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batsutousaiTitle: Sins of Our Young
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Betas: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhir
Chapters: 2 of 10
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, hints of Quistis/Rinoa
Warnings: AU, minor canon-fuckery, Rinoa bashing, minor Quisty bashing
Summary: How the game could have gone if the writers weren't on crack and so set on everyone being straight.
A/N: Who are they kidding? I don't care how awesome someone is, there's only so much the human body can take before it gives up on its own. Realistically, Squall probably shouldn't have managed so well in game as he did, although I suppose the adrenaline he was doubtlessly running on helped keep him going. Still. I feel like he should have crashed before he did, and with more drama. (Maybe I just like drama too much... XD)
Irvine uses something of a code in his messages in this chapter. I think it's obvious, but I'm the author. If something catches you up, there's a list at the bottom of the chapter for what everything means.
-0-0-0-
Trying to Please Them All
-0-0-0-
"Thank Hyne," Zell whispered as Garden came into view over the rise. They'd rented the car they were in as soon as they got off the train in Balamb and taken off for Garden without stopping to visit anyone they might have known in town.
Squall had taken over the driving, being the least jittery of the four of them, in spite of the tremors that still made his nerves jump from time-to-time. He'd rested and sorted his thoughts during the trip, but the others had simply worried their concerns for Garden, Rinoa and Irvine, and Squall himself – he'd face-palmed when he heard they'd been worrying over him – and the strained lines around their eyes showed it. Squall was half tempted to yell at the lot of them for their concern, but he doubted it would do much good. So he'd taken the keys to the car and silently insisted he drive, preferring to not crash if Garden had suffered any damage.
As it was, Garden was fine and they slipped into the garage and into a spot before realising anything was wrong.
"Hands up!" someone shouted as they left the car.
"What the–!" Zell started, only to find a blade held to his throat. The other four also found weapons pointed at them and they all slowly raised their hands in a sign of surrender.
"Would you care to explain what this is about?" Quistis demanded in her best instructor voice.
"Are you with Cid, or NORG?" one of their assailants demanded.
"NORG?" Selphie repeated, clearly confused.
"Neither," Squall bit out, staring unflinchingly at the gun aimed at his temple. "We're back from assignment."
The SeeD with the gun looked him over, cataloguing the torn clothing and faint bruising under Squall's eyes, then nodded and holstered his gun. "Yesterday evening, the faculty demanded Cid be taken in hand. Apparently, the Sorceress wants him, and NORG intended to hand him right over. We SeeDs have been fighting back against the faculty and a number of cadets who sided with NORG, keeping him hidden."
"And you decided to hold us at weapon-point, why?" Quistis demanded as the others put their weapons away.
"This wouldn't be the first time NORG's followers tried coming in through the garage door," one of the others admitted. "Andre almost died in a sneak attack." She nodded to the SeeD who'd been holding the sword to Zell's throat.
Squall shook his head. "We need to speak with the Headmaster. And get everyone to call a cease-fire."
"The Sorceress had missiles aimed this way, but the missile base exploded," Quistis explained to the frowns Squall's announcement was met with. "There's every chance that we could be faced with an invasion within the day. We need to call a Code Red and go to emergency status."
There was a moment of horrified disbelief, but the unwavering grimness in the four's eyes promised the truth. "What do we do?" one of the SeeD pleaded, looking lost.
Squall resisted the urge to scream at them for their uselessness. "Quistis, you know where NORG is?" he asked, since she'd been an instructor and SeeD longer.
"Yeah. You want me to go down there and discuss our need for the cease-fire?" Quistis agreed.
"Please. Zell and..." He glanced over the SeeDs who they'd met with, then pointed to the one who'd held a gun to him. "You, go with her and provide any support she might need. Selphie and the rest of you will go around warning everyone else about the Code Red. Do any of you know where Cid is?"
"Xu would know," one of them allowed, everyone calming once they'd been given direction.
"Where might I find her?" Squall requested as calmly as possible.
The lot of them traded uncertain looks, then the one who had mentioned Xu offered, "Try the second floor? Maybe."
"We'll walk with you to the lift," Quistis decided, motioning for Zell and the SeeD with the gun to join her in following Squall out of the garage. "We're going down, anyway."
Squall nodded absently. "I can take the stairs," he offered. "Calling the official ceasefire is more important than hunting down Cid."
Quistis sighed, but had to admit he had a point. "I know. Still..." She eyed the faint tremor in his clenched hands with some concern.
"Go," Squall ordered, turning towards the emergency stairwell to one side of the garage.
"Take care of yourself!" Selphie shouted, eyes taut with worry.
Squall waved a hand in acknowledgement, then started up the stairs, gritting his teeth against the revolt his weary body tried throwing. 'As soon as everyone is safe, you can collapse into bed,' he promised himself. 'But their safety is the top priority right now. Keep moving.'
He allowed himself a moment to breathe upon reaching the second floor, then pushed away from the wall and started down the hall, eyes sharp and watchful. The few SeeDs and upper classmen he came across were ordered to spread news of the Code Red and ceasefire, Squall's reputation as a cold, unfeeling bastard and the sharpness in his voice putting stop to any refusals before they could be voiced.
He'd walked about half the second floor when he finally spotted his prey. "Xu!" he shouted.
Xu spun, hands drawing the daggers she favoured before she had even caught sight of Squall. Once she recognised him, she demanded, "Whose side are you on?"
Squall fought the urge to face-palm. "Neither," he snapped. "We're calling a ceasefire and Code Red. Where's the Headmaster?"
Xu blinked in surprised disbelief. "What?"
"The Headmaster, Xu."
"Why a Code Re–"
"Where. Is. Cid?" Squall ground out, his patience worn thin.
Xu snapped out of her surprise and slipped her daggers away. "His office. Come on." She brushed past him and started towards the lift, asking, "What's this about a Code Red?"
"The Sorceress is almost certainly sending a force here. She was going to use missiles, but someone blew up the missile base before they could be launched," Squall allowed, now that they were headed to Cid.
" 'Someone'?" Xu wondered, glancing back at him with a glimmer of irony in her eyes.
"We were in the process of escaping D-District when it blew," Squall corrected her before she could congratulate him for something he hadn't done. Although, if it had been Seifer, he may have had something to do with it, he supposed...
"The intercom is down," Xu offered once they were in the lift. "I assume Quistis and the rest of your team is spreading word of the Code Red?"
"Selphie and a number of SeeDs are, yes," Squall agreed. "Quistis and Zell went down to discuss the ceasefire with NORG; this is no time for Garden to be warring within its walls, but unless he agrees to the ceasefire, the fighting might well continue, despite the severity of our situation."
Xu nodded and the doors popped open at the top level. "Cid is in his office. I'm going to help spread the word about the Code Red, if that's okay?"
Squall shrugged. "Whatever," he replied, stepping towards the large double doors.
Cid spun from where he'd been looking out the window, eyes wide and slightly panicked. As soon as he recognised the teen in the doorway, he relaxed and offered a smile. "Squall. Thank Hyne."
Squall raised an eyebrow at that, but shook his questions away. "Quistis and Zell are discussing the terms of a ceasefire with NORG while Selphie and Xu spread a Code Red," he announced. "There is a very good chance the Sorceress will be sending soldiers our way by the end of the day."
Cid sighed, relief vanishing to be replaced with exhaustion. "I see." He dropped tiredly into his chair. "You might as well join the efforts to spread the word, then..."
"Sir, with all due respect, I would like to give my report," Squall requested stiffly. 'Aren't you even the slightest bit worried about why the Sorceress is trying to attack us?'
"No need," Cid assured him. "I can guess what happened."
Squall clenched his jaw. "Sir," he replied before turning and leaving the office. He reached out to hit the button for the lift and was surprised to find his hand shaking as badly as it was. It took him three times to hit the call button and he quickly drew his hand back against his chest, expression grim. 'Just get to my dorm. That's all. As soon as I'm there, I can rest. I just have to last for another ten minutes or so...'
The lift opened and he slipped inside. He managed to hit the button for the first floor by using his left hand to steady his right, then leaned back against the wall, giving himself a moment to gather his strength. But there was no strength left to gather and the world spiralled into darkness.
-0-
Squall woke to the smells of the infirmary and hushed voices. 'What happened? I was... taking the lift... Oh.' He bit back a sigh. 'I collapsed in the lift. Fantastic. If Seifer were here, he'd...'
But Seifer wasn't there. He'd taken in with the Sorceress. He'd spoken of bombing Balamb Garden like it hadn't been their home, like it was just another casualty of war. He'd never mock Squall again.
"No!" someone snapped and there was the sound of booted feet on the floor, approaching Squall's bed.
Squall opened tired eyes and looked up at the faculty member who stood over him. "Yes?" he whispered.
"Student ID No. 41269, Squall Leonhart?"
"Yes."
"The Garden Master–"
"Has no right to call on one of my patients!" Doctor Kadowaki interrupted, face the very picture of a storm cloud. "Squall needs rest!"
"He is requested to report on his mission–"
"He had a team," Kadowaki spat. "Surely they are capable of delivering a report without him!"
"The Garden Master–"
"It's fine," Squall interrupted, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "How do I get to NORG?"
"Get back in that bed," Kadowaki snapped, "or I will sedate you. And you!" She waved a finger in the faculty member's face. "Tell NORG that he can damn-well wait until I release Squall before he talks to him!"
"Doctor–" Squall tried.
"Back in bed! Now!"
Squall returned his feet under the covers while the doctor scared the faculty member out, cowed by the woman's overbearing presence. He'd never seen her quite so livid before, but he'd also never tried escaping her clutches before she deemed him fit for classes, either. That was always Seifer's shtick.
Kadowaki stalked back in. "Do I need to sedate you?" she demanded.
Squall shook his head. "No."
Kadowaki stared at him for a long moment, then nodded and picked up a chart from the end of his bed. "Good. How are you feeling? And don't even try telling me you're 'fine', boy."
Squall repressed an amused smile at that; Kadowaki was more than used to his usual attempts to down-play his wounds and illnesses. He took a moment to take stock of his body, then announced, "Better than I was."
Kadowaki raised the clipboard in her hands threateningly.
"Still shaky," Squall hurried to amend, "but nowhere near as severe as before." He held out his hand to prove it, pleased to see only a couple very faint tremors every thirty seconds or so, rather than the constant ones he'd been suffering since he woke surrounded by Moombas. "My headache is gone, and I feel more alert. Rested."
"Good." Kadowaki set the clipboard back on its place at the end of his bed. "You've been asleep for two days."
Squall moved to a sitting position, eyes wide. "The Sorceress–"
"Lie down!" Kadowaki snapped, reaching for a syringe in her pocket.
Squall eyed the syringe with a healthy dose of fear and obediently returned to his prone position.
Kadowaki returned her weapon to her pocket and nodded. "Good. The Sorceress' soldiers arrived yesterday afternoon and were dealt with with few injuries to our troops and no casualties. Your warning saved many a life."
Squall relaxed at that. He didn't like that he'd been unconscious for the battle, but at least no one died. He'd done his duty.
Kadowaki nodded. "Once your tremors have completely stopped, I'll release you. Since you're awake, do you want anything to eat?"
Squall considered that for a moment. His stomach gave a loud rumble and he sighed. "Yes."
"I'll send a runner," Kadowaki decided. "Anything else? I know how idle minds drive you lot nuts."
Squall's mind flashed to Irvine and Rinoa, still missing. "A message tablet," he requested. With any luck, Irvine would think to send him a message with their whereabouts.
"Certainly." Kadowaki left the room and Squall heard her murmuring to someone – the runner, probably – before she returned with a tablet. "Here. You can sit up, but keep your feet on the bed."
Squall absently nodded his understanding as he logged into the tablet. He had any number of messages from Garden about their changed circumstances, as well as something from his favourite restaurant in Balamb Town about a change to their menu.
There were three messages from Irvine, spanning the past four days:
"Safe in GG. Word is SE plans to send missiles to both BG and TG; give order to evacuate if you're in either."
"Heard you escaped DD. The talk of GG. SE supposedly has culprit who blew MB in her clutches. I feel for them. Haven't seen SA lately..."
"GG is mobile. RH is missing. We leave Deling tonight for Balamb. ETA 17 hrs."
The last message was dated fourteen hours ago.
"Shit." Squall started to get out of bed, only to remember at the last minute Kadowaki's threat of sedation if he left the bed. He was debating between calling out to her or just chancing it when the door to the infirmary whooshed open.
"There you are!" Kadowaki said, her chair squeaking as she stood. "You should have– Cid, what's wrong?" she asked, voice gentle.
There was a quiet hiccup, then the sounds of hushed sobs.
Squall sat poised on his bed, surprised and almost ashamed to hear his Headmaster crying. 'This is important, but maybe I shouldn't interrupt...' His hand tightened on the tablet, torn between shame and disgust. 'What am I thinking? Galbadia Garden and the Sorceress are headed this way. We have, maybe, three hours to prepare for them, and this won't be as simple to fight off as a couple of soldiers. Damnit!'
"Let's get you into a bed," Kadowaki soothed. Their steps moved into the room next to Squall's. "Here's a tissue. Do you want me to stay with you, or...?"
Cid murmured something too quiet for Squall to hear.
"Okay. I'll be at my desk, then," Kadowaki promised. A moment later, her chair squeaked again.
Squall looked down at the tablet, the words blurring as his hand trembled. He dropped the tablet to the bed and silently cursed to find his tremors increased. 'Of course they would get worse under stress. Fuck, I don't have the time for this!' He picked the tablet up again and slipped out of bed. He got barely two steps before Kadowaki's chair squeaked.
"Get back in bed!" Kadowaki hissed, appearing in the opening.
Squall considered her grimly. "I need to talk to the Headmaster."
Kadowaki opened her mouth to order him back to bed again, but Cid interrupted her, "Squall?"
Squall brushed past the doctor and stepped into the room Cid sat in, not reacting to his teary face. "Sir, a contact in Galbadia Garden tells me it's mobile and should be arriving here in about three hours. With the Sorceress."
Kadowaki let out a breathless curse and hurried over to her desk.
Cid closed his eyes, clearly tired. "I see," he murmured.
"Code Red," Kadowaki's voice echoed over the intercom, "Junior classmen are to report to the dorms. Hostiles reported to be incoming within three hours. SeeDs and upper classmen report to your ready positions. This is not a drill."
"There's no way we can stand against them. Not if they're mobile," Squall said in a monotone.
Cid reached into a pocket and pulled out a card. He flipped it in his hand a few times, then held it out to Squall as Kadowaki appeared behind the teen. "All the Gardens are mobile," he allowed. "I don't know how well we can control it, but our best chance lies in activating our own propulsion system."
"How?" Squall asked, taking the card with a blank look.
"I'm not sure. The controls are down below the MD level, supposedly." Cid shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. "I'm in no shape to figure it out, clearly."
"Neither are you," Kadowaki informed Squall as the teen slipped the card into a pocket of the infirmary-issued scrubs he wore.
Squall considered her blankly. "Where's my gunblade?"
"You should be in bed!"
"My gunblade," Squall persisted.
The doctor let out a shuddering breath and gave a jerky nod before leading the way over to her desk. A cupboard behind it held Revolver, as well as a change of clothing for the young SeeD. She handed everything over with a troubled expression. "You're not fully healed," she pointed out.
Squall set the tablet on her desk, noting the tremors in his hands. "I know," he whispered, then slipped into his room and changed quickly. Ensuring he had the card Cid had given him, he hurried out of the infirmary, not sparing the doctor or Cid a glance. 'Activating the propulsion system might very well kill us all,' he knew, 'but not activating it means certain death at the hands of Edea. There are no good options, only bad and worse.' He clenched his hand against the tremors and jabbed the call button for the lift as soon as he reached it.
The doors opened and Squall found himself facing Quistis, Zell, and Selphie, all looking a little worse for wear. There was a moment of silence, then Selphie let out an excited squeal and jumped forward to hug him. "Squall! You're awake!"
Quistis looked down at Squall's clenched hand. "You should still be in bed," she commented.
Squall considered his options: He could leave the propulsion to these three, send them to Kadowaki, or take them with him. It wasn't a hard choice.
"Come on," he said to Selphie, pressing her into the lift with the others and following. "Did you hear the announcement?" he asked as he ran the card through a small reader under the line of buttons.
"Announcement?" Zell parroted dumbly.
"We were with NORG," Quistis admitted. "It didn't go well."
Squall took in their battle weary appearances and nodded. "Irvine messaged me; Galbadia Garden is mobile and on its way here. They should be arriving within about three hours."
"Fuck," Zell swore.
"Code Red again?" Quistis asked grimly.
Squall nodded. "Cid said there should be a way to get Balamb mobile too."
"We're coming with you!" Selphie declared. After a pause, she added, "Right?" in a quietly hopeful voice.
Squall nodded. "Right."
Selphie beamed at him.
"Garden is mobile?" Zell wondered quietly.
"Cid said all of them are," Squall offered. "He's not sure how it works, he just knows it does."
"This could very well explode in our faces," Quistis pointed out grimly.
"What choice do we have?"
The lift jerked to a stop and they all froze, trading worried looks. After a long moment, Zell carefully stepped over and pried the doors open, only to find nothing but the walls of the shaft. "Shit," he muttered.
Squall's eyes darted up, towards the ceiling, then down at the ground. There was a small hatch there and he knelt and pulled it open. "Here."
"Good eye, man," Zell agreed as Selphie slipped through the hole and started down the ladder set against the wall. After a moment, Quistis followed the smaller woman. "Go on," Zell pressed, waving Squall forward. "I'll take the rear."
Squall nodded and slipped through the hole, taking care that Revolver didn't catch on the edge.
Squall had just reached the tunnel the girls had slipped into when the lift gave a scraping sound above them and started to descend. He jumped inside, then held out a hand to help Zell in before the box went flying past them.
"That was dangerous," Zell commented, holding a hand over his heart.
"I hope there's another way up," Quistis added.
"Hey, I can't get this open!" Selphie called.
Zell pulled the hatch open and jumped down, eyes darting about for a moment. Finally, he called up, "All clear. Seems to be an oil stratum."
"Everyone have fire magic?" Squall asked once they were all on the same level again. They took a moment to check their stocks, junctioning the fire magic to their weapons and ensuring it was in easy grasp in their minds. Selphie also checked to make sure Ifrit was ready for battle. Then they set off.
It was a long way down too many ladders. Eventually, they hit what appeared to be a dead end, of sorts. Selphie spotted the rusty ladder. "There."
"Aw, man..." Zell groaned, flexing stiff hands.
"Where does it go?" Quistis wondered, all of them following the line with their eyes up into a catwalk, which went across to a room covered by glass windows.
Zell groaned again.
Squall unbuckled Revolver and held it out to Selphie. "I'll go," he announced.
"You shouldn't be climbing around–" Quistis started.
"I'm going," Squall repeated, voice leaving no room for debate. Selphie obediently took the gunblade, so he started up the ladder. About halfway up, it let out an ominous crunch in warning and tore free from the wall.
"Squall!" Quistis and Selphie screamed below him.
Squall grunted as the ladder slammed against the glass surrounding the room he'd been heading towards. His death grip on the ladder managed to save him, though his legs had slipped free. It took him a moment to get his feet hooked back between the rungs so he could slip up the rest of the way. He jumped onto the steady floor of the room he'd been aiming for and took a moment to breathe, holding trembling hands together against his chest until they'd calmed enough for him to press a button which opened a slot of floor near the others.
He moved carefully but quickly back down the ladder, only to be met by a shaking Selphie, who wrapped her arms around him and hid her face against his chest. Behind her, both Zell and Quistis were pale, but more composed.
"Next cruddy ladder we come across, you're not climbing," Zell informed him.
Squall silently agreed to that and looked down at the brown head pressed against his heart. "Selphie, we need to keep moving."
Selphie finally pulled back, eyes dry but dark with worry. "I know. You're okay?"
"I'm fine," Squall promised and took Revolver back when she held it out to him.
"This ladder looks much more steady," Zell announced from the opened gate above the opened section of floor.
They slipped down and Zell flipped the switch at the bottom, opening a door on the far side. Before they could reach it, a couple Oilboyles jumped out, which they took care of easily enough. Through the door, they found a line of consoles and all of them sort of stood there in numb disbelief for a moment.
Selphie jumped forward at last and started pressing buttons like a woman possessed.
"Selph!" Zell shouted, moving to grab her.
"Wait," Squall ordered, touching Zell's arm.
There was a loud 'boom' and the machinery beyond the consoles sparked and glowed, starting to move with the creaking groans of disuse. The platform they stood on shuddered, then started to rise, faster and faster.
"Look out!" Zell shouted and they all covered their heads as the ceiling approached, only for them to pass right through it.
The platform came to a stop in the Headmaster's office, high above the large desk. Above them, Garden's halo had begun spinning and glowing ever brighter. It started to descend, going smoothly through the walls of their home as if they weren't even there. The building gave a groaning shudder and dust kicked up in great clouds beneath them.
"Wow," Quistis breathed, leaning over the edge of the controls to watch the mountains moving beyond the clouds of dust.
"We're moving," Zell realised, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Awesome."
"We did it!" Selphie crowed, spinning in place, then grabbing Squall's hands and dragging him around the platform in a half-dance, half-stumble sort of move. "We did it!"
"You did it," Squall insisted, letting her lead him around for a few steps before pulling his hands from hers.
"I never would have reached the controls without you and Zell and Quisty," Selphie informed him, giving him a playful scowl. "So we did it."
The doors below them opened and there came the sounds of surprise. "You did it!" Cid called up to them.
"We are awesome," Zell informed them all with a grin. Quistis and Selphie laughed while Squall shook his head, silently pleased.
A small lift at the edge of the platform whirred, bringing Cid, Xu and Kadowaki up onto the platform. "Amazing," Xu breathed, joining Quistis at looking over the moving mountains.
Cid clapped Squall on the shoulder, looking like a proud parent. "Well done. All of you."
Kadowaki came up to Squall's other shoulder, smiling as she got a good grip on his bicep. "Crisis averted. You, infirmary."
"I know," Squall agreed, not fighting when the doctor started pressing towards the lift.
"Squall!" Zell shouted, a note of panic in his voice. "We're going to crash into town!"
Squall pulled away from Kadowaki without a second thought and hurried over to Zell's side. Indeed, Balamb Town was approaching at a fast clip. "Selphie, can you turn this thing?" he asked in a surprisingly even voice, turning his own attention to the controls.
Selphie chewed her lower lip and reached out to press a couple buttons. "I don't know," she admitted.
Squall shoved at a button next to him that he remembered Selphie pressing before the platform moved up, then motioned to a small joystick just out of his reach. "Left!" he ordered and the small young woman immediately shoved it to the left.
"We're turning!" Zell called, relief in his voice.
Squall's eyes darted over the controls, cataloguing each one and trying to compare them to the various vehicle controls he'd studied over the years. Next to him, Selphie was doing the same, flicking a switch to ease their speed.
"We're going to crash into the sea!" Zell called in warning.
"Brake on your left," Selphie said to Squall, but he was already pressing it. Garden shuddered warningly beneath them, but came to a stop along the beach, hovering just out of reach of the waves.
They all took a moment to breathe, Squall and Selphie trading knowing looks. It was Selphie who announced, "There's no way we can hold our own against Galbadia Garden like this. We need time to figure out the controls, and the whole thing is sluggish with disuse."
"Are you saying we should... run away?" Xu wondered.
"Tactical retreat," Squall corrected, grimacing at Xu's wording. "Facing them like this is little better than facing them without any mobility."
"I agree," Cid piped up. "Fisherman's Horizon has some of the best technicians alive, having come from Esthar. Perhaps they can help us figure out and improve the steering system?"
"What about Balamb Town?" Zell asked before the two quasi-pilots could get the building moving again. "If Galbadia Garden is coming this way, they'll be caught in the crossfire."
"And we should get word to Trabia Garden!" Selphie realised. "If they can get their system up and running, that'll mean two Gardens against Galbadia!"
There was a long moment of silence before Squall realised everyone was looking to him. 'What? When did I become the one to make all the choices?' he silently complained, closing his eyes. 'Trabia would be a valuable ally, but without access to our ground cables, we have no way to contact them. And we can't leave Balamb Town without warning them, Zell is right.'
"Selphie, let's see if we can back this up a bit. If we can land, we'll send a small party into Balamb Town to warn them about Galbadia Garden and send a transmission to Trabia," he decided, then looked at Cid. "Sir?"
Cid beamed. "Excellent! I'll leave it in your capable hands!"
Squall fought the urge to punch the Headmaster and turned back to the controls. Together, he and Selphie managed to back Garden up a bit and land it, though they listed to the side a bit.
"Who all should go into town?" Cid wondered, watching Squall hopefully.
"I'm going," Zell insisted.
Squall glanced over at the fighter and nodded. "Good. Pick a couple of other townies and explain the need for speed to them. You need to get back here within the hour. Selphie," he turned to the brunette, "go into town with them and send out a message to Trabia. Tell them about the controls as best you can, as well as how we got to them. No more than an hour."
Selphie nodded. "You got it!" she agreed, moving to join Zell on the lift down.
Squall turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Perhaps an announcement to let everyone know what's happening?" he suggested drily.
"Oh! Right!" Cid blustered towards the lift. "Good idea!"
"I'm going to go check on the junior classmen," Xu decided. "Maybe we can leave a couple of them in town."
"It would probably be safer than in Garden," Quistis agreed, joining her friend on the lift. "Squall, you'll be okay?"
Squall waved them off, leaving him with a disapproving Doctor Kadowaki.
"You need to be resting," she informed him as Cid's voice echoed in the distance over the intercom.
Squall looked away, hands clenched against the tremors.
Kadowaki sighed. "Cid has a room up here, off to one side. He should probably move to a dorm room, anyway, but you can use that room to get some rest. At least until everyone gets back from town."
Squall nodded. "Okay."
"You and Selphie can trade off controlling Garden once we're under way," Kadowaki added as they moved to the lift down into the office. "I don't know how long it'll take to reach FH, but I'm going to insist that neither of you spend more than four hours at a time up there, understood? You can switch off and get some food or rest."
"Okay," Squall said again.
Kadowaki waved him into the small room just off the office. "I'll let Cid know and send some food up. I don't care if you sleep, but you need to rest."
"I know." Squall settled obediently onto the bed and started tugging his boots off. That seemed to be good enough for the good doctor, for she turned and left him to it.
Squall unhooked Revolver, then laid back against the bed, exhausted. His mind was a mess of thoughts and calculations, too busy for sleep, but he closed his eyes anyway, trying to quiet everything enough to reach his usual calm.
'I'm not a leader,' he thought, the moment up on the platform returning to him against his will. 'I don't have all the answers; I can't decide everyone's fate. I can barely take care of myself, why do they expect me to take care of them, too?' He clenched his fists against the tremors. 'Just... I wish I could go back in time. Back to simple duels with Seifer at the bottom of the mountains and classroom lessons about the things we might, one day, face. I wish...' Squall twisted on the bed until he was curled against unfamiliar pillows, his foetal position the only outward sign of weakness.
'We can't go back, only forward,' he snapped at himself. 'There's no time for wallowing in self-pity. I'm not a leader, but they expect me to lead them. They look to me for answers, even the Headmaster, and I...' He swallowed and clenched his eyes shut against the world, curling ever tighter. 'There are thirty-seven SeeDs, twenty-nine faculty and staff members, forty upper classmen and eighteen junior classmen in Garden. Cid is even more of a mess than I am, and I can't just give up on them. This is my home. This is all I have, and I won't lose it to my own insecurities any more than I will to some Sorceress with too much make-up. I will survive anything for these people. That is my duty as SeeD.'
Decided, Squall drifted off into a troubled sleep.
-0-0-0-
-0-0-0-
A/N: Not sure how I feel about Squall in that last bit there, but I hate how he just sort of rolls over and takes it in canon without any explanation as to why.
'Cause somebody is going to ask: Ellone was collected by the White SeeDs while Squall was dead to the world. So, pre-mobile Garden. XD
Also, Laguna dream #4 – fighting the Ruby Dragon for the film shoot – happens while Squall is out.
Selphie totally figured out the controls of the Ragnarok in a snap, in canon, so it makes a certain amount of sense that she would be able to at least figure out something in Garden. Also, all those years of learning and training must have taught the lot of them something other than how to swing a blade around. It makes sense to me that they would have learned a bit about various vehicle controls, and Squall is logical enough to reason out the mechanics of the controls. Especially considering most technology must be based at least somewhat on Centran technology, which is what the Gardens are.
Or maybe they just pulled things like cars and boats and Ragnaroks out of their pretty white asses. I dunno.
Pink dandelion fluff. Jeebus.
~Bats ^.^x
Translations for Irvine's messages:
GG, BG, TG - Galbadia, Balamb, or Trabia Gardens
SE - Sorceress Edea
DD - D-District Prison
MB - Missile Base
SA - Seifer Almasy
RH - Rinoa Heartilly
Chapters:
1 - Hiding Betrayal |||2 - Trying to Please Them All
3 - Every Little Earthquake ||| 4 - Faraway Reflections
5 - Guilty By Association ||| 6 - Clouds Are the Future
7 - Sins of Our Tongue ||| 8 - Every Hero Has a Path, Every Sinner a Future
9 - Gather Your Strength ||| 10 - Forever's Never Too Long
..
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/
batsutousaiBetas: Shara Lunison/
tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhirChapters: 2 of 10
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, hints of Quistis/Rinoa
Warnings: AU, minor canon-fuckery, Rinoa bashing, minor Quisty bashing
Summary: How the game could have gone if the writers weren't on crack and so set on everyone being straight.
A/N: Who are they kidding? I don't care how awesome someone is, there's only so much the human body can take before it gives up on its own. Realistically, Squall probably shouldn't have managed so well in game as he did, although I suppose the adrenaline he was doubtlessly running on helped keep him going. Still. I feel like he should have crashed before he did, and with more drama. (Maybe I just like drama too much... XD)
Irvine uses something of a code in his messages in this chapter. I think it's obvious, but I'm the author. If something catches you up, there's a list at the bottom of the chapter for what everything means.
Trying to Please Them All
-0-0-0-
"Thank Hyne," Zell whispered as Garden came into view over the rise. They'd rented the car they were in as soon as they got off the train in Balamb and taken off for Garden without stopping to visit anyone they might have known in town.
Squall had taken over the driving, being the least jittery of the four of them, in spite of the tremors that still made his nerves jump from time-to-time. He'd rested and sorted his thoughts during the trip, but the others had simply worried their concerns for Garden, Rinoa and Irvine, and Squall himself – he'd face-palmed when he heard they'd been worrying over him – and the strained lines around their eyes showed it. Squall was half tempted to yell at the lot of them for their concern, but he doubted it would do much good. So he'd taken the keys to the car and silently insisted he drive, preferring to not crash if Garden had suffered any damage.
As it was, Garden was fine and they slipped into the garage and into a spot before realising anything was wrong.
"Hands up!" someone shouted as they left the car.
"What the–!" Zell started, only to find a blade held to his throat. The other four also found weapons pointed at them and they all slowly raised their hands in a sign of surrender.
"Would you care to explain what this is about?" Quistis demanded in her best instructor voice.
"Are you with Cid, or NORG?" one of their assailants demanded.
"NORG?" Selphie repeated, clearly confused.
"Neither," Squall bit out, staring unflinchingly at the gun aimed at his temple. "We're back from assignment."
The SeeD with the gun looked him over, cataloguing the torn clothing and faint bruising under Squall's eyes, then nodded and holstered his gun. "Yesterday evening, the faculty demanded Cid be taken in hand. Apparently, the Sorceress wants him, and NORG intended to hand him right over. We SeeDs have been fighting back against the faculty and a number of cadets who sided with NORG, keeping him hidden."
"And you decided to hold us at weapon-point, why?" Quistis demanded as the others put their weapons away.
"This wouldn't be the first time NORG's followers tried coming in through the garage door," one of the others admitted. "Andre almost died in a sneak attack." She nodded to the SeeD who'd been holding the sword to Zell's throat.
Squall shook his head. "We need to speak with the Headmaster. And get everyone to call a cease-fire."
"The Sorceress had missiles aimed this way, but the missile base exploded," Quistis explained to the frowns Squall's announcement was met with. "There's every chance that we could be faced with an invasion within the day. We need to call a Code Red and go to emergency status."
There was a moment of horrified disbelief, but the unwavering grimness in the four's eyes promised the truth. "What do we do?" one of the SeeD pleaded, looking lost.
Squall resisted the urge to scream at them for their uselessness. "Quistis, you know where NORG is?" he asked, since she'd been an instructor and SeeD longer.
"Yeah. You want me to go down there and discuss our need for the cease-fire?" Quistis agreed.
"Please. Zell and..." He glanced over the SeeDs who they'd met with, then pointed to the one who'd held a gun to him. "You, go with her and provide any support she might need. Selphie and the rest of you will go around warning everyone else about the Code Red. Do any of you know where Cid is?"
"Xu would know," one of them allowed, everyone calming once they'd been given direction.
"Where might I find her?" Squall requested as calmly as possible.
The lot of them traded uncertain looks, then the one who had mentioned Xu offered, "Try the second floor? Maybe."
"We'll walk with you to the lift," Quistis decided, motioning for Zell and the SeeD with the gun to join her in following Squall out of the garage. "We're going down, anyway."
Squall nodded absently. "I can take the stairs," he offered. "Calling the official ceasefire is more important than hunting down Cid."
Quistis sighed, but had to admit he had a point. "I know. Still..." She eyed the faint tremor in his clenched hands with some concern.
"Go," Squall ordered, turning towards the emergency stairwell to one side of the garage.
"Take care of yourself!" Selphie shouted, eyes taut with worry.
Squall waved a hand in acknowledgement, then started up the stairs, gritting his teeth against the revolt his weary body tried throwing. 'As soon as everyone is safe, you can collapse into bed,' he promised himself. 'But their safety is the top priority right now. Keep moving.'
He allowed himself a moment to breathe upon reaching the second floor, then pushed away from the wall and started down the hall, eyes sharp and watchful. The few SeeDs and upper classmen he came across were ordered to spread news of the Code Red and ceasefire, Squall's reputation as a cold, unfeeling bastard and the sharpness in his voice putting stop to any refusals before they could be voiced.
He'd walked about half the second floor when he finally spotted his prey. "Xu!" he shouted.
Xu spun, hands drawing the daggers she favoured before she had even caught sight of Squall. Once she recognised him, she demanded, "Whose side are you on?"
Squall fought the urge to face-palm. "Neither," he snapped. "We're calling a ceasefire and Code Red. Where's the Headmaster?"
Xu blinked in surprised disbelief. "What?"
"The Headmaster, Xu."
"Why a Code Re–"
"Where. Is. Cid?" Squall ground out, his patience worn thin.
Xu snapped out of her surprise and slipped her daggers away. "His office. Come on." She brushed past him and started towards the lift, asking, "What's this about a Code Red?"
"The Sorceress is almost certainly sending a force here. She was going to use missiles, but someone blew up the missile base before they could be launched," Squall allowed, now that they were headed to Cid.
" 'Someone'?" Xu wondered, glancing back at him with a glimmer of irony in her eyes.
"We were in the process of escaping D-District when it blew," Squall corrected her before she could congratulate him for something he hadn't done. Although, if it had been Seifer, he may have had something to do with it, he supposed...
"The intercom is down," Xu offered once they were in the lift. "I assume Quistis and the rest of your team is spreading word of the Code Red?"
"Selphie and a number of SeeDs are, yes," Squall agreed. "Quistis and Zell went down to discuss the ceasefire with NORG; this is no time for Garden to be warring within its walls, but unless he agrees to the ceasefire, the fighting might well continue, despite the severity of our situation."
Xu nodded and the doors popped open at the top level. "Cid is in his office. I'm going to help spread the word about the Code Red, if that's okay?"
Squall shrugged. "Whatever," he replied, stepping towards the large double doors.
Cid spun from where he'd been looking out the window, eyes wide and slightly panicked. As soon as he recognised the teen in the doorway, he relaxed and offered a smile. "Squall. Thank Hyne."
Squall raised an eyebrow at that, but shook his questions away. "Quistis and Zell are discussing the terms of a ceasefire with NORG while Selphie and Xu spread a Code Red," he announced. "There is a very good chance the Sorceress will be sending soldiers our way by the end of the day."
Cid sighed, relief vanishing to be replaced with exhaustion. "I see." He dropped tiredly into his chair. "You might as well join the efforts to spread the word, then..."
"Sir, with all due respect, I would like to give my report," Squall requested stiffly. 'Aren't you even the slightest bit worried about why the Sorceress is trying to attack us?'
"No need," Cid assured him. "I can guess what happened."
Squall clenched his jaw. "Sir," he replied before turning and leaving the office. He reached out to hit the button for the lift and was surprised to find his hand shaking as badly as it was. It took him three times to hit the call button and he quickly drew his hand back against his chest, expression grim. 'Just get to my dorm. That's all. As soon as I'm there, I can rest. I just have to last for another ten minutes or so...'
The lift opened and he slipped inside. He managed to hit the button for the first floor by using his left hand to steady his right, then leaned back against the wall, giving himself a moment to gather his strength. But there was no strength left to gather and the world spiralled into darkness.
Squall woke to the smells of the infirmary and hushed voices. 'What happened? I was... taking the lift... Oh.' He bit back a sigh. 'I collapsed in the lift. Fantastic. If Seifer were here, he'd...'
But Seifer wasn't there. He'd taken in with the Sorceress. He'd spoken of bombing Balamb Garden like it hadn't been their home, like it was just another casualty of war. He'd never mock Squall again.
"No!" someone snapped and there was the sound of booted feet on the floor, approaching Squall's bed.
Squall opened tired eyes and looked up at the faculty member who stood over him. "Yes?" he whispered.
"Student ID No. 41269, Squall Leonhart?"
"Yes."
"The Garden Master–"
"Has no right to call on one of my patients!" Doctor Kadowaki interrupted, face the very picture of a storm cloud. "Squall needs rest!"
"He is requested to report on his mission–"
"He had a team," Kadowaki spat. "Surely they are capable of delivering a report without him!"
"The Garden Master–"
"It's fine," Squall interrupted, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "How do I get to NORG?"
"Get back in that bed," Kadowaki snapped, "or I will sedate you. And you!" She waved a finger in the faculty member's face. "Tell NORG that he can damn-well wait until I release Squall before he talks to him!"
"Doctor–" Squall tried.
"Back in bed! Now!"
Squall returned his feet under the covers while the doctor scared the faculty member out, cowed by the woman's overbearing presence. He'd never seen her quite so livid before, but he'd also never tried escaping her clutches before she deemed him fit for classes, either. That was always Seifer's shtick.
Kadowaki stalked back in. "Do I need to sedate you?" she demanded.
Squall shook his head. "No."
Kadowaki stared at him for a long moment, then nodded and picked up a chart from the end of his bed. "Good. How are you feeling? And don't even try telling me you're 'fine', boy."
Squall repressed an amused smile at that; Kadowaki was more than used to his usual attempts to down-play his wounds and illnesses. He took a moment to take stock of his body, then announced, "Better than I was."
Kadowaki raised the clipboard in her hands threateningly.
"Still shaky," Squall hurried to amend, "but nowhere near as severe as before." He held out his hand to prove it, pleased to see only a couple very faint tremors every thirty seconds or so, rather than the constant ones he'd been suffering since he woke surrounded by Moombas. "My headache is gone, and I feel more alert. Rested."
"Good." Kadowaki set the clipboard back on its place at the end of his bed. "You've been asleep for two days."
Squall moved to a sitting position, eyes wide. "The Sorceress–"
"Lie down!" Kadowaki snapped, reaching for a syringe in her pocket.
Squall eyed the syringe with a healthy dose of fear and obediently returned to his prone position.
Kadowaki returned her weapon to her pocket and nodded. "Good. The Sorceress' soldiers arrived yesterday afternoon and were dealt with with few injuries to our troops and no casualties. Your warning saved many a life."
Squall relaxed at that. He didn't like that he'd been unconscious for the battle, but at least no one died. He'd done his duty.
Kadowaki nodded. "Once your tremors have completely stopped, I'll release you. Since you're awake, do you want anything to eat?"
Squall considered that for a moment. His stomach gave a loud rumble and he sighed. "Yes."
"I'll send a runner," Kadowaki decided. "Anything else? I know how idle minds drive you lot nuts."
Squall's mind flashed to Irvine and Rinoa, still missing. "A message tablet," he requested. With any luck, Irvine would think to send him a message with their whereabouts.
"Certainly." Kadowaki left the room and Squall heard her murmuring to someone – the runner, probably – before she returned with a tablet. "Here. You can sit up, but keep your feet on the bed."
Squall absently nodded his understanding as he logged into the tablet. He had any number of messages from Garden about their changed circumstances, as well as something from his favourite restaurant in Balamb Town about a change to their menu.
There were three messages from Irvine, spanning the past four days:
"Safe in GG. Word is SE plans to send missiles to both BG and TG; give order to evacuate if you're in either."
"Heard you escaped DD. The talk of GG. SE supposedly has culprit who blew MB in her clutches. I feel for them. Haven't seen SA lately..."
"GG is mobile. RH is missing. We leave Deling tonight for Balamb. ETA 17 hrs."
The last message was dated fourteen hours ago.
"Shit." Squall started to get out of bed, only to remember at the last minute Kadowaki's threat of sedation if he left the bed. He was debating between calling out to her or just chancing it when the door to the infirmary whooshed open.
"There you are!" Kadowaki said, her chair squeaking as she stood. "You should have– Cid, what's wrong?" she asked, voice gentle.
There was a quiet hiccup, then the sounds of hushed sobs.
Squall sat poised on his bed, surprised and almost ashamed to hear his Headmaster crying. 'This is important, but maybe I shouldn't interrupt...' His hand tightened on the tablet, torn between shame and disgust. 'What am I thinking? Galbadia Garden and the Sorceress are headed this way. We have, maybe, three hours to prepare for them, and this won't be as simple to fight off as a couple of soldiers. Damnit!'
"Let's get you into a bed," Kadowaki soothed. Their steps moved into the room next to Squall's. "Here's a tissue. Do you want me to stay with you, or...?"
Cid murmured something too quiet for Squall to hear.
"Okay. I'll be at my desk, then," Kadowaki promised. A moment later, her chair squeaked again.
Squall looked down at the tablet, the words blurring as his hand trembled. He dropped the tablet to the bed and silently cursed to find his tremors increased. 'Of course they would get worse under stress. Fuck, I don't have the time for this!' He picked the tablet up again and slipped out of bed. He got barely two steps before Kadowaki's chair squeaked.
"Get back in bed!" Kadowaki hissed, appearing in the opening.
Squall considered her grimly. "I need to talk to the Headmaster."
Kadowaki opened her mouth to order him back to bed again, but Cid interrupted her, "Squall?"
Squall brushed past the doctor and stepped into the room Cid sat in, not reacting to his teary face. "Sir, a contact in Galbadia Garden tells me it's mobile and should be arriving here in about three hours. With the Sorceress."
Kadowaki let out a breathless curse and hurried over to her desk.
Cid closed his eyes, clearly tired. "I see," he murmured.
"Code Red," Kadowaki's voice echoed over the intercom, "Junior classmen are to report to the dorms. Hostiles reported to be incoming within three hours. SeeDs and upper classmen report to your ready positions. This is not a drill."
"There's no way we can stand against them. Not if they're mobile," Squall said in a monotone.
Cid reached into a pocket and pulled out a card. He flipped it in his hand a few times, then held it out to Squall as Kadowaki appeared behind the teen. "All the Gardens are mobile," he allowed. "I don't know how well we can control it, but our best chance lies in activating our own propulsion system."
"How?" Squall asked, taking the card with a blank look.
"I'm not sure. The controls are down below the MD level, supposedly." Cid shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. "I'm in no shape to figure it out, clearly."
"Neither are you," Kadowaki informed Squall as the teen slipped the card into a pocket of the infirmary-issued scrubs he wore.
Squall considered her blankly. "Where's my gunblade?"
"You should be in bed!"
"My gunblade," Squall persisted.
The doctor let out a shuddering breath and gave a jerky nod before leading the way over to her desk. A cupboard behind it held Revolver, as well as a change of clothing for the young SeeD. She handed everything over with a troubled expression. "You're not fully healed," she pointed out.
Squall set the tablet on her desk, noting the tremors in his hands. "I know," he whispered, then slipped into his room and changed quickly. Ensuring he had the card Cid had given him, he hurried out of the infirmary, not sparing the doctor or Cid a glance. 'Activating the propulsion system might very well kill us all,' he knew, 'but not activating it means certain death at the hands of Edea. There are no good options, only bad and worse.' He clenched his hand against the tremors and jabbed the call button for the lift as soon as he reached it.
The doors opened and Squall found himself facing Quistis, Zell, and Selphie, all looking a little worse for wear. There was a moment of silence, then Selphie let out an excited squeal and jumped forward to hug him. "Squall! You're awake!"
Quistis looked down at Squall's clenched hand. "You should still be in bed," she commented.
Squall considered his options: He could leave the propulsion to these three, send them to Kadowaki, or take them with him. It wasn't a hard choice.
"Come on," he said to Selphie, pressing her into the lift with the others and following. "Did you hear the announcement?" he asked as he ran the card through a small reader under the line of buttons.
"Announcement?" Zell parroted dumbly.
"We were with NORG," Quistis admitted. "It didn't go well."
Squall took in their battle weary appearances and nodded. "Irvine messaged me; Galbadia Garden is mobile and on its way here. They should be arriving within about three hours."
"Fuck," Zell swore.
"Code Red again?" Quistis asked grimly.
Squall nodded. "Cid said there should be a way to get Balamb mobile too."
"We're coming with you!" Selphie declared. After a pause, she added, "Right?" in a quietly hopeful voice.
Squall nodded. "Right."
Selphie beamed at him.
"Garden is mobile?" Zell wondered quietly.
"Cid said all of them are," Squall offered. "He's not sure how it works, he just knows it does."
"This could very well explode in our faces," Quistis pointed out grimly.
"What choice do we have?"
The lift jerked to a stop and they all froze, trading worried looks. After a long moment, Zell carefully stepped over and pried the doors open, only to find nothing but the walls of the shaft. "Shit," he muttered.
Squall's eyes darted up, towards the ceiling, then down at the ground. There was a small hatch there and he knelt and pulled it open. "Here."
"Good eye, man," Zell agreed as Selphie slipped through the hole and started down the ladder set against the wall. After a moment, Quistis followed the smaller woman. "Go on," Zell pressed, waving Squall forward. "I'll take the rear."
Squall nodded and slipped through the hole, taking care that Revolver didn't catch on the edge.
Squall had just reached the tunnel the girls had slipped into when the lift gave a scraping sound above them and started to descend. He jumped inside, then held out a hand to help Zell in before the box went flying past them.
"That was dangerous," Zell commented, holding a hand over his heart.
"I hope there's another way up," Quistis added.
"Hey, I can't get this open!" Selphie called.
Zell pulled the hatch open and jumped down, eyes darting about for a moment. Finally, he called up, "All clear. Seems to be an oil stratum."
"Everyone have fire magic?" Squall asked once they were all on the same level again. They took a moment to check their stocks, junctioning the fire magic to their weapons and ensuring it was in easy grasp in their minds. Selphie also checked to make sure Ifrit was ready for battle. Then they set off.
It was a long way down too many ladders. Eventually, they hit what appeared to be a dead end, of sorts. Selphie spotted the rusty ladder. "There."
"Aw, man..." Zell groaned, flexing stiff hands.
"Where does it go?" Quistis wondered, all of them following the line with their eyes up into a catwalk, which went across to a room covered by glass windows.
Zell groaned again.
Squall unbuckled Revolver and held it out to Selphie. "I'll go," he announced.
"You shouldn't be climbing around–" Quistis started.
"I'm going," Squall repeated, voice leaving no room for debate. Selphie obediently took the gunblade, so he started up the ladder. About halfway up, it let out an ominous crunch in warning and tore free from the wall.
"Squall!" Quistis and Selphie screamed below him.
Squall grunted as the ladder slammed against the glass surrounding the room he'd been heading towards. His death grip on the ladder managed to save him, though his legs had slipped free. It took him a moment to get his feet hooked back between the rungs so he could slip up the rest of the way. He jumped onto the steady floor of the room he'd been aiming for and took a moment to breathe, holding trembling hands together against his chest until they'd calmed enough for him to press a button which opened a slot of floor near the others.
He moved carefully but quickly back down the ladder, only to be met by a shaking Selphie, who wrapped her arms around him and hid her face against his chest. Behind her, both Zell and Quistis were pale, but more composed.
"Next cruddy ladder we come across, you're not climbing," Zell informed him.
Squall silently agreed to that and looked down at the brown head pressed against his heart. "Selphie, we need to keep moving."
Selphie finally pulled back, eyes dry but dark with worry. "I know. You're okay?"
"I'm fine," Squall promised and took Revolver back when she held it out to him.
"This ladder looks much more steady," Zell announced from the opened gate above the opened section of floor.
They slipped down and Zell flipped the switch at the bottom, opening a door on the far side. Before they could reach it, a couple Oilboyles jumped out, which they took care of easily enough. Through the door, they found a line of consoles and all of them sort of stood there in numb disbelief for a moment.
Selphie jumped forward at last and started pressing buttons like a woman possessed.
"Selph!" Zell shouted, moving to grab her.
"Wait," Squall ordered, touching Zell's arm.
There was a loud 'boom' and the machinery beyond the consoles sparked and glowed, starting to move with the creaking groans of disuse. The platform they stood on shuddered, then started to rise, faster and faster.
"Look out!" Zell shouted and they all covered their heads as the ceiling approached, only for them to pass right through it.
The platform came to a stop in the Headmaster's office, high above the large desk. Above them, Garden's halo had begun spinning and glowing ever brighter. It started to descend, going smoothly through the walls of their home as if they weren't even there. The building gave a groaning shudder and dust kicked up in great clouds beneath them.
"Wow," Quistis breathed, leaning over the edge of the controls to watch the mountains moving beyond the clouds of dust.
"We're moving," Zell realised, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Awesome."
"We did it!" Selphie crowed, spinning in place, then grabbing Squall's hands and dragging him around the platform in a half-dance, half-stumble sort of move. "We did it!"
"You did it," Squall insisted, letting her lead him around for a few steps before pulling his hands from hers.
"I never would have reached the controls without you and Zell and Quisty," Selphie informed him, giving him a playful scowl. "So we did it."
The doors below them opened and there came the sounds of surprise. "You did it!" Cid called up to them.
"We are awesome," Zell informed them all with a grin. Quistis and Selphie laughed while Squall shook his head, silently pleased.
A small lift at the edge of the platform whirred, bringing Cid, Xu and Kadowaki up onto the platform. "Amazing," Xu breathed, joining Quistis at looking over the moving mountains.
Cid clapped Squall on the shoulder, looking like a proud parent. "Well done. All of you."
Kadowaki came up to Squall's other shoulder, smiling as she got a good grip on his bicep. "Crisis averted. You, infirmary."
"I know," Squall agreed, not fighting when the doctor started pressing towards the lift.
"Squall!" Zell shouted, a note of panic in his voice. "We're going to crash into town!"
Squall pulled away from Kadowaki without a second thought and hurried over to Zell's side. Indeed, Balamb Town was approaching at a fast clip. "Selphie, can you turn this thing?" he asked in a surprisingly even voice, turning his own attention to the controls.
Selphie chewed her lower lip and reached out to press a couple buttons. "I don't know," she admitted.
Squall shoved at a button next to him that he remembered Selphie pressing before the platform moved up, then motioned to a small joystick just out of his reach. "Left!" he ordered and the small young woman immediately shoved it to the left.
"We're turning!" Zell called, relief in his voice.
Squall's eyes darted over the controls, cataloguing each one and trying to compare them to the various vehicle controls he'd studied over the years. Next to him, Selphie was doing the same, flicking a switch to ease their speed.
"We're going to crash into the sea!" Zell called in warning.
"Brake on your left," Selphie said to Squall, but he was already pressing it. Garden shuddered warningly beneath them, but came to a stop along the beach, hovering just out of reach of the waves.
They all took a moment to breathe, Squall and Selphie trading knowing looks. It was Selphie who announced, "There's no way we can hold our own against Galbadia Garden like this. We need time to figure out the controls, and the whole thing is sluggish with disuse."
"Are you saying we should... run away?" Xu wondered.
"Tactical retreat," Squall corrected, grimacing at Xu's wording. "Facing them like this is little better than facing them without any mobility."
"I agree," Cid piped up. "Fisherman's Horizon has some of the best technicians alive, having come from Esthar. Perhaps they can help us figure out and improve the steering system?"
"What about Balamb Town?" Zell asked before the two quasi-pilots could get the building moving again. "If Galbadia Garden is coming this way, they'll be caught in the crossfire."
"And we should get word to Trabia Garden!" Selphie realised. "If they can get their system up and running, that'll mean two Gardens against Galbadia!"
There was a long moment of silence before Squall realised everyone was looking to him. 'What? When did I become the one to make all the choices?' he silently complained, closing his eyes. 'Trabia would be a valuable ally, but without access to our ground cables, we have no way to contact them. And we can't leave Balamb Town without warning them, Zell is right.'
"Selphie, let's see if we can back this up a bit. If we can land, we'll send a small party into Balamb Town to warn them about Galbadia Garden and send a transmission to Trabia," he decided, then looked at Cid. "Sir?"
Cid beamed. "Excellent! I'll leave it in your capable hands!"
Squall fought the urge to punch the Headmaster and turned back to the controls. Together, he and Selphie managed to back Garden up a bit and land it, though they listed to the side a bit.
"Who all should go into town?" Cid wondered, watching Squall hopefully.
"I'm going," Zell insisted.
Squall glanced over at the fighter and nodded. "Good. Pick a couple of other townies and explain the need for speed to them. You need to get back here within the hour. Selphie," he turned to the brunette, "go into town with them and send out a message to Trabia. Tell them about the controls as best you can, as well as how we got to them. No more than an hour."
Selphie nodded. "You got it!" she agreed, moving to join Zell on the lift down.
Squall turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Perhaps an announcement to let everyone know what's happening?" he suggested drily.
"Oh! Right!" Cid blustered towards the lift. "Good idea!"
"I'm going to go check on the junior classmen," Xu decided. "Maybe we can leave a couple of them in town."
"It would probably be safer than in Garden," Quistis agreed, joining her friend on the lift. "Squall, you'll be okay?"
Squall waved them off, leaving him with a disapproving Doctor Kadowaki.
"You need to be resting," she informed him as Cid's voice echoed in the distance over the intercom.
Squall looked away, hands clenched against the tremors.
Kadowaki sighed. "Cid has a room up here, off to one side. He should probably move to a dorm room, anyway, but you can use that room to get some rest. At least until everyone gets back from town."
Squall nodded. "Okay."
"You and Selphie can trade off controlling Garden once we're under way," Kadowaki added as they moved to the lift down into the office. "I don't know how long it'll take to reach FH, but I'm going to insist that neither of you spend more than four hours at a time up there, understood? You can switch off and get some food or rest."
"Okay," Squall said again.
Kadowaki waved him into the small room just off the office. "I'll let Cid know and send some food up. I don't care if you sleep, but you need to rest."
"I know." Squall settled obediently onto the bed and started tugging his boots off. That seemed to be good enough for the good doctor, for she turned and left him to it.
Squall unhooked Revolver, then laid back against the bed, exhausted. His mind was a mess of thoughts and calculations, too busy for sleep, but he closed his eyes anyway, trying to quiet everything enough to reach his usual calm.
'I'm not a leader,' he thought, the moment up on the platform returning to him against his will. 'I don't have all the answers; I can't decide everyone's fate. I can barely take care of myself, why do they expect me to take care of them, too?' He clenched his fists against the tremors. 'Just... I wish I could go back in time. Back to simple duels with Seifer at the bottom of the mountains and classroom lessons about the things we might, one day, face. I wish...' Squall twisted on the bed until he was curled against unfamiliar pillows, his foetal position the only outward sign of weakness.
'We can't go back, only forward,' he snapped at himself. 'There's no time for wallowing in self-pity. I'm not a leader, but they expect me to lead them. They look to me for answers, even the Headmaster, and I...' He swallowed and clenched his eyes shut against the world, curling ever tighter. 'There are thirty-seven SeeDs, twenty-nine faculty and staff members, forty upper classmen and eighteen junior classmen in Garden. Cid is even more of a mess than I am, and I can't just give up on them. This is my home. This is all I have, and I won't lose it to my own insecurities any more than I will to some Sorceress with too much make-up. I will survive anything for these people. That is my duty as SeeD.'
Decided, Squall drifted off into a troubled sleep.
-0-0-0-
A/N: Not sure how I feel about Squall in that last bit there, but I hate how he just sort of rolls over and takes it in canon without any explanation as to why.
'Cause somebody is going to ask: Ellone was collected by the White SeeDs while Squall was dead to the world. So, pre-mobile Garden. XD
Also, Laguna dream #4 – fighting the Ruby Dragon for the film shoot – happens while Squall is out.
Selphie totally figured out the controls of the Ragnarok in a snap, in canon, so it makes a certain amount of sense that she would be able to at least figure out something in Garden. Also, all those years of learning and training must have taught the lot of them something other than how to swing a blade around. It makes sense to me that they would have learned a bit about various vehicle controls, and Squall is logical enough to reason out the mechanics of the controls. Especially considering most technology must be based at least somewhat on Centran technology, which is what the Gardens are.
Or maybe they just pulled things like cars and boats and Ragnaroks out of their pretty white asses. I dunno.
Pink dandelion fluff. Jeebus.
~Bats ^.^x
Translations for Irvine's messages:
GG, BG, TG - Galbadia, Balamb, or Trabia Gardens
SE - Sorceress Edea
DD - D-District Prison
MB - Missile Base
SA - Seifer Almasy
RH - Rinoa Heartilly
1 - Hiding Betrayal |||
3 - Every Little Earthquake ||| 4 - Faraway Reflections
5 - Guilty By Association ||| 6 - Clouds Are the Future
7 - Sins of Our Tongue ||| 8 - Every Hero Has a Path, Every Sinner a Future
9 - Gather Your Strength ||| 10 - Forever's Never Too Long
..
