********** Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy VIII characters do not belong to me. This story is the only thing that belongs to me. ********** "Squall! Wake up! C'mon!!!" Selphie yelled at a sleeping Squall. He opened his eyes and saw. nothing. All the lights were out. He waved his hand out in front of him and saw nothing. "Ouch! Watch it! Anyway, all the lights went out, even the ones outside the Garden! I can't see anything and I stubbed my toe on my dresser. Squall.?" Selphie said. Really annoyed from being awaken, Squall said, "And? What do you want me to do about it? It's past curfew." Selphie shivered and said, "We could go see Cid about it. But it's really dark. And what if we make a wrong turn and wander into the training center? We could get attacked by a T- Rexaur or something." Squall got up, threw on a pair of pants and stuck his hands out in front of him. He found his drawer, opened it up and took out a flashlight. When he turned it on, both of them blinked because of the brightness. The Garden was really big. It was going to be scary. They both walked out the door and saw Zell jump back in fright. He bumped into something that said 'PERVERT!!!!!' and came tumbling back into the hallway. The door slammed behind him. From the light of the flashlight, they both saw Zell blush. He said, "Heh, heh. All night: all girls slumber party. The lights went out and I decided to keep the girls company. Gawd! Didn't haffta throw me out like that." Without invitation, Zell joined them and insisted he was going to see the Headmaster too. In truth, he was too scared to find his way back to his room. They made their way out of the Dormitory and into the main hall. Everything was so big that they could only see 7 feet in front of them. Selphie grabbed onto Squall's arm. He was about to shoo her off, but thought better of it. Selphie's scary when she's mad! After about 15 minutes, they made it to the elevator. For the first time, Zell said something smart, "Er- if the power's out, how are we gonna get upstairs?" Of course, Zell was right. They all sat down on the stairs and Selphie asked for the flashlight. She stood up and Zell yelled. She had stepped on his hand. ("Why was your hand there in the first place?") She found a note that they hadn't noticed before on the elevator door. She said, "Uh, ohhh. Come look, guys."

Dear To Whom it May Concern, I can be found in the training center for the time being. This Section is the only one with it's own electrical box. In addition to it's own, the rest of the Garden's electrical box is there too to prevent fiddling around. Please do not come to find me (Even though I know you are already because you are reading this note.) But please go back to your Dorm and try to go back to sleep. Please excuse the cold. The heaters are not working either. If it is an absolute emergency, please visit Dr. Kadowaki in the Infirmary. She will be there and take any messages for me. The Cafeteria is holding candles and flashlights for those who need them, but the hotdogs won't come in until 5:00 a.m. Thank you for your cooperation. Your Headmaster, -Cid

"Well, You know what that means! OFF TO THE TRAINING CENTER!" Zell yelled. But Selphie argued, "Are you crazy? We've already broken one rule, and just because the electricity is on in the Training center doesn't mean that we have to go there! That's what flashlights are for! And we can't afford to get into trouble, our SeeD test is coming up! Do you know what kind of points they can take off? 100 from agility, 100 from behavior, 100 from battle tactics." Wow, Selphie talks, a lot Squall thought, "Okay, okay we get the point. C'mon Zell, she's right. Let's get more flashlights from the Cafeteria and you can come to our Dorm for now." Zell hung his head and started walking towards the Cafeteria and said, "Alright. But." He ran of in the opposite direction and shouted, "LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN OCHU!!" "Sheesh! Can't stop him can ya? C'mon Squall, let's go. I don't wanna do this but. HEY! Look on the bright side, this is good practice." She took out her Numchucks that she happened to have in her pocket and ran off. Squall hung his head, took out his Gunblade and dragged it along as he walked toward the training center. Apparently, Squall was the rotten Ochu, because he heard Selphie and Zell's voices: "OWWW, ZELL!!!!! I TOLD YOU TO PRETEND! [CRACK!]" "AHHH!! NOT THE BUTT, NOT THE BUTT!!!" Squall walked in and saw Zell running around holding his butt. Selphie was mumbling something about how hard Zell hits when he's pretending. Squall raised his eyebrow and said, "Can't you guys stay quiet? Can't do nothing without me." All three of them walked into the Training Center. Automatically, they saw the electrical box open, but without Cid in sight. They hadn't noticed it before because it had been hidden behind a giant leaf. The door to the right hand side the center was open. Naturally, they walked into it to see what was up. Selphie backed up a bit and said, "Ummm, excuse me? Don't you think Headmaster Cid would be able to take care of himself? I mean, he is the Headmaster of a whole Garden." Ignoring the comment completely, Squall continued walking. A few steps inside, they saw a gurgling noise com out of the pond. Nosily, Zell stuck his ear close to the water. The noise stopped until Zell lifted his head again. He took a step back and said, "Hmmm. Don't know what that is. Selphie, touch the water. There might be something lying around." "HAH! I'm not touching anything! If it's a piranha. I can't afford to loose a finger right now." Selphie replied. "But look! It's gurgling! Piranhas don't gurgle! Treasure chests do, though." He rubbed his hands together in greed. "Fine. I'll do it. But if it's anything that bites or growls, I'll have your neck." She stuck her finger in. A few seconds later, she gasped, then screamed. "It's holding onto my finger!!!!! AHHHH!!!" She yanked her finger out of the water. Whatever was holding onto her finger popped out of the water and held onto the planks. It was Cid!! The three of them helped rise Cid onto the platform. They gave him a second to catch his breath and he gasped out, "A monster. knocked me into. the water. A. reef was holding onto my ankle. couldn't swim out. I saw a figure walking past me about a few seconds before you came. I'm worried because. the electrical box is." Just then, the lights popped out. "Right around the back." He sighed and asked if they could find the box. Apparently, he couldn't get up because of his throbbing ankle. So little by little, each of the three started to feel their way around. They left the pond area. They had forgotten about their flashlights.

* * * * * * * * * * * * To make a long story short, they were searching for nearly an hour. The encouragement calls from Cid were becoming quite annoying and all three of them just wanted to go to bed. Finally, Zell called back to the other two that he had found something. The two followed the voice and ended up on either side of him. "Okay, I'm touching it. It's very hard, but it feels like there's some fabric on it too. Wow. It's tall. Can't be the." Just then the figure moved. "Hmph! Didn't know you went that way, Chicken Wuss!" Zell toppled back and started something like a domino effect. He fell on Selphie and Selphie fell on Squall. At the sound of a click all the lights went back on. "You guys fall for anything! It's disgusting! That stupid Cid thinks he's so." before he could continue, Cid came limping over and grabbed Seifer by the ear. ("Just wait until NORG hears about this!!!!"). He was dragged off and the other three hurried off in the direction of the exit. All the lights were back on again. They hurried off to the dorms. As Squall entered the door, Selphie cleared her throat. He looked out the door and saw Zell blushing. He was about to open up the door to the Slumber party, but Selphie had her Numchucks still at her side. They went to bed. So much for sleep! Classes started a hour later. The End





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