Blue skies and rays of sunlight peeked through the canopy of trees that greeted his blue eyes as they opened. He lay on the jungle floor and as he woke was overcome by a distinct sense of tranquility as his blurred vision came to focus. He would imagine that birds would be happily chirping as they flew overhead but no such sound came. No sound came at all. It was quiet, peaceful, and very very warm. He hated not knowing where he was; not being in control but this was somehow different. It was all he could do to lay back and let the warm breeze pass over his body as he continued to just stare at the treetops above him.

His trance was rudely interrupted by a sharp pain in his shoulder. He slowly turned his gaze to his right to see his arm bent in a way that arms were probably never meant to bend. He sat up in a panic and looked around him as if the surrounding trees would give him answers. He attempted to move his right arm and his efforts were rewarded with another sharp pain that indicated to him that his shoulder had been dislocated. How? By whom? By what? Where was he? Was he dreaming? Was he deaf?

His last question was answered upon tugging his right arm with his left forward as hard as he could and the first sound he heard since waking was an audible 'pop' followed by the slow and sore movements of a newly-relocated right arm. A symphony of sounds slowly began to build and register in his ears. It started as a low hum and steadily crescendoed into a harsh mixture of shouting and what sounded like a mechanical roar. A thousand thoughts and questions fought for territory at the forefront of his mind and he reached to scratch the back of his head as he often did when confused or deep in thought. Through the leather he felt something slippery and quickly brought his gloved hand back into his view to reveal blood. Frantically he reached back again and discovered that the source wasn't deadly or overly deep. He'd live. His thoughts and self-diagnosis, however, were interrupted by one sound that rose above the clang and clamor that seemed to envelop him in his state of confusion. It was a shrill female scream followed by a single word:

"SQUALL!!!"

Rinoa!

Squall stood as quick as he was able and fought off the initial dizziness that threatened assault. In a state of horror and panic he felt for the small box that occupied the inside pocket of his leather jacket but it was nowhere to be found. It would have to wait. It had waited long enough as it was…

Squall willed his legs into motion and ran towards the direction of the scream. The sound of the ocean was added into the mass of sounds as the mechanical roar grew louder. Light became more abundant and the trees more sparse and after as he ran at full speed. Squall tried his best to avoid all obstacles and was grateful for the protection of his leathery attire despite the heat as branches from offending trees and bushes would have ripped normal clothes to shreds at the rate he was moving and his unprotected face bore the scratches to prove it.

After five minutes of solid running he found himself at a beach. The salty air filled his nostrils as he stopped to catch his breath. In the sand a good distance in front of him stood a smoking heap of twisted metal that had once been the draconic shape of the Ragnarok. Smoke billowed from the flames that spouted out of its metal carapace and its engines whirred to life and then back to rest in an arrhythmic pattern that threatened to drown out all other noise. Squall's legs burned as he ran faster still towards the wreckage looking frantically for signs of life when he saw her.

Rinoa knelt down in the sand with tears streaming down her delicate face and in her arms she cradled the limp body of Quistis Trepe. Squall immediately rushed to her side and fell to his own knees beside her.

"Rinoa!" he shouted, battling the noise of the craft's engines. "Hyne, Rinoa, tell me you're alright!"

Squall put a comforting hand on his girlfriend's shoulder as he tried desperately to make eye contact. The young woman was sobbing as she clutched the motionless form of her friend to her chest.

"I can't…" she managed to say between sobs, her eyes still shut tight.

"Rinoa, where are the others!?" Squall demanded in as comforting a tone as could be managed amidst his panic.

"I can't... cast… Quistis…"

Rinoa trailed off and anything said afterwards could be labeled incoherent at best as her shaking body could do nothing but cry. Squall wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as he looked down at Quistis and saw a sizeable piece of metal protruding from her chest.

Fuck.

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading my first attempt at fanfiction ever. If it seems a bit rough right now just bare with me, it'll (hopefully) get better. I would greatly appreciate any and all comments or reviews you'd be willing to give, though if you must criticize please make it constructive. :)

This was just a prologue and the following chapters will be quite a bit longer so stay tuned for another exciting episode of… Crash. I'll try and update as frequently as I can so I don't leave y'all hanging too badly. :-P

Maha out.