past them and found the nearest blank page.

He started by drawing a circle. Then he made it look like a wheel with six spokes, each leading off to a separate section of the school. He labeled everything and added details where he felt they were needed. On the next page, he drew a quick ring representing the second floor classrooms, and on the page after that he made quick sketches of Cid's office on the third floor and some notes about the basement level and the MD levels. He labeled everything and then looked up, pleased with his work.

By the time he'd finished, the White SeeD ship had already parked at the edge of Trabia Garden. White SeeDs had hopped down from their ship to mingle among the T-Garden students. Tomomi was off to the side, talking with a tall White SeeD who had a distinct air of authority about him. Zell approached the pair.

"I got your maps done," Zell said, holding up the notebook. The two looked at him.

"This is the SeeD you mentioned before?" the White SeeD asked.

"Yeah," Tomomi said. "This is Zell. Zell, meet Commander Alnaj."

"Hiya," Zell said. He put his pen and notebook in his left hand and extended his right for a shake. But Commander Alnaj ignored him and turned back to Tomomi. Zell frowned, then dropped his hand.

(Man, no one ever shakes my hand.)

"If there's nothing else, I'd like to begin discussing our plan of attack," Commander Alnaj said.

"Plan of attack?" Zell asked.

Commander Alnaj looked at Zell evenly. "Yes. We're planning an invasion of Balamb Garden."

Zell blinked and the notebook nearly fell from his hand. He fumbled to catch it, then looked up at Alnaj. "Uh… what? An invasion?"

"I know it sounds drastic, but we don't have a choice," Alnaj said. "After the battle with the Galbadians, Garden has placed guards at their entrances and refuses to speak with anyone."

"Yeah, I got that part," Zell said. "I guess I'm just weirded out by the idea of invading Garden."

"Ordinarily, we would be content to leave Garden to its own devices," Alnaj said, "Were it not for the fact that a few minutes ago, Garden changed course and is now heading due north."

Zell frowned. "How's that make a difference?"

"Garden is clearly leaving the battle," Alnaj said. "Look around. We're getting further and further away from the Esthar navy."

Zell glanced up and jerked with surprise. The ocean was almost completely empty. A few Esthar ships were visible in the south, but otherwise T-Garden and the White SeeDs were alone, chasing along in the wake behind Balamb Garden.

"Why are they runnin'?" Zell asked.

"Self-preservation, I imagine," Alnaj said. "Whoever this Mireya person is, she clearly has no loyalty to Esthar or anyone else. In terms of pure selfish interest, fleeing to the north is the wisest decision. If they're lucky, they'll be able to escape the main force of the Galbadian Navy, or maybe the whole battle entirely."

"That sounds good," Zell said.

(At least Garden will be safe, right?)

"Good for Garden, but not for the rest of the world," Alnaj said. Zell raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask a question, Alnaj went on to explain. "In the past twenty years, Esthar has been steadily reducing the size of their army and their navy, moving from a militaristic nation to a more peaceful scientific one. While their ambitions are noble, this reduction has left them weak against direct attacks from foreign invaders."

"But I saw like, dozens of ships a few minutes ago," Zell said. "Esthar's navy is still pretty big."

"In comparison to most others, yes," Alnaj said. "Esthar's navy is probably the second largest in the world. But Galbadia's is much bigger. We couldn't do an exact count during the last battle, but we are working under the assumption that the G-Navy has almost two ships for every one that Esthar has. And that estimate might be too low."

Zell's mouth opened. "Oh."

(Yeah, that does sound pretty bad…)

"You seem to know a lot about Esthar," Zell said.

"We managed to learn a few details from our occasional run-ins with their navy over the years," Alnaj said. "We've also been talking with an Esthar Commander, trying to coordinate a strategy."

"Ah."

Alnaj continued. "Because Galbadia has superior numbers, they can afford to divide their forces. Currently, Esthar's scout ships indicate that Galbadia is launching a two-pronged attack. Half of their navy is to the west of us, ready to face the Esthar ships in a sea battle. But the other half is down south by the Horizon Bridge. The Galbadian army is currently marching along the bridge, and the G-Navy is providing cover so that the Esthar navy can't simply bomb the bridge from a distance."

"Oh, man," Zell said.

"Esthar doesn't have enough ships to address both fronts," Alnaj said. "If they move south to attack the bridge, then the G-Navy will sweep around them and attack Esthar's shore. If they stay here and fight off the ships, then the G-Army will march down the Horizon Bridge and attack from there. No matter what Esthar does, they are outnumbered and overpowered. They managed to save us in the last battle, but only because we were fighting a comparatively small force. When Galbadia flexes its full muscle, Esthar will be unable to protect itself."

"You're just full of good news, aren't you?" Zell said.

"The situation is dire," Alnaj said. "There's no denying that. Which is why we cannot afford to allow Garden to flee. If Balamb Garden refuses to fight, then Esthar has no hope of winning this battle. That is why we are planning the invasion: so that we can get Garden back into the fight before Galbadia launches their next attack."

"Ah," Zell said. "Makes sense. But if Mireya hates sorceresses, how're we gonna convince her to team up with us?"

"We might not be able to," Commander Alnaj said. "If we cannot, then we will be forced to remove her authority and place a leader in charge of Garden who will work with us."

(Oh, man.)

"So, like, a double coup?" Zell asked. "Overthrow the overthowers?"

"If that's what it takes, yes," Commander Alnaj said.

Zell gulped. Things had definitely become interesting in the past few days. And to think, it hadn't been that long ago since Zell's biggest concern was trying to think of a lesson plan for his upcoming class on hand-to-hand combat.

(It'd be nice if I could go back to those days…)

"So, you said you have a map of the school?" Commander Alnaj asked. Zell nodded and handed the notebook over to him, opened to the page that displayed Garden's first floor and the major zones.

"The layout is pretty simple," Commander Alnaj said. "Are you sure you're not missing any details?"

"Nope, that's pretty much it," Zell said. "Garden's basically just a big circle divided into six sections. I got all the sections labeled, right here."

Zell pointed at the notebook. Alnaj grimaced and pulled the notebook away.

"Yes, I can see that," he said.

"There's more on the next pages," Zell said. "Garden's second and third floors, plus its basement."

"Where are all the possible points of entry?" Alnaj asked.

"Uh… here, here… here and here," Zell said, pointing at every place that a person could physically get into Garden. Some of the places would require the intruder to be able to fly or crawl through air ducts, but given what he had seen of the White SeeDs' fighting ability, he was sure that they would be able to find ways in.

When he finished, Zell looked up at the Commander and Tomomi and said, "So uh, who's all part of this plan? White SeeD and T-Garden? Are the Esthar soldiers gonna fight with us too?"

"No," Commander Alnaj said, disgusted. "President Laguna has ordered his soldiers to stay out of this. He doesn't want to use Esthar ships to attack Garden, even if it might save Esthar."

"Darn," Zell said.

(Who else can we count on?)

It was then that he got a mental flash of the Garden's quad, moments before Bahamut blew it to pieces. He remembered Squall, Rinoa, and Irvine, fighting alongside him.

"The others!" Zell said, now that he was thinking about it. "Any word from Rinoa and them?"

"Gone," Tomomi said. "Commander Alnaj says that Selphie took a Guardian Force east, probably to Esthar. Squall, Rinoa, and Irvine chased after her in an Esthar boat."

"But… they're okay?" Zell asked.

"Seems so," Tomomi said.

"Whew," Zell said. He made a show of wiping sweat off his brow.

(It'd be nice to have them around…)

(… But at least they're alive.)

"Which means we've lost two sorceresses," Commander Alnaj said. "Given how instrumental Rinoa and Selphie were in the previous battle, I don't like our chances of succeeding without them, even if we manage to get Garden back on our side."

Zell frowned. "Man, why are you always bein' negative? You're really awful at rallying the troops, you know that?"

"The troops shouldn't need to be rallied," Alnaj said. "Everyone here knows that this is life-or-death. If that thought alone is not enough to rally one's fighting spirit, then I don't know what to say."

"Fine," Zell said. He crossed his arms. "I'll be the one to get everyone pumped."

"If you wish…" Alnaj said. As he spoke, the Commander scribbled notes down on top of Zell's drawings. Zell was a little annoyed that the White SeeD was messing up his drawing, but he didn't say anything.

"What kind of person is this Mireya?" Alnaj asked, still writing on the maps.

"Ah, whaddya mean?" Zell asked.

"Her personality," Alnaj said. "Her disposition. Her abilities. Anything that might prove important in the upcoming fight."

"Well," Zell said. He placed both hands on top of his hand and laced his fingers together. "She's a really skilled swordsman. Swordswoman? Swordsperson? Whatever. She uses a Galbadian saber, but she's really fast. Not like most G-Army soldiers. They swing their swords like they're choppin' down trees, you know?"

"Mm hmm," Alnaj said, not looking at Zell. "Go on."

"She hates sorceresses, and Headmaster Cid," Zell said. "Somethin' about Cid bein' too emotional or something. And she doesn't trust sorceresses. I don't really remember why."

"So she is a very logical person?" Alnaj asked. "If she dislikes the Headmaster for being emotional, I assume she's the opposite?"

"I guess," Zell said. "Kinda like Squall. Only, like, even more so. I dunno. It's hard to describe."

"So she's cold, logical, and managed to successfully organize a coup inside SeeD," Alnaj said.

"Yeah," Zell said.

"Any chance you think we can negotiate a truce with her?" Alnaj said.

"None," Zell said. He shook his head. "We've been tryin' to be nice to her for a while, but she keeps stirring up trouble and makin' everything worse. I think she wanted everything to turn out this way."

(It always seemed like she was gunning for the worst possible scenario.)

"I see," Alnaj said. He finished drawing on the maps and looked up. "Then let's assume that we're going immediately into battle. Our objective is to overthrow Mireya and her subordinates and restore proper order within Garden before the Galbadians return."

Zell coughed.

"Man, just like that, huh?" Zell said. "We're goin' in?"

"We cannot afford to wait any longer," Alnaj said. "Galbadia won't waste time. They'll want to hit us again before we have a chance to recover."

Zell punched one hand into the palm of the other and grinned. "Then let's do it!"

Alnaj nodded. "Then here's the plan." He flipped around the notebook, revealing the mess of scribbles and lines and notes he'd drawn over Zell's crude map. "Speed is our biggest ally. Even with the combined forces of T-Garden and White SeeD, we're still likely to be outnumbered in this fight. Even those who didn't fight alongside Mireya during SeeD's coup might still take arms against us, just for the sake of protecting Garden from hostile outsiders. Therefore we need to enter quickly and with great force."

"Okay," Zell said.

Alnaj put his index finger on the page and began tracing the key areas of his plan. "I propose we break into groups and simultaneously strike the three most vulnerable areas in Garden's design: the quad, the third floor, and the second floor balcony. Each of the three groups will have their own specific agendas. The balcony and quad teams will seek to gain entry into the heart of the school and connect with the former leaders of Garden, namely Commander Quistis, Headmaster Cid, and those allied to them. If we can join with the previous administration, that will bolster our numbers and likely turn the tide in our favor."

Alnaj continued on the next page, pointing out the third floor. "Right now the bridge is completely exposed, leaving it vulnerable to attack. Gaining control of Garden is not a high priority to us, since controlling the school itself doesn't present us with many advantages. But if we can take the bridge, that will give us a valuable bargaining chip to use against Mireya if the other two teams are unsuccessful in making contact with the Commander or the Headmaster."

"Speakin' of that," Zell said. "Where do you think Quistis and the Headmaster would be?"

"I was hoping you would know the answer to that," Commander Alnaj said. "Is there a specific spot in Garden where they are likely to be imprisoned?"

"Uh…" Zell said. He looked up and thought to himself.

(We don't even know what happened to them.)

(They could be anywhere.)

"I dunno," Zell said. He shrugged.

"Think, Zell," Alnaj said. "If Mireya has gained control of the school, it's likely that Quistis and the others are being detained. Where would be a good spot in Garden to hold a large number of students? The basement and MD levels seem likely, but you know the school better than I do."

Zell shrugged. "I was gonna guess the basement, but I don't really know. We have a detention center on the second floor, but it can only hold a couple people at a time."

"A detention center?" Alnaj said. He took another look at the notebook. "Why isn't that on your map?"

"It is!" Zell said. He pointed to the far end of the second floor classrooms. "It's marked D. C. I couldn't fit both words."

"So the basement and the detention center…" Alnaj said. He paused for a moment, staring at the map and focusing. Then he said, "We can send the balcony team to search the detention center and the quad team to search the basement. Is there anywhere else we should look?"

"Uh…" Zell said. "I mean, they could be anywhere. If you seal off the central hallways, you can block a whole section of Garden pretty easily. They might all be locked in the dorms, or the parking lot, or the cafeteria. Hard to say."

"It's possible," Alnaj said. "I'll keep that in mind. But I would assume that—if Mireya is as logical as you say—she would want to keep her prisoners away from the food sources and the sleeping quarters and out of the way of any potential battles. Which would suggest the basement as the most likely choice."

"Ah, ya got a point," Zell said.

"I don't mean to be Miss Rain Cloud," Tomomi said, "But what do we do if Mireya killed them? I mean, it was a coup after all. Coups tend to be violent."

Alnaj nodded. "If that's the case, then we'll deal with it when it comes up. Regardless, our first priority is to overthrow Mireya's administration. Whether or not the Headmaster and the Commander are still alive doesn't affect that plan much."

Zell was unaware that his hands had balled up into fists and that his teeth were grinding.

(If she killed them…)

(If she killed them then I'll…)

But he didn't finish the thought.

"I'll head the team that will take the bridge," Commander Alnaj said. "Tomomi, I'd like you to lead the charge into the balcony and to the detention center. If you can't find any captives there, move down to the first floor and join the third team."

Tomomi nodded and gave a SeeD salute. "Understood," she said.

"Zell, can you handle leading the quad team?" Alnaj said.

Although Zell wasn't much of a leader and was rarely was put in a position of authority, he knew from experience—from the first time G-Garden and Garden fought, as well as from his time in Timber, after Xu had been knocked unconscious—that he could operate in a leadership role, so long as he knew what his objectives were. He shied away from leadership, not because he was incompetent or because he couldn't figure out things on his own, rather, he just always had trouble sorting out his priorities and coming up with a plan. If someone else told him what to do and where to go, he was comfortable leading others.

He nodded enthusiastically. "I got this."

"Then we begin immediately," Alnaj said. "I'll divide my White SeeDs into three groups—one for each team—so that they can pick you up and jump you into the balcony and the quad. Divide your T-Garden students into two groups—one for the balcony team and one for the quad team—and tell me when you're ready."

"You don't want any of our students with you on the bridge?" Tomomi asked.

Alnaj shook his head. "It's precarious up there, and you lack the agility and jumping power. You'd just slow us down."

Tomomi shrugged. "Fine. I already know how I'm dividing the teams." She turned and addressed the students of T-Garden, who were gathered around in a wide semicircle. "Girls with me, guys with Zell. Split up, everybody!"

Quickly the T-Garden students shuffled around until they formed two large clusters of about two dozen students each, with the girls all lined up near Tomomi and the guys lined up next to Zell. He didn't do an exact headcount, but it looked like both teams were equal in size.

(That was easy.)

Zell surveyed the guys who would be part of his team. They were worn and visibly tired. Their stained clothes were mismatched and better suited for the colder climate of northern Trabia, rather than the more tropical weather in the ocean near the Horizon Bridge. Some of them had been able to scavenge or recover weapons, while the rest had to make do with weapons improvised from pieces of metal, chains, iron rods, or just their hands.

But they looked like fighters to Zell. Put them in the proper uniforms and they could pass for SeeDs, even though they didn't junction. Zell had no worries about leading them into battle.

He glanced over at the girls' team and saw the same thing, the same look of determination. They were people who had survived tragedy and hardship. The suffering of their past glowed in their eyes, making them look fierce, strong, and a little bit crazy.

(Three things you need to survive a battle.)

"Alright," Alnaj said. "The balcony team will come with me onto the White SeeD ship. We'll approach the balcony and then split up from there, with the balcony team heading inside while the bridge team continues on to the top of Garden. Everyone else will stay on T-Garden and approach the quad. This way we'll hit them from three directions at once and overwhelm them. Everyone understand their orders?"

The T-Garden students voiced their readiness. Tomomi and Zell both shouted out as well, priming themselves for the battle. Alnaj quickly divided his White SeeDs into three groups, then used the White SeeDs to quickly jump all the girls up into the White SeeD ship, leaving only the guys—and the pilot of T-Garden, who was a girl—aboard T-Garden.

(It's on!)

Zell clenched his teeth and balled his hands into his fists. He swung his arm through the air.

"You guys ready for this?" he shouted. The guys raised their weapons or their fists into the air and shouted back at him. He pointed to the Garden's quad—or what was left of it anyway. "There's our destination! Let's take back Garden!"

The mousey little T-Garden pilot nodded, then cranked some levers and dials on the control panel, adjusting T-Garden's course and speed. Zell felt the floor lurch beneath him as T-Garden sped up. Beside them, White SeeD peeled off and headed for the far side of the school, towards the balcony. Zell watched them go, then turned his eyes back to the quad.

(Better check my junctions.)

It was a habit ingrained into him after years of training in Garden. Never do anything in battle without first checking your junctions. Rushing into a fight with his attack and defense junctions misaligned or ill-suited for the enemy could be the difference between life and death.

He closed his eyes and searched for his GF…

… And found nothing.

"Eh?" Zell said. T-Garden continued to race forward, getting closer and closer to Garden's quad.

He closed his eyes and tried again. As he did, memories flashed across his mind. The quad. Selphie. Bahamut. The explosion.

"Crap!" Zell said. "My junctions!"

Selphie—or Ultimecia, to be more precise—had stolen Bahamut, severing Zell's junctions in the process. He could no longer summon or cast magic, and the energies that normally ran through his body—strengthening his attacks and shielding his body from damage—were gone. That was why he felt so tired, so slow, so off balance. It was rare for him to not be junctioned, and the feeling was similar to being sick. Sluggish and weak, with every muscle aching slightly.

Neither Garden nor the rest of the world had ever figured out a way to forcefully sever a person from their junctions, so SeeD never bothered to provide training for what a student should do if they ran into this situation. It was always assumed that, once a student began junctioning, they would have access to their GFs at any time for the rest of their lives.

Zell bit his lip, realizing that he was going to have to depend entirely on his fighting skills and his training to see him through. T-Garden students and White SeeDs didn't junction either, so it wasn't as if he could just rely on their support either. He'd have to go in practically naked.

He shook his head and gritted his teeth.

(Nothin' I can do about it now.)

T-Garden approached the quad, which was nothing more than a giant hole in the side of the school. While the White SeeD ship had been small enough to fit neatly inside the hole left by Bahamut's attack, T-Garden was too wide and too round. They had to slow down outside the hole and match speed with Garden—which continued to power its way north, seemingly oblivious of the attack mounting behind it.

Zell felt a pair of arms wrap around his torso and before he could realize what was happening, he was weightless, shooting up in the air towards the quad.

The White SeeD who held him angled his body and landed on an exposed iron bar, then leapt again, aiming for another piece of wreckage. He landed again, then jumped straight at the ruined stairs leading down into what used to be the quad. Zell braced for impact and winced as the stairs rushed towards him at dangerous speeds, but the White SeeD calmly landed, bending his knees slightly, and then deposited Zell on his feet.

(That was kinda fun, actually.)

Zell shook his arms and legs loose, his chest a little sore from where the White SeeD had gripped him. Meanwhile, pairs of White SeeDs and T-Garden students continued landing on the stairs around him. They moved forward to a small platform that divided the stairs, turning it into a rallying point. After depositing a student, the White SeeDs would then turn around and begin jumping back down to bring up more T-Garden students.

The White SeeDs worked with silent efficiency, hauling up the two dozen T-Garden students in only a couple of trips. By the end, the White SeeDs didn't show any signs of fatigue or wear. Even their uniforms were still nice and white, despite all the fighting they'd been through in the past few hours. Once all the students had been hauled up, T-Garden peeled away from the quad, to keep it out of range of any possible counterattack.

All told there were about two dozen T-Garden students, ten White SeeDs, and Zell, ready to attack Balamb Garden—quite possibly the strongest military school in the world. None of them had the advantage of magic or junctions, and most were unarmed—or armed only with makeshift weapons. The situation would have been funny if it wasn't so crazy.

(Ah, well.)

(Now or never.)

Zell turned and signaled forward with his hand, a universal gesture that he hoped would translate across all branches of SeeD. Fortunately, it did, and the whole group moved together as one, heading up the ruined remnants of the stairs and into the hallway leading into the school.

Commander Alnaj had said that there were guards stationed at each entrance, but he never mentioned how many. Zell anticipated finding maybe three or four people standing in the hallway, guarding the entrance to the school. He couldn't imagine that they would station any more, especially since they weren't likely to be expecting an attack—not without any Galbadian ships in the area.

But what he saw made him skid to a stop, his shoes screeching on the floors. There, in front of him, were about two dozen SeeDs, lined up behind an armored car parked horizontally across the hall, totally barring the way forward.

As soon as Zell spotted them and stopped, a voice in the back shouted, "Open fire!" and bullets and magic began whizzing past him. A fire spell hurtled towards his head and Zell threw himself on his stomach on the floor, allowing the conflagration to charge over his head and beyond him.

"Fall back!" Zell yelled. He knew the hallway was far too long and exposed. Continuing to charge forward into that assault would have been suicide.

Zell glanced back, to see what was happening to the students who had followed him in. Many had jumped back out of the hallway, ducking to the side of the doorway and out of range of the attacks. About six students—including one White SeeD—had been taken down in the initial volley, and lay on the floor. White SeeDs jumped forward, grabbed the wounded by the ankles or wrists, then jumped them back to safety, with bullets and magic spraying around them. One rescuer got hit in the shoulder by a bullet and went down, clutching at his arm and writing. Another White SeeD leapt forward to pull him to safety, then jumped back to save the T-Garden student that the other had been trying to protect in the first place.

Before Zell could say anything, he felt a pair of hands grip his ankles. He yelped out as he was suddenly yanked backwards, the floor shooting past below him and his gloved hands squeaking on the floor. With staggering strength, the White SeeD who held his ankles tossed him to the side of the doorway to the quad. Bullets and magic shot out of the hallway and into the ocean.

"The hell!" Zell said, scrambling to his feet and shouting to be heard above the din. "Alnaj said there were only a couple guards!"

"They must've seen us coming," one of the White SeeDs said.

The SeeD pulled a medical kit out of a pouch at his belt and began attending to one of the wounded. Zell cursed under his breath and took stock of the situation.

Four T-Garden students were suffering from severe gunshot or magic wounds and were being tended to by White SeeDs. Three White SeeDs had taken injuries as well, and were being taken care of by their allies. At least a half dozen more students were suffering from minor injuries, but Zell could see that they were still willing and able to fight. Two T-Garden students and one White SeeD had been stretched out to the side, unmoving. Zell took a closer look and realized that they were beyond anyone's help at that point. He turned his head and balled his hands into fists.

(Damn.)

Meanwhile—now that there was no one left in the hallway to shoot at—the bullets and magic firing from out into the remnants of the quad tapered off and then stopped. Everyone around Zell hesitated and looked to the hallway—even those who were treating the wounded. If the students camped out inside Garden were going to rush out and attack, now would be the time they would do it.

(I hope they do.)

(Because if they stay put, we'll never get inside.)

Zell held perfectly still, straining his ears to hear approaching footsteps or muttered commands issued from one SeeD to another. After several tense seconds, the White SeeDs cautiously resumed tending to the wounded. A few seconds later, it became clear that no attack was forthcoming, and everyone looked to Zell for their next plan.

Zell bit his lip and considered the situation.

Mireya's forces effectively sealed off the quad. No one could enter that hallway without being torn apart by a storm of bullets and magic. Zell might have, in sheer desperation, considered charging in there and fighting, but only if he had all his junctions up and an assortment of magical spells protecting him. In his current state, such an attack would be insane.

He looked around. After that disastrous initial attack, the thirty or so students he had started with had been reduced to a little more than twenty able-bodied fighters. Not enough to even consider a kamikaze charge down the hall. They would be destroyed before they even reached the barricade at the end of the hall.

After a glance, Zell decided that those who had been seriously wounded would be unlikely to return to combat anytime soon. A SeeD with junctions and magic probably could have been restored to fighting condition in a few seconds, but the T-Garden students and White SeeDs only had conventional medicines to work with. Therefore, anyone with more than minor injuries was basically out of the fight.

Zell gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and swatted at his head with both palms.

(Come on…)

(Think, think!)

But this was exactly what Zell was worst at. The initial plan had gone awry, and now Zell needed to think of a new one. His mind kept returning to the hallway, coming up with various plans to assault the barricade head on, each one crazier and more suicidal than the last.

(Alnaj put me in charge because he thought I could junction.)

(He knew I was a SeeD, so he thought that would help!)

(If I woulda checked my junctions before…)

"Grrrr!" Zell said, frustrated by the failed attack, by his lack of a Guardian Force, by the fact that Ultimecia had stolen his junctions, and by his own inability to think of a plan.

"Is there another way in?" one of the T-Garden students asked.

"Yeah… but," Zell said.

(Yeah, but if they have this entrance locked down, they probably have the rest closed off too.)

Mireya's forces had made the quad all but impenetrable, and she had done so using only a couple dozen SeeDs. Zell didn't know how many people she had working for her—or how many students were willing to fight on her side—but he knew she could easily afford to seal off every major entrance to the school if she only needed two dozen or so at each location. So although there were other entrances to Garden, Zell doubted they'd have much success anywhere else. They would probably just be confronted with the same problem everywhere they went.

(Gotta think of something!)

"Do you guys have like, a bomb or something?" Zell asked the others. A bomb or grenade carefully lobbed down the hall could break up the barricade and let them in—or at least give them a chance to rush inside and maybe attack while the guards were stunned.

But everyone shook their heads. None of the students had any long range weapons—not even a pistol. Everyone was relying on swords and fists and the like. One student had nothing but a heavy chain swinging from both his hands serving as his weapon.

(Meanwhile we're facin' a bunch of SeeDs, with their magic and junctions and guns pointed right at us.)

For the first time, Zell empathized with SeeD's enemies, finally seeing how imbalanced each fight against SeeD truly was. Not that Zell was about to pity the Galbadians or anything like that, but at least he now knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of SeeD's overwhelming power.

(… It feels like crap, man.)

(Hopefully the other two teams are having more luck.)

He assumed they probably were. Tomomi and the balcony team had probably run into a barricade as well, but Tomomi's sorceress magic would be able to disperse the barricade and at least give them an opportunity to advance. Alnaj's bridge team didn't have to contend with any hallways or choke points. The bridge was one wide open room, and Mireya's forces wouldn't be able to barricade themselves in—not if Alnaj and the others attacked from above.

(Two out of three ain't bad.)

But still, the desire to act, to fight back, rose steadily in Zell's chest. Garden was his home, as much as—if not more so—than his Ma's house back in Balamb. Garden was where his friends were, where all his best and worst memories had happened. It was where he had grown up and it was the only place he felt like he belonged.

And now some crazy girl and her cronies were keeping him out of it. He had to fight to keep his anger from overpowering his rational thoughts.

(Really wish I had my junctions.)

His eyes snapped open wide.

(Wait… my backup GF!)

Bahamut had not been Zell's first Guardian Force. They had found the king of dragons while exploring some ruins out in the ocean. Once Zell had realized the superior strength and ability of Bahamut, he had discarded his GF—Ifrit—and left the energy of the old GF sealed in a pair of boxing gloves tucked in his dorm room. He never thought he'd see a day when he would have to junction with Ifrit again, but that day had arrived, and he was glad that he hadn't discarded Ifrit or traded it away.

Additionally, he realized, his dorm room was another viable entry point. It had a window, and since there were so many individual dorms, it would be impossible for Mireya's team to seal them all off. Granted, they could just stand in the main hallway and block entry that way, but if Zell could get his GF and junctions again, he would be able to counterattack with magic and give them a fighting chance of breaking through to the central hub of Garden. Once inside the wide open middle section of the school, the White SeeDs would be able to take full advantage of their speed and inhuman jumping ability, tipping the scales against Mireya and her followers.

Zell shuffled over to the nearest White SeeD, careful to keep from stepping into the line of sight of one of Mireya's soldiers.

"Hey, hey," Zell whispered, getting the SeeD's attention. "You White SeeDs think you can get to the dorms from out here?"

The White SeeD nodded. "You want to try coming in from that way?"

"Yeah, and I want you to take me to a specific dorm," Zell said. "Can you do that?" The White SeeD nodded again. "Then let's go!"

The White SeeD stood up and then gave a couple of quick hand signals to the other White SeeDs. Zell didn't fully understand what he was saying with his movements, but he recognized a couple of the signals as being the same as the ones he had been taught in school.

(Guess we're not too different after all.)

The uninjured White SeeDs—which amounted to about seven or eight—received the message and gathered up some of the uninjured T-Garden students. Once more Zell felt a pair of arms wrap around him and he was in the air again, looking down at the ruined quad and the cluster of T-Garden students left behind. He hoped that Mireya's team wouldn't choose this moment to rush out and attack, because the T-Garden students were almost defenseless now.

"Which way?" the White SeeD asked him.

"Over there!" Zell said, pointing to a section of Garden that jutted out towards the sea.

They landed on the metal exterior of the school and the SeeD took off again, jumping along as easily as a child playing hopscotch and covering huge chunks of distance with each bound. They leapt over the domed roof of the cafeteria, then proceeded to the cross-shaped section of the school that formed the dormitories.

They landed and the White SeeD dropped off Zell at the sloped edge of the roof, just close enough for him to peer over and look at the windows. He closed his eyes and, in his head, he counted how many dorms were between the main entrance and his dorm, then he opened his eyes and counted out the correct number of windows. When he thought he had it right, he pointed to the proper window and was airborne again.

The White SeeD came at an angle, rushing towards the window from the side. Zell yelped, thinking that they were going to overshoot the target and go crashing into the sea below, but at the last second, one of the White SeeD's arms shot out and gripped a small windowsill, causing them to jerk painfully to a stop. Zell looked up in amazement. The White SeeD had just stopped—not only his own fall, but Zell's as well—using only one hand. Even fully junctioned, Zell doubted that he could ever muster that kind of strength.

(Jeez!)

"How'd you do that?" Zell asked. "That's some crazy upper body strength, man."

"Join White SeeD, and we'll tell you," the SeeD said. He didn't even seem to be straining himself, dangling from the windowsill with one arm and clutching Zell with the other.

Still using one arm, the White SeeD hoisted them both up until Zell could peer into the window. He saw his room, decorated with posters of famous boxers and martial artists. His weight bench and his pyramid of dumbbells, jump rope, and all his other training gear were scattered around in disorganized piles. He felt slightly more comfortable just seeing all these familiar items displayed before him.

Since the window couldn't be opened from the outside, Zell turned his head away and punched through the glass. His glove got slashed in the back from a shard of glass and he could feel a warm trickle of blood pouring out from the wound, but he could feel that it wasn't a major cut. With a few quick jabs, he broke away the rest of the glass and clambered out of the White SeeD's grip and hopped into his room. Nimble as a cat, the White SeeD leapt in after him.

Behind him, more White SeeD and Trabia Garden students climbed in through the window, until Zell's dorm was almost overflowing with people. The White SeeDs quickly deposited their passengers and then immediately leapt out the window, heading back to collect the T-Garden students they'd been forced to leave behind.

"It's here…" Zell muttered, moving to his large, oak cabinet. He pulled open the double doors and found a beat up pair of boxing gloves hanging from a string near the back, tucked away behind his cadet uniform and some spare clothes. The gloves were relics of his grandfather's, given to Zell as a small child. They were too old and worn to be used in a fight, but Zell hung on to them for sentimental reasons.

He reached out and touched the leathery exterior of the old gloves and closed his eyes. He visualized his GF Ifrit, and sought out the energies he had stored within the gloves. He found them quickly enough, found the heat of the fire GF waiting for him. He opened his mind to make the connection, and waited.

And waited.

He opened his eyes, grunted with frustration, and tried again. He repeated the steps from the beginning, the same way he'd been trained in his early days of being at Garden. Visualize the Guardian Force. Understand its energy. Connect your mind to it. The process was so simple that children could do it—and they often did. Even Zell, who had never been the best at summons or magic, had grasped the concept of junctioning with minimal effort. Once he had been told the method, the actual execution was easy.

But now nothing was happening. The T-Garden students looked on expectantly, while the White SeeDs continued to shuttle students from the quad over to the dorm.

(What's goin' on here?)

"It's there…" Zell said to no one in particular. "The energy is there. But I can't…"

He thought back to the battle with Ultimecia, while she was in Selphie's body. How she had stolen Bahamut, tearing the GF right out of him and claiming it as her own. He remembered feeling a snapping sensation then, the feeling of something breaking in his mind. He had thought that it was just the connection being severed, his link to the Guardian Force shredding apart.

Now when he concentrated, he discovered that there was something missing in his mind. A key component of his brain had been plucked out, or else altered so that it was fundamentally useless.

Before, whenever he junctioned to a GF, he could feel a portion of himself reaching out to grab a hold of the GF, as if he had an invisible extra pair of hands that could extend and connect with a Guardian Force. But now, even though he could still feel the pulsing energy of Ifrit waiting inside the old boxing gloves, he couldn't feel the mirroring energy of himself rushing out to meet it.

(How the hell did this happen?)

"I… I can't," Zell said, staring in helpless amazement at the gloves. He turned to the nearest T-Garden student, looking for support, but knowing that he would not find it. What did Trabia Garden know about junctioning? Almost nothing. They couldn't offer him any support or advice. They couldn't even properly commiserate, because they didn't understand what he had just lost.

"I can't junction," Zell said with a helpless shrug.

For him, it was practically a disability, like losing an arm or a leg. Not being able to junction altered who Zell was as a person, how he fought in battles, and how he compared himself to others. For the first time since enlisting at Garden, he couldn't junction. He couldn't cast magic. He couldn't adjust his physical capabilities at will.

He was ordinary now.

Outside, down the hall, from the center of Garden, there was a deep, concussive rumbling that shook the floor. The old boxing gloves rocked back and forth, and the shards of glass remaining in the broken window rattled.

(Tomomi?)

(Alnaj?)

He couldn't know for sure. But whatever it was, something was happening deep within the school. Somewhere, SeeDs were fighting, and maybe they were dying. He didn't know who was winning—Mireya's side or his side—but he didn't really care. As long as SeeD was fighting, even if it was fighting itself, then Zell wanted to be there too. He couldn't bear standing by and letting the others do the fighting for him.

(Guardian Force or not, I'm still gonna fight.)

Zell bit his lip and spun around, facing the T-Garden students. To his relief, almost all of them had already been brought back by the White SeeDs. The wounded ones were stretched out on the floor, where they would probably remain for the duration of the fight. Zell figured that his dorm room was among the safest places inside the school at the moment, and he let them stay where they were.

(About two dozen or so guys up against all of Garden…)

(… I think we can do it.)

"Alright!" Zell said. He clenched his fist in front of his chest. "Let's do this!"

Without waiting for a response, he turned and threw open his dorm room door, stepping out into the hallway and into the battle.