5
CHAPTER 5 – AN ACADEMY DIVIDED
The winding motorway out of Balamb was just as Squall had traveled it many times over the years. Most recently, a week earlier, when he and his squad had burned rubber into town to catch the intercontinental express. His current return trip, with two completely different colleagues, proceeded at virtually the same pace; Quistis hadn't taken her foot off the gas pedal since they'd gotten on the road. The dense forest whipped by all around them, shrouded in the evening darkness. He glanced at his wristwatch: 20:43; a total of twelve and a half hours since they'd departed the train depot, two of which were owed to the time-zone differential.
They'd pulled into the harbor at about half past eight. It had been an exceedingly long journey, rife with dread as to what they might discover once they set foot on familiar shores. There, they'd found the car Quistis had taken out in pursuit of Seifer, still waiting for them. By the time his former instructor had guided the vehicle to the town entrance, Squall finally found the courage to breathe easy. The floating silver and gold halo shone like a beacon in the distance, just barely cresting above the treetops. Their home was still safe for the time being.
Despite the good omen, Quistis' mad tear down the expressway was unrelenting. So it had been for nearly 11 hours, whether by train, boat, or car. Whatever fatigue Squall felt, whether physically or mentally, it couldn't compare to hers. He and Rinoa had at least managed to catch a couple hours worth of sleep aboard the assault boat, once they'd finally become accustomed to the continual bumping.
Were he in Quistis' position, he doubted he would have been able to resist falling asleep at the wheel. Her willpower was beyond impressive; such was the hardened determination of a SeeD. Only then did he realize the woman he'd so casually written off as a nuisance long ago was in fact the very embodiment of what he'd aspired to be. He obviously had that much further to go to prove himself worthy of his own title.
At last, the car turned onto the final straightaway. The imposing, radiant shell of Balamb Garden stood at the end, glorious as he'd ever seen it at night. He recalled that fateful evening he'd departed for Timber, and his sinking premonition that things would never be the same once he returned. How little he'd known.
The front gates drew closer, soon coming into range of the headlights. The road curved due right just before, arcing into the nearby tunnel leading inside the parking garage. Just before Quistis could make the turn, a shimmering blast of magical aura shot up from the grounds. Several more followed in its wake, all climbing higher into the night sky. The car braked to a halt on the spot. Squall clung tightly to the cushioned passenger seat to keep himself steady.
"What was that?" Quistis wondered. She carefully guided the car over to the side of the road, placing it in park beside the guardrail before the gate.
"Maybe a signal?" Rinoa guessed from the backseat. "You think they already know about the missiles?"
"Possibly, but that doesn't fall in line with standard evacuation protocol. Perhaps someone got separated from their-"
"Hold on," Squall shushed her. "Listen."
He rolled down the passenger-side window, and perked his ears. The percussive rattling immediately became more prominent; its sheer volume and pulsing, staccato rhythm left no question as to what it was.
"Gunshots?!" Rinoa exhaled. "What's going on in there?"
"Why would they send in soldiers with the missiles on the way?" Quistis tried to make sense of it.
"There's no use wasting time out here," Squall affirmed. "Let's go."
He unbuckled himself, snatched up the gunblade at his feet, thrust open the car door, and stepped out onto the pavement. Rinoa followed his example as Quistis killed the ignition.
"Stay close to me," he ordered her.
She complied, tailing him around the hood to meet Quistis. His former instructor had preemptively drawn her whip. Together, the three surmounted the guardrail, and the short flight of steps on the other side to pass through the gate.
They emerged onto the lengthy stretch of cobbled walkway leading to the Garden's entrance. Squall darted his eyes all around, squinting through the dimness offset only by the gleaming halo above. Students and their opposition skirmished in tightly-knit groups across the grounds. Weapons' fire continued to thunder, flourished by the occasional whizzing and whirling of spellcraft. Still more combatants clashed face-to-face. Obscured by the shadows, Squall could not make out any specific details as to who the opposing force were. From what little he could tell however, none wore the signature Galbadian plated armor.
"What's going on here?!" Rinoa half-shouted over the racket.
"Just keep your head down and stay behind me!" Quistis snapped. "Let's get to the front door. Squall, keep your eyes on our rear."
He spun on his heel as she took point. He drew his gunblade, shifting his eyes in either direction; most of the isolated scuffles across the grounds were too far from their position for them to have attracted any attention yet. He backpedaled his way after the two women. Gunfire continued to sound. He reached down to his intertwined belts and engaged the sphere; that he hadn't already formed a protective barrier was purely for the sake of not being noticed.
He glanced back over his shoulder. Neatly trimmed greenery and sloshing water fountains surrounded the illuminated courtyard just before the entrance. A lone Thorn stood amid several cadets in the center. He could hear the official bellowing to them as they crept closer into earshot, though the substance of his words still eluded him for the time being. The students saluted the Thorn before breaking off in all directions. Squall reoriented himself as they drew near, hustling to stand beside Rinoa.
"Operative No. 39425, Quistis Trepe!" Quistis introduced herself. "My squad and I have just returned from assignment abroad. What's the current situation?"
"The headmaster has gone into hiding," the robed man impatiently explained. "For the safety of the Garden, he must be apprehended immediately. Dead or alive, it makes no difference. Now, move out!"
"Excuse me?!"
Quistis' surprise perfectly reflected Squall's. Clearly matters at home had taken an equally baffling turn.
"Hold up," he cut in, maneuvering himself to the front of the group. "I don't understand. What has the headmaster done to-"
The backhand cracked across his face before he could finish. His own palm instinctively shot up to cover his cheek as he turned away.
"There is no need for you to understand!" the Thorn roared. "It is not your place to question the will of the Garden Master! You will comply, or be rounded up with the rest of the insubordinates!"
'Garden Master?'
Before Squall could respond, Quistis lassoed her whip around the man's collar. She yanked downward, sending him into a hacking fit as he toppled over. He landed hard on his side. She quickly placed her boot atop his midriff to hold him down.
"SeeD answers to Headmaster Cid alone!" she declared. "Now, explain! What's going on here? Why is the headmaster being hunted?"
She hoisted up the whip, raising the Thorn's ensnared neck along with it. His circular golden headpiece fell off, revealing the man's pallid features. He wheezed as the whip constricted around his windpipe. It loosened as Quistis relaxed her grip, letting him collapse back onto the ground.
"Quickly! The lives of everyone in this Garden are at stake!"
"Hey!"
Squall turned his head. Three cadets raced out of the academy's mouth to meet them. He defensively stepped in front of Rinoa, brandishing his gunblade as they drew near.
"We've just gotten back from Galbadia," he snapped to them. "What's going on here? Why is there a manhunt on for the headmaster?"
"The headmaster is a traitor," the head of the group replied. His two colleagues began inching their hands toward their sidearms. "For the safety of the student body, he needs to be removed from power, by force if necessary."
"What are you saying?!" Quistis spluttered, retaining her choke-hold on the Thorn. "Headmaster Cid has dedicated his life to upholding this Garden! How could he possibly be a traitor?!"
"He's in league with the sorceress!" one of the two followers blurted out. "He's going to surrender us all into her clutches just to spare himself! Why else would he go into hiding once the Garden Master and Thorns caught onto his plan?"
Who is this 'Garden Master' they keep talking about?
"That doesn't make any sense!" Rinoa shot back from behind Squall. "Cid's a good man! He'd never sell out the Garden just to save himself! But, I'm begging you, please, listen to us! Everyone needs to evacuate right now! There could be-"
"Hold on!" the third student cut her off. "I recognize you!"
Squall didn't like the tone of his voice, nor the look of surprise on his face. But where could he have seen Rinoa before? The graduation ball, perhaps? The boy turned to his squadmates.
"Remember? From the broadcast? She's the one who was standing next to the sorceress before she killed the president!"
Why does it seem like we're the unluckiest people on the planet?
"Holy shit!" the leader swore in alarm. He reached over his shoulder for the large mace on his back. "You're all with Cid, aren't you?! Prepare to-"
Quistis' whip swept them all off their feet before they could finish. Squall hadn't even noticed her uncoil it from the downed Thorn's neck, much less how she'd sprung into action so quickly. They all toppled over on their backs. He raced forward to the closest, bearing down on him with his gunblade. The young man threw up his hands in surrender. Quistis closed in on the other two, swiftly subduing them before they could rise. Squall followed her example with a boot to the cadet's face.
"I don't have the slightest clue what's going on here," Quistis admitted. "But we need to get a bead on the headmaster, fast. Let's head inside!"
She bolted across the courtyard to the entrance. Squall bade Rinoa to follow after. He immediately conjured a protective barrier to keep them both safe from any stray bullets. Together, they charged straight through the turnstiles and into the spacious entrance hall. A short flight of steps led them up to the bustling central atrium, now abuzz in a manner Squall could never have imagined before.
The Garden's nexus, through which thousands of students passed every day, had become a war zone. Automatic gunfire rattled throughout the gargantuan chamber, as SeeDs and cadets exchanged fire with one another. Those not actively engaged scrambled for whatever cover they could find. Squall and his companions followed their example, ducking beneath the banister lining the walkway. Huge divots dotted the floor. The windows of the glass capsule elevators on the central platform were shattered, as were most of the fish-shaped water fountains surrounding the massive pool beneath.
"It's like a full-blown civil war!" Rinoa shouted over the battle.
"It seems like the Thorns have staged some kind of uprising against the headmaster!" Quistis remarked.
Squall stayed mum on the subject. He recalled the friction between the headmaster and his advisers from before he'd left for Timber. In hindsight, the signs of a schism forming within the Garden administration were clear as day. That it had escalated so rapidly however, to where the whole of the academy had drawn their weapons on one another, he could never have anticipated.
"Yo!"
A familiar voice called out to him. He turned his head with Quistis and Rinoa towards what remained of the central directory. The bronze, muscular heavyweight bore a fighting staff nearly as tall as himself; its handle was wrapped in thick red rope to match the one which held up his baggy black trousers. The pale, silver-haired woman beside clutched an oversized, blue chakram; 6 curved spokes protruded from its circumference.
"You made it back!" Raijin beckoned to them. "Get over here! There ain't no cover there, y'know?!"
They hastily complied. High above, twin bursts of lightning shot from the atrium's upper levels, impacting on the central pillar. The explosion drowned out the incessant gunfire, sending a large chunk of debris falling to the platform below with a thunderous crash.
"Do you two have any idea what's going on here?!" Quistis shouted over the devastation.
"No clue!" Raijin said. "It all started up real early this mornin', y'know? The Thorns up an' outta nowhere came over the intercom. They said somethin' about the headmaster bein' in cahoots with the sorceress."
"And you don't actually believe that, do you?"
"I dunno what to believe anymore, y'know? It was enough for a lotta the others, though. Now, everyone's either sidin' with the headmaster, or this 'Garden Master' they keep goin' on about."
"Disturbing!" Fujin quipped, her lone eye still swiveling to and fro.
"And whose side are you on?" Squall bluntly asked.
"We been over this back in Galbadia, y'know? We're with Seifer. Always have been, always will be."
Squall shared a quick glance with Quistis and Rinoa; both seemed to recognize the implications just as he. Although the two couldn't possibly know of Seifer's allegiance to Edea, nor even that he was still alive, their undying loyalty astounded him. With a moment's contemplation, he decided it best to keep the truth hidden from them for a while longer. There were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Have it your way. We need to find the headmaster, now. Galbadian missiles may be heading this way as we speak."
"What?!" Raijin bellowed. "Then we gotta get outta here, y'know?!"
"Evacuation!" Fujin agreed.
"Then the best thing you could do is help spread the word!" Quistis suggested. "While we search for the headmaster, you two tell everyone who'll listen that they need to start heading into town!"
"Yes, instructor!" the hulking oaf saluted; he'd either forgotten about her demotion, or simply didn't care enough to be hung up on something so trivial.
"Caution!" Fujin warned as she clipped her chakram to her belt.
"Yeah, be careful, y'know? Don't go losin' your heads! See you in town!"
Hoisting his guard staff up in one arm, the tanned muscleman charged around the atrium's outer ring. Fujin sprung into a dash just behind; she matched his pace courtesy of wind elemental spellcraft, just as Squall had practiced over the last 6 months.
"Just who is Seifer to those two?" Rinoa asked.
"Their patron saint, by the way they follow him," Squall dryly commented. "But never mind that. We need to find someone who can give us a lead on the headmaster."
"Let's try Dr. Kadowaki," Quistis suggested. "If there's anyone I'd trust to keep a cool head in a situation like this, it'd be her."
"Good point," Squall concurred. At the very least, it wouldn't be hard to determine the Garden practitioner's whereabouts.
With a careful glance in each direction, he beckoned Rinoa to follow him and Quistis clockwise around the atrium. They kept low as they approached the nearest branching path to the infirmary. As they entered the hallway, yet more fighting came into view through the windows. The interior courtyards on either side played host to a frenzied shootout. Rifle fire flashed from behind trees and bushes, momentary flickers of light in the nighttime shadows. The hallway itself, though war-torn from a previous engagement, was nearly empty. A pair of SeeDs stood guard at the infirmary entrance at the end. Squall sheathed his blade as he approached, and raised his hands as a sign of good will.
"State your business," the one to the left demanded.
"We're not here to cause any trouble," he assured them. "We need to see Dr. Kadowaki, ASAP."
"Unless you're seriously injured, you're not coming in," the other bluntly replied. "That's the policy we're operating under."
"It's urgent!" Squall insisted. "The fate of this entire Garden is at stake!"
"Yeah, never would have guessed that," the first gestured to the windows. "Those are the rules. No exceptions!"
"Well, are these serious enough for you?!"
Squall spun back around to Rinoa. She'd drawn back one side of her duster sweater to expose the black tank top beneath. With her free hand, she grabbed the bandages he'd applied last night, and pulled them loose. They unraveled to show the still-mending claw marks from the lizard creatures. Though the bleeding had subsided, the gashes were still plenty prominent. She bent down to reach for the other bandages on her thighs, but stopped as one of the sentries conceded.
"Okay, fine! You can come in. Just you. Your friends are sticking right here."
"We're a squad!"
"Let it go, Rinoa," Quistis said. "They're just doing their duty. Go on in. Ask around for Dr. Kadowaki, and tell her I need to speak to her immediately. She'll let us in if she knows I'm here."
The girl frowned. She idled in place for a moment before stepping forward. Squall caught a brief glimpse of the infirmary lobby through the automatic doors; swathes of students in white coats scurried to and from the multiple sick bays. Traditionally, a regiment of SeeD medical specialists were on call in the event of an operation resulting in large-scale casualty figures. From what he could tell however, the number on duty well exceeded the usual shortlist, with many among them looking quite young at that.
The door shut behind Rinoa, leaving him and Quistis with little to do but bide their time. Combat raged on outside all the while. He took the moment to ponder why such a coup had been orchestrated against the headmaster. That a kindly old man like Cid could have ties to the sorceress was ridiculous, much less that he would sell out the entire student body to appease her. What did pique his suspicion was the timing; it all coincided so perfectly with Galbadia's planned missile strike. Could it have been a deliberate diversion? Was it in fact this enigmatic Garden Master who was in conspiracy with the sorceress?
After about a minute, the door re-opened. Dr. Kadowaki stood in its frame. Rinoa trailed behind, fumbling about her torso to rewind the bandaging she'd removed.
"Quistis!" the doctor greeted her friend. "You're back! I was worried sick after what happened on TV a few days ago."
It really has only been a few days, hasn't it?
"It's been rough," Quistis responded. "But we desperately need your help."
"So this girl tells me," she gestured to Rinoa. "Well, come on in."
The sentries reluctantly stepped aside to let them through. Quistis went first, Squall promptly following behind. The door hissed shut behind him as they proceeded further into the lobby.
"You're looking for Cid? I don't understand this ridiculous 'faction' mumbo-jumbo, but I know you can't be with the ones out to get him."
"Of course not!" Quistis affirmed. "There's a chance Galbadian missiles might be heading straight for here! We need to find him and organize an evacuation as soon as possible!"
"You're joking!" the normally unfazed physician reeled.
"I've never been more serious in my life."
"Well, I'm sorry, but even if that's the case, I'm going to have to stay right here. There's no way I can leave my station. There are already too many wounded on hand. We've had to pull in a few fresh medicine undergrads just to account for all the patients."
"We're not asking that of you," Quistis clarified, seeming disheartened by her response all the same. "But you really don't have any idea where Cid might be?"
"Not a clue, dear," the middle-aged woman sighed. She suddenly took both of Quistis' hands in hers. "Not. A. Clue."
Her stare bored directly into Quistis' eyes. A faint smile crossed her lips. Without another word, she released her clasp, and turned on her heel back to the infirmary proper. Squall stood by solemnly, at a loss for where to look next. As he racked his brain for an answer, he noticed the thin slab of laminate Quistis now held in her hand.
"What's that?" Rinoa asked.
"A keycard," she anxiously breathed. "For one of the operating rooms!"
She spun to one of the hallways jutting off from the lobby, and darted ahead. Squall and Rinoa followed after. They blew by several reinforced steel doors, each equipped with a card reader. Though Squall had never been privy to the infirmary's surgical wing while conscious, he'd doubtless been hauled in to one of these rooms for the stitching of his facial scar.
Quistis stalled in her tracks as she reached the fifth door on the left. She frantically thrust the keycard into the scanner. The indicator light flashed green as the door's pressurization system disengaged with a hiss. It parted to reveal a sterilized operation theater. The table sat in the center, surrounded by wheeled metal trays with all manner of surgical equipment set atop. Squall took the initiative; with no one in sight, he stepped forward into the room.
He froze on the spot. A lightning-fast sheen of silver flashed out in front of him from the left, coming to a rest just below his chin. The short-sword gleamed under the operation room's fluorescent lighting. Moving only his eyes, he followed the blade to the hand that clasped its hilt, and up the uniform's sleeve. Commandant Xu's steely glare awaited at the end. Headmaster Cid stood behind her with his back pressed to the wall. As his bespectacled eyes met Squall's, he seemed to relax.
"Xu!" Quistis implored. "I mean, Commandant! It's us! Dr. Kadowaki gave us the key! You have to believe us!"
"Who is she?"
Her gaze was now fixed to Rinoa. Her outstretched blade stayed hovering a scant few inches from Squall's throat.
"Xu, it's fine," the headmaster reassured her. "She was the client for Squall's team's assignment. She's trustworthy."
With an uneasy glance between the three, she cautiously retracted her short-sword. She stepped back, sheathing it on the left side of her belt, opposite its twin on her right. They quickly ducked inside, the door hissing shut behind the tail of Rinoa's duster sweater. She'd still yet to fully wrap the bandages back around her waist.
"Please, allow me," Xu told her.
The commandant crossed over to her side, and raised her hand over the claw marks. A gleaming white light shone forth from her palm. Rinoa jumped in place for a moment, before she seemed to realize the light's aura was not harmful. To the contrary, the wounds magically began to mend back together. Squall's eyes went wide. He'd heard tell of holy spellcraft's healing abilities, but never before seen it conjured firsthand. Only those who'd shared the battlefield with the commandant were so privileged. No one else among the student body possessed another sphere like hers. Or so he'd believed.
"What are you all doing back here?" Cid inquired. "And Rinoa, are you okay? What were you doing up next to Edea on the broadcast?"
"It's a long story," Squall answered in her stead. "And we don't have time to explain it all right now. We have urgent news. Galbadian missiles may be heading this way."
"Missiles?!" Xu repeated. Finished with Rinoa's wounds, she spun back around to face him. "Here?"
"Last we heard, they were targeting both Balamb and Trabia Gardens. The assassination orders you had delivered to us went awry. Zell and Selphie stayed behind to sabotage the launch, but there's no guarantee they were able to stop it."
"Delivered to you?" Cid shot him a puzzled look.
"Is there any way to order a complete evacuation of the campus?" Quistis desperately asked. "I don't understand the meaning of this conflict, but an announcement ought to get people moving out of here."
"The headmaster's office has been secured by the Thorns," Xu explained. "There's no way for us to access the intercom system if we can't get in there."
"Then I suppose we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way," Cid sighed.
"We already have a pair making the rounds," Squall said. "But with all this chaos, and so many wounded, I don't know how we're going to get everyone out."
"We can only do what we can," the kindly old man affirmed. "I want you all to assist with spreading the word, and then evacuate yourselves."
"But Headmaster!" Xu exclaimed. "Who'll protect you?"
"I'll be fine. I have an idea that might save this Garden. Just get moving and inform as many students as you can. That's an order!"
After a moment's hesitation, the commandant saluted. She turned to the door, stepped through as it parted, and bolted down the hall. Relieved of his bodyguard, Cid exhaled deeply, and started rummaging through his vest's pockets.
"I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," he sighed.
"Sir," Squall spoke up. "Whatever it is you're planning, please… allow me to handle it in your stead."
"And why, pray tell, would you want to do that?" he asked with a curious wilt.
"Because…"
Because you might screw up. Because I want to do more than just announce the evacuation. Because I want to know what your plan is. Because this place is important to me, too. Because this is my home. There are too many reasons…
"I don't know why! What does it matter?"
"You were right, Quistis," the old man smiled past him. "He does have a hard time expressing his feelings, doesn't he?"
"But he's always ready to act on them when he knows it's the right thing to do," his former instructor answered from behind. He willed himself not to retch as he imagined that same sickening smile on her face.
"You don't know the half of it," Rinoa chimed in.
"I'm right here!" he snapped, no longer caring if it painted him in an unprofessional light in front of the headmaster. "My feelings have nothing to do with this! Just please, sir, tell us your plan!"
"Very well."
Cid extended his open palm. A small key rested atop.
"You may or may not know this, but… this academy used to be a shelter constructed by the Centrans, long ago. All three of the Gardens were. When it was finished being remodeled, the lead architect told me about some kind of control system tucked away in the lowest levels of the infrastructure. This key is for the lock on the bottom of the south elevator's inside panel. It should allow you to descend to the MD level, where this control center is. I've never been down there to see it, and have no idea what it does. But if it's leftover technology from when this place was still a shelter, then maybe… just maybe it could be effective against the missiles."
"With all due respect sir, don't you think this is an awful lot to be banking on a hunch?"
"With the Garden in so much disarray, it may be our only hope."
Squall stared intently at the plain, iron-cast key; its surface was coated in a slight smattering of rust. Try as he might to come up with a better alternative, the headmaster was right. With the ongoing civil conflict, and the impracticality of shuttling so many wounded off the premises, the far-fetched gambit was their only real option. He took the key from his hand.
"Understood," he saluted. "Quistis and I will head on down and see what we can find."
"I'm coming, too!" Rinoa cut in on cue.
"No, you're not. It's too dangerous out there. Just stay in here and keep the door locked."
"If the missiles hit, we'll all be blown to smithereens anyway! I told you, I want to help. Why won't you let me?"
Squall silently mulled it over. Taking her along was out of the question; with an impending descent into the unknown, he and Quistis couldn't afford to be hung up on her safety every step of the way. And yet, against his better judgment, he sympathized with her plight. She refused to be denied her own agency, or to be rendered helpless in the face of danger. It was that very same tenacity which had fueled his own drive to become a SeeD. He'd sworn never to be dependent on others to guide him through life's challenges; he valued self-reliance above all else. She longed to prove herself, to make a difference she could take pride in. That was worthy of his respect. All the better if it could help him goad her into staying put.
"You will be helping," he finally said. He moved from Cid's side to speak with her, face-to-face. "With the commandant gone, it'll be up to you to protect the headmaster. That's why I want you to stay. Here."
He reached down to his entwined belts, and unclipped his GF sphere. Taking Rinoa's hand in his, he firmly placed it in the clasp of her dainty fingers.
"I'm going to leave this with you," he explained, not breaking eye contact. A strange emotional intensity he hadn't felt since their waltz came over him. "To use it, you just need to focus your mind, and let the energy wash over you. Imagine the heat of the flames flowing from your hands. You'll figure it out."
They stood still, eyes locked to one another. Rinoa finally broke from the stare-down. She tilted her gaze to the sphere in her hand. With a bewildered nod, she maneuvered it around her back and slipped it into her pouch.
"I'll… do my best," she accepted. "Are you sure you'll be okay without it?"
"I'll manage. While we're gone, you can even use this chance to talk to the headmaster about our contract, like you wanted. Whatever you do, stay safe. Let's go, Quistis."
He turned back to the door. Quistis promptly saluted Cid before presenting Rinoa the room's keycard, and followed him out. The door slid shut. After confirming the re-pressurization sealing, they took off back towards the infirmary lobby.
"Do you really think that was smart?" Quistis asked. "You know there's no way she can use that without any training."
"I'm hoping it won't come to that," he replied. "But it makes me feel better than leaving her with nothing!"
They re-entered the desecrated atrium. Squall bolted for the west staircase the moment he got the chance, and climbed up to the ring of shattered elevators. He worked his way around to the south side, facing the directory, and stepped inside the ruined capsule the headmaster had mentioned. His eyes scanned over the interior panel. An electronic keycard reader for access to the upper floors was situated at the top. Beneath were fifteen buttons for the standard floors, and beneath those, a chiseled keyhole. He guided the key into the slot as Quistis stepped aboard.
"You… really care about her, don't you?"
"She's still my client until the headmaster says otherwise!"
He turned the key hard. The pane-less doors closed, providing no more protection from the firefight than when they'd been ajar. At last, the elevator descended into the dark, unexplored recesses of Balamb Garden.