Till the end of time: Chapter 1
Unleashed By RenaLanford65As the glasses clinked, he peered around nervously, almost anxiously. His blue eyes scanned the faces of familiar people, of unfamiliar people. He frowned, shaking his head, his long brown hair shaking loose.
"Squall!" Rinoa ran over. "Squall! They're taking pictures!"
The slender girl pulled on her boyfriend's hand as he reluctantly smiled and walked along.
But in his head, which would remain undisturbed, he was thinking…
(Something is very, very wrong here. Why do I sense someone evil here? Only Balamb's allies are here.)
"Say hot dog!" Selphie cheered as she snapped a picture. "Smile, Zell! This is going on my website!"
Reluctantly the blonde boy put down his hot dog. He stuck out his tongue to the camera and gave Irvine bunny ears.
(The energy is coming from over there!)
As Squall began to walk towards the balcony, Quistis stepped up in front of him.
"Your dance is coming up soon, Squall. Go on, get Rinoa." His former teacher pushed him toward the girl in blue.
After several seconds of standing motionlessly, Rinoa pulled Squall onto the dance floor just as she had almost one year ago.
The night progressed, the energy growing every hour. At 400 hours, the energy appeared to be at its peak. The dances were over and everyone was beginning to retreat to their dorm rooms when Nida locked the door after a young couple left.
"Hey!" A SeeD who had been going through the doors shouted as he was pushed back. The scene caught everyone's attention. The Quad was deathly quiet.
"Listen to the Master!" Seifer called, glancing at Nida. All heads turned towards the SeeD, who proceeded to a tabletop.
"My fellow Garden members!" Nida began, clearing his throat.
(Master?)
"I think we should all give our group of SeeD's a hand-that is, Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, and Irvine!"
A thunderous roar of a clap began in one corner and rippled and echoed everywhere.
"Now, now, don't ruin their ears…" Nida warned.
(I don't like that look…what's he up to?)
"I want them to hear of my story."
(What story?)
"After discovering a gem of immortality and great power, I took over Seifer's conscience and now he is a pawn!"
There were a few choked laughs.
"I would like you, Squall, to heed my next words. You shall be a victim of my reign of terror. Get it?"
(Is he pulling a joke on us?)
"I have junctioned Seifer as my all powerful Guardian Force-for now. I shall have Squall as my next pawn." Nida laughed. Still, no one seemed to be taking him seriously.
"Since you refuse to believe me, I will demonstrate my powers!"
Seifer dragged Headmaster Cid to the front of the room, holding his gunblade to his neck.
(What…?)
A loud explosion erupted as Headmaster Cid exploded, pieces flying every which way. Matron screamed, her voice piercing all ears.
"Let this be a lesson!" Nida screamed over Matron. "There's a new villain in town!"
Crimson colored wings appeared from Nida's back and he flew away, with Seifer at his heels.
(This cannot be good.)
One month after Nida's coming out, Matron, after mourning for two weeks, discovered that Nida's hideout may be in a rainforest-like area called Toadstool Lake. So off went the SeeD's who saved the world, going out to save it once more.
Toadstool Lake – 1600 hours
"Squall! Are we there yet?" Rinoa complained. The 5' 10" boy sighed. Rinoa and Selphie had been taking turns complaining the same line every five minutes.
"No, Rinoa." Squall tried to stay calm.
(Where are we going, anyway? Matron's locators show no sign of activity for miles, but she said the entrance to the hideout was near the east end of the forest. Now we're almost in the west.)
"Squall…" Zell suddenly bent over, clutching his stomach.
"I don't feel good…" Selphie's face began to turn a greenish color.
(What?)
"Don't you feel that?" Quistis asked. Squall started to shake his head, but then a wave of nausea flooded over him in a rush…
(Where am I?)
"Hey wake up." An unfamiliar voice said. It was raspy, yet young-sounding, like a teenagers.
Squall's eyes flitted open to reveal a cabin. It was musty, dark, and damp, all the things a cabin should be. A few windows were broken, and the door looked scuffed, as if someone had burned it, maybe out of anger.
"I'm Torie." A boy over by Selphie said. He turned over toward Squall for a moment, seeing the brunette's angry expression and quickly turned back toward Selphie, who looked like she was sleeping peacefully. 'Torie' gazed over Selphie's hair, her dress, and her boots. He seemed to take in everything, like a computer.
Torie had bright blonde hair that was a combination of Zell's and Squall's hairstyles, with the back being short like Zell's and the front and sides like Squall's, if not longer. He was wearing completely black, which made his already white skin paler. His lips were thin, like Squall's were, but they were a bright pink. His eyes were dark, like Rinoa's, but much more duller.
"How…?" Zell began to arouse from his slumber. Squall knew Zell would explode on this Torie person, so he had to keep the blonde boy sleeping.
"Mom…give me a hot dog…with cheese…and ketchup, please…" Zell babbled.
Suddenly Quistis screamed, waking everyone up from whatever chance they had at a good sleep. Zell zoomed up, saw Torie, and did what Squall expected-he exploded.
A flurry of fists flew in Torie's direction. Cries were heard, but it wasn't Torie's voice. It was Zell's.
"Did you just block all of his punches?" Selphie asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, so?" Squall had the feeling that Torie wasn't just some cabin boy who knew nothing.
"I'm a SeeD from Balamb Garden. Didja know that?" Zell swung at the air, obviously itching for another fight.
"Oh, Garden?" The blonde didn't seem all that surprised. "I am so sorry. I didn't realize…'
Zell almost scoffed.
"Yeah, whatever." Squall cut off both of the boys. "Do you know who Nida or Seifer Almasy are?"
"Seifer…he's always by the lake in middle of the forest. I've never heard of Nida. Sorry." Torie shook his head.
"Well, then, I guess we'll leave." Quistis was still embarrassed at herself for waking up Zell and causing all the racket she did.
"Yes, thank you." Rinoa said.
"Wait." Squall commanded sharply. Everyone froze as Squall walked over to Torie. "How did you make us sick?"
"The air. I let a bomb explode in one of the coconuts in the trees, and the smell that resulted made you all sick." Torie replied calmly.
"Why?"
"I thought you were Seifer."
(Somehow, I don't think that would affect him…)
"…"
"Irvine nodded at the Torie and everyone filed out the doorway, with only Squall looking back.
The lake came into view. Seifer was, as Torie had said, there, his eyes focusing on the center. He turned his head, indicating that he saw the group, but he didn't budge.
"Seifer!" Zell began to yell. Quistis clamped a hand over his mouth.
The blonde raised his head. His eyes were tired, but piercing.
"I think he sees us." Selphie whispered. Squall silenced her.
Seifer advanced toward them slowly, and for every forward step he took, they decreased. Selphie stared, hypnotized, at the boy. He frowned, breaking her trance.
All of a sudden, Seifer disappeared.
"Where is he?!" Zell yelled, looking about for the man that had escaped without a trace.
"Seifer!" Squall called, throwing his head around feverishly.
"Just give up, Squall. We'll come back later." Quistis put her hand on Squall's shoulder. He shrugged it off and walked away. Rinoa gave Quistis a funny look and ran after her boyfriend.
"What did I do wrong?" Quistis lowered her head and walked away slowly.
Platypus Road - 2000 hours
After walking for a considerable amount of time, Rinoa turned around to face Squall. He was trudging along silently, his eyes on the ground. Quistis was watching him closely, her sky blue eyes running up and down his body, lingering on what was visible of his face. She examined his features, how they were set, and copied them, although not very accurately.
"Squall, is something wrong?" Rinoa finally asked. He shook his head silently. Rinoa searched his face for a more satisfactory answer, but she found none, so she lowered her head as well and quickened her steps.
Platypus Road – 2200 hours
"Hey, I think I see…" Zell turned around to where Squall had been walking. He was gone. "Where's Squall?"
Quistis turned around. "Rinoa, did you see Squall turn off anywhere?"
"No. Did you?" Rinoa replied, asking her question almost venomously.
"Not at all." Quistis raised her eyebrows in suspicion.
The whole group stopped.
"He couldn't have gone far." Irvine said.
"Let's split up and search!" Selphie cheered. Even if someone important was missing, you could count on her for enthusiasm.
"No." Quistis said sharply. "We cannot split up. We'll only get ourselves lost. We should all travel together with a partner and meet back here in one hour. Anyone who does otherwise will be left here."
"Buddy!" Selphie cried, hopping on Irvine's arm.
"Zell and Rinoa, come with me." Quistis commanded. Both the blonde boy and the raven hared girl trudged up to their current leader in a depressed fashion.
After a half an hour of roaming the expansive forest, Rinoa flopped down on a nearby stone.
"Zell…Quistis…I don't think he's here…" She sighed, tears almost dripping out of the corners of her eyes.
"Why would you think that?" Zell asked.
"Because…we're almost near the edge of the forest. The real road is going to start in a few yards. He's not in this part of the forest, and I'm sure Selphie and Irvine aren't doing much better. I don't mean to be a pessimist and bring everyone's hopes down, but…I just don't think he's here…"
"She's right." Quistis said. "We should head back to the meeting area and when Selphie and Irvine get there, we'll decide what to do."
"Yes ma'am." Zell murmured quietly. For now, he knew Quistis was the leader, and he was in no mood to argue over her position.
Another half hour later, the entire group, minus Selphie and Irvine, were waiting for the other two.
Five minutes later-late, as expected-Selphie ran up, Irvine behind her. He was tired and red-faced by the time he reached the rest of the group.
"I win!" Selphie shrieked, leaping up into the air. Zell grabbed her arm to pull her to ground level.
"Selphie, did you find Squall?" Quistis asked impatiently. The brunette's face fell instantly.
"Uhhh…no."
"I don't think he's here." The breathless Irvine said.
"Neither does Rinoa." Zell frowned, balling his fists up in anger. He swung at the air, his eyes narrowed.
"So, what now?" Selphie asked.
"Well, we should go to Balamb Garden and regroup. I'm sure Headmaster Cid would love to help us out, maybe even lend us a SeeD to replace Squall for the time being." Quistis replied.
"You make Squall's disappearance sound like a burden." Rinoa said angrily.
"…"