Continued from page 3

Irvine tells the others that he grew up in an orphange.  He remembers one girl especially...Selphie!  Quistis then remembers her time there.  Quistis and Irvine and Selphie all grew up in an orphanage??  Together??  Quistis asks about a particular incident involving fireworks.  Zell then remembers about it!  Zell was there too!!!  So, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Zell...what about Squall?  Yes, Squall was there too.  They all grew up together.  Even Seifer and Martine were there...everyone except Rinoa was at the orphanage.  Why did they forget???
Irvine answers...the price for using GF...should they give it up?
Squall responds: No.  Should they give up the ability to fight and overcome the sorceress?  No.  The rest agree, and accept the consequences of using the GF. 
Then, Irvine shows them Matron...Edea Kramer...They will have to fight Matron, a woman they love very much.  Irvine shows them this so they will know EXACTLY what is at stake.  The group is resolved.  They are going to fight to the end.  Even against Matron.  The desicion made, they head back to Balamb Garden.  On the way out, Squall stops Rinoa.  He tells her that he doesn't want to fight either.  She says that she will join them, to prove she is useful and not afraid.  They go back to Balamb Garden and head for the ruins of the orphanage.  Galbadia Garden is hanging omniously above the trees near the orphanage.  Squall gives the order ram it.  He also gives orders for students to assemble in two areas according to ID numbers.  Then, Squall heads for the Quad.  Zell is there, getting the students ready to fight.  He pulls Squall to the side and asks if he can borrow Squall's ring for a while.  Squall is hesitant...what would Zell want with his ring?  But he hands it over.  Rinoa shows up, saying that she is going to fight.  She follows Zell.  Nida, the pilot, calls for Squall to return to the bridge.  Squall tells Nida to keep trying to hit or avoid the other Garden.  Then, to help the students prevent the Galbadian soldiers from entering, Squall and his team run to help the defenses at the Front Gate. 
Meanwhile, Zell and his party head deeper into the Quad to fight off the Galbadians who are coming in.  Before getting too far, Zell hands Squall's ring to Rinoa, who is admiring it.  She slips it on her necklace for safe-keeping, and then the trio continues on into the Quad.  Once they reach the end of the Quad, the two Gardens collide, destroying the groung beneath Zell's and his party's feet.  Rinoa falls, but manages to catch hold of an out-crop.  It doesn't look good!!  Zell goes to find Squall.  He sees Squall running for the Front Gate.  Once Zell catches up to him there and reports what is happening, Squall gets mad.  He has to worry about everyone else, not just Rinoa!  Squall sends Zell back to the Quad to try to save Rinoa.  Soldiers are threatening to enter from the 2nd floor, so Squall takes his crew up there to fight them off.  After doing that, Squall and Co. report to the bridge.  Zell is there, he couldn't get to Rinoa.  Squall sighs and shakes his head.  "Rinoa."  Irvine sees this, and goes off.  He tells Squall to go and save Rinoa.  Irvine doesn't care how Squall does it, but he should do it.  Dr. Kadowaki is there, and she gets Squall to give a small speech to rally the morale of the students.  Squall decides to quit defending and ATTACK!  Nida rams Galbadia Garden, forcing it to the ground.  The entire party, except Squall(and of course, Rinoa, who is STILL hanging on for dear life), runs into Galbadia Garden to clear the way for Squall.  Squall heads up to the 2nd floor observation deck.  He sees one of the Jr. classmen, and sends him back to his care-taker.  Squall is then attacked by a Galbadian paratrooper.  Pulling a fast one, Squall opens the emergency hatch, and the two fly out of the Garden.  Squall and the para-trooper proceed to punch and kick each other until Squall successfully knocks the paratrooper to the ground.  Squall then uses the flying suit to search for and to save Rinoa.  The two land, and run break-neck for Galbadia Garden. 
Once there, they must find three keys.  After running around and finding these keys, Squall and his party take the elevator next to the reception room up to the throne room.  There, Seifer challenges them again, asking them how they could want to kill Matron.  After overcoming Seifer, the team moves in on Edea.  Edea disappears through the floor.  Squall leads the group to the auditorium, where Edea drops through the ceiling.  Seifer shows up for a second round.  Seifer is quickly subdued, and the attack on Matron Edea begins.  She is easily defeated. 
After the battle, something strange happens to Edea.  It looks as if her soul is fighting.  Then, something even stranger happens.  Rinoa, moving jerkily, goes over to the fallen Seifer.  She leans down, embraces him, and then tells him something.  Seifer stands up and walks off.  Then, Rinoa crashes to the ground and does not move.  Quistis rushes to her side to check on her.  But Matron is awake.  Matron looks down at the SeeDs with pride.  She is different.  This is the kind Matron the children remember.  Edea says that she has waited for this day and feared this day.  Then, Quistis calls Squall's attention back to Rinoa. 
Rinoa?  What's the matter with Rinoa?
End of Disc 2.

After the battle at Galbadia Garden, Edea returns to her house, and Squall and Co. head back to Balamb Garden.  Rinoa is in a coma.  Squall announces that Edea is no longer their enemy.  He does not know what to do about Rinoa, and that scares him.  Along with the other one time orphans, Squall goes to Edea's house.  Cid asks them to forgive his wife for what she has done, and to listen to her story.  Edea explains why she did what she did.  She was possessed by another sorceress, a sorceress from the distant future named Ultimecia.  Ultimecia is searching for Ellone in order to achieve time compression.  Time compression would result in a world in which only Ultimecia would be able to live.  She would reign supreme.  In order to achieve this, though, Ultimecia needs Ellone.  Edea has managed to hide Ellone from Ultimecia.
The party listens to Edea's story intently...well, all of them except Squall.  Squall is pleading with God, Rinoa, anything that will listen, silently.  He wants to hear Rinoa's voice.  Zell notices that Squall's mind is wandering, and tells him to listen to Edea.  Squall,  who has been paying attention, says "So basically, all we have to do is go to Ultimecia's time and defeat her?"  Then, he asks if Edea can do anything to help Rinoa.  Edea says that she can't.  At the end of his rope, Squall returns the the infirmary where Rinoa is in a coma.  He pleads with her to wake up, to speak, to let him hear her voice.  But then, he is overcome and transported back to Laguna...
Laguna and Kiros are searching for Ellone.  They are in the Trabia area, working on a movie set to make some money.  Laguna plays a knight sent to fight off a dragon.  Kiros, at the last minute, gets cast as the dragon.  They start filming, and a dragon, a REAL dragon shows up.  Laguna defeats it momentarily, and Kiros joins him to do battle.  They slay the dragon, but more are coming.  The two make a mad dash for safety.
Back in the real world...
Squall thinks that maybe Ellone could help him.  Maybe Ellone could send him back to warn Rinoa.  But, Ellone is on the White SeeD ship...White SeeD...Edea's SeeD...Edea might now where to find them!  Squall goes back to Edea's house, gets a letter of introduction from her, and directions on where he might find the White SeeD ship.  Squall returns to the Garden, and begins to search for the White SeeD ship.  After looking in every nook and crany of the Centra area, he finds it.  Docking the Garden nearby, Squall boards the White SeeD ship. He asks for Ellone.  The White SeeD leader tells Squall and Co. to leave.  Squall won't be so easily dismissed, however.  Squall follows after the White SeeD leader.  But Zone and Watts of the Timber Owls intercept him.  They ask about Rinoa.  Squall tells them that she is sick, and he is trying to find a way to make her well again.  Zone blows up on him, cusses him out, and then stalks off.  Watts, always calm, tells Zone that Squall is trying to help.  Rinoa was ready to die for the cause of liberating Timber.  She is in good hands.  Zone looks Squall down, and tells him that "He better take damn good care of Rinoa, or else..." 
After this altercation, Squall goes into the ship's cabin and hands the letter from Edea to the White SeeD leader.  The leader recongizes it as Edea's handwriting.  Squall explains that Edea was possessed, but is no longer so now.  The leader tells Squall that after they came and got Ellone, they were persued by Galbadia.  Esthar joined in the chase.  The White SeeD ship suffered some set backs, and was forced to hide.  In the midst of a battle between Esthar and Galbadia, an Esthar ship approached and asked for Ellone.  The White SeeDs would not surrender her, and the Esthar soldiers prepared to leave.  Then, suddenly, Ellone ran up to the Esthar ship, shouted something, and jumped on to it.  The White SeeD leader has no idea why she did it, or where she is.  Squall and his friends depart, and go back to the Garden.  Squall gives orders to head for Esthar.  Nida says that it is impossible; Xenophobic Esthar, he says.  Squall tells him to try it anyway.  The closest they can get is FH.
Squall sneaks down to the infirmary.  He steals Rinoa away, and begins to walk for Esthar.  The journey is long.  He stops to take a break, and begins opening up to the comatose Rinoa.  He tells her that he is shy and introverted, but that he really wants to trust people.  He just can't seem to.  Then, break over, he picks the sleeping princess up and continues on.
Near the middle of his venture, Squall runs into the rest of the crew and Edea.  They are bound for Esthar as well.  Edea wants to rid herself of the sorceress power, if there is a way...Now, they must cross the Great Salt Lake...

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