Squall used the PA system to order the
group to meet on the second floor entrance.
Laguna had insisted to return to Esthar earlier, so he headed there as
well. Once Squall arrived, Zell was
itching to get into battle. He was busy
‘shadow boxing’ in the corner. Squall
stepped into the center of the platform.
“Alright. We are going to have two parties headed to
Esthar. Zell, you and Rinoa are in my
group. Laguna, you and Celestia are the
other. We’ll stick together until we
reach Esthar, then my group will head out and help evacuate any civilians and
your group will gather the Underground resistance leaders.”
Zell, Rinoa, Laguna and Celestia walked onto the
extension leading into FH, waiting for Squall.
Now Squall addressed Xu, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine.
“Xu,
you’re in charge while I am gone. I am
counting on all of you to protect the Garden and the SeeD trainees. We’ll contact you as soon as we can. Dismissed.”
He turned and walked with the others into FH and
headed for the Train Station.
They arrived in practically no time. The journey across the train tracks is a
long one, because the trains have been down for a very long time. The group walked until after sundown, when
they rested for the night. Squall
figured they had about seven hours of walking before they even reached the Great
Salt Lake, outside of Esthar.
“I’m
tired,” said Rinoa as she sat down, “but at least we will arrive in Esthar
tomorrow.”
Zell sat down next to her.
“Yeah…I
just hope that the people can hold out for now.”
Laguna joined the group and they began talking about
the previous year.
Celestia found a spot to rest several feet from the
group. She felt uncomfortable around
them, for she had been in solitude for eight years…perfecting fighting skills
and magic casting, fine tuning every sense to optimize speed and agility in
battle. Her only companions were some
Moombas that she had liberated from Galbadia’s D-District Prison. She gazed up at the stars and the moon,
wondering what will happen when they reach Esthar.
Laguna noticed that Celestia was sitting away from
the group. He got up and walked over to
her and looked down at the SeeD.
“Care
to join us?”
Celestia looked up at him and shook her head
silently.
“I
have been in solitude for far too long…please allow me to get used to people
again.”
Laguna smiled and looked over at the others, who
were in a new discussion.
“Well,
the best way to get used to people again is to…join a group in a
conversation. Come on…they won’t
mind. Maybe you can tell us about your
culture. I would love to know about
your race…the Cetra.”
Laguna offered a hand and helped Celestia stand
up. They walked over to the group, who
welcomed her and the stories of her people that she was willing to share.
