Deep Sea Research Center The Deep Sea Research Center , also known as Battleship Island , is a hidden island located far out in the middle of the ocean , in the south - west corner of the world map of " Final Fantasy VIII " . It is an abandoned , half - sunken laboratory formerly used to research draw effects , however , other , less commonly known research may have been going on . Deep Sea Research Center can be found as early as disc 2 when Balamb Garden becomes mobile , but it cannot be entered . The party must wait until gaining access to " Ragnarok " to land on top of the structure to get inside . Story . If Zell is in the party he will tell about the place ' s history . Known as " Battleship Island " , researchers working at this facility were attempting to develop another draw system , gathering different energy and materials for their study . They were in pursuit of a large draw point said to be found somewhere on the planet . It is said their research used Guardian Force s for their experiments . It can be deduced the researchers found what they were looking for , and left fearing the power they had found . Inside the facility there is a blue pulsing core and in the middle the party can find the Guardian Force Bahamut . Traversing to the bottom of the facility lets the party find the most powerful Guardian Force in the world , within a powerful monster that seems to have been sealed away by the researchers . Quests . Obtaining Bahamut . There is a flashing blue pillar in the middle of the first room . If the core is in the middle of a pulse and the party moves , they enter a random battle . When the party approaches the core , a voice asks them a question ( So you wish to challenge me ? ) . If answered correctly ( It ' s not our will to fight ) , the party will fight a Ruby Dragon , and if the party wins , the next question ( Begging me for mercy ? ) is asked , and the correct answer is " Never " . If the party answers correctly they will fight another Ruby Dragon ( this battle is an unavoidable back attack ) , but if any are answered incorrectly the party will be warped back to the entrance and they will have to start over again . The player can bring a low health Quistis and use her Degenerator Limit Break to defeat the Ruby Dragons easily . The trick is that on the final question ( Damned imbeciles . Why do you wish to fight ? ) , there is a hidden answer , below the main two ( revealed to be " It ' s our nature " ) . If the hidden option is selected , Squall and the party will fight the Guardian Force Bahamut . Deep Sea Deposit . When Bahamut is defeated the blue core is destroyed . If the party leaves the area and returns , the site allows access to the facility ' s lower levels by a vine structure . There are a series of floors leading down to the excavation site , called the " Deep Sea Deposit " . Squall must open up each door using units of pressure , but must conserve enough units for the final lock at the bottom of the excavation site . The party starts with a set number of units , and must conserve ten if they are to fight Ultima Weapon . There is a point where the party can gain more units . If the party uses the pressure units to access the excavation site , the Enc - None ability can be used to traverse the site . If the party uses Zell to force open the jammed door leading into the excavation site without using up units , the party encounters a number of scripted battles which cannot be avoided using Enc - None . When the party reaches the bottom , Squall will use the last of his pressure units . After a pause , sounds emanate from above and the air gets heavy . The party is thrust into a battle against Ultima Weapon , said to be the second most powerful opponent in the game ( behind Omega Weapon ) . Ultima Weapon , carries the strongest GF in the game , Eden . Steam pressure units . Each level is divided into three sectors . The sector the player is in is determined by how many units they spend to open the door leading from level 2 to 3 . Once in a sector , the player cannot switch to a higher cost sector , but can switch to a lower cost sector . For simplicity , the sectors are A ( highest cost , 4 units ) , B ( mid cost , 2 units ) and C ( lowest cost , 1 unit ) . E . g . If one were to spend 4 units on level 2→3 , they would be in sector A ( highest cost ) and on level 3 they would be access Sectors A , B and C on level 4 . But if one were to spend 2 units on level 2→3 , one would be in sector B ( mid cost ) and would only be able to access sectors B and C on level 4 . The only difference of the sectors is that the player needs to spend 2 units on level 2 to access the steam room on level 3 , Sector B . Other than that , the player can use 1 unit to proceed all the way to the bottom . One can skip the steam room if one lets Zell open the final door , but doing so will trigger several unavoidable encounters on the way to the excavation site . The player only gets one chance to have Zell open the door on the last floor . If the player chooses to not let him open it , he will never offer to open it again even if the player resets the steam levels . There is a terminal buried underneath the rubble in level 1 . Examining it gives the player 20 energy units . Four units are spent opening the door to level 2 . On level 2 , the player should expend 2 units to access sector 2 . On level 3 , they should expend 4 units to access the steam room and use the terminal to gain 7 extra units , then return to sector 2 and expend 1 unit to access sector 6 . From then on the player should expend no more than 1 unit each floor until reaching level 6 , where they can expend 4 units to access the excavation site and still have 10 units left over to use at the bottom . Alternatively , the player can ask Zell to open the last door without expending any units , but it will wake up the monsters and the way down will be plagued by encounters against strong opponents that can ' t be avoided with Enc - None . Location . The Research Center is located far from any land mass out in the vastness and serenity of the sea . The corner of the map is a recurring location for secret locations in the games . The blue light in the middle warns visitors with a message " blue light leads to death " . Those who reach the center and answer the mysterious voice ' s questions fight Bahamut to claim him as a Guardian Force . After defeating Bahamut a hole appears on the ground . The player can ' t initially descend , but if they leave the Deep Sea Research Center and initiate a conversation with a character or NPC ( such as talking to party members inside the " Ragnarok " ) , a save point will appear and they can advance down the hole . After defeating Bahamut the party can descend deeper into the facility . The player can access the next floor by expending units of steam pressure . The deeper the player advances in the complex the different fish they can see through the windows . If the player expends the correct amount of steam in each floor they open access to the steam room on level 3 where they can get more steam pressure units . In the elevator room the door takes four pressure units to open , or the player may ask Zell to open the door without using any units if he is in the party . Using Zell wakes up the monsters in the lower parts of the facility . The player needs to conserve ten units to have enough to fight Ultima Weapon at the bottom . In the areas after the elevator the player will encounter many strong monsters . The first area has a save point . The bottom floor has a hidden save point and a device that requires the use of ten steam pressure units to summon the Ultima Weapon . Enemies . When calculating the enemies ' level s , the game uses the normal formula , but adds 15 levels . If the player has Zell open the door to the deeper levels of the facility , the enemy encounters will be unavoidable even with Enc - None equipped . After Ultima Weapon has been felled enemy encounters in the facility cease . Musical themes . The Deep Sea Research Center ' s theme is " Junction " .