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FISHERMAN'S HORIZON

"What a night. Great music, good-looking guy. Not only is he good-looking, he's the sweetest guy, a great listener. Right now, he's seriously thinking about what I said. He's shy and doesn't say anything, but I know." -- Rinoa Heartilly



"Put your seatbelt on," Seifer said. His words were the first spoken since they had left the D-District of Galbadia on a passenger train. She had been giving him her own special silent treatment for his refusal to allow her to join Selphie on their trip to the missile base and he liked that just fine. But he was a fast driver under normal circumstances and these were not. He planned to redefine reckless driving in the five miles between Balamb and B-Garden and he didn't particularly feel like listening to any complaining, although the possibility that she might get injured was not exactly an unpleasant one.

Rinoa sat silent in the passenger seat and did not move.

"Put it on," he said.

She folded her arms and looked out the window.

Always with the bullshit.

Seifer pursed his lips and decided he didn't care if she got hurt. He threw the car into gear, wishing that the rental agency had had an offroad vehicle to offer him. This sedan wasn't going to take much cross-country driving. But hopefully it could at least attain some speed. He stomped on the gas pedal and the back tires screamed and left black tracks on the asphalt behind them as they tore out of Balamb.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rinoa struggling to latch her seatbelt, but the sight didn't satisfy him as it might have in earlier days. He didn't care about winning with her anymore. He just wished she would go away.

"I don't understand you, anyway!" she yelled over the sound of the wind tearing through the open windows, forgetting her silent treatment. "What do you care if Garden gets blown up? I thought you hated the place!"

He didn't answer her, although it was a valid question. Garden hadn't treated him as well as it might have, passing grades or no. True, he had had some good times there. He was the head of the Disciplinary Committee, and the other two members of the DC were his best friends. They had some power over the rest of the students, which was nice, but it had come from the Garden Faculty, which was not so nice. He hated those bastards, with their slimy smiles and condescending voices. They offered him petty control over others, but did they really think he didn't understand that the position they gave him was little more than worthless? Did they really think he would be that easily satisfied? He understood power and even wanted it, but he wanted it on his own terms.

He was certain that most of the other students, even the SeeDs, were unaware that the Garden Faculty was truly in charge of Garden, not the Headmaster or his administration. It was true that Cid was a decent and kind man but he was also a fool.

Seifer couldn't even really say that he wanted to save Garden purely because of the lives at stake. He'd seen enough death that when it happened it was not a big deal, and he honestly thought that the world wouldn't really be a better or worse place if it were missing some of his fellow cadets and peers. He knew this was probably not a healthy worldview, but he didn't care. He just didn't place the same value on human life that other people did. Perhaps he had been raised badly. He wouldn't have been surprised, considering the incompetence and corruption of the people who administered the system in which he had grown up.

What it really came down to, he knew, was Squall. He just didn't want Squall to win. If Squall wanted to destroy Garden, Seifer would do everything and anything in his power to stop him. If Squall wanted to outlaw cakes, Seifer knew he would find himself in Timber with that woman, what was her name, wielding icing spatulas into the wee hours of the night and planning underground bake sales.

He was fully aware that he was somewhat irrational when it came to Squall Leonhart. It wasn't even that he hated him. He wasn't sure what it was. In weaker moments he thought that it might be that he saw a lot of himself in Squall, only Squall didn't seem to have his flaws: ambition, temper, and the tendency to think he was better than everyone else around him.

They both drew people to them. People admired Seifer and were eager for his approval. But people respected Squall. And that bastard didn't do anything Seifer could understand to get them to feel that way. In fact, he acted as if he'd rather have everyone just go away so he could be alone. Seifer didn't understand Squall's attitude and it infuriated him past all reasoning.

"Well, it looks okay," Rinoa shouted.

He took his eyes off the road and looked. Garden did look okay, gleaming peaceful and blue in the afternoon sunlight.

"Missiles may still be coming," he said as he pulled up the front gates and parked illegally. "I need to report."

Rinoa got out when he did and they walked through the main gates together. As they ascended the three low curving steps that led to the outer court Seifer stopped. People were running everywhere, scurrying from place to place. Some of them looked almost panicked, others enraged.

"What the hell is going on here?" Seifer said, surprised. A few feet away a Garden Faculty member stood, shouting randomly to the people running by him.

"Find the headmaster! Seize him! Kill him if you have to!" the man yelled, shaking fists hidden in the folds of his maroon robe. He turned and saw Seifer and Rinoa. "Are you for Cid or the Garden Master?" he demanded.

"The Garden Master," said Seifer, who wasn't a fool.

"All right," said the man, glaring. "Go find Cid. Members of his faction are protecting him. Kill them if they interfere."

"Yes, sir," said Seifer, and turned away. "Let's go," he said to Rinoa.

They ran toward the next set of stairs that led to the inner court.

"What's going on?" asked Rinoa. She sounded frightened.

"How should I know? Something crazy." He thought he did know, actually, but he wasn't going to share that information with Rinoa. If he played it right, this could be a big opportunity for him. Provided they could find the headmaster.

They ran through the inner court and through the passthrough gates into the Garden proper. There was no one attending the gates, which was the most telling sign of chaos. Someone always manned the passthroughs. The people running with them and against them paid them no attention. Confusion reigned, and Seifer was glad. They could get a lot done as long as matters stayed disorganized.

As they approached the Directory, he spotted Raijin and Fujin. They saw him too, and Raijin cracked a huge relieved smile. The glint in Fujin's eye told Seifer she also was pleased to see him.

"Boss! You're back!" Raijin shouted.

"Of course I am," Seifer grinned at them. "What's going on?"

"Not sure. At first they were talking about rounding all the SeeDs up, ya know? Now everyone's either siding with the headmaster or the Garden Master. Fighting everywhere."

"Disturbing," Fujin agreed.

"Why SeeDs? And where's the headmaster?"

Raijin shrugged. "I dunno."

"I need to see him. This place might be about to blow sky high."

"We'll help you look," said Raijin. "We'll get the library and the Training Centre and the parking lot and meet you at the dormitories?"

"Sounds good," said Seifer.

"Caution," Fujin said to him, and then she and Raijin trotted toward the library.

Seifer looked at Rinoa. She seemed nervous; her gaze flicked from person to person among the passersby. Well, nervous or not, she could at least watch his back. He drew Hyperion. "Come on. Let's get to the infirmary."

She nodded and they left the Directory. They were unmolested until they actually stepped into the infirmary hall. There another Garden Faculty member barred their path, but his back was to them. At his side stood two students in cadet uniforms, and in front of them, ready for battle, were two SeeDs.

Seifer solved the confrontation by sinking the tip of his gunblade into the back of the Garden Faculty member's neck. "Get out of here," he told the shocked cadets. "Missiles are coming." They were too stunned by their leader's sudden death to argue, and fled. Seifer wondered if they'd even heard what he had said.

The SeeDs saluted him, and Dr. Kadowaki approached.

"Doctor, we're looking for Cid. Do you know where he is?" asked Seifer.

"Well, he's not here," she answered. "Xu might know. Why are you looking for him?"

"Galbadian missiles may be coming this way. I need to tell him. And you need to get out of here."

"Are you serious?" she said, looking concerned. "Then I definitely have to stay. We can't have missiles without a doctor."

Seifer shrugged and left, Rinoa following him. He grimaced at the possibility that he would have to go through Xu to get to the headmaster. She loathed and mistrusted Seifer, and he hadn't even done anything to her. That he could remember.

They checked the Quad but the SeeDs there didn't know anything either. At the cafeteria he dispatched another Garden Faculty member, and the SeeDs holding the cafeteria for Cid told him that Xu had come up with a plan to make the Faculty think Cid was in several different places.

Great, he thought, frowning. It was definitely going to take some smooth talking to get past Xu. If he could find her.

They met up with Raijin and Fujin as planned at the barracks. Raijin's staff was bloody at both ends.

"Hey," he panted. "We didn't find him. But there was a hologram of him in the parking lot!"

"Xu's idea," Seifer said shortly.

"Elevator," said Fujin.

"Yeah," said Raijin. "She went up right before you got to the Directory."

"Come on," said Seifer, frustrated by the wasted time, and they all ran around the island corridor toward the front gates at top speed. They navigated the steps leading to the elevator with ease, and beside him Raijin skidded to a stop.

The doors opened obediently. They crowded in and Seifer tried the third floor, where the headmaster's office was. No luck.

"I hope she's on the second floor," he said. "That's all I have access to."

The second floor was deserted and quiet, stunning after the noise and chaos below. Seifer held a finger to his lips and walked quietly to where the elevator corridor connected with the curved main hall. He peeked around the corner toward the main classroom and saw her. She was standing quietly, back to him and arms folded, looking at the floor.

He motioned for the others to stay back and started sneaking up on her. She didn't hear him and when he got close enough he grabbed her and pulled her back against him. He swung Hyperion up gently to rest at her throat.

"Gotcha."

Seifer felt her tremble.

"What do you want?" she whispered.

"I need to find Cid."

"Why? So you can turn him over to your precious Garden Faculty?"

"No," he said, adopting a tone of patience. "I need to tell him there are missiles headed this way."

She stiffened in his arms. "You're lying."

"Galbadian missiles. I guess the sorceress didn't like it much when SeeD tried to take her out."

"I won't tell you where he is."

"Can you take that chance? All those lives in your hands. What if I'm telling the truth? That's a lot of blood, trust me."

"I don't."

"I swear I won't kill him."

"You swear!" She laughed derisively, and then suddenly transformed into a wild mass of struggling limbs, apparently unconcerned that there was a sharp blade to her throat. Seifer swung it away from her and let it slip to the floor. He gritted his teeth and held on, hoping she would tire soon. She was stronger than he would have guessed, and he had already had a long day.

Eventually she stopped and slumped reluctantly against him.

"I won't tell you. Kill me if you want, but it's too important."

"We were assigned to kill the sorceress, you know that," he said. "Well, we didn't manage it, and she's already bombed T-Garden." Xu stiffened, listening hard. "We split up and Tilmitt and Dincht went to the Missile base to try and stop missiles from coming here. Rinoa and I came back to warn Cid in case they failed. I've got to talk to him. Keeping me from him won't be important if we all get blown up.

"Hyperion is on the floor just there," he continued. "I'm going to let you go in a moment. Pick her up and cover me, take me to Cid. He's got to know."

"If you hurt him I'll kill you."

"I know," he said, and released her.

Xu whirled and Hyperion was in her hand in an instant. She examined his face for several long moments during which it occurred to him that she could easily murder him and warn Cid herself. But she gestured with his gunblade.

"Turn around. Go to the elevator, he's not on this floor."

He complied and as they rounded the corner Raijin, Fujin, and Rinoa looked at them with stunned horror. Raijin started toward them, raising his staff.

"No, Raijin," Seifer said sharply. "It's all right, we're going to see Cid."

Raijin stopped immediately, looking bewildered, and as they passed them Seifer laughed and said, "He's in his office, isn't he?"

Xu didn't answer, and Seifer called over his shoulder. "You three, come up after."

The tip of his own gunblade prodded him in the back, and he scowled as he entered the elevator. She followed, covering him, and stabbed the third floor button.

As they rose, he leaned against the elevator wall and looked at her. Her face was sweat-streaked and she glared back at him, a hard, furious look in her face. He guessed it would take very little to provoke her into violence, and did not speak. She'd hated him as long as he could remember, and he saw that she still did, that she feared him, and that she would not hesitate to kill him.

"What?" she said.

"Nothing."

When the elevator opened into the waiting room outside Cid's office Seifer felt a distinct sensation of déjà vu. Considering how many times he'd been called up before the headmaster in his years at Garden, this was understandable. The waiting room lacked chairs, a sadistic gesture Seifer had never been able to reconcile with the good-natured headmaster.

Seifer tapped on the wooden double doors of the office and opened them without waiting for a response, Xu hot on his heels. Cid finished standing as the two SeeDs entered. He clutched a pen in his hand, awkwardly, as if it were a weapon.

Xu opened her mouth, but Seifer was faster. He explained their situation as briefly as he could. As he spoke the tip of his gunblade, still in Xu's grip, dropped lower and lower. Behind him, the door opened, and he knew Raijin, Fujin, and Rinoa had arrived.

As he finished, the headmaster dropped into his chair and tossed the pen onto the desk. He stared at the calendar on his desk for a long moment.

"Xu, as the P.A. system is offline. I need you to go downstairs and initiate evacuation procedures."

Seifer turned toward her and she tossed Hyperion to him without a word. He saw that she was shaking, and then she pushed past Raijin and Rinoa and was gone.

"What about us?" said Seifer, turning back to the headmaster.

"I want you to assist her and then evacuate," he said slowly, folding his arms across his chest.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to stay here and see this to the end. This is my home."

Rinoa said, "No! You can't! Just come with us, please! You can always rebuild this place!" She sounded on the verge of tears.

"It's all right," said Cid. "I'm just going to try something."

"What?" said Seifer, frowning.

"There might be a way to save Garden," said the headmaster. Without warning he collapsed onto one knee, clutching his chest. Seifer started toward him but Cid waved him away. He stood slowly. "I'm too old for this," he said, giving a weak laugh.

"You're not in any condition to try anything," said Seifer, annoyed. "Why don't you let us do it?"

"Why should I let you?" said the headmaster, giving Seifer an even look.

"Because you can't," said Seifer angrily.

"All right," he said after a moment. "This building used to be a shelter before it was remodeled into Garden as we know it."

Cid reached in his pocket and drew out a small bronze key. He tossed it to Seifer. "This key will allow you to access the MD level. Below MD level is some kind of mechanism, but you have to get there through access shafts. It was part of the original shelter, and I think maybe it's a shield of some kind. In any case, you'll be safe down there even if it doesn't work and missiles do strike. It's pretty far down."

"We'll check it out," said Seifer.

He turned to the others. "Raijin, Fujin, you're with me. Rinoa, stay with the headmaster. Take care of him." For once she didn't protest, and he wondered what was wrong with her. Well, sooner or later he would find out. She'd never been one to keep much to herself.

"Good luck," said the headmaster, and Seifer returned to the elevator, Raijin and Fujin a comfortable and familiar presence behind him.

He fitted the new key in the lock and turned it. The elevator sank smoothly, passing level B1, and then stopped all at once.

"I think we're stuck," said Fujin after a moment, slight amusement in her voice. "Typical."

"Nah," said Raijin. "There's a hatch in the floor. Look." He crouched down and pried at the floor. A section lifted and through the gap they could see a ladder leading down into darkness.

One after another they descended the ladder. The elevator shaft was metal, discolored with age, and rusted. They climbed down nearly fifty feet before they reached the end of the ladder and the opening that indicated the final elevator stop.

Seifer swung inside and gave a hand to the others. As they entered, fluorescent lights flickered on overhead. "This must be MD level." He looked around. They were in a short corridor with a grated floor covered with rotted mats. He could see exhaust ducts and water lines running the length of the corridor. Another hatch was set into the floor at the end of the corridor and he tugged at the handle for a few moments before it flew open.

There was no ladder this time, just a drop to the next level. He could see more grate flooring and dropped down, hoping the grating was solid enough to support his weight. It seemed to be, and he moved out of the way so the others could follow. This was an oil stratum. Yellow lights gave the corroded metal walls a golden glow, and the rust here was bright red. Once the others were down he led them around a curve in the stratum where they encountered another ladder.

Later, he could never properly gauge how much time they had spent sliding down into red darkness. Their descent seemed endless, long enough that Seifer's calves were growing tired and rust marks from the ladder rungs stained his hands before they reached the room where the ladders ended.

Oil reservoirs made up the bulk of the room, set at floor level. He wondered how far below the surface they were. Would they even feel the vibration this far down if missiles struck? Or would they attempt to climb back to the surface and find their way blocked by melted, missile-twisted metal?

The smell of oil was strong but not unpleasant. As he looked, the surface of one of the reservoirs rippled.

"Oilers," he said. The creatures looked a bit like slugs, he knew, and manufacturing companies and large military bases sometimes kept them. They were more efficient at cleaning oil than filters and were less expensive in the long run as they had lifespans of several hundred years.

"Are they dangerous?" Fujin said.

"They can be," he answered. "Just don't make any quick movements and we'll be okay."

Raijin pointed. "Look. Cargo doors. I wonder where they go."

"Probably to more ladders," grumbled Fujin.

Raijin walked to a lever set in the floor and pulled it. "We'll find out." The doors slid open and they walked in single file along the bulkhead between two of the oil reservoirs and through the doors.

"This must be what Cid was talking about," said Fujin.

This room was enormous. Three massive metal cylinders leaned against each other, carved with curving grooves and banded with gleaming metal. Nestled atop the tripod they formed was a sphere taller than Seifer, grooved like the cylinders, and above this the dome ceiling was snaked with shining metal fixtures. In front of them was a large control panel where a solitary green light blinked.

Raijin moved toward the panel after examining the other machinery in the room. He looked excited.

"What do you make of it?" Seifer said.

Raijin touched the panel. "I think it's an engine."

"An engine?" said Fujin, surprised.

"We'll see," said Raijin, and then the panel lit up. Raijin tapped a few more buttons, and Seifer heard the rumble of machinery starting.

"This stuff is old," said Raijin. "I've never seen anything like it." The rumble turned into a whirr, and Seifer watched the grooved sections in the cylinders and the sphere start to rotate faster and faster, giving off sparks.

"Whoa," said Raijin as the machinery suddenly sank into the floor.

It wasn't sinking, Seifer realized after a moment. They were rising. Suddenly he was blinded, and threw his arm over his face. His stomach lurched as they accelerated, and he crouched instinctively as the platform shot upward. Only a few moments passed before the platform came to a smooth stop. He hadn't even had time to do more than think about panicking.

He looked around and met the startled eyes of the headmaster.

They had stopped near the top of the vaulted ceiling of the headmaster's office, and had apparently acquired both Rinoa and Cid on the way up. The glass walls of the office afforded a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.

Raijin whooped. "Some ride!"

Fujin, who had just regained her feet, kicked him in the shin.

"Was that it?" Seifer wondered.

Cid looked around, and Seifer could see both excitement and fear on the man's face. "I don't think so."

There was a great tremor, and movement caught their eyes. Something was spinning all around the outer skin of Garden, and suddenly everything was bathed in blazing blue light. Seifer squinted against it, and saw two spinning rings descend around them, until all he could see from his vantage point was the pale sky and the reflections of electric blue light off the shining surface of the Garden below them.

Then came a crash so violent that he would have been thrown off his feet if he had been standing, and a murky cloud of dust that instantly blotted out the sky. In the dark room the platform tilted, first one way, then another, accompanied by a hideously loud roaring that was soon pierced by shrieking proximity alarms.

"The missiles!" he heard Rinoa cry at the same time as Raijin yelled, "Are we moving?"

Then the roaring stopped as Garden tore free of the earth below them and thudded and scraped its way out of the dust cloud. The only sounds they heard as Garden gained enough altitude to avoid bumping the ground was the hum of machinery, far below them.

"My school is a /ship/," said Cid delightedly as the sky reappeared and trees flew by below them.

Seifer stood up. The sky turned white and the crack of explosions assaulted his ears. Garden tilted as the shock wave caught it and he fell and then skidded across the platform, where the safety railing caught and held him.

When he opened his eyes the dust outside was back, accompanied by a debris cloud of smoke and burning leaves. Garden regained its equilibrium and few serenely on. Soon he could once again see sky and trees. Beside him, Cid struggled to his feet.

"So this is the secret." He sounded wildly excited, and Seifer wondered what effect the stress would have on the headmaster's weak heart.

"I can't believe something this big can fly," murmured Rinoa.

They were all on their feet again, and Seifer joined the others in watching the green meadows and trees flow by underneath them.

"Well," said the headmaster, "we're safe for now."

"There were missiles," said Rinoa.

"Yes," said Seifer, thinking of Tilmitt and Kinneas and Dincht.

Rinoa must have been having the same thought. "Do you think the others are okay?" she asked him.

"Who knows?" He shrugged. "Maybe they couldn't get in. Maybe they got in and things went wrong. I don't think we have any way of finding out." He looked to Cid.

The headmaster shook his head. "I had an HD line accessing the outside world, of course, but it's gone after all this." He glanced at Rinoa. She was looking out the windows and didn't notice. "Which others? I assume Quistis sent you back here to warn us?"

"Not exactly." Seifer cleared his throat. "I think I should give you a report."

"Oh," said the headmaster. He picked at his red sweater-vest. "Well, there's nothing much we can do anything about right now, and I'm sure you all need a rest after today. I definitely need a nap. Seifer, why don't you come back here later and make that report?"

Seifer nodded. He should probably make a formal, written report, but he needed to sleep first. He heard Rinoa asking Raijin if there was an observation deck she could go to when Fujin touched his arm. He looked at her and she pointed her chin at the window.

"Balamb," she said.

He looked. The seaside town of Balamb was slowly growing bigger as they approached it, and he could see that if they didn't change their course they would crash right through it.

"Raijin," he said quickly. "Can you turn this thing? We're about to flatten Balamb at two miles an hour."

Raijin looked up from his conversation with Rinoa. His eyes widened and he ran to the control panel and looked hard at it. Everyone watched him with increasing tension. They were moving slowly, but even if the townspeople escaped the damage would be appalling.

There was a high-pitched hum and they lurched upward a few feet. "That's not it," Raijin rumbled, and tried a few more things.

"Hurry," said Fujin urgently, as Garden's shadow fell over the town.

"This should do it," said Raijin, fiddling with a yoke that had emerged from the panel. "I think."

Seifer watched as their angle of view changed a bit, and they were turning. Slowly, Balamb slipped out of view and the sea replaced it.

"Raijin? We don't want to be in the sea, do we?" Seifer said.

"Well," said Raijin, frustrated. "It's not responding. I'm sure Garden can float! This is an island, you know? Why would you put a flying building on a little island if it can't go over the sea?"

"Over, maybe," said Seifer. "It's into I'm worried about."

They could see individual waves now, and Cid said, "I think maybe everybody should hold on to something." They each grabbed a part of the platform's safety railing just in time, and felt Garden's deceleration as something below them caught in the water. The floor tipped forward, and as Garden landed in the sea the windows were obscured by a tremendous spray of water.

As the floor resumed the proper angle for standing, and Garden powered down, the hum of the engines faded.

Nothing happened.

"Well, I guess Garden can float," said Cid.

"Unless we're just sinking really slow!" said Raijin.

Seifer laughed aloud and ran his hand through his hair. "What now?"

"I guess we just drift," said Cid.

+++++

Fujin glared at the book she was reading. Three days on the water now, and she was going to go out of her mind. Raijin had been steadily driving her crazy this morning, telling her over and over again that she should go out to the observation deck and check out the view. She'd tried telling him she knew what water looked like, but he just didn't listen. Then he started wondering out loud where Seifer was and had she heard the new Rapid CD, she could borrow it if she wanted, did she want to? She'd started fantasizing about choking him to death and when he asked her for the third time if she wanted him to go get her something to eat she'd snapped and told him to go away.

At least he took that sort of thing well, shrugging and telling her she was too thin and he was going to go eat at least five hot dogs, and see you later.

She'd thought about running after him and punching him in the back of the head but knew she was too lazy.

Now she was in the library, reading a murder mystery. It was awful. Obviously, the narrator was the killer. She could tell because he was always tired in the morning, and never felt like he'd got enough rest. Oldest plot trick in the book.

Still, reading this crappy book was better than staring at the wall. Sort of.

Plucking the elastic strap of her eyepatch and letting it snap back against her temple, she couldn't decide whether she should get glasses or not. She liked to read but knew that lots of reading could damage her eyesight. And really, that would be unfortunate since she only had one eye.

A monocle. That's what she would get. No, that would look stupid.

Fujin realized that all this inactivity was making her weird.

She sighed and tried to read her book some more but she just couldn't get into it.

"Excuse me, are you Fujin?"

She looked up as a young woman with short brown hair sat down across from her.

Fujin glared.

"I'm Ellone. You are Fujin, aren't you?"

"Affirmative," she agreed reluctantly.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where Seifer is."

Fujin stared.

"I just need to talk to him."

Apparently everyone was looking for Seifer. Except Fujin, who knew that bad pennies always turned up eventually.

"Negative," she said.

Ellone didn't seem to mind her strange way of speaking. "Well, thank you anyway."

+++++

Fujin marched along the corridor and tried to appear grumpy. Seifer strolled beside her, pretending to examine his gunblade. Unsheathed weapons were prohibited in the halls of Balamb Garden, but Seifer never was one to care much about rules.

She strode a little faster, hoping to make him hurry a little and lose his dignity, but his long legs were more than a match for hers and he merely graduated from an amble to a walk.

He gave her a sly look and put his gunblade away. "So how's that arm? That tap wasn't too much for you, was it?"

"Negative," she growled. In fact, it did ache a bit and she'd probably have a bruise, but she would never admit that it hurt. It didn't matter anyway; he knew how hard he'd hit her. It was almost a compliment, anyway, that he wouldn't pull blows with her the way he did with other female students. It wasn't that he was chivalrous, just that he didn't think most girls required his full effort to defeat. And usually he was correct.

They'd just spent a happy hour or so in the Training Centre, fooling around at sparring and later abandoning their weapons for some unarmed combat.

She liked to spend time alone with Seifer, but it was an infrequent occurrence. He did like to prod her occasionally, and she enjoyed the attention. She knew what Seifer's brand of flattery looked like and this wasn't it. It was an honest desire to amuse, a liking born of respect. What was even more flattering was that sometimes, when it was just the two of them, he dropped the face he presented to the rest of the world. He could be tired or discouraged around her and it was clear that he didn't care that she knew.

What was more, she could talk around him without feeling self-conscious. He didn't mind her ruined voice, the result of a rather enthusiastic hug around the neck from her late foster father. She'd broken a glass, if she recalled correctly, and she counted herself lucky that he'd stopped before she died.

Lately she hadn't seen much of Seifer at all, with or without company. But it had been five days since the missiles, and they were forced into idleness. Classes had resumed, but they were SeeDs and therefore on standby. Unfortunately, there weren't many assignments to be had in the middle of the ocean.

The cafeteria was crowded, but Raijin's height and his broad shoulders stood out in a crowd. He waved them over to his table and she saw that he had secured lunch for all of them.

Raijin didn't have a lot going on upstairs, and sometimes she wanted to beat his thick skull against a wall, but he could be very thoughtful. He'd gotten her a double helping of spinach, which she liked past all reasoning, and a bagel.

She and Seifer set to, and they were nearly finished when a Garden Faculty member approached.

"Are you Student ID No. 41270?" he asked Seifer.

"I'm Seifer Almasy," he said shortly, and stabbed a spear of broccoli with his fork.

The man was unfazed by Seifer's rudeness. "The Garden Master wishes to see you. Report to B1 immediately."

"When I'm done eating," said Seifer, but the Garden Faculty member was already walking away.

Fujin watched Seifer chew, wondering what he was going to do. He didn't take very well to being given curt orders and she'd seen him throw chairs across rooms before. That was always fun to watch, and she could certainly use some entertainment.

But he just tossed his fork on the table and stood up. "You guys coming?"

Raijin shot to his feet. "Of course, boss."

"Have either of you seen Rinoa?" Seifer said suddenly, as they pushed their chairs in and left the cafeteria.

Raijin said, "Not since we were in Cid's office, you know?"

Fujin just shook her head. Even if she'd seen the girl, she wouldn't have admitted it. She didn't like the appraising way Rinoa looked at her, as if she were a rival for Seifer's affection. Fujin also didn't like the faintly smug expression that inevitably followed the appraising one. Seifer belonged to her and Raijin as far as Fujin was concerned; they were a posse. If Rinoa thought he loved her she was mistaken. And if Rinoa thought Fujin was in love with him she was equally mistaken.

Level B1 was a floor she had never seen. She looked around curiously as they exited the elevator and was immediately offended by the harsh blue light. The rest of the facility was colored with soothing pastel shades; this was garish.

Shouting caught her attention and reflexively she loosed her weapon from her belt. Two Garden Faculty members came into view from around the central column of the round room. They were dragging the headmaster toward the elevator, but he was putting up quite a fight, flailing arms and legs, and she wanted to laugh at how undignified they looked trying to restrain an enraged middle-aged man.

"You money-grubbing son of a bitch!" yelled Cid. "I wish I could go back ten or so years and kick your ass instead of signing that contract!"

The Faculty members tossed him unceremoniously to the floor and stalked away. Raijin ran to help the headmaster up.

"Hey, you all right?" Raijin said. "You don't look so good, you know?"

"I'm okay." Cid flushed and rubbed his neck. "Sorry you had to see that. Even useless old fools like me lose their tempers once in a while."

He shot a furious look over his shoulder and entered the elevator.

"That was interesting," said Seifer. "Well, let's find out what this is."

They rounded the curving wall and all three of them stopped short.

The Garden Master wasn't human.

Set into the wall was a large pod-like mechanical contrivance. Fujin could see several screens along the sides that presumably gave the Master access to HD lines. Nestled inside the pod was an enormous creature with skin that was nearly flesh colored, but with just enough orange tint to make him look like his diet existed mainly of carrots. His hands, however, were his most notable feature: they were abnormally large, and they moved back and forth dreamily, as if he was attempting to perform sleight of hand in slow motion.

"The Master of this Garden, Norg," announced a nearby Faculty member.

"YOU ARE THE SEEDS WHO WENT TO GALBADIA GARDEN?" Fujin almost smiled. Norg's voice was far worse than hers. He spoke in a very loud monotone, and his words were spoken with such speed and lack of inflection that it was though they were being shot out of an automatic weapon.

"Yes," said Seifer, for the sake of simplicity.

"GIVE ME YOUR REPORT ON THE SORCERESS," demanded Norg.

Fujin glanced at Seifer. He was frowning, which was not a good sign.

"We confirmed the order to assassinate the sorceress at Galbadia Garden--"

"THAT MARTINE," bellowed Norg. "HE SET YOU UP. THERE WAS NO ORDER FROM BALAMB GARDEN!"

Seifer was flushing, which was not a good sign. Fujin knew he hated to be interrupted. His voice was stiff when he spoke.

"At G-Garden we were introduced to Irvine Kinneas, a sharpshooter. We proceeded to Deling City and met with General Caraway--"

Norg was not listening, apparently still fixated on the traitor Martine. "I TOLD HIM TO TAKE CARE OF HER AND HE USED YOU TO INCRIMINATE ME! TRYING TO MAKE EDEA THINK I SENT YOU! THAT BASTARD!"

"You just said you told Martine to get rid of her," he said coldly. "It amounts to the same thing." Norg roared deafeningly, but Seifer continued. "She'd know SeeD was involved anyway-- it's not like she'd go after G-Garden and leave Balamb alone. Your stupid order got us in this mess, and those are the facts."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Norg thundered. "CID WON'T DO IT BUT I WILL! IF I GIVE HER THE SEEDS RESPONSIBLE SHE'LL HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!" He gestured violently at the attending Faculty. "TAKE THEM!"

Raijin whirled, his staff already out and spinning. "I never see you guys in the Training Centre, you know? You really want to try it? Get your heads knocked in, you!"

This seemed to convince them; they fled.

"USELESS FOOLS! I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"

"Pandemona," whispered Fujin.

Seifer was already climbing up the steep wall of the pod with quick and thoughtless grace.

"Hold on!" Fujin yelled and then Pandemona came, driving the air before her, invading a room that never saw a breeze. Seifer's coat snapped in the storm and then Pandemona took over.

When she came back to herself the room was still except for the sound of quiet weeping. It took her several moments to understand that it was Norg.

"I'm afraid of you," he sobbed childishly, trying to protect himself with his hands.

Seifer stood on the lip of the pod, gunblade ready. "You should be."

+++++

"He's here," said Doctor Kadowaki, "but he's not up to having visitors at the moment. He needs to rest for a few hours before he does anything much."

"It's urgent," Seifer tried, but even as he said it Kadowaki shook her head.

"Doctor," he heard from the first ward. "It's all right, I'll see him."

Kadowaki grimaced. "The headmaster is determined to drive himself into a heart attack," she said quietly. "You've got ten minutes."

"Thank you," he said, and slipped by her. Raijin and Fujin gave her respectful nods as they passed.

Cid sat on the bed, hands limply clasped between his knees. As Seifer saluted, the headmaster looked up and Seifer saw that his eyes were puffy and bloodshot. His hair was extremely mussed, and Seifer thought that the headmaster looked ten years older than he had a half-hour previously.

"Well, Seifer. What can I do for you?"

"I need to make a report."

The headmaster ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I have your report on my desk. I've even read it."

"No, sir. I need to make a new report."

"A new report?"

"Yes. You just saw us on B1?"

"Yes," Cid said slowly.

Seifer explained what had happened, what they had done. He had expected that Cid would be aghast at his murder of the proprietor of Garden, but he didn't even blink. In fact, Seifer wondered if the headmaster had even been listening; he'd finished his story, and Cid showed no signs of responding.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Seifer," he said unhappily.

"I'd like some answers," he said pointedly.

"It's a long story." Cid looked up at him miserably. "It's hard to believe even now that it's come to this." He sighed and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead.

"Norg was part of the Shumi tribe. They live in the north, underground, not far from where Trabia Garden is. Was. I met him when I was traveling, looking for funding to build Garden. He was interested in the project and thanks to his help it was completed.

"But running Garden is expensive--it's a financial black hole, really. We started dispatching SeeD to help support it. You're familiar with the process." Cid's voice took on a bitter tone. "Garden began to change. We lost sight of our high ideals, the truth was covered up--" Cid visibly stopped himself from saying more and instead gave a frustrated sigh.

"In any case, we soon reached financial stability, and pretty soon we were running in the black. Norg pushed for new Gardens, and that's how Trabia and Galbadia Gardens came to be.

"The truth, though. The truth is that Garden was never meant to be the home of an elite mercenary force. SeeD has its own destiny, its own reason for existing, a purpose that has been hidden behind mission profits and tuition and housing fees and paramagic patents for too long. So long that I think it's too late."

Cid looked up at Seifer miserably. "And it's all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" said Seifer.

The headmaster bent his head, and suddenly he looked old, worn out like a horse that has been used badly.

"I never forgot the truth, but I tried to ignore it as best I could. I thought if I left it alone it might resolve itself. I'm just a weak person. I'm ashamed of it, but I just couldn't face my responsibilities. I had a terrible choice to make and I couldn't do it. I just couldn't." He stared at his hands, clenched together in his lap.

"SeeD was created to destroy the sorceress. And now the true mission is at hand."

Cid crumpled a little and began to cry; it took Seifer several seconds to decipher his next words.

"SeeD's mission is to kill my wife."

+++++

The restless feeling that had been in him the last few days as Balamb Garden drifted serenely across the ocean had flared into a gnawing, relentless desire for action after Cid's confession.

Seifer lay on his bed in his quarters, twitching with boredom and frustration. While SeeD was sequestered on the ocean, their adversaries had free rein to do whatever they wished. He burned to escape the prison Garden had become and eliminate his enemies.

Again he lined them up.

Martine. He had purposefully thrown them at an impossible task that had almost no chance of survival, and was trying to play both sides.

General Caraway. In the same class as Martine. But he was Rinoa's father, and even with her constant protestations of complete loathing for ‘that man,' Seifer knew she would never forgive him if he murdered him. Imprisonment, then, if he didn't struggle. Death if he did, and Rinoa be damned.

Trepe. Traitor.

The sorceress Edea. What power did a sorceress have over him? None. He knew his abilities; he could take her. He was a SeeD; he would fulfill its destiny, flesh it out from a dusty dream into tangible, bloody reality. Cid's wife she might be, but Seifer would kill her, and Cid would thank him for it in the end.

Squall. He would watch his allies fall and his power crumble, and then he would die.

If he weren't trapped in Garden it would be so easy. A trip to Deling City to pick up Caraway. Then he would find and infiltrate Galbadia Garden. One man could do that easily.

He realized he was fidgeting and stilled himself.

A knock came at the door and he wondered, as he had wondered every time someone had come to the door in the last few days, if it was Rinoa, finally come to bother him after finishing whatever matter it was she had involved herself in.

He heaved himself off the bed and opened the door. It was Xu, and she looked tense.

"Seifer, do you know where the headmaster is?" Her voice was flat with anxiety.

"Probably still in the infirmary."

"Good. Listen, there's a ship approaching and it's Galbadian. I need to get Cid. Will you go up to the observation deck on F2 and make sure they don't board us?"

"I'm on it." Seifer whirled and snatched Hyperion off his desk. When he turned back to the door Xu was gone.

He trotted down the hallway, not bothering to stow his blade, and stopped near the end of the hall. He pounded on two adjacent doors with his fist and shouted, "Raijin, Fujin! Get out here, I need you on the observation deck!"

He didn't wait for them but took off again, not trotting but running full out. It felt like pure adrenaline was pumping through his veins rather than blood. Finally, something to do, someone to fight. It was all he could do to stay still in the elevator and not smash Hyperion into the walls.

When he opened the hatch from the second floor hallway to the observation deck the sun nearly blinded him. He blinked furiously and shaded his eyes, scanning the blinding waves for the approaching ship.

It was an older Galbadian model, a slim ship that was merely a short launchpad for hovercraft or helicopters. Everything of interest happened below deck, a design feature that made the ship very difficult to see when the rear fins were inactive. No wonder they had gotten so close before being spotted.

The hatch opened behind him and he turned his head. Raijin and Fujin stepped into place beside him, weapons out, and together they watched the ship until it was within hailing distance. Seifer's blood was racing. Was Squall aboard?

But when the ship slowed to pace the floating Garden and three men emerged from belowdecks, he saw that they wore white uniforms rather than Galbadia's blue.

From a distance two stories above, their faces were merely pink blurs, but Seifer could hear their shouted words easily.

"We're unarmed! We're coming aboard!"

He yelled back, slicing his gunblade through the air. "Think again!"

But grappling hooks sailed over the edge of the railing and slid into position. Seifer laughed in delight, more than ready for confrontation. He rushed toward the railing, intent on causing mayhem.

"Seifer! Seifer, it's all right," Cid's voice came from the hatch behind him. He halted reluctantly and turned. The headmaster had arrived, Xu accompanying him.

"You know these guys?"

"Yes. I've been expecting them."

Then the trio of white clad men vaulted over the railing, landing catlike on the deck. Seifer raised his gunblade again, but dropped the tip as they gave the SeeD salute.

"Headmaster, we've come for Ellone. It's too dangerous now." At the mention of Ellone's name, Seifer frowned. He'd heard that name somewhere before. Somewhere recently.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said the headmaster sadly. He took a deep breath. "Seifer, would you go fetch Ellone?"'

"Uh," said Seifer.

"Oh. I thought you-- don't you know who she is?"

"Affirmative," said Fujin unexpectedly. She gave Seifer a grumpy look and stalked through the hatch.

He and Raijin followed, catching her up easily as she marched toward the elevator.

"Fujin, who's Ellone?" said Raijin innocently.

Seifer grinned as they stepped into the lift.

"Fujin? Do you know Ellone?"

Fujin ignored him and pushed the ground floor button. The doors closed.

"Fu--"

"Shut up. She's just some girl who came looking for Seifer while I was in the library."

"What were you doing in the library?"

"Reading, what do you think?"

Raijin looked surprised, and Seifer suppressed a chortle.

The lift doors opened and they stepped out and walked toward the Directory.

"Fujin, why did she want to see Seifer?"

"Who wouldn't want to see me?"

"Idiots," said Fujin, and marched faster toward the library.

"Was she pretty, Fujin?" Seifer said.

"Hag," she said, and then they were all three striding into the library. Fujin threw out an arm and pointed to a girl sitting at a reading table.

"Ellone," she bellowed. All heads turned toward them.

"All right, all right," laughed Seifer. He walked across the carpeted floor and sat down across from the girl.

"So you're Ellone."

She was actually quite pretty, he saw as she smiled at him. Her sweet, heart-shaped face was framed by soft brown hair, and her eyes were bright.

"Yes, I am. And you're Seifer."

"Yes." He leaned toward her. "So tell me, Ellone, why would a Galbadian ship be here to pick you up? Why would the headmaster say it's too dangerous for you to stay here now?"

The smile faded from her face.

Familiar, she looked familiar. Her face wasn't new to him, and neither was her name.

"Have we met before?" he said abruptly. Almost at once he remembered the dream he had refused to admit to Zell.

Seifer had been a man named Kiros, a man who came to find his friend… but his friend was in love, in love with Raine, and she and Laguna took care of a little girl. Laguna hadn't wanted to leave them. Raine and… Ellone.

The little girl had grown up, and was sitting right in front of him. "Laguna left, didn't he?" he said to her, and watched as her face fell. She looked very sad.

"Yes, he did. He left for me. But he shouldn't have."

"You're doing it. You're sending these dreams."

Ellone bowed her head. "Yes. I'm sorry. People say you can't change the past, but if there's a possibility it's worth a try."

"You want to stop Laguna from leaving?"

"It's all gone wrong," she muttered. "He's got to stay, for more than one reason now. He's just got to."

She looked up at him suddenly, and her eyes were brilliant with tears. "I wouldn't have sent you, Seifer, but I had no choice. I know we were never close. I'm sorry."

While Seifer was trying to digest this, Xu appeared.

"Ellone, are you ready?"

"Yes," she said, and stood. Seifer looked up at her, feeling very confused.

"Seifer, keep doing what you're doing and maybe it won't matter if I fail. Kill her if you get the chance."

And then she was gone.

Raijin and Fujin joined him at the table. "What was that about?" said Raijin, bewildered.

"I don't know." Seifer leaned back in his chair, thinking. "She's right about one thing for sure, though. We were never close."

The front legs of his chair hit the carpet with a small thud. "As far as I know, that's the first time I've ever met her."

+++++

The triple chime of the PA system woke him. He rolled onto his side, curled around blankets, and sighed as the headmaster's voice came out of the intercom.

"Our PA system is up and it's great to be back on the air! I have several announcements for you today. I know the weather is nice, but I must stress that swimming is strictly forbidden for your own safety. Our engines are still unstable and they may fire up at any time. So you're all welcome to sunbathe on the Quad but please, keep out of the water. Classes will be resuming on..."

Seifer stopped listening, intending to go back to sleep, but Cid's droning voice did not stop. He disentangled himself from his blankets and looked at the clock. 0800 hours. He grimaced; he'd been sleeping late ever since they'd landed on the water.

He took a shower and was just pulling on his pants when there was a knock at the door.

It was Raijin and Fujin, wanting to go to breakfast. He swung on his trenchcoat and followed them to the cafeteria, where he waited in line sleepily for a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal.

The sun was brilliant today in an enameled blue sky. He leaned on his elbow and shaded his eyes as he ate.

He listened vaguely as Raijin tried to talk Fujin into a game of Triple Triad.

Where was Rinoa? Not that he wasn't grateful to be spared her presence, but he hadn't seen her in days and he was the only person she knew here. What was she doing, and why hadn't she been bothering him? Was--

His cereal bowl clattered to the floor as the Garden lurched suddenly. Sugary bits of wheat spattered Raijin from head to toe, and the sound of breaking china rang around the cafeteria.

He was shoved painfully into the table, and Fujin had fallen over backwards with a surprised grunt. As Raijin helped her up, Seifer looked around and saw people clinging to their tables everywhere.

Then Garden righted itself. Seifer pushed himself away from the table, wondering if the cafeteria lady would let him have another bowl. He was still hungry.

The PA chimed.

"This is the headmaster. We've landed at Fisherman's Horizon. Under no circumstances is anyone to leave Garden at this time. Seifer, please come to my office immediately."

Food forgotten, Seifer rose and made his way out of the cafeteria, Raijin and Fujin hurrying after him.

In minutes he was knocking on the headmaster's door.

"Come in," he heard from within, and opened the door. "Ah, Seifer," said Cid, smiling at him from behind the desk.

Seifer saluted. Behind him, he knew Raijin and Fujin were following suit.

"Yes, yes," the headmaster said dismissively. "As you may have guessed, I have a mission for you.

"When I said we'd landed at FH, well, really what I meant was that we sort of crashed into it. I need you to go find the mayor and apologize on my behalf." He stood and clasped his hands behind his back.

"It's important that you let him know that we come in peace. Fisherman's Horizon has a reputation of disliking warfare, so we are in a delicate position. I doubt they'll be happy to see us, but I'm sure you can smooth things over for us.

"Why don't all three of you go, and you can have a day out? Observe the town, you know. Be back by 1600 to report."

"Yes, sir," he said, and turned to leave.

"One more word, Seifer, if you please."

He gestured to the others to go on to the elevator, and turned again.

The headmaster looked different than he had the day before. He was smiling warmly, and there was normal color in his cheeks. He looked ten years younger than he had the previous day.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you."

"You are?" he said, nonplussed.

"Yes. I've always worried that you might not find your niche here, so to speak. But it looks like I shouldn't have. You've stepped up to the challenge admirably, yes you have."

Cid beamed fondly at him.

"I expect great things from you, my boy."

"Thank you, sir," Seifer said, and fled before the headmaster could see the flush rising in his face.

+++++

An hour later the Disciplinary Committee stood once again on the observation deck, gazing at Fisherman's Horizon. If the early morning sun had been brilliant, this late morning sun was blinding. Seifer had discarded his trenchcoat reluctantly in his quarters; it was just too hot, but he wished he'd thought to pick up a pair of sunglasses.

For over a week there had been little to see off the observation deck but glinting waves, but now there was almost too much to look at. Balamb Garden had crashed into one of the outlying docks on the northern side of FH. At least, Seifer thought of it as a dock, but in reality it and almost everything else he could see from this vantage point was a confusing hodgepodge of metal with no discernable purpose to any one piece or combination thereof.

FH was the midway point between Galbadia and Esthar and ringed the now abandoned railway that connected the two countries. The only part of it that was not jagged and rusting was the dazzling bowl that lay on the far side of the tracks.

"Well, let's get to it."

They had brought gear for rappelling down the side of Garden, but it had turned out not to be necessary. Seifer vaulted over the deck's railing and landed lightly on the metal walkway on the other side.

Raijin and Fujin followed, and the trio stepped carefully toward the city, heated air from the glittering metal below them rising around them like a warm, invisible fist.

At the end of the walkway they met their first civilians, one young man with dark hair, and an older gentleman who clenched an enormous smoking pipe between his teeth. They lounged on either side of the entrance to a lift that obviously led down to the city proper.

Both eyed them with interest, and Seifer noted that their gaze lingered on Fujin's unmistakably military garb.

"You're from that Garden," grunted the old man.

"Yes, I'm Seifer Almasy, here representing Balamb Garden." He smiled winningly. "We lost control and ended up here." He put an anxious look on his face. "I hope no-one was hurt."

"Nah, nah," the old man said irritably. "Just made a hell of a mess."

"We're very sorry," Seifer said, gritting his teeth in another charming smile. It was too hot. He didn't want to play nice with some provincial hick to complete his objective.

"Don't worry," said the young man. "We love fixing stuff. We'll have everything good as new in a jiffy."

The old man fixed a beady eye on Seifer. "That the only reason you're here? Out of control vehicle?"

Seifer adopted an expression of mild surprise. "Of course. I assure you this is a peaceful mission."

"That's fine, then," said the younger man. "We don't hold much with violence here. Just don't draw your weapons once you're inside and you'll be fine."

Seifer nodded.

"You'll want the mayor, I'm thinking. He lives in the dish on the south side. Can't miss it."

"Thank you," Seifer said, and they trooped into the lift.

As they walked through the outer edges of the metal forest, Seifer saw that the city seemed to be sparsely populated; there were people in ones and twos loitering outside of shops, watching them warily, and at the edges of the water a few people lounged with fishing poles in their hands and hats pulled low over their faces to guard against the glare, but there were no crowds and it was quiet except for the cry of seagulls and the lapping of water against metal.

"They like the quiet life," Fujin murmured as they approached the edge of the bowl that held the mayor's home.

"I could never live here," Seifer muttered, and Raijin snorted.

Even this close, standing on the rim of the massive depression, the reflection off the floor was so bright it was impossible to tell what was causing it. Only as they descended the long, shallow metal steps that led to the house at the very center did Seifer realize that the bowl was coated in solar panels.

At last they reached the platform in the middle. The two-story tower there, like everything else they had seen so far, was made completely of metal.

A sign on the front door said, ‘Enter, friends.' While Seifer was contemplating the likelihood of the mayor counting them as friends, a familiar female voice came from just the other side of the door.

"Thank you. Do let me know if you hear anything."

The door opened and Seifer found himself face to face with Quistis Trepe. She was wearing a flowered sundress and her golden hair was unbound, blazing around her face and down her back in the sun.

Beside him, Fujin let out a faint hiss, and his own arm twitched toward his gunblade before he caught himself. /We're in a delicate position/, the headmaster's voice said in his head.

Trepe didn't even blink. "Excuse me," she said, as though she'd never seen him before. Seifer didn't move and she edged around him, looking surprised at his lack of manners.

The door swung shut behind her and he found himself staring at it, feeling poleaxed. Inside him the struggle between what he wanted to do and what he knew he must do raged, and only when Raijin said, "Uh, boss, she's getting away," did he snap out of it.

"It's all right, Raijin. We don't have a choice right now, we have to talk to the mayor." He composed his features and set his hand on the door. "She's small fry anyway," he said, and pushed the door open again.

The interior of the house reminded Seifer strongly of a cargo bay. There was no furniture, and metal counters edged the round room. A friendly-looking woman with brown hair stood very near the door.

"Ah, you must be from Garden," she said, smiling. "I'm Flo Dobe. Come on upstairs, my husband has been expecting you."

She led the way, and as they emerged onto the top story Seifer saw that it was not so much an upstairs as it was a roof. There was still no furniture, although a large round rug covered most of the floor. It looked as though someone had intended on installing floor-to-ceiling windows, but had forgotten somehow the ceiling and glass.

Flo sat on the rug next to her sour-looking husband, and before Seifer could offer a greeting he said, "Allow me to get to the point. When are you leaving?"

"As soon as we can, Mayor Dobe," Seifer said soberly.

"Do you know when that will be?"

"No," said Seifer. "We've only recently discovered that our Garden is mobile. We're not adept at moving it, we're still trying to understand it. We think it may need repairs."

Mayor Dobe glared at him.

"You aren't here looking for Ellone like that other woman?"

"Ellone? Who's Ellone?" said Seifer in a puzzled tone. "Like I said, we crashed and now we're stuck. That's all."

"Hm," said the mayor. "What if I offered you the services of our technicians? They should be able to repair and service everything on your Garden. Centra manufacture, is it?"

"Uh, I don't know," said Seifer. "It sounds like that would solve both our problems, but I'd have to check with my superiors and get back to you. I could be back later today or tomorrow."

Mayor Dobe nodded, and glanced at his wife.

"Today, if possible."

"We'll go now, then," Seifer said, and inclined his head at each of them before leaving.

+++++

Seifer waited until they were well away from the mayor's house before speaking. They stood on an offramp of the main track, well away from any listening ears, sweating under the blazing sun.

"So Galbadia's looking for Ellone."

"No wonder those guys in white said it was too dangerous. Us stranded, and all. Wonder why they want her?" said Raijin.

Seifer told them quickly about his conversation with Ellone in the library.

"She can view the past, then? What's the big deal about that?"

"Well, she thinks she can do more than just look at it," said Seifer. "She thinks she can change it."

All three stood silently for a moment, thinking dark thoughts.

"I think we should go back now," said Fujin. "I'm getting the feeling that the sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Yeah," said Raijin. "Hey, do you think those technicians might let me work with them? If Garden really was built by Centra engineers, wow, that's--"

But Seifer gestured for silence. "Listen!"

There were shouts in the distance, growing closer, and with them a loud rumbling sound. Shading his eyes, he looked up at the main track, and within moments saw what the disturbance was.

A very battered Galbadian MRV was trundling unsteadily along the main track overhead, smoke billowing out of its turbines. A small group of very excited people followed it at a careful distance, hooting and shouting directions.

As it passed overhead he heard the crowd gasp.

"Get back!" he shouted, and leapt backward as the MRV tipped over the side of the track and landed on its side right in front of them with an enormous crash. The hatch at the top of the vehicle shot off and clanged on a supporting strut nearby before falling into the water below.

The MRV's engines failed and smoke poured out of the hatch. Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin ran toward it as a smudged hand reached out of the hole where the hatch had been and grasped at a railroad tie.

Zell Dincht, his hair filthy and drooping, his clothes wrinkled and smoke-stained, pulled himself out of the MRV and flung himself on his back across the tracks, eyes tightly shut.

"I need a hot dog," he moaned.

Seifer laughed, relief flooding through him, as Irvine Kinneas followed Dincht and then turned to help Selphie Tilmitt out of the vehicle.

He, Raijin, and Fujin hurried forward to help them to their feet. For a few moments, there was chaos as Raijin informed Zell at the top of his voice that he could probably get a fishdog on the way back, and Irvine, with Selphie sagging against him, semi-conscious, said, "The hatch jammed shut when we blew up the Missile Base. Reckoned they could get us out here, everyone knows FH is machine-crazy. Took us a week, though."

Selphie straightened and staggered forward a step, fixing Seifer with a desperate stare. "Is Garden okay?" she croaked. She looked far worse for the wear than the other two with dark smudges under her eyes that had nothing to do with smoke. "We got the base but the missiles still launched…"

Seifer grinned at her. "Garden's fine. We're going there now and you won't believe it--"

But Selphie threw her hands over her face then, shoulders hunched, and let out a sob. She swayed, her hands fell away, and Irvine rushed forward to catch her as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.

+++++

"So you ran into Quistis and you didn't take her?" said Cid, watching Seifer with an inscrutable expression.

Seifer grimaced as he stood before the headmaster's desk, wondering if he was about to receive a dressing-down.

"No. I wanted to, of course, but with Garden still immobile I couldn't do anything to further risk Galbadian retaliation."

"Naturally," said the headmaster, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. "Xu," he said to the woman standing next to his chair. "Go ahead and let the mayor know we'd be grateful for their help. I'd like to speak to Seifer alone."

Xu nodded and left the office, giving Seifer a look very similar to the headmaster's inscrutable one.

"So," said the headmaster, still smiling.

Seifer said nothing, still wary.

"You've showed remarkable restraint today, Seifer. Yes, that was really the only reservation I had, but you did splendidly."

"Sir?"

The smile left Headmaster Kramer's face, and he looked solemnly at Seifer for a moment.

"I'm turning Garden over to you," he said abruptly.

Seifer stared at him, not sure he'd really heard him properly.

"What?"

"You've proved to me that you know the right time to strike. You know our goal. Edea…" he looked down at his desk. "I think it's pretty clear that I can't do what's necessary. It was her idea in the first place," he muttered, "but neither of us ever thought she'd face SeeD herself. Or maybe I was the only one who was so naive."

He looked back up at Seifer and his voice was steady. "But you can do it. And you will. As of this moment, you're promoted to A status and you gain the title of Commander. I will reside as headmaster, but I can no longer be the director of operations. We need a battle leader, and you're it. You'll decide SeeD's destination, its tactics, and you will lead us in battle. Until the end."

Seifer stood, stunned, unable to believe this wasn't some sort of dream.

"Sir, are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, except that I love my wife. If someone's got to do it, I want it to be you."

"Thank you, sir," said Seifer, feeling slightly foolish.

Cid was smiling at him again, and his eyes were wet. "Don't call me ‘sir', Seifer, you outrank me. You'll embarrass Xu horribly."

"Wouldn't want that," said Seifer, and Cid laughed.

"Well now, I'm sure you have a lot on your mind right now. Why don't you go and tell your friends?"

Seifer nodded and turned away, feeling as though he had been suddenly dropped on the surface of an alien planet.

"Oh, one more thing!" called Cid, and Seifer turned back. His expression was sympathetic. "How's Rinoa doing?"

"Rinoa?"

"Yes, she didn't seem to take it very well, poor girl. I'm a bit concerned. Is she doing all right?"

"I haven't seen her since we left Balamb," Seifer said slowly. "What didn't she take very well?"

Cid's sympathetic looked turned into one of dismay. "Oh. I thought-- well, I think she should tell you herself, really. She's in room 146." The headmaster looked worried and slightly taken aback. "Really, you should go see her."

"I will," he nodded, and made his way to the elevator.

+++++

Seifer stood outside room 146 and debated. The realization that he was now the Garden Commander had set in, and his mind was buzzing with half-formed plans. He was starting to feel an urgent need to get working; what SeeD was going to do would take planning, and he wanted to strike soon before Galbadia stirred up too much more chaos.

But Cid had wanted him to check on Rinoa, and he knew he had to do it. As much as he wanted to stay far, far away from her the fact remained that there was definitely something wrong with her and he was the only person she really knew here.

Was this the proper time, though? He was feeling edgy and he knew he wasn't in a receptive mood for Rinoa's games.

He hesitated a few more moments, and then knocked on the door.

There was a very long silence, and he was just considering knocking again when her voice came from within, telling him to come in.

The door was unlocked, and when he entered the room it was dark. He could see Rinoa curled in a chair at the window, looking down on Fisherman's Horizon.

"Hello," she said in a very subdued voice, not turning to look at him.

"Hi," he said.

She didn't appear eager to take the conversation further and he sighed. He didn't want to be here in the first place, and now she was going to make him drag it out of her.

"I haven't seen you around. What's going on?" he said bluntly.

Rinoa did look around at him then, but he couldn't see her face in the darkness.

"My father's dead," she said, and looked back out the window.

"General Caraway's dead?" said Seifer, startled.

"Cid got the news on HD right before the missiles came. He told me."

He walked across the room and sat on the bed. The light from FH reflected on her face, and he saw it was wet with tears.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Rinoa didn't respond, and the desire to just leave took him. He fiddled with his gloves and stayed put.

"How did he die?"

"He was murdered. They found him in his office in the Presidential Residence. The room was locked from the inside." Her voice was bitter.

As he watched her, she began to cry in earnest. He stood and moved toward her, intending to give her some comforting gesture, but she held out her hand to stop him.

"Oh please," she spat. "Don't act like you care."

Seifer stopped and stood rooted to the spot, suddenly furious. "I'm not a completely insensitive bastard, Rinoa, no matter what you may think. You always act so crazy, you can't blame me for--"

"Me crazy!" she laughed derisively. "Me! I'm not the one with delusions of grandeur here!"

"You're wrong, princess," he said. "You're the one who thought she could take on the President of Galbadia with a few rebels and a moth-eaten train."

Rinoa jumped to her feet and flew at him. She shoved him, but she was so slight it was nothing to catch her and hold her away from him.

"And what about you?" she sobbed. "You and your dreams of power! Nobody in their right mind would let you drive a /schoolbus/, Seifer! Nobody!"

"I'm driving more than a schoolbus now," he said grimly. "Now sit down and /shut up/."

He swung her by the wrists onto the bed. She scrambled to a sitting position and looked up at him with every sign of hatred in her face.

"Cid just gave me command of Garden," he said shortly. He watched her mouth fall open with immense satisfaction. "It's SeeD's destiny to defeat the sorceress, and I'm going to lead us to victory. If you don't like it that's fine. You're welcome to leave."

Rinoa closed her mouth and stared at him. Her eyes widened and the hatred on her face vanished and was replaced with icy determination.

"I'm coming with you," she said fiercely. "That sorceress killed my father and I'm going to kill her. I'll go to the ends of the earth if I have to, but she's going to /pay/."

Seifer stared down at her, amazed.

"And if you try to stop me I'll kill you, too," she finished, glaring at him.

"I won't stop you," he told her. "I promise I won't."