(So, looks like things are starting to fall apart for Tylor in this chapter. Bet you didn't see this one coming!)

Once everyone was healed they all met up in the room with the train set. Zone was waiting for them.

“Man,” he says, “I can’t believe the president was a fake!”

“I can’t believe we fell for it!” Rinoa turns to Tylor. “Looks like you were right after all.”

“One thing you should know about me, I’m always right.”

Watts hurries into the room. “Info, sir! New info! It’s big news! I found out the real reason why the president’s here, sir! The president’s going to the TV Station! Security’s super tight, sir!”

“…The TV Station?” Rinoa asks, “Why in Timber? They can broadcast just as easily from Galbadia.”

“Ahh,” Tylor states, “but Timber’s TV station is the only one that can broadcast radio waves.”

“What do you mean?”

“Galbadia had just recently activated an old communications tower in Dollet.”

“What’s that?” Zone asks.

Tylor continues, “Dollet has a communication tower that can transmit and receive radio waves. It had been abandoned for a long time, but the Galbadian Army got it up and running yesterday, during the SeeD exam.”

“Ohhhh… I get it…” Zone states, “The only TV station that can handle broadcasts over the air is in Timber. Other stations use HD cable, which only supports online broadcasting.”

“Exactly.”

Rinoa asks, “So, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“They’re planning on using radio waves. This way, they can transmit images to regions without cable.” Zone explains.

“I know that…! What I want to know is, what is the president going to broadcast!?”

“I don’t know,” Tylor says, “but if he’s planning on using radio waves then it has to be something very important.”

“Why use radio waves?” Rinoa asks. “There must be something they want to say to the whole world. What can it be?”

Selphie shouts, “Everybody! Love! Peace! And friendship!”

Everyone nods their heads. Tylor says, “I highly doubt that, Selphie. If they went to war with Dollet just to get the communication tower up and running I don’t think it’s because they wanted to be friends.”

“But you never know!”

“Trust me, whatever the president has to say it’s not going to have anything to do with spreading peace.”

“If I remember correctly, radio waves haven’t been used in seventeen years.” Zone states.

“It’s been that long?” Rinoa asks. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the first broadcast could be the declaration of Timber’s independence!?”

Zone states, “Hey! That might be possible.”

Rinoa nods in agreement. “Let’s come up with a plan then!” Watts, Zone and Rinoa all huddle together on the floor. Rinoa turns to everyone else and says, “Can you guys give us a minute?”

After a few minutes Tylor says, “Hey Squall.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you ask them if we can have a look at our contract.”

“Hey yeah! Shouldn’t we go home now that we’ve done our mission?” Selphie asks.

Squall nods and walks over to Rinoa.

Rinoa stands up and says, “Oh, good timing! We’ve come up with a plan!”

Squall sighs and places his hand on his forehead. “Before we get into that, can I see your contract with our Garden?”

“Oh, sure.” Rinoa started digging through a pile of papers on the table until she found what she was looking for. She hands it to Squall.

“What’s it say?” Zell asks as he walks over with Selphie. Tylor stays standing where he is. He didn’t need to know what was on the contract.

Squall began to read the contract. “…‘Balamb Garden’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Party A’) acknowledges ‘The Forest Owls’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Party B’) as the hiring party. ‘SeeD’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Party C’) shall be dispatched upon signing of this contract. Party C shall operate under the supervision…”

“…The hell…?”

“I don’t get it.” Selphie says.

Rinoa takes the paper out of Squall’s hand. “Oh yeah, that one’s pretty confusing. When I told him I didn’t understand, he gave me a different one.” Rinoa starts digging through the pile of papers again and pulls out another one. She hands it to Squall. “Cid is such a nice man.”

Squall takes it. Selphie asks, “What’s it say this time?”

“…To The Forest Owls. This SeeD deployment contract will last until Timber achieves independence. Please make good use of each SeeD member. I wish you the best with your objective. Please understand that this contract is an exception, and no replacement of any SeeD members can be made. Balamb Garden Headmaster Cid Kramer.”

Zell exclaims, “Until Timber’s independence!?”

“That is soooo vague!” Selphie states.

“So,” Tylor asks, “what your saying is that until Timber achieves independence, something that might not come for another few years, we have to do whatever you say?”

“Hey, you’re paid professionals.” Rinoa points out. “No complaining!”

“Just because we’re paid professionals doesn’t mean we can’t still be pissed off about it!”

Rinoa sighs, “OK, let’s decide on the parties!”

“Gathering information is my specialty, sir!” Watts says before leaving the room.

Zone’s stomach makes its usually growl. “OuuuucHHHHH… My stomach!”

Rinoa looks at the floor and shakes her head. “So, of the five of us, the ones who’ll be heading to the TV Station will be Squall, Selphie and I. Tylor and Zell, you two will go around Timber and see if you can find out anything else on the president’s broadcast.”

Later Tylor and Zell found themselves walking the streets of Timber. The streets were empty compared to when they first arrived. Every now and then they had to hide from patrolling Galbadian soldiers.

When they reached the bridge built over train tracks from a nearby station Tylor pointed out, “Looks like the trains have stopped running.”

Zell stops and peers over the side of the bridge. “Yeah, you’re right. I used to come here with my mom once in a while. Usually, the local trains would be running like crazy!”

“They must have shut down all the trains. That’ll make it harder for us when we have to leave.” Tylor continued across the bridge, Zell followed him.

When they walked around the next street corner they saw two Galbadian soldiers clad in red talking to a pair of Timber security guards. Zell made a surprised yelp when Tylor pulled him behind a nearby pile of crates. “Quiet.” He whispered. They watched the event in front of them unfold.

One of the Galbadian soldiers warned the security guards, “Better keep your eyes peeled. If you let one resistance member in here, your dear kids are…well, dead meat.” He started to laugh as the guard turned away and stayed silent.

Zell says to Tylor, “Hey, man. Shouldn’t we be looking for information about the TV Station’s broadcast?”

“If things here become ugly we have to help.”

“Why?”

Tylor gave Zell a serious look. “If we do nothing we’ll be just as bad as those Galbadian soldiers.”

The other soldier said, “So I heard everyone here supports the resistance. You guys are such fools. Just imagine how much this place would thrive if you were loyal to us. This place is gonna be stuck in the backwoods forever.”

One of the security guards faced him. “…And you? Are you happy with your life? Blindly following orders everyday, doing things you probably don’t believe in?”

The other security guard joined in. “So what if we’re undeveloped? We’re not looking to thrive. All we want is to be able to stand on our own feet; to be independent and live according to what we believe.”

“You guys will probably never understand, having thrown away your pride and dignity. We’re not the fools. You are.”

The Galbadian soldier clenched his fists in rage. “You’re both DEAD!” He threw a punch at the security guard’s face, but Tylor had snuck up while they weren’t looking and was there to catch it before it made contact. Before the soldier could fight back Tylor jabbed him in the stomach with his fist and pushed him headfirst into a nearby wall, rendering him unconscious.

The other soldier aimed his machine gun arm at Tylor but before he could shoot Zell smacked him in the back of the head with his palm and then kicked the soldier in the knee, breaking his leg. Zell grabbed the back of the man’s armour with both hands and threw him into a collection of garbage cans.

One of the security guards thanked them. “Thank you for your help. I got a little carried away.”

The other guard told them, “We appreciate your help… But we can’t let you through here. I’m sorry.”

Zell placed a hand on his hip. “We saved your hides and you won’t even let us through?”

“Please understand. They’re holding our families hostage. If we don’t do what they tell us they’ll hurt them.”

“That’s OK.” Tylor told them. “If you can’t let us through can you at least give us a little information?”

“Of course. We’ll tell you whatever we know.”

“Do you know what the president is planning to broadcast?” Tylor asked. He already knew why, but he needed to keep the story going.

“Well, I don’t know much about the details,” he told him, “but I overheard one of the Galbadians talking about a woman becoming the new priminister or something. I think they called her a sorceress.”

“A sorceress, eh?” Zell turns to Tylor. “What do you think this means?”

“Most likely hostile takeover.” He faced the security guards. “Thank you for your help.”

“I really wish we could do more for you two.”

“It’s OK. I wouldn’t want you guys to do something that would put your families at risk.”

A TV in a nearby electronics store suddenly switched on. The screen was nothing but static. Zell saw it too. “Hey, that TV turned on by itself.”

“The broadcast will be starting soon. Let’s find the others.” Together they made their way to the TV Station.

In order to get to the TV Station they had to go through the back door of a bar. They walked through the alley until they found a flight of stairs and a giant outdoor TV. Tylor saw everyone on the catwalk above watching the static.

“There they are.” Tylor pointed to them. “Lets go.”

Zell followed Tylor up the stairs. About half way up they heard Rinoa say to Squall, “…You guys probably think this is all a game to us. Well, it’s not! We’re serious. So serious… it hurts!” Rinoa ran down the stairs, nearly knocking down Tylor and Zell on the way.

Zell: “Whoa!”

Tylor: “Hey!”

They both went up to see Squall and Selphie. “Well, did you find out anything?” Squall asked.

Tylor explains, “From what we’ve heard, President Deling is going to broadcast an announcement about his newly appointed priminister or something.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, she’s a sorceress.” Zell adds.

The outdoor TV suddenly starts making loud scrambling noises. Selphie asks, “Are they starting?” The TV focused and lost all the static. The screen showed a stand with microphones and a red curtain backdrop. Two Galbadian flags stood on either side of the stand. Studio workers wandered here and there trying to set everything up. They all got out of the camera when a blonde haired man in a striped blue suit stood behind the microphones.

The announcer began to test the microphones. “T-Testing…1…2…Testing… Testing… Ohhhh! P-People of the world! Can you see me!? Can you hear me!? Oh, this is incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a recording! This is an actual broadcast over the air! Yes, it’s been 17 years since a live broadcast has been possible!” He looks to his left and nods to somebody off screen. “Oh, please excuse me… I seem to have lost my composure. We would like to present to you today a message from the lifelong President of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling.” He holds his hand to his right. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Deling.” The announcer steps away from the stand to make way for the president.

“Greetings. I am Vinzer Deling, lifelong president of Galbadia. Today, I stand before you to make the following proposition. We the people of this world have the power to end all wars.”

Selphie starts jumping around. “See, see! It’s a peace proposal to the world. I knew it!”

“Settle down, Selphie.” Tylor told her. “There is more at work her than meets the eye.”

The president continued his speech. “Unfortunately, there are some trifling problems standing between Galbadia and other nations, and they must be resolved.” A loud crash is heard somewhere in the studio. Deling ignores it and continues. “I plan to convene with other nations’ leaders immediately to resolve these problems. At this time, allow me to introduce the ambassador who will be my representative for the conference.”

Zell complains, “Man! All this just to introduce an ambassador.”

“Looks like our sources were wrong.” Tylor stated. “The sorceress is the ambassador, not the priminister. But this is just as bad.”

The president continues. “The ambassador is the Sorceress…”

“…The Sorceress?” Squall asks.

“Like I said.” Tylor points out.

Another crash is heard in the studio, followed by the sound of clashing metal. A man in a white trench coat came on screen, followed by two Galbadian soldiers. The man slashed his gunblade at both the men, knocking them to the ground. One soldier managed to sneak up behind him and pin his arms. Another soldier came up to attack but the man kicked him into the camera. He then elbowed the soldier pinning his arms and threw him to the ground. He ran up to Vinzer Deling and grabbed him, holding his gunblade to his throat. Once they saw his face they all immediately knew who he was.

“Seifer!?” Squall shouts.

Selphie exclaims, “What’s he doin’!?”

Quistis appeared on the camera. “Stay back!” she told the Galbadian soldiers.

Zell shouts, “Instructor Trepe!?”

Everyone else was shocked at this turn of events, but Tylor merely watched with patient eyes.

“Squall, what are we gonna do!?” Zell pleads.

Another Galbadian soldier appeared on the screen. Quistis yelled at him, “For the last time, stay back! You’re only going to provoke him.”

“…Nothing.” Squall replies. “Our job is to assist the Owls. It’s none of our business.”

Quistis faces the camera. “Timber Team, are you watching? Get over here right now! You HAVE permission! I need your help!”

“Well,” Tylor states, “that settles it. Looks like we’re helping.” He ran up the rest of the stairs, followed closely by the others. Together they all ran across a long catwalk that led to a large blue building that read, “TIMBER TV STATION” in large letters.

Once inside they saw Quistis trying to talk some sense into Seifer who was holding the president hostage. A few of the studio’s cameras were knocked over from the fight. Tylor noticed a few of the cameras had red lights turned on, indicating they were still on the air.

“We need to restrain him!” Quistis yells.

Tylor glares at Seifer. “So, Seifer, what do you plan to do now that you’ve got the president?”

“Shut up, new boy! This isn’t any of your business!”

“Looks like I was right about you all along, coward.”

Seifer ground his teeth and growled at him.

Squall asks, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s obvious, ain’t it!?” Seifer asks. “What are you planning to do with this guy?”

“…Planning to do?”

“Seifer,” Tylor warns him, “this isn’t what she wanted. Let him go before you do something the both of you will regret.” He was referring to Rinoa because she and Seifer knew each other.

“I said shut up!”

“I get it!” Zell states, “You’re Rinoa’s-”

“Shut your damn mouth! Chicken-wuss!” Zell clenches his fists in surpressed rage.

“He broke out of the disciplinary room,” Quistis told them, “injuring many in the process.”

Zell screams, “YOU STUPID IDIOT!”

Squall turns to Zell. “Be quiet.”

“Instructor, I know! You’re going to take this stupid idiot back to mphmphph!” Tylor had covered Zell’s mouth with his hand before he said anything else.

He removed his hand from Zell’s mouth and told him, “Zell, the cameras are still on!”

“Oh, right. We don’t want anyone to know we’re from Garden.”

Squall: “ZELL!!!”

Tylor: “ZELL!!!”

“I see…” the president said, amused. “So you’re all from Garden.” Zell covered his mouth and shook his head. “Should anything happen to me, the entire Galbadian military will undoubtedly crush Garden. You can let go of me now.”

“Nice going, Chicken-wuss! You and your stupid big mouth!” Zell’s shoulders slumped in shame. “Take care of this mess! Instructor, Mr. Leader and new boy!” He backed away behind the set with his gunblade still held against the president’s throat. Everyone cautiously followed him.

Seifer enters a dark room filled with purple mist. He looks around and sees no one.

“Well, well. You’ve finally come.” Hundreds of bats appeared out of thin air and started making high pitched squeaking noises as they flew wildly around the room. They all came together in the centre of the room and merged together into a human form. “My mistress has been expecting you.”

The man is wearing a long black robe with a hood that hides his face. He is also wearing boots and gloves that are also black. From under the hood only the lower half of his face and his long silver hair can be seen. A soft black aura surrounds his body.

“Who the hell are you?” Seifer demanded.

They man chuckled. “I am merely a servant of my mistress, and she wishes to speak with you.” His voice sounded just like Tylor’s, except there was a certain tone to it that made him sound centuries older.

Quistis entered the room. “Seifer!”

The man glanced at her. “But we cannot conduct business with so many distractions.” He lifted his hand and a dark light surrounded Quistis. She fell to her knees, restrained and muted by his magic. He turned to face Seifer and looked at the president. “Now all that remains is this one.” He made an odd movement with his hand and Seifer released the president. Deling ran out the back exit.

The man took a few steps toward but Seifer pointed the tip of his gunblade to the man’s throat. “Don’t take another step forward, dirt bag!”

The man looked at the blade for a moment, perplexed. He smiled and put his finger on the tip of the blade. “Such toys are not needed here.” He pushed Seifer’s gunblade with his finger, causing him to lose balance and take a step back. The blade didn’t draw even the tiniest drop of blood. “You needn’t worry, we will not harm you. We simply ask for your… cooperation.”

“Oh yeah? And what makes you think I’ll help you?” Seifer asks.

“…Poor, poor boy…” A woman stepped out from behind one of the studio’s curtains. She wore a red mask and a long black and purple dress that dragged on the ground as she walked.

“Stay away from me, both of you!”

The woman slowly moves toward him, running her finger across the mysterious man's chest as she passed by. “Such a confused little boy. Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide.”

“I said stay back!”

She smiled behind her mask. “The boy in you is telling you to come. The adult in you is telling you to back off. You can’t make up your mind. You don’t know the right answer.” Her voice was soft like the sound of a loving mother. “You want help, don’t you? You want to be saved from this predicament.”

“Shut up!”

She took another few steps forward. “Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Besides, you’re only a little boy.”

“I’m not… Stop calling me a boy.”

“You don’t want to be a boy anymore?”

Seifer shouted, “I am not a BOY!”

“Come with us to a place of no return. Bid farewell to your childhood.”

Tylor and the others ran into the room at that moment. “Seifer! Don’t do it!” he shouts.

The mysterious man waves his hand at them, casting the same spell he did on Quistis. Tylor felt as if he was carrying a few hundred pounds worth of weights on his back. Everyone else was brought to their knees, but an inner strength inside Tylor kept him on his feet.

Seifer waved good-bye to everyone before following the woman into a portal she’d created. The man gave Tylor a curious look. Under the shadows of his hood Tylor could barely see his silver eyes. The man smiled, “So, you have finally shown yourself. Interesting.”

Tylor knew this man was not supposed to be in the game. While the spell kept everyone else mute it didn’t have that effect on Tylor. “Who… are you!?”

The man’s body disappeared in a flurry of bats. His final words were, “Farewell, Daimon.”