Part 1 of my fanfic;"The Garden Conspiracy" by Darren "The Edge" Shier. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER ONE;"Homecoming" Zell slammed the dune-rover into 8th gear as the mighty desert vehicle thundered up over the sand dune and back down the other side.Quistis fumbled around with the map in the passenger seat. "How far now?" shouted Zell. "3 miles to the ocean!Get the lead out!"she shouted over the roar of the engine. Zell quickly downshifted then revved the buggy up to maximum to clear the next dune. "Incoming!"shouted Quistis,seeing the white vapour trail racing towards them. Zell wrenched back the handbrake back and swerved the buggy into a sideways turn.Even their sunglasses didnt really protect their eyes from the glare of the explosion as the dune to their left erupted into a cloud of airborne sand.They turned their heads sideways as the cloud rained down on them. Zell released the handbrake,shifted the gear up to 9th,and slammed his foot down on the accelerator.The buggy took of and roared over the dunes.As the vehicle launched into the air,they saw the blue diamond of ocean ahead of them.And in that ocean,a gigantic iceberg of white and blue that could only be Balamb Garden. Home. The sand to their right exploded,as did a section to their right. "They're firing mortars!"shouted Quistis. "Wait a few seconds"shouted Zell"We're almost to the ocean!"] Just as he said these words a projectile exploded almost right on top of the buggy,destroying the engine and flipping over the whole jeep. Quistis wasted no time in dragging Zell from the wreckage and hoisting him over her shoulder. "Come on,Zell!Dont go out on me."She grunted"Not far now." She turned her back as she heard the buggy explode,followed by the trundling of desert tanks as they drove towards them. She lifted Zell over her shoulders and sprinted towards Garden. "Come on,guys"she panted through gritted teeth"Give me a sign somebodys home!" At this,an ion cannon turret swivelled and locked onto the front line of tanks, which exploded into a miilion pieces of shrapnel. The rest of the enemy opted for retreat over taking on the might of a Garden. "Thank you,guys" she panted,smiling,and carried Zell toward the beach... * * * * * "Is he going to be alright?"asked Quistis,looking at Zell on the sick bed. "Just a slight concussion"reported Doctor Kadowaki"He'll be fine." "Thank Gods" breathed Quistis."I almost thought that he'd-" "Dont worry about it" said Irvine. "He oughta make a full recovery" agreed Selphie. "You can relax,Quisty" grinned Squall."There's no way old Zellie-boy would give up on life that quickly" "Course not!"laughed Irvine"He's a tough little soldier-boy!" Quistis looked at the group.They really were acting a little odd... She stood and saluted when Cid entered the room.Later she'd find it odd that the rest did'nt bother to. "Sir"she said"I'd like to make my report". Cid looked over toward Squall and Irvine.They simply nodded towards him."Uh,... ..proceed...Instructor Trepe" "Yes,Sir"she said,releasing from her salute,then standing with her legs spread and hands behind her back.Strangly,she seemed to be the only military presence in a room full of soldiers."My team-mate,Zell Dincht,and i set off at 1500 hours last tuesday on our mission to infiltrate a terrorist organisation named Shining Force and assassinate their leader,General Khao,as requested by the Centran parliamentary commitee.We parachuted into the Kaskabald desert from Ragnarok under cover of night.We made our way through the desert in the night,stopping only to change into suitable clothing that would allow us to blend in with the rest of the terrorists.We entered the compound and discreetly planted explosive charges.We spent several days in the compound,masquerading as new recruits to the movement. We studied General Khao's movements,calculating our best point of action.When the appropriate hour arrived,we detonated the explosives,killing the General.We then hijacked a dune buggy and made our way towards the rendezvous point,despite heavy fire from our persuers.My comrade was injured in our escape,Sir,but he shall make a good recovery i am informed" "Uh...well done,Instructor Trepe" muttered Cid."You've done Garden proud" "Thank you,Sir"she smiled"And now i think i'll go to my quarters and take a shower.You all know i hate those sandy missions" "Of course"grinned Squall. Quistis left them room with a slightly puzzled look as to their behavior."Oh!"she exclaimed,remembering."Where's Rinoa?I wanted to talk to her." The group all exchanged glances.Eventually Selphie spoke;"Uh,she's not here.She went to Timber.They were honouring her in some freedom celebration or something like that." Quistis looked over at Squall."And you did'nt go with her?"she asked. "I had more important things to do."he replied."I'm a Commander-you know how it is.She'll be fine with all her little ex-resistance buddies." "What about her Sorceress lessons?" "Edea?"said Cid."She had to go back to the orphanage,take care of a few things." "Oh,okay" said Quistis,and left. The rest of the group watched her go. "Tell the others to keep an eye on her"said Squall. "With all due respect,Sir"said Selphie."She doesnt appear to have any suspicions or be planning anything.She may prove harmless." "She's an unstable element."explained Squall."We've planned this to perfection.We've come to far to leave things up to chance now." "What do i do with him?"asked Kadowaki,indicating Zell. "Keep sedating him."ordered Squall. * * * * * * Quistis stood in the shower,rinsing the last of the shampoo from her golden blonde tresses."Oceans Breath-Actually Strengtens Your Roots!" the bottle had promised. Who cares?she thought.Just as long as it gets sand out of my hair i wont go blowing up the manufacturers. Damn sand.It gets everywhere.In your hair,in your mouth,up your- She stopped this line of thought and focussed instead on what was going on within Garden.Everybody seemed on edge.Busy and buzzing.He had'nt seen the SeeDs and students like this since the Sorceress War a few months ago. She'd stopped by the elevator,but Nida had told her that they were having problems with the lifts drive-system,and the upper decks had been temporarily cut off. Also,she'd noticed the behavior of the population of the Garden.There did'nt seem to be a lot of the usual merry Balamb Garden feel.It felt more like Galbadia Garden,where everyone was busy acting all...soldiery and militaristic. In the cafeteria,everybody seemed to eat in general silence.And not ONE of the Trepe groupies had tried to chat her up. Even that trio of female students seemed oddly quiet,as if they were on duty in an army barracks somewhere. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towl around her body and one over her hair. She was startled by an image of Rinoa in her mirror."What in the Seven Hells...?" Rinoa looked pretty out of it,like a junkie looks when they're so stoned they cant even figure out where they are or whats happening. "Rinoa?" "...help....me..."she said to Quistis,before her image melted away to be replaced by Quistis' own familiar features."Whats going on?" she wondered,aloud. That night,she had difficulty sleeping,trying to puzzle out the image of Rinoa in the mirror,before drifting into a dreamless sleep... * * * * * The following morning,she sat at her desk,idly tapping her fingers against it.She glanced away from the desk and up to face a completely empty classroom.Not a single student turned up yet,and absolutely none had bothered to even log a late notice onto her terminal.Not even Irvine,who was usually one of the first to arrive. She sighed and consulted her terminals chronometer-0914 hours. She'd give them fifteen more minutes then she'd go complain.Funny,Before the war i would have even disciplined Squall for being two minutes late.Why am i being so lax now? "Probably because times like these are the only chances i get to actually do some reading..."she sighed to herself,slipping on her glasses and raising the book from her lap.A dog-eared old pulp romance novel-"The Singers Soldier",a tale set in the first Sorceress war 17 years ago.The author had either remained anonymous or was simply a victim of Galbadian censorship of that era.Supposedly,the author had based events from the book on incidents in his own life,but like any other writer, he'd used a bit of artistic licence... "...The Soldier sat in the Singers room.The one in the hotel he'd frequented whenever he'd had the oportunity to return from the front lines of the war."Sit down"she said."Make yourself comfortable."His leg began to cramp again.This always seemed to happen whenever he was around her..." * * * * * * * Zells eyes slowly opened into two tiny slits.He squinted hard,trying to see the figures in the room at the end of his bed while at the same time trying to make himself look while he was still asleep. He'd been roused from sleep by the sounds of voices.Voices speaking in Galbadian. He'd expected to wake up in a Centran prison camp,only to find that he was in the Balamb Garden infirmary.He also reminded himself that Centrans spoke in Centran. Not Galbadian.So he looked down the bed,squinting to look asleep.There was Doctor Kadowaki and Selphie...speaking in Galbadian. "Nu masta te gamat."said Selphie. "Bron Canrato elieas gamat!"hissed Kadowaki.They seemed to be argueing.Zell did'nt speak Galbadian,so he did'nt know what they were argueing about.But he knew for a fact that Selphie did'nt speak it either.Not even most Galbadians spoke it anymore. It was becoming a dead language,as places like Galbadia and Cetra were following the lead of Trabia and Esthar,adopting Balambese as their first language.Almost the entire world spoke Balambese. "Te gamat hakimm suos sek Thrax!"shouted Selphie,storming off.Kadowaki breathed a sigh of annoyance,then turned and walked back to Zell,who sealed his eyelids.She removed a hypodermic syringe and injected a substance into his drip-feed. He waited for her to return to her desk before silently slipping the drips line into his right hand,squeezing it,thus preventing whatever was in the bag from entering his body.Now all he had to do was wait for two things;his strength to return,and a good moment to present itself... * * * * * * * Squall looked at the computerised digital Notepad in front of.He then glanced back at Xu,who'd just handed it to him. "This is all Estharian gibberish."he said,angrily."Odine himself could'nt figure this crap out." "I'm sorry,sir"apologised Xu."I'll get them to re-type it." "No.Get them to run the experiments again."ordered Squall. "Yes,Sir"she said,walking away. "Squall!"shouted Quistis,storming down the hall."What in The Seven Hells is going on?".Not pausing,she barged right up to him. "What?" "What makes you think you can mess around with my classes and not inform me?" "What are you talking about?" "No,dont give me that ignorance bullshit!Not one of my students turned up for any of my classes at all today,not even Irvine!And then i find out you've got all my students reporting to you!" "I'm the Commander,Trepe.They all report to me!" "Maybe on the battlefield,but when classes are concerned,being Chief Instructor,I call the shots!" "Well then,lets take this all the way to Cid!" "Fine!"shouted Quistis."I'll inform him myself!".She stormed off in much the same way as she'd arrived. Within minutes she found Cids office.She'd had to take the auxiliary staircases, as the lift system still seemed inoperable. "Sir"she cried,not bothering to salute."Somethings wrong with Squall." Cid Kramer swivelled round in his chair."Pray tell"he said,grinning. "Well,for starters he seems much more bossy than usual.He's got everyone calling him `Sir` all of a sudden." "Probably just finally getting used to his rank" theorized Cid. "And he lets Rinoa go back to Timber all alone" she said,ignoring the vision of her in the mirror."Does that sound like Squall to you,letting her go off alone to a place where there may be disgruntled Galbadians who'd love to get their hands on a former resistance fighter?" "Last time i checked she was a Sorceress.She CAN take care of herself" "And now he orders all my students to drop class and report for duty.HIS duty. I'll bet he even had them doing all that the moment me and Zell left!" "Hmmm" mused Cid."That IS unusual.Tell you what-i'll have a word with him.Maybe Rinoa's absence is affecting him.Dismissed,Instructor." She left,not exactly having a lot of confidence in Cid.She knew that there was really only one man in the world who could prove Squalls true state of mind... She returned to her own quarters,and within minutes she was logged on to the right communications network. "President Loire's office."greeted the secretary."How may i help you?" "I need to speak to with the President."requested Quistis. "I'm sorry but the President is unavailable right now." "Tell him...tell him Squall Leonhart wants to speak with him." The secretarys face was almost instantly replaced by Laguna,looking exited and expected."Squall!?!?....oh..Quistis"he said,slightly crestfallen."What can i do for you?" "I'm sorry to play on your domestic affairs,Sir,but a situation has arisen within Garden,and i need your help." "What kind of help?" "I need you to talk to Squall" Laguna turned his head away sadly,then looked back up to the monitor."Quistis... ..you're Squalls friend.A member of his team.I know that all of you must know that he hates me.He never ever replies to any of my communicays." "I know that,Sir,in fact...i'm counting on it." * * * * * * * Quistis quietly watched the following conversation with her private interface in secret mode.It was strictly prohibited under Garden rules to monitor a private conversation.She could be severely punished for doing this,but there was too much to worry about apart from that. Down in the Mess Hall,Squall put down the work he was doing when Irvine informed him that there was a communication coming in for him from President Laguna Loire of Esthar himself. Then Squall did something that completely contradicted his entire attitude to Laguna these last few months. He accepted the communication. "President Loire,Sir" he said,looking into the wall-mounted monitor."To what do i owe the honour?" Laguna looked a little stunned from Squall actually wanting to speak to him."Squall?" "Yes Sir,Mister President."said Squall."What's the problem?If you want to hire some SeeDs for a mission,Cid Kramer is really the one you should be talking to." "Squall...i..i want to talk to you." said Laguna,almost pleading. "You called me because you want to talk,Mister President?"asked Squall,confused. Laguna was beginning to realise why Quistis may have had worries and suspicions over Squall.So he tried a little experimentation.He was a good actor... "Hey,whats wrong with a chat between two old war buddies,eh Leonhart?" "I....guess so,Sir.Uh,i cant really talk right now,Mister President.Lot of important SeeD work to be done." "Oh,thats okay,i understand."said Laguna,still playing along.Then he decided to try something no-one would ever dare do to Squall,and absolutely never Laguna... "So how's your mother,Squall?" Quistis' mouth hung open,gobsmacked.Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she and Laguna waited for a response. "She's fine,Mister President"said Squall. "Oh.okay then.Well,i have to go."said Laguna."I'll probably call you again sometime." "Goodbye,Mister President" said Squall,deactivating the monitor.The line on his end went dead. In Esthar,Squalls face was replaced by Quistis.They both knew what the last conversation could only mean. "I dont know you got commanding the SeeDs of your Garden,Quistis" he said,gravely "But that guy is definately not Squall." Quistis looked away from her terminal."I know" * * * * * * * Zell silently slipped out from the sheets of the medical bed and squatted low to the ground,all the while trying to keep as quite as possible,employing his SeeD stealth skills to their fullest.He was clad in a surgical gown and not much else.But his bare feet were perfect for being noiseless on the carpet.He'd removed the drip from his arm,wincing at the pain.All the while he kept his eyes on Kadowaki,who was sitting at her desk.She seemed to be downloading information from the Medi-Comp to somewhere else.Also,she was smoking a cigarette,holding it in her left hand. Doctor Kadowaki did'nt smoke,and she was right-handed. So he tip-toed up behind her.Absolutely silent,he reached for an oxygen cylinder. He looked up at the back of her head,as if to say;"If you're really the doc,then man,am i sorry...But if you are some imposter,Eat THAT!!" he swinged the cylinder into the back of her head. She slumped to the floor,unconscious.He lifted her over to the medical bed and put the sheets over her.If anyone came into the infirmary,at first glance they'd think it was him under the covers. He looked at the Medi-Comp.Apparently Kadowaki had been going through the SeeDs, students and faculty's confidential records.And she was sending them somewhere. Zell pressed the button marked "Cancel".Download halted. He opened a locker,found his clothes and threw them on within seconds.As he slipped out into the hall,he wondered where to find Quistis.He had to tell her that there may be intruders in the Garden... * * * * * * * * Quistis checked her GF and Chain Whip and sneaked over to the lift pillar.Why would there be SeeDs guarding the lift? Checking to make sure nobody could see her,she hoisted herself up 15 feet to the access hatch.Entering the shaft,she tipped the hatch closed behind her. I've seen SeeDs and students come and go through the lift loads of times.They're trying to hide something,obviously. She heard a rumble from far below.The lift was coming up from the basement. She cracked her whip and let it snake out to and wrap itself around a support cable that was moving in the opposite direction to the lift;straight down.She swung off the narrow ledge and gripped the whip for life,wrapping the free end around her wrist and elbow.She tried to stay as close to the wall as possible while the lift roared past her and she plummeted into the depths of the massive Garden. Finally,she stopped,dangling precariously over the oil well at the bottom of the shaft.She swung her body and landed like a cat on the dangerously narrow ledge in front of what were usually the lifts outer doors. With a slight flick of the right finger,the whip recoiled back into her hand. She grabbed the blade at the end of the whip and jammed it between the doors.Using the law of the lever and her Strength Junction,she turned the whip and blade, forcing a narrow parting between the doors.She then opened them completely with her hands and stepped out into what lay beyond. It was a massive room,almost looking like a cave.There were rows and rows of computers,and even more medical devices.There were more pieces of equipment here than Quistis could name.She then recognised a few of the devices.She'd seen a few things that resembled some of the equipment here from Odine's laboratory in Esthar.These were devices for studying and performing experiments on Sorceresses. What she really noticed were the walls.They were an uneven surface,like a cave. They reminded Quistis of the insides of Lunatic Pandora,exept they did'nt feel like stone.More like a hardened Resin of some kind.Some sections of the walls were a luminous blue colour,but some were a vile dark green. In an experiment,she tapped one section of wall with her fist.She then realised they were hollow.They were hardened to about 5 inches thick,but beyond that there seemed to be some kind of liquid behind it. Then she saw them. Rinoa and Edea.They were strung up on a bare section of wall,in a cruxifiction pose.Parts of the wall were wrapped around their arms,feet and waists. Quistis ran over and looked up in horror."...Rinoa...Matron...My Gods,what have they done to you?" She looked at them a second time.There was a collar around Rinoa's neck,probably something to inhibit her Sorceress powers.She checked them for a pulse,simultaeneously. They were both alive. She looked at their faces.They were frozen in time,with a look of terror.Their eyes were wide-open,but seemed not be seeing her.There was a tube that looked organic that came out from the wall,was holding Rinoa's mouth open,and seemed to go right down her throat. Instantly recognising that they needed help,Quistis began to smash the restraints that held them to the wall,Rinoa first.She hacked the pieces of wall to splinters, then began to remove the vile probe from her throat.Quistis was relieved to see Rinoa was beginning to move again,but then she realised the tube was choking her. Wincing with disgust,she tried to ignore the gagging noises Rinoa was making and pulled the tube free. Rinoa promptly fell forward into her arms. "Easy,easy" she said,trying to sooth her."Are you okay?What happened here?" Rinoa slumped to her hands and knees.She sounded like she had'nt breathed air for days.She looked up at Quistis,as if she was about to say something.Then she realised she was about to vomit. Rinoa threw her head down,heaving violently.Quistis held her hair back for her,then felt a bit nauseated herself when she saw that Rinoa had actually brought up about a gallon of the blue liquid that was behind the walls. Rinoa struggled to get to her feet,fighting dizzieness.She was eventually able to, with Quistis' help,even though she still seemed disoriented. "Rinoa,can you talk?Can you tell me what happened here?" Rinoa nodded,then tried to speak.It did'nt even sound like Rinoa,more like the voice of a deaf child,who's trying to speak english but doesnt really know how to pronounce the words.That liquid must be used to suppress a bodys metabolism and higher brain functions. "...they..."mumbled Rinoa,trying to talk."...they...are not...who they are..." Just as she was about to ask Rinoa who she was talking about,Quistis heard the lift doors hiss open,and about 12 SeeDs run out,led by Squall,Cid and Selphie. "Let go of the Sorceress,Instructor Trepe." ordered Squall. "I dont think so."stated Quistis,standing in front of Rinoa in a defensive stance. "Think about your options here,Trepe" said Squall,grinning.He motioned his hand,and the rest of the SeeDs drew out machine guns of all types and aimed them at Quistis and Rinoa. "You would'nt kill Rinoa." argued Quistis. "She's a Sorceress." explained Squall,drawing a gun himself."She can never be killed until she passes on her power.And she definately cant be killed by conventional weapons such as these." Quistis backed herself and Rinoa away,looking around for an option. "Time's up." said Squall.He motioned to the others."Fire!" And the air was torn by the sound of a thousand deadly bullets... TO BE CONTINUED......