"Tidal Oasis"
Disclaimer: These characters in this story are about Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VIII. This story isn't for any profit or anything like that. I simply wanted to write this story for entertainment purposes only. Note that this story has little bit of yaoi in it. No hate emails for that, please? Oh, and I'm rating this story "PG-13" because of the language and violence. Hope ya enjoy it!
~*~*~*~Part One~*~*~*~
"How long, doctor?" asked Rinoa. "Six months." Said the doctor sullenly. "Oh my God. Is that it?" "Yes." She started weeping silently. "I'm terribly sorry that you had to find out this way." He said sympathetically. Rinoa then ran out of the hospital room, weeping quietly. The doctor peered over his patient's unmoving body. He then walked out and closed the door behind him. Zell opened up his eyes slowly. He was in a hospital bed. "....The hell?" he asked to himself weakly. The hospital door then opened. It was Squall. He looked at him and smiled. "Ah, I see you're awake, Sleepy-head." "Where the hell am I, Squall?" "Oh, that's right.you don't have any recollection of anything that happened to you." "Wha-what happened to me?" he asked nervously. Squall pulled up chair and looked at him. "Yo, man. Are those.tears in your eyes?" It was true. Squall had tears running down his cheeks. "I'm.so sorry Zell. Rinoa just told me the news about your condition and." "Cut the crap and tell me! What is my condition? And the hell happened to me? My mind's.a blank. I can't remember ANYTHING that happened to me before yesterday." Squall scooted up towards him closer and put his hand on Zell's shoulder. "Zell.you have cancer." The news took him abruptly and fell backwards on his bed. "I.do?" "Yeah. The doctors have no idea how you could have gotten it. I mean, there's no known cure.and there has been no record of that illness in your family records.the doctor said you have six months to live." "I see. Well, is that it? I just croak in half a year?" "Be more serious about this, Zell. You're gonna DIE and." "And.?" "I don't want you to make jokes about this. I care for you.a lot. And so does the others." "Heh. I feel so loved. But.are there any side effects or anything like that?" "No, from the records, the illness you have just six months left. You don't lose any body parts or anything like that." "That's good. I can still screw! Go me!" Squall let out a small chuckle. "Listen, I want you to know.if you need anything, I'll be here." He said as he smiled. "I know." Squall leaned closer to Zell's lips and gave him a small kiss. After Squall pulled away, he blushed a little bit. "I'm sorry.you probably think I'm a queer. I'll.leave you alone." Zell blushed also and he felt his cheeks burning with bashfulness. "No.come back. I really enjoyed that kiss. I, um.have admired you for the longest time, and." Squall pressed his lips onto Zell's mid-sentence. "Well, I guess I'd better let the others come in," said Squall as he pulled away. "Okay. Send in Selphie. I want to tell her something." "Okay. I'll see you again before the day is over, don't worry." "Okay. Bye." Squall closed the door as Zell closed his eyes once again. The door opened a few moments later with Selphie standing at the doorway. "Zell? Hun, you awake?" she asked quietly. "Yeah. I wanted to rest my eyes. That's all." "Well, I heard about your condition, and I'm so sorry." "Yeah. It's fine. Even though I've only got six months, I can still spend plenty of time to waste with my closest pals! Gimme a hug, you!" Selphie smiled warmly and gave him a hug. "Hey, Selphie." "Yeah?" "Squall forgotten to explain to me what had happened to me before I got here in this hospital." "Oh, he did? Well, it wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you that." She said. "I don't remember anything about what happened to me before yesterday. Can you tell me what happened?" "Well, for starters, there was a huge barrage of monsters heading towards Balamb. When you had first heard about the news." Zell was running past Quistis and Selphie and ran into his scorching hometown, Balamb. "Damn you all to hell! Bastards!" ".You had gone on a rampage on trying to find your mother and everyone else. You checked your home, but there was no one to be found anywhere. The entire village was in flames. No one could comprehend on how this had happened, but everyone was guessing it was the Bombs." "Was it?" "No. It was some unknown force that simply lit the buildings on fire. I was with you at the time when you were fighting all the monsters in Balamb, trying to protect all the little ones scampering all over the village. You were truly very brave." "You really think so?" "Yes! Of course! But, anyways, you kept searching for your mom, in hope she wasn't attacked or anything." "Ma! Where are you?! Ma! Are you here?" "Did I find her?" "She wasn't anywhere in town. Turns out she was taken hostage.and was killed." "WHAT!?!?!?!" Zell picked up his mother's body and started crying on her chest. "NOOO! Why??? Who did this to you?!?!?!" "We found her dead body on the side of the road. She had bled to death. We don't know who or what caused her to be that way. All we found were several puncture marks in her stomach. I'm sorry." "My GOD! Who the hell did this to her?!" "It could have been a monster. We don't know. You were hysterical when we had found her." "Mom." "That's all I can remember. I had to see what Squall was doing after you took your mother to the infirmary in Balamb Garden. Dr. Kadowaki couldn't do anything." Zell started crying inconsolably. "W-Where is she now?" "She is being made up for her funeral. It's in a week, I think." Zell started crying harder. "Oh, I'm so sorry." Selphie held him while he cried. "Listen, things will be all right. We'll find out who did this to your mom. I can promise you that." "Did anyone else die?" he asked with tears in his eyes. "......" "Tell me!" "The whole town of Balamb was completely destroyed after that assault. I highly doubt anyone made it." "No...NOOO!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. Selphie started crying herself. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I mean, if there were any other way of breaking the news to you in a more gentler way, I would've." "It's fine." he sniffed. "Are you okay?" "No. What about everyone else? Did you guys get out of things okay?" "Yeah. Everyone made it, me, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Quistis." "Good. What about Headmaster Cid and Edea?" "Oh, those two were on the other continent when this happened. So, they're both as safe as they could be." "That's good to hear." "But here, let me give you some time to think things though, and then I'll let Quistis in." Selphie gave him one last hug and walked out of the room. "So? How is he? Is he okay? Did you tell him the news about him mom?" asked Quistis. "Yeah, I told him. He was devastated." "Well, of course he's gonna be devastated. His mom died for goodness sake!" said Irvine. "I hope he's going to be alright," said Squall. "Where's Rinoa?" asked Selphie. "She had to go get something. She never said what, but she'll be right back." Said Quistis. "Well, yeah. Its kind of sad to not remember what happened if your mom died. It was such a disturbing sight. Quistis, remember how hard it was to watch Zell cry hysterically onto his mom's body." "Mom!!!! Don't die on me! Please don't die on me! I don't want you gone! I'm not.I'm not ready to face this! Please." "Zell. It'll be okay. We'll find out who did this," Said Quistis. Zell started crying harder. "I almost started crying. I can't stand seeing any one of my closest friends in that kind of anguish." Said Selphie. "That's true." Said Irvine. "I will find the bastard and I will make him PAY!" Zell got up and put his mother gently on the ground. "That stupid shit head will be sorry he EVER set foot in Balamb." Zell rushed off in another direction towards the beach. "Zell! Where the hell are you going???" asked Selphie. "I'm going to SWIM over to Edea's house and see if she has any information on this attack!" he yelled back. "That's CRAZY! Her house is in a whole 'nother continent! You'd NEVER make it!" cried Selphie. "Never say never!!!!" Zell took off his clothes and dove in. Quistis and Selphie both ran after him. "Zell! Please reconsider this!" said Quistis. Zell stopped while he was swimming and floated to talk to them. "How the hell can I get over to that damn continent then? Hmm? The Balamb trains are completely destroyed and the Balamb Garden is stationed all the way in Fisherman's Horizon! The only way off to this freakin' continent is by swimming!" "You'll never make it! Please! Think this through! You can't swim all the over to the other continent! We were stationed over here for a purpose, Zell! We can't abandon any of this! Come back!" Zell reluctantly came back onto shore and put on his clothing again. "I guess you guys are right. But.what the hell can we do? I mean.I don't want to leave my ma in this state." "Listen, hun. We understand your emotions at this time, but we can't let those emotions get in the way of our duty as SeeDs!" said Quistis. "Yeah, Zell. You need to calm down a bit and think things through before you go jumping into the ocean!" Zell sighed and plopped onto the sand. "Hi guys." Said Rinoa as she walked by everyone. "Oh, did you get done taking care of that thing you needed to do?" asked Squall. "Yeah." Rinoa blushed. Zell was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. "Mom? Can you hear me? If you can.if you can hear me.I want you to know.I'm really sorry that I couldn't be there to protect you." Zell starting sobbing and said, "You know.I really wish you could be here. I miss you already Ma." He then lay on his sides and let the tears flow freely. After a couple of seconds later, he wiped them off. "I'm such a damn weakling." There was knock on the door. "Come in." In stepped his fellow SeeD member, Quistis. "Zell, are you all right?" ".I guess." "I'm sorry about what had happened. How did you get amnesia after all of this?" "I guess it was too much for me to handle." Quistis walked over to him and touched his hand. "You know, if you need anything, everyone is here to support you." "I know. Thanks for being here." Quistis gave him a hug. "So.can you tell me more on what had happened? Selphie told me some of the stuff, but she had forgotten the rest, I think." He said. "Oh, I see.well, where did she leave off?" "She left off where I found my mom's body." "Oh, yes. Well." "Do you really think my mom will be okay, you guys? You know.will she be lookin' at me in Heaven and smile down on me? You think she's watching me right now?" Selphie and Quistis looked at each other with sympathetic eyes. "Yeah. Of course she'll be looking down on you." Said Quistis. Zell looked at the ocean with distant eyes. "I wonder if she's gonna be okay, I mean, really okay." He said. "What makes you think that she won't?" asked Selphie. Zell didn't answer. "Hey, are you going to be okay?" asked Selphie. Quistis caught a shiny glint in the corner of his eye. "Of course I'm going to be all right! This is me we're talking about!" Zell looked away. "This ocean is getting old to watch, so I'm gonna go walk around." "Do you need one of us to go with you?" "Oh, I can take care of myself. But thanks for worrying about me." Zell walked off, leaving the two behind. "That was.the last time me and Selphie saw you after that. You just.seemed to disappear from our sights for some unknown reason. The next thing we knew it, me and Selphie heard about your news and came here as quickly as possible!" "Oh? You mean.you don't know how I got to being here or how I could've gotten cancer?" he asked. "No, I'm sorry. I don't. Maybe Irvine, Squall, or Rinoa can tell you, because I sure can't." "It's fine. Thanks." "Do you want me to send in Irvine?" "Yeah, sure." "Okay." Quistis walked out and closed the door behind her. Momentarily, Irvine walked in. "Hey, man. You feeling all right?" "I'll be fine. I'm just so.confused on everything." "How are you confused? Didn't Quistis and Selphie tell you everything?" "No, they told me what happened at the time I was with them. They said I.disappeared or something." "Well, do you want me to tell you what I saw?" "Yeah, go ahead." "Well, okay it goes out like this." ".I had no idea how, but you had somehow appeared in front of Edea's House. I was talking to her at the time, and you know, we were discussing things that were happening recently. You came knocking on her door and when she came to answer it." "Oh! What a pleasant surprise! I thought you were.protecting Balamb with Quistis and Selphie." Said Edea. "I.honestly don't have any idea how I got here. I was.walking through the woods and." Zell suddenly keeled over in pain. "My goodness! Are you all right?" Edea laid her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He said gruffly. "Well, it's a good thing that you came over! Cid. Irvine and I were getting a bit bored." She said as she invited him in. Zell stepped in. Irvine did a double take when he saw Zell standing in the doorway. "Hey, Zell! What're you doing here?" He asked. "None of your damn business." Zell turned to him coldly. "Whoa, there. No need to get defensive man! I was only asking you a question." ".I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell is happening to me." Edea stood behind him and laid a soft touch on his shoulder. "Would you care for something to drink, Zell?" "Oh, no. I'll be just fine. Thanks for your hospitality." He said as he brushed her off. Zell sat down on a worn out couch. "Hey, man. You okay?" Zell stared at him and shook his head. "My mom.is dead." Irvine did another double take. "What??? How? Did they find the murderer???" Zell started weeping silently. "Me, Quistis and Selphie didn't find anything, unfortunately. But I AM gonna find the stupid bastard who actually set foot in Balamb." "Was there anyone else murdered in the process?" asked Irvine. "The entire city of Balamb was destroyed. It's in complete ruins now." Zell said with a stern look on his face. "Shit, I'm sorry, man." ".You then stomped out of Edea's house and walked off onto the beach and totally disappeared. We were worried that something that happened to you, man. Do you remember any of this?" asked Irvine. "No.I don't. How the HELL can I just disappear like that?" Zell asked. "I don't know.but me, Edea and Cid were searching high and low for you man! We thought something had happened to you!" he said. Edea was searching around the beaches for Zell and caught up with Cid. "Honey, did you find him?" she asked. "No, I'm sorry. I'm getting worried. He's in such an emotional state from what you had told me. He's capable of doing anything." Said Cid. "Oh, there's Irvine." Said Edea as she saw him running from the horizon. "Any luck?" Cid asked. "Nope. That guy is long gone. He's nowhere to be found on this continent anywhere!" said Irvine. "I'm so worried.what if something happened to him?" asked Edea. "We can only hope for the best." Said Cid as he put his arm around her waist and stared off into the sunset. ".And that was the last time I saw you, man." Said Irvine. "I see.but it still bothers me that I can't remember how I disappeared from continent to continent like that!" exclaimed Zell. "Well, I don't know. Why don't you ask Rinoa and see if she knows anything? And Squall? Did he say anything?" "No, he didn't tell me anything. So bring Rinoa first, then Squall." Said Zell. "Okay then." Irvine walked out of the door and shut it behind him. He sighed to himself and said, "Poor guy." Irvine walked to the others. "Rinoa, it's your turn." Rinoa was staring off into space. "Rinoa?" asked Irvine as he snapped his fingers in her face. "Huh? What did you say?" "Where did YOU go off to? Zell wants to speak with you next." Rinoa hesitated. "Um.Squall! Can you go before me?" asked Rinoa. "What's wrong with going in now?" asked Irvine. ".Are you hiding anything from us, Rinoa?" asked Quistis. She sighed and didn't reply. Instead, she just walked inside Zell's room as if she was going face the day of her death. "Zell, honey? I.uh.have something that I think you should know." "Shoot." "Um." "Man, what is Rinoa hiding exactly?" asked Quistis. "She seemed like she was in another dimension or something. She kept spacing out while you were in there with Zell." Said Selphie. "I wonder what's going to happen." wondered Irvine. "I hope things are going okay in there." said Squall. There was a sudden crash in Zell's room. "YOU BITCH! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Everyone could hear Zell screaming at Rinoa. There was another crash, and a series of loud sobs of 'I didn't mean to!' and 'It was an accident!' "BULLSHIT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR SCREWED UP FACE EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!" Zell screamed from inside the room. The door busted wide open and Rinoa ran from there crying. "W-what?" asked Irvine. Rinoa brushed past the others and out of the hospital in tears. Zell came out also. He had unplugged every hospital wire that was in him and looked around. "YOU BETTER RUN!!!!!" he screamed in every direction. "Ugh." He clutched onto the side of the door. "Zell!" everyone cried. Zell had fallen to the ground, exhausted. Squall picked him up and shook him a little bit. "Zell? Zell? Are you all right? Zell???" Zell had blacked out into a coma. Everyone was surrounding Zell in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes. "What.what happened? The last thing I remember is." He bolted straight up. ".WHERE THE HELL IS THAT BITCH RINOA????" he screamed. "Calm down, Zell." Zell looked around him and saw that Rinoa wasn't there. "Where did that.bitch. run off to? I want to talk to her." "Calm down, Zell! What the hell did she say to you?" asked Irvine. "Yeah, what could possibly get you to get so furious with her?" asked Selphie. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you guys anyways." Said Zell. "We're listening." Said Quistis. "She's the reason why everyone in Balamb is dead." Said Zell grimly. "WHAT?!?!?" Everyone was in a state of shock. "But.how and in what way?" asked Squall. Zell sniffed and said, "She told me that she had 'accidentally' let loose a flaming out-of-this-world being. Turns out she still has some sorceress powers embedded deep within her." Said Zell. "How did she let it loose?" asked Selphie. "She summoned it." ".How could this be an accident if she actually SUMMONED it?" asked Quistis. "That's what I'm saying, yo!" said Zell. Everyone pondered about this for a little while. "Squall.do you know anything that happened? You never really told me about what YOU had seen. We all knew you were at Balamb Garden handling important things over there, but.did you ever see me wander by, not knowing how I got there?" Zell asked. "You know what? Now that you mentioned it." Squall was on the control bridge, trying to steer Balamb Garden out of FH when he had hit something. "What the.?" he asked to himself. "Man, I really got to work on my steering." Nida suddenly showed up. "Squall! Come quick! There's an emergency!" Nida then went down below again to warn everyone that there were monsters rampaging on the sea and headed out towards Balamb Garden! Squall could see that there was many monsters headed their way. "How.did monsters land on the sea???" Squall said. Squall took the lift down to Headmaster Cid's office and took the elevator down to the first floor. There was panic and chaos everywhere. "Above everything else, I saw you, Zell. You were completely damp. I was wondering if you had actually SWAM here, and I asked you." "Zell??? What're you doing here?" Zell looked at his companion with icy cold eyes and did not answer him. "Zell!" Squall put a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa! How come.you're so.so cold? The ocean isn't THAT freezing.Are you okay, Zell? Do you need to see the doctor?" Squall asked. ".Hold me." Zell collapsed into his arms. "Zell? Zell! Wake up!" Squall carried Zell into the Infirmary. "I had no idea what was happening to you.you were so.helpless. After I set you down on the bed, you." "Please.don't.don't leave me." Zell clutched Squall's hand tightly. "I don't.want to be alone.anymore." Zell fainted after that. ".I won't leave you, Zell. I won't leave you." Squall grasped Zell's hand firmly. "Please." Squall said with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to loose you. You are too important to everyone in this room.especially me." Squall stroked the side of Zell's cheek with the back of his hand. "I.love you too, Squall." Rinoa was peeking in the crack of the door. ".I'm sorry, Zell. Hopefully, you can forgive me one day. I really didn't mean to wreck havoc on your town." A tear slowly escaped her eye. She sniffed and walked out. It was an early morning in the city of Balamb. Rinoa was dressed in dark clothing and snuck off into the middle of the town. "I hope this spell works." Said Rinoa quietly. "It's been a while since I used my sorceress's powers, but I think I can accomplish this." Rinoa raised her hand high up into the air. A light emanated from the tips of her fingers and flashed high up into the sky. Far, far away you could barely see the light going up into the dark sky. Suddenly, moody and unwelcome clouds formed in the sky. "W-what happened?" asked Rinoa nervously. The lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder boomed, being heard from miles away. "T-this isn't the spell I was casting! Oh no!" As the thunder and lightning withdrew, a hairy, grotesque beast came out of the clouds and landed in front of her with a soft THUD. "Did you summon me?" asked the beast. "N-no! I wasn't summoning ANYTHING! I swear!" The beast leaned forward and directly stared into her eye. "Tough luck. HAHAHAHAHA!" The beast rose forward and started setting aflame to everything in sight. Rinoa trembled and couldn't move. "What is it, girl? Are you afraid of me?" Rinoa narrowed her eyes and said, "Of course not!" The beast laughed in her face. "Your false bravado is showing." He moved closer to her. "Don't mess with me and don't get in my way. If you happen to do so, I shall rip out your heart and feed it to the dogs." Rinoa was now trembling immensely. "I am NOT afraid of you." The beast grabbed her by her shirt collar and threw her all the way out into the shore. She was knocked unconscious. Zell sighed and stared into the ceiling, as if waiting for something to happen. Squall has taken a chair, sat in the corner and snored silently. Zell looked over and smiled. "You are so adorable when you're sleeping." He said to himself. He then looked over to the side, and wondered if he was being a little hard on Rinoa. "I mean, it COULD'VE been an accident, but I know I could never forget what she had done to make my life so miserable." He thought. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. The flames on all of the buildings spread quickly. Ma Dincht was trying to gather everyone to the exit, but there was too much commotion. No one listened to her and ran off in their ways only to be killed with their young by monsters that roamed freely later on. "Oh my God! I need to get everyone out of here before anyone else dies!" she cried. The beast hovered over her crossing its hairy arms. "You get out of the way, you bastard!" screamed Mrs. Dincht. "It's not nice when you talk to someone like that. Especially me." "I don't give a shit who you are! Let me pass!" The beast grabbed her by the neck. "Now, I told you that your language wasn't appropriate. Now, let me show you your punishment: DEATH!" The beast had long, incisors for nails and rammed it through her stomach. "AAAAH!!!!!" Ma Dincht screamed in pure agony. "You like that, HUH?!?!" The beast withdrew and stabbed her again and again until she was started coughing up blood. "Die, bitch." The beast threw her all the way to the side of the road. Ma Dincht saw that the Garden wasn't that far away. "Zell.son.I have to reach.you." Ma Dincht crawled hopelessly towards Balamb Garden. Not even five feet she had reached when she collapsed and died.
~*~*~*~Part Two~*~*~*~ It was a clear and beautiful day when Zell was released from the hospital. He sniffed at the fresh air. "Ahh, it feels nice to be outdoors." He looked over and saw a coffin. "..." Slight tears formed in his eyes. He walked by the coffin and kneeled in front of it. "Ma." He kissed the tips of his fingers and placed them on top of the coffin. "Mom.I love you." Several tears rolled down his cheeks. A hand was placed on Zell's shoulder. Zell looked up to see Squall. "Come on. Let's go." He said. Zell coughed and stood up. Squall turned his head at an odd angle and looked at him. "You gonna be okay?" "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." They embraced and walked towards Balamb Garden. Quistis, Selphie and Irvine followed from a distance and talked amongst themselves. "So, where do you suppose Rinoa is? No one has seen her for weeks." "I guess she felt guilty about what had happened to Zell," replied Quistis. "Who could blame her? I wouldn't want to show my face either." Said Irvine. Rinoa saw everyone from behind a tree. She clutched her necklace. "Squall.I hope you still care about me." She ran off in another direction. "So, when is the funeral?" asked Squall. "It's a couple of days. I'm probably gonna be bawling my damn eyeballs out." Said Zell while looking down on the ground. Squall frowned. He put his arm around Zell's body and Zell leaned his head on Squall's shoulder. Quistis sighed. "Don't they make a cute couple?" "Well, I'm not gay, so I wouldn't know." Said Irvine. "I think they make a good couple!" said Selphie enthusiastically. "Hey, Squall." Said Zell. "Yeah?" "Well.there's still something I'm really confused about." "Hmm?" "Well.I'm still confused on how I jumped from continent to continent. No one really explained how or why that happened." Said Zell. "Yeah, I'm kind of wondering about that also." Said Squall. "Could this be tied in with Rinoa?" asked Zell. "I have no clue. No one has seen her ever since she stormed out of the hospital that night." said Squall. "We'll go look for her, then!" "But.I thought you wanted to out for a picnic, Zell!" "It's okay. Those hot dogs can wait." "Okay." Said Squall.
"Hey guys! Zell wants to look for Rinoa. We'll get ready and meet outside in twenty minutes, okay?" said Squall. "Okay!" said Quistis. "Zell? Looking for Rinoa?" asked Irvine. "Maybe he wants to milk some more information about his mom's death." Reasoned Selphie. "That could be the reason." said Irvine. "Well, I don't know. But I'm going to support Zell all I can. He really needs his friends right now." Said Quistis. "True," said Selphie. Everyone walked inside Balamb Garden and towards the dorm rooms. "Twenty minutes, guys." Said Zell. "We know." Everyone said. Rinoa was running far, far away from everyone, practically even herself. She couldn't understand why she was running.but she needed to get away from everyone.especially from that beast that was destroying Balamb. She plopped on the sand. She was in the middle of the desert. "Rinoa." Rinoa jumped in surprise. "Who said that?" she asked into the desert. "Rinoa." The voice seemed to be everywhere now. They kept calling her name."Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." She shrieked in frustration. "STOP CALLING OUT MY DAMN NAME! WHO ARE YOU????" A shapeless figure formed in front of her. "W-Who are you?" she asked with a trembling voice. "I have come to take you away from all of this." "Away.from all of this?" "Yes. Step into the portal and all of your dreams shall be fulfilled." Said the shapeless figure. It made a snapping sound and a portal appeared right in front of him. "Dreams.fulfilled?" "Go in, child. You know you want to." Said the figure. "Want.to?" Rinoa shuffled her legs a bit and slowly started walking towards the portal. "Happiness will come to you. You just need to step through that portal. Yes, child.step through." "Happiness." Rinoa stepped through and fell into a dark pit. Suddenly realizing what she had done, she looked around her. It was a damp, cold place with barely any light. "Let me out of here!" she screamed up into the entrance of the portal. The shapeless figure then jumped through the portal to face her. It morphed into the beast! "AAH! Get the hell away from me!" She screamed. "No one can hear your screams. Just succumb to the darkness." He raised a hand, ready to motion a wave of Dark Firma. A black shot of darkness came from his hands, but missed Rinoa. "Darkness? Then.your weakness should be.HOLY!!!!!" She screamed out the spell name. A barrage of lights pummeled the beast with amazing speed. When the spell was done, the beast still remained, untainted. "Your silly parlor tricks don't work on a super-being like me." Rinoa gasped and stepped back a few steps. "Super.being?" asked Rinoa nervously. "Yes. I take it you know what a super-being is in this world, right?" asked the monster. ".Someone or something that is immune to all elemental properties and has super strength." "Smart girl. Now bow down and except your fate!!!!!!" Rinoa didn't know what to do next. She knew that she couldn't do anything. But maybe. Everyone met outside. "Okay, is everyone ready to go?" asked Squall. "Yup." They replied. "So does anyone know where to even start looking for Rinoa?" asked Irvine. Everyone pondered for a moment. "Let's board the Ragnarok. We can probably cover more ground that way." Suggested Selphie. "Sounds like a plan." Everyone agreed. They were about to board when they already saw Rinoa. She was running from something. "Look! There she is!" cried Quistis. "I wonder why she looks so frightened." Said Irvine. Rinoa ran in their direction and bashed into Irvine without looking. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Calm down, Rinoa!" said Irvine. Zell heard her voice and came back down. "Rinoa? Is that you?" he asked. Squall followed him down with him. The five were looking at her and she looked at everyone back. There was coldness in those eyes. A coldness that couldn't be explained in any way words could. She then had a cold expression on her face now. What was wrong with her.? "Are you all right, Rinoa?" asked Selphie. She grinned and said, "Gotcha." She formed a ball of darkness in her hands and threw it at her five friends. A black screen of smoke covered the entire area. Everyone coughed until they passed out. Rinoa looked at all of them, collapsed on the floor with an evil look on her eye. Rinoa called upon her partner, Angelo. "INVINCIBLE MOON!" When Rinoa had turned clear, the beast scoffed. "You should know, being invincible doesn't mean shit. You WILL succumb to my darkness." He rose over his head, a ball of darkness and as it intensified, Rinoa was panicking. "What will I do?" she thought. She looked around for maybe some sort of shield. "Wait.if he's immune to ALL elemental properties.then maybe a Forbidden spell would work on him. ULTIMA!!!!!" It was too late. The beast had thrown his attack directly at Rinoa. "DARK FIRMA!!!!!!"A flash of darkness flowed freely inside her veins. "N-no! It can't end.like this!" "Except your true fate, girl! You are now my slave for all of eternity!" the beast exclaimed. "Guys.forgive me!" she spoke out through the excruciating pain. The darkness has completely absorbed her body. "You are no longer the girl you used to be. You shall be my new slave---RISE! Rise forth and obstruct those who oppose us!" After the darkness disappeared, her cold eyes shone brightly. "I will obey. I will obey you.Master Firma." The beast's eyes glowed a bright red and cackled. Zell woke up in a dark and cold cell, along with Squall. He was still unconscious. Zell crawled over to him. "Squall? Honey, you okay?" Squall struggled to open up his eyes. Zell got up and gave him hug. When Squall finally opened up his eyes, he looked around and saw that Zell was clinging on to him. "Zell?" He looked up at him and smiled warmly. "I thought you were a goner." "Nah, I would never leave you, Zell." Squall looked around his surroundings while stroking Zell's hair softly. "Where are we?" he asked. "I don't know. I just woke up here." Said Zell. "I wonder where the others are." Said Squall. "I hope they're okay." said Zell. "Yeah, I do too." They both coupled as the lights dimmed to barely any illumination at all. "Hahaha. Don't you two look so sweet together?" asked someone. "Who's there?" asked Squall. Rinoa stepped into the light. She wasn't wearing her usual blue dress. She was wearing an all-black dress with black gloves. "RINOA?!" They both exclaimed. She looked at them with unwelcome eyes. "I am no longer Rinoa. I am a servant for the magnificent FIRMA! HAHAHAHAHA!" "Firma.?" asked Zell. Rinoa didn't answer them. Instead, she flipped a switch right next to their cell cage. "Nighty-night." She said evilly. An assault of thunder magic obliterated through the cell with remarkable speed, and coursing through Squall and Zell's bodies. After a few moments, they both lost consciousness. Zell walked away from Quistis and Selphie. He had tears in his eyes and felt their sympathy for him. He was touched that they could care about him like that, but it didn't make things any better for him. He slipped into the forest short of Balamb and got lost after a few minutes of aimless wandering. He started to panic, but just gave up after two minutes and collapsed on the ground. He started sobbing. "WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!" he screamed into the deepest parts of the forest, not caring about who was listening. Zell pounded his fists onto the Earth. Suddenly, a mysterious voice spoke to him out of nowhere. "Do you want to get away from all of this?" it asked. "Who are you?" asked Zell. "A concerned friend." It replied. "I don't need your pity!" He yelled out angrily. "I could tell you are upset. But come through this portal and your wishes shall be granted." It replied. A light green portal appeared out of nowhere. Zell looked through it and saw Edea's House. "You mean, if I step through this portal, I would appear on the other side of it?" he asked. "Correct," continued the mysterious voice, "but there is a catch." "Tch, I knew it." Replied Zell. "You will undergo a change in both your mental stability as well as your appearance with the added effect of random diseases." ".I don't care. I need to speak with Edea." "Then step forward." Zell did what he was told. On the other side of the portal, he could see Edea's house in plain sight. "I shall be here when you need me," said the voice. "Fine." Said Zell gruffly. Zell ran over to Edea's House and knocked on the door. "My plan is working. Sooner or later, this idiotic fool will deteriorate as soon as he steps into my fifth and final portal. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" said the voice to itself. A few moments later, Zell ran out of the house. "Damn them all." Zell said harshly. "My, my! What has got you so worked---" "Shit! I forgotten to ask Edea if she knew anything about the attack on Balamb." Interrupted Zell. "Well, I have no knowledge of what you speak. Step through the next portal." Said the voice. "All right." The next portal was located in Balamb Garden. Zell stepped through without even thinking. The next thing he knew, there were many Balamb Garden students rushing everywhere. Nida brushed past him and looked at him strangely. "Zell??? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in Balamb?" he asked. "There is no more---" "Oh, hey listen! I can't chat! There's a bunch of monsters headed out here! Gotta go!" Said Nida hurriedly and headed off in the other direction. "Screw you too, you heartless bastard." Zell replied. Squall was going to try and calm down everyone when he saw Zell, just standing there with an expressionless face. He walked down to see what was the matter. "Zell??? What's the matter?" ".Hold me." Zell collapsed into Squall's arms. As Squall carried Zell into the Infirmary and set him on the bed, Zell clutched his hand. "Please.don't leave me." "I won't leave you, Zell. I won't leave you." Dr. Kadowaki stepped in from behind him. "You love him, don't you Squall?" She asked to him with a smile on her face. Squall paused for a moment. ".Yeah, I do. With all of my heart and soul." Dr. Kadowaki sighed and said to herself, "Young men in love these days.go figure." She walked off and went back to her desk, leaving the two alone. "Zell.if you can hear me.I'll be with you 'til the very end. I love you." Squall kissed Zell's forehead and walked on out. "Take care of him, Dr. Kadowaki." He said. "Don't worry about him! You've got other things to worry about. He'll be safe in here." She said reassuringly. Squall walked out and headed to the bridge and needed to steer the Garden out of the monsters' path. When he reached the control bridge, he saw that there were no monsters at all coming their way. He turned back towards the Infirmary. When he reached there. Zell was shivering intensely. "Zell???" Dr. Kadowaki looked up. "Thank heavens you are here! See if you can do anything. I haven't been able to reach him. It's like he's struggling for his life." Said Dr. Kadowaki. Squall walked over to him and held his hand. "Zell? Are you okay?" he asked gently. Zell didn't answer. He opened up his eyes slightly. When he saw Squall, Zell leapt onto him and squeezed him tightly around his lover's waist. "Zell? What's wrong???" asked Squall with concern. "I had a horrible nightmare, Squall! It was terrible!" Zell start crying intensely. "Shh.it was only a nightmare." Squall soothed. Zell cried harder and buried his face into Squall's chest. "What happened in the dream?" asked Squall. More tears strolled down his face. "Everyone DIED! Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, you and everyone else in the world died such horrible deaths! I was left to myself, crying on top of your lifeless body." He exclaimed softly. Even more tears rolled down his cheeks. Squall held him closer as Zell cried in his arms. "It's going to be okay, Zell. Everything is going to all right." Said Squall. Zell woke up to find himself in secluded chamber. He was in shackles and was high off the ground. "Squall? Squall, where are you?" he asked weakly. "I.I need you." "Don't make me gag on my shoes." Said someone. It was Rinoa again. "Why.why the Hell are you DOING this to us? We're supposed to be your FRIENDS!" cried Zell. "Friends? I have no friends. I have a master and nothing more." "So you are just a freakin' SLAVE then. What made you change yourself in this way?" he asked. "Don't be so bitter about things. I actually still have Rinoa in me left. I'm trying to destroy whatever is left of it." She said. "So you were BRAINWASHED!" he exclaimed. ".Go to Hell!" she screamed at him, while throwing a rock at him. "Don't loose your temper over this piece of garbage." Said a voice. "That voice." said Zell. "Yes, Master Firma." She said. "Oh my GOD! I remember whose voice that belongs to!" said Zell. "You were the freakin' bastard that led me those damn portals!" he screamed. "Oh? You think you are that smart to figure out that it was I? Well, do you think you are smart enough to figure out who destroyed your pathetic little village, Balamb?" Firma asked as he stepped out from the shadows. ".So it was YOU who destroyed Balamb! You BASTARD!!!!!" Zell screamed. "Yes. It was unfortunate that I stabbed your mother in the stomach." "....YOU DID WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!" "Come, slave. Let's leave this pathetic loser with his lonely thoughts." Said Firma as he disappeared. Rinoa walked behind him. "..." Zell took to realizing what Firma had told him. "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouted, and cried inconsolably. Quistis, Squall, Selphie, and Irvine waited patiently for what was in store for them next. "I wonder if Zell is okay." replied Squall, worriedly. "We can only hope. WE don't even know what is going to happen to us." Said Quistis. Irvine looked to the side at the metal jail cell bars. "I wonder if we can pry those open." He said while pointing to it. Selphie started weeping and said, "It's not use. We are NEVER gonna get out of here alive!" "Selphie, you can't think that. Never lose hope. NEVER!" Irvine walked over and shook her. "Get the hell away from me. I don't believe in anything anymore." "Selphie, Irvine's right. If you lose hope, then you really ARE going to die." "Listen to her, Selphie." Said Irvine. "Squall! Help us out here!" replied Quistis. Squall didn't answer her. "Squall?" she asked. "Don't mind me. I'm just worried about Zell, that's all." He said. "He's going to be fine." Said Irvine. "Yeah, he's probably safe and trying to figure out a way to get out of this big mess that we're in." she replied. Selphie perked up a little bit and placed her hands on both his shoulders. "It's gonna be alright." She said as she placed her head on his back. "Do you guys really think he's safe?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he's fine." Said Irvine. "We still need to find out on how to get out of this dungeon." Replied Quistis. "Any ideas?" asked Irvine. Squall continued looking outside the window and wondered if they were really going to get out of there alive. "We HAVE to get out of here." Said Squall. "How come you suddenly gotten so determined?" asked Selphie. "I don't know, exactly. My mind is filled with so many unanswered questions, like why Rinoa hit us with that smoke screen. And why all of us are here in a group except Zell?" "Well, maybe the person who's REALLY behind it all is targeting Zell." Reasoned Quistis. "What do you mean by whose REALLY behind it all? Rinoa was the one who knocked us unconscious!" exclaimed Irvine. "Well, Rinoa is always getting herself into so many situations. I have a gut feeling that she really isn't behind all of this. There has to be some kind of second party involved." She said. "Well, we won't find out by just sittin' on our asses and PONDERIN', now can we?" asked Irvine. He pulled out a file. "When did you think to bring one of those?" asked Squall. "I ALWAYS carry a file with me. I don't know why, but I just do." He replied as he shrugged. ".Whatever." Replied Squall. Irvine walked to the bars and started filing away. Squall looked out the window again, stared at the moon and said, "Zell.we're coming to find you. Wait for me." A five-year-old Zell walked out from his room. "Ah, there's my sweet little boy." Cooed his mother. Zell smiled a wide smile. He sat down and ate his cereal quietly. "Zell? Is there something wrong? You seem very quiet this morning." She replied. "No, I'm fine, Ma." She walked over to him and laid a hand on his head. "Now, I want you to behave. Make your mommy proud, alright?" She said. Zell smiled again and said, "Of course!" Ma Dincht smiled back. "Haha! Your adult teeth are growing in!" "Is it a good thing, Ma?" She laughed again and said, "Yes, dear." Zell got his lunchbox and ran out of the house, excitedly. Zell opened his bloodshot eyes slowly. "It was only a dream." He replied. Squall and the rest began roaming the entire, of what looked like the inside of a castle. "Man, these hallways go on forever and a day!" exclaimed Selphie. The castle had six floors, along with forty rooms on almost every floor. Zell was at the top, the sixth floor. There was only one room up there, but the others looked in every one of them, and found some extra powerful weapons. As they arrived on the last floor, they attempted in opening the door to the rather large corridor. The door wouldn't budge. Squall scratched his head in frustration. "There's a magical seal on this door. If we can break it, we can enter." Replied Selphie. "How do we know what spell to use on the door?" asked Quistis. "We'll BLAST it to smithereens with ROCKET LAUNCHERS!!" exclaimed Selphie. "What is it with you and rocket launchers?" asked Irvine. "I don't know. I guess I really like them a lot!" she giggled. "Selphie, we don't HAVE any rocket launchers." Quistis said. "And besides, rocket launchers aren't magical." Said Squall. "Oh, I know that! But rocket launchers can blow anything up!" she exclaimed. "It's not MAGIC." Said Irvine as he put a hand to his forehead, exasperated. "We need to know what kind of magical seal this is." Squall said as he placed a gloved hand on the door. "Can't we do it with Scan?" asked Selphie. "Scan only works on monsters." Replied Quistis. ".Do we have any Forbidden spells on us?" asked Irvine. "Yeah, we have Ultima." Said Quistis. "We can try to blast the seal open with Ultima." Said Irvine. "Okay. Let's blast it to smithereens!!!" exclaimed Selphie. "ULTIMA!!!!" cried Quistis. When the spell was done, the door still hadn't budged. "Damn it! What do have to do to freakin' open this damn door??" raged Squall. He banged his fist on the door. A rusty key fell from the side of the wall. Selphie picked it up. "Shall we use the key?" she asked. Squall grabbed it from her and searched for the keyhole. There was no keyhole. "Why the hell would there be a damn key if there were no keyhole?!" Squall screamed. The key started to disappear. "Huh?" asked Squall. The magical seal disappeared and the door swung wide open. "What happened?" asked Irvine. "I don't know, but we'd better go see if Zell is in there." Said Quistis. They all rushed inside to see Zell in shackles. "ZELL!" cried Squall. He didn't move. ".Zell?" asked Squall nervously. Quistis saw a tiny switch on the other side of the room. "I wonder if the switch with release Zell from the shackles." She walked over there and flipped it. Her suspicions were correct. The shackles released Zell and he landed in Squall arms. He moaned a little placed his hand on his chest. Zell opened up his eyes and saw that he was in Squall's arms. "SQUALL!!!" Zell flung his arms around Squall and kissed him heavily on the lips. "You don't know.how much I've missed you.all of you." He said happily. "You should've seen Squall. He was a nervous wreck worrying about you!" said Selphie. Zell wasn't listening. He was too busy kissing Squall. After they pulled out, Zell squeezed Squall. "Man, how did you guys find me??" asked Zell. "We looked in every single room for you, Zell." Said Selphie. "Wow! Do you guys realize how BIG this place was?" he asked. "Yes. It was a pain going through all those rooms." Said Quistis. "But we didn't mind." Replied Squall. Zell formed tears in his eyes and cried in his arms. "I was so scared.so scared that I would never see any of you guys again." He said. "It would take a lot for us to be killed, Zell." Replied Irvine. "I'm just so glad you guys are alive." "Not for long, you aren't." ~*~*~*~Final Part~*~*~*~ Everyone looked around to see who had just spoken. Suddenly, the ground started to shake violently. "YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO BE SAFE?!?!" screamed the voice. "Come out and show your ugly face, Firma!" challenged Zell. The ground vibrations intensified. Rinoa stepped into the light once again. "You idiots! Now you'll REALLY get it!" she screamed over to them. "Rinoa???" They all asked. "You are going to face his powerful wrath in just a few moments! Firma! Appear and destroy these pathetic weaklings!!!" she screamed in the air. Firma appeared mid- air and bellowed at everyone down there. "YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME????" he screamed at them. "Bring it on, dog-face!" said Selphie. The beast roared in frustration. "FEEL MY ANGER AND DIE!!!!!!!" He casted a powerful spell and hit everyone with it. The castle was knocked down and everyone fell under all the endless debris. Quistis opened up her eyes ever so slowly only to find that she was covered under small particles of cement and stone. She attempted to get up and was amazed that none of her bones were broken! She tried digging for the others. She eventually came up across Selphie. She was bleeding pretty badly and was unconscious. "S-SELPHIE! Speak to me!" she cried. She wouldn't respond. "SELPHIE!!!!!!" Quistis had broken into tears. She covered her face with her hands and collapsed onto the ground on her knees.
Quistis stopped for a moment and checked her pulse. ".She's dead." Quistis said gravely. "Rest in peace, Selphie." She said sadly. Zell, Squall, and Irvine popped up. They were all fine. "Guys." She replied despondently. "Where's Selphie?" asked Irvine. ".She's dead." "WHAT????" everyone asked. More tears rolled down her cheeks, and nodded. "It's true." "NO---!!!!" cried Irvine. He broke away from the others and looked for her body. When he came up across it, he started crying. "Selphie! Please! Don't die. You're playing a joke, right? You are playing a sick joke! Selphie.?" He shook her lifeless body. "SELPHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed into the clouds. He pummeled his face onto her stomach. Her skin was still a little warm, but he did not feel a pulse. "I see that you have a taste of reality now." Everyone turned their heads and saw Rinoa, badly beaten up from the occurrence. She coughed and collapsed to her knees. She had a solemn look on her face. "I know that it is almost my time to die." She said grimly. "Why did you do all of this?" asked Quistis. "Why the hell did you put us through all of this?" Rinoa was silent. "Answer me, you bitch!" Quistis walked over to her and slapped her across the face. Rinoa looked up at her with scorn in her eyes, but the looked away to the side. "Ah, I love a good fight." Said Firma as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "You bastard!" screamed Zell. He started charging, but Squall and Irvine held him back. "You think I'm afraid of a little simpleton like you? Hah!" He flared up a beam at Zell and fired. Irvine pushed Squall and Zell out of the way. He let the impact his him straight on. "IRVINE!!!!" They both cried. The beam hit him straight into the heart. Squall, Zell, and Quistis rushed over to him. "WHY? You JERK! That was meant for ME!" cried Zell. Irvine coughed and weakly put a hand on his shoulder. "Why did you do it?" asked Squall. "I did it.because I know you guys can win. Even without me.you all still make a great team." "You and your DAMN pride! Please." "Zell, you still need to learn.many things in your.future. Don't go throwing them away. Win this battle.for my beloved Selphie and.for me. We'll be watching you from Heaven. Be safe." With those last words, Irvine passed out and died. "IRVINE!!!! You.bastard." He said while pounding his fist into ground. "Isn't this a touching moment?" said Firma sarcastically. "Shut the hell up!" screamed Zell. "You get some sick pleasure in seeing other DIE, don't you?" "Stupid question." He started cackling and went on about how evil he's been ever since he was walking. The other three snuck off in order to devise an attack plan. "So? What the hell do we do? I mean, we probably don't stand a chance against this guy." Said Zell. "Well, I don't know, but I just want to get out of here." Said Quistis. "What are we going to do about Selphie and Irvine? I mean, we can't just LEAVE them with that bastard!" cried Zell. "Squall! Express your feelings here! We need you your help on this!" cried Quistis. "Yeah, honey. We need you." Said Zell he said as he clutched his arm. "Zell, this possibly the worse time for romance right now." Zell frowned. Squall sighed and gave him a kiss on Zell's forehead. "Okay. Come on. We really need to figure out a strategy. We're losing time and options." Said Squall. "Any ideas?" asked Zell. "I can't think of anything." Replied Quistis. "Neither can I." Said Zell. "Well, let's try and run away to another town or something." Said Squall. "Squall.have you looked around us? We're nowhere in SIGHT of Earth! This is like Compressed Time while fighting Sorceress Ultimecia." Said Quistis. "I wonder where the hell are we?" asked Zell. "You ARE in Hell!" cackled Firma. An ice crystal suddenly appeared behind Quistis and shot through her heart. "QUISTIS!" Squall and Zell cried. She keeled over in pain. Squall held her head up. "Guys.I love you both with all of my.ugh.heart." "No! Please! I can't handle another death!" said Zell, with tears in his eyes. She slowly put her hand on his cheek. "I won't be leaving.I'll still be here." She pointed to Zell's heart. "Squall?" He looked down at her, tears escaping his eyes. "Yes?" "I want you.to know.I never stopped.caring about you. You'll always.have a place.in my heart." She was dying and there was nothing the two could do about it. "Quisty! Please don't leave! We still need you." Said Zell. "Honey.I can't help you two anymore. But I WILL be watching. I hope you succeed. G." She started sobbing and muttered her last words: "Good-bye." She closed her eyes peacefully and she died in Squall's arms. He set her down gently. Zell started crying again as Squall held him. "We need to get away from here! I don't want to lose you also, Squall!" "You won't.you won't.shh." He rocked him gently as they both cried together. "You guys had better get out of here if you want to stay alive," replied Rinoa as she walked up to them. "I'll try to stall him as such as I can." "Why are YOU helping us?" asked Zell. "Do you want my help or not? I can just tell him where you are right now." Said Rinoa. "He already knows where we are." Said Zell as he pointed to Quistis' dead body. ".Then the only thing I can do is buy you some time to think this through and try to defeat him." She said to them. "I don't understand why you help us after all you have done, but thank you for helping." Zell have her a hug. Rinoa then grinned evilly and pulled out a dagger. "DIE!" Zell tumbled backwards. "NO!!!!!!!" screamed Squall as he pulled out his gunblade. "I'm sorry, Rinoa." He plunged the blade into Rinoa's back and pulled the trigger. BANG! The three of them were silent. Rinoa's eyes were wide and dropped the dagger. A dark shadow came out of her body. It screamed in pure agony and evaporated into the orange sky. Rinoa fell over and landed on her stomach. "Squall?" she asked faintly. Zell and Squall walked over to her. "Don't worry. It's me. Thank you, Squall." "For what?" he asked. ".For setting me free from the darkness." Rinoa closed her eyes and said, "Zell.take my dagger. It has some holy forces in it.take it.and kill.the beast." Rinoa died. Zell took the shimmering dagger next to Rinoa and held it in his hands. The blade of the dagger had a few encrusted jewels on it, in the shape of the sun. The handle was made with platinum metal and had diamonds on the end of it. Zell closed his hand around the handle and clutched it tightly. "I will make that bastard PAY!" Squall walked over and placed his hands on Zell's shoulders and drew him closer to him. "We'll find Firma and destroy him before he kills anyone else." "Oh, Squall.what if we are the only ones left in this entire world?" Zell asked, crying. Squall didn't answer. Zell held him tighter. "I don't know if I can take anymore of this. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Squall let go and gripped him by the shoulders. "You can NEVER lose me. I will ALWAYS stay in your heart. No matter what is to become of you or me; I will always stay in your heart." Zell nodded in agreement. They cuddled in each others' arms. The ground began to pulsate with terrible nature. From ten feet away, the ground split in half and rose Firma. He smirked sinfully. "You idiots think you can just walk away unscathed?" he laughed. "We're NOT walking away from this. We'll either kill you, or die trying." Said Zell nobly. "Stupid humans. How do you ever suppose you could EVER defeat me? No one else in your party has been successful. What makes you think you can defeat me now?" he asked. "We have this." Squall took the dagger from Zell's hand and waved it at him. "A tiny dagger couldn't even save you from a paper bag!" "We'll see about that." Challenged Squall. He rushed forward. Zell cried helplessly, "NO SQUALL! DON'T!!!!" It was too late. The monster already caught him while running. "You pitiful humans amuse me. Time to die!" he cackled. Firma raised a dark spear below Squall's stomach. Zell ran towards Squall. "Stay back, Zell!" Tears ran down his cheeks. "SQUALL!!!!!!!!!!! Don't DO this! You said you would NEVER leave me!!!!" "Just like Quistis said, I'll stay in your heart forever!" Squall's voice starting cracking as he was crying. Zell sunk to his knees. "I don't want you to die. Please! Don't sacrifice yourself for me!" Squall didn't answer him. ".Squall?" ".I'm sorry Zell. Forgive me." Zell gasped in horror. "ULTIMA!!!!!!" "NO!!!!!!!" screamed Zell in anger. A huge explosion took place. "SQUALL!!!!!!!!!!" The explosion started to crush the life out of Firma. "NOOOO!!!!!" After a few moments, Firma completely dissolved away. Squall's body was poorly mangled in the explosion and landed right next to him. He was still alive, though. Zell hugged him softly and whimpered. "Squall! Why the hell did you do that? You could have been killed!" he cried greatly on Squall's bloody chest. Squall paused for a moment and stroked his back softly. "I love you, Zell. And if that means your protection, then I would gladly give up my life for you." He said. Tears produced in his eyes and said, "Never try anything like that again, Squall! NEVER!" "I don't think you have to worry about that." "Squall.don't you DARE die out on me!" Squall didn't reply. "Zell.know that I'll always love you." "Please.tell me why you're telling me this." "I'm sorry we never went very far." "SQUALL! NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! YOU CAN'T!!!" Zell pounded on Squall chest gently. Squall put both of his hands around him. "I love you. Never forget that." More tears escaped Zell's eyes. "SQUALL! NO!!! Please God.no." Squall took a deep breath and held him tighter. "Zell.don't make things so.emotional." "Oh, Squall." Zell clutched him tighter and sobbed. "Promise me you'll never go away?" he asked. "I promise." Zell smiled at him and said, "I love you, Squall." Squall smiled back weakly and whispered back, "I love you too." Squall stroked the tears off with the back of his hand. Squall slowly started closing his eyes. "Squall? No! Don't close your eyes! You might not open them up again!" He opened them slightly and said, "Zell.it's my time." "Y-your time? No! I won't let you go!" he sniffled and squeezed him tighter. "I'll always love you and wait for you in Heaven with the others. Good-bye, my one true love." Squall closed his eyes and died. "Squall? NO! DON'T LEAVE ME! God.don't take him away!!" cried Zell. He got up and looked at the stars. It seemed like the world they were all in before was transforming back to their normal home. Zell looked around and saw the bodies of his best friends. He walked over to them. He kneeled down in front of Selphie first. "Hey, Selphie. I'm.sorry you didn't get to finish the latest Garden Festival project." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. He walked over to Irvine next. "Hey, dude. I betcha you're chasing after Selphie right now. But.thanks for protecting me, Irvine. I appreciate it." Zell walked over to Quistis. "Hey, Quisty." He kneeled down. "Thanks for supporting me and Squall. I know it was hard to watch Squall with another." He kissed her forehead and walked over to Rinoa. "Wow.you sure got yourself in such a mess this time." he said as he kneeled down. "The things we all went through together.wow." He sighed, "But.I hope you do realize that.I forgive you." He kissed the back of her head and moved on to Squall. "Squall." Zell's voice was breaking up. Zell kneeled down next to his lover. "Squall.I love you.a lot. I uh.miss you already. Go figure, eh?" Something glimmered in the corner of his eye. It was the platinum dagger. He looked at it with such sad eyes. "I can't live without my friends with me." He said as he slowly walked over to the dagger. He picked it up and clutched the handle firmly in his grasp. He walked over to Squall. "And I especially can't live my life without you.my dearest Squall." He held the knife and thrust the blade into his stomach. Zell keeled over in pain as looked down at his lover, resting ever so peacefully on the soft patch of green grass. The cringing sensation in his gash was over-powering his remaining strength. More tears rolled down his cheeks as he collapsed on the floor. He painfully reached over to Squall's hand. When he reached it, he clutched it weakly and smiled peacefully as his last breath was spent, holding his lover's hand.
*~*~THE END~*~*
Disclaimer: These characters in this story are about Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VIII. This story isn't for any profit or anything like that. I simply wanted to write this story for entertainment purposes only. Note that this story has little bit of yaoi in it. No hate emails for that, please? Oh, and I'm rating this story "PG-13" because of the language and violence. Hope ya enjoy it!
~*~*~*~Part One~*~*~*~
"How long, doctor?" asked Rinoa. "Six months." Said the doctor sullenly. "Oh my God. Is that it?" "Yes." She started weeping silently. "I'm terribly sorry that you had to find out this way." He said sympathetically. Rinoa then ran out of the hospital room, weeping quietly. The doctor peered over his patient's unmoving body. He then walked out and closed the door behind him. Zell opened up his eyes slowly. He was in a hospital bed. "....The hell?" he asked to himself weakly. The hospital door then opened. It was Squall. He looked at him and smiled. "Ah, I see you're awake, Sleepy-head." "Where the hell am I, Squall?" "Oh, that's right.you don't have any recollection of anything that happened to you." "Wha-what happened to me?" he asked nervously. Squall pulled up chair and looked at him. "Yo, man. Are those.tears in your eyes?" It was true. Squall had tears running down his cheeks. "I'm.so sorry Zell. Rinoa just told me the news about your condition and." "Cut the crap and tell me! What is my condition? And the hell happened to me? My mind's.a blank. I can't remember ANYTHING that happened to me before yesterday." Squall scooted up towards him closer and put his hand on Zell's shoulder. "Zell.you have cancer." The news took him abruptly and fell backwards on his bed. "I.do?" "Yeah. The doctors have no idea how you could have gotten it. I mean, there's no known cure.and there has been no record of that illness in your family records.the doctor said you have six months to live." "I see. Well, is that it? I just croak in half a year?" "Be more serious about this, Zell. You're gonna DIE and." "And.?" "I don't want you to make jokes about this. I care for you.a lot. And so does the others." "Heh. I feel so loved. But.are there any side effects or anything like that?" "No, from the records, the illness you have just six months left. You don't lose any body parts or anything like that." "That's good. I can still screw! Go me!" Squall let out a small chuckle. "Listen, I want you to know.if you need anything, I'll be here." He said as he smiled. "I know." Squall leaned closer to Zell's lips and gave him a small kiss. After Squall pulled away, he blushed a little bit. "I'm sorry.you probably think I'm a queer. I'll.leave you alone." Zell blushed also and he felt his cheeks burning with bashfulness. "No.come back. I really enjoyed that kiss. I, um.have admired you for the longest time, and." Squall pressed his lips onto Zell's mid-sentence. "Well, I guess I'd better let the others come in," said Squall as he pulled away. "Okay. Send in Selphie. I want to tell her something." "Okay. I'll see you again before the day is over, don't worry." "Okay. Bye." Squall closed the door as Zell closed his eyes once again. The door opened a few moments later with Selphie standing at the doorway. "Zell? Hun, you awake?" she asked quietly. "Yeah. I wanted to rest my eyes. That's all." "Well, I heard about your condition, and I'm so sorry." "Yeah. It's fine. Even though I've only got six months, I can still spend plenty of time to waste with my closest pals! Gimme a hug, you!" Selphie smiled warmly and gave him a hug. "Hey, Selphie." "Yeah?" "Squall forgotten to explain to me what had happened to me before I got here in this hospital." "Oh, he did? Well, it wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you that." She said. "I don't remember anything about what happened to me before yesterday. Can you tell me what happened?" "Well, for starters, there was a huge barrage of monsters heading towards Balamb. When you had first heard about the news." Zell was running past Quistis and Selphie and ran into his scorching hometown, Balamb. "Damn you all to hell! Bastards!" ".You had gone on a rampage on trying to find your mother and everyone else. You checked your home, but there was no one to be found anywhere. The entire village was in flames. No one could comprehend on how this had happened, but everyone was guessing it was the Bombs." "Was it?" "No. It was some unknown force that simply lit the buildings on fire. I was with you at the time when you were fighting all the monsters in Balamb, trying to protect all the little ones scampering all over the village. You were truly very brave." "You really think so?" "Yes! Of course! But, anyways, you kept searching for your mom, in hope she wasn't attacked or anything." "Ma! Where are you?! Ma! Are you here?" "Did I find her?" "She wasn't anywhere in town. Turns out she was taken hostage.and was killed." "WHAT!?!?!?!" Zell picked up his mother's body and started crying on her chest. "NOOO! Why??? Who did this to you?!?!?!" "We found her dead body on the side of the road. She had bled to death. We don't know who or what caused her to be that way. All we found were several puncture marks in her stomach. I'm sorry." "My GOD! Who the hell did this to her?!" "It could have been a monster. We don't know. You were hysterical when we had found her." "Mom." "That's all I can remember. I had to see what Squall was doing after you took your mother to the infirmary in Balamb Garden. Dr. Kadowaki couldn't do anything." Zell started crying inconsolably. "W-Where is she now?" "She is being made up for her funeral. It's in a week, I think." Zell started crying harder. "Oh, I'm so sorry." Selphie held him while he cried. "Listen, things will be all right. We'll find out who did this to your mom. I can promise you that." "Did anyone else die?" he asked with tears in his eyes. "......" "Tell me!" "The whole town of Balamb was completely destroyed after that assault. I highly doubt anyone made it." "No...NOOO!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. Selphie started crying herself. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I mean, if there were any other way of breaking the news to you in a more gentler way, I would've." "It's fine." he sniffed. "Are you okay?" "No. What about everyone else? Did you guys get out of things okay?" "Yeah. Everyone made it, me, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Quistis." "Good. What about Headmaster Cid and Edea?" "Oh, those two were on the other continent when this happened. So, they're both as safe as they could be." "That's good to hear." "But here, let me give you some time to think things though, and then I'll let Quistis in." Selphie gave him one last hug and walked out of the room. "So? How is he? Is he okay? Did you tell him the news about him mom?" asked Quistis. "Yeah, I told him. He was devastated." "Well, of course he's gonna be devastated. His mom died for goodness sake!" said Irvine. "I hope he's going to be alright," said Squall. "Where's Rinoa?" asked Selphie. "She had to go get something. She never said what, but she'll be right back." Said Quistis. "Well, yeah. Its kind of sad to not remember what happened if your mom died. It was such a disturbing sight. Quistis, remember how hard it was to watch Zell cry hysterically onto his mom's body." "Mom!!!! Don't die on me! Please don't die on me! I don't want you gone! I'm not.I'm not ready to face this! Please." "Zell. It'll be okay. We'll find out who did this," Said Quistis. Zell started crying harder. "I almost started crying. I can't stand seeing any one of my closest friends in that kind of anguish." Said Selphie. "That's true." Said Irvine. "I will find the bastard and I will make him PAY!" Zell got up and put his mother gently on the ground. "That stupid shit head will be sorry he EVER set foot in Balamb." Zell rushed off in another direction towards the beach. "Zell! Where the hell are you going???" asked Selphie. "I'm going to SWIM over to Edea's house and see if she has any information on this attack!" he yelled back. "That's CRAZY! Her house is in a whole 'nother continent! You'd NEVER make it!" cried Selphie. "Never say never!!!!" Zell took off his clothes and dove in. Quistis and Selphie both ran after him. "Zell! Please reconsider this!" said Quistis. Zell stopped while he was swimming and floated to talk to them. "How the hell can I get over to that damn continent then? Hmm? The Balamb trains are completely destroyed and the Balamb Garden is stationed all the way in Fisherman's Horizon! The only way off to this freakin' continent is by swimming!" "You'll never make it! Please! Think this through! You can't swim all the over to the other continent! We were stationed over here for a purpose, Zell! We can't abandon any of this! Come back!" Zell reluctantly came back onto shore and put on his clothing again. "I guess you guys are right. But.what the hell can we do? I mean.I don't want to leave my ma in this state." "Listen, hun. We understand your emotions at this time, but we can't let those emotions get in the way of our duty as SeeDs!" said Quistis. "Yeah, Zell. You need to calm down a bit and think things through before you go jumping into the ocean!" Zell sighed and plopped onto the sand. "Hi guys." Said Rinoa as she walked by everyone. "Oh, did you get done taking care of that thing you needed to do?" asked Squall. "Yeah." Rinoa blushed. Zell was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. "Mom? Can you hear me? If you can.if you can hear me.I want you to know.I'm really sorry that I couldn't be there to protect you." Zell starting sobbing and said, "You know.I really wish you could be here. I miss you already Ma." He then lay on his sides and let the tears flow freely. After a couple of seconds later, he wiped them off. "I'm such a damn weakling." There was knock on the door. "Come in." In stepped his fellow SeeD member, Quistis. "Zell, are you all right?" ".I guess." "I'm sorry about what had happened. How did you get amnesia after all of this?" "I guess it was too much for me to handle." Quistis walked over to him and touched his hand. "You know, if you need anything, everyone is here to support you." "I know. Thanks for being here." Quistis gave him a hug. "So.can you tell me more on what had happened? Selphie told me some of the stuff, but she had forgotten the rest, I think." He said. "Oh, I see.well, where did she leave off?" "She left off where I found my mom's body." "Oh, yes. Well." "Do you really think my mom will be okay, you guys? You know.will she be lookin' at me in Heaven and smile down on me? You think she's watching me right now?" Selphie and Quistis looked at each other with sympathetic eyes. "Yeah. Of course she'll be looking down on you." Said Quistis. Zell looked at the ocean with distant eyes. "I wonder if she's gonna be okay, I mean, really okay." He said. "What makes you think that she won't?" asked Selphie. Zell didn't answer. "Hey, are you going to be okay?" asked Selphie. Quistis caught a shiny glint in the corner of his eye. "Of course I'm going to be all right! This is me we're talking about!" Zell looked away. "This ocean is getting old to watch, so I'm gonna go walk around." "Do you need one of us to go with you?" "Oh, I can take care of myself. But thanks for worrying about me." Zell walked off, leaving the two behind. "That was.the last time me and Selphie saw you after that. You just.seemed to disappear from our sights for some unknown reason. The next thing we knew it, me and Selphie heard about your news and came here as quickly as possible!" "Oh? You mean.you don't know how I got to being here or how I could've gotten cancer?" he asked. "No, I'm sorry. I don't. Maybe Irvine, Squall, or Rinoa can tell you, because I sure can't." "It's fine. Thanks." "Do you want me to send in Irvine?" "Yeah, sure." "Okay." Quistis walked out and closed the door behind her. Momentarily, Irvine walked in. "Hey, man. You feeling all right?" "I'll be fine. I'm just so.confused on everything." "How are you confused? Didn't Quistis and Selphie tell you everything?" "No, they told me what happened at the time I was with them. They said I.disappeared or something." "Well, do you want me to tell you what I saw?" "Yeah, go ahead." "Well, okay it goes out like this." ".I had no idea how, but you had somehow appeared in front of Edea's House. I was talking to her at the time, and you know, we were discussing things that were happening recently. You came knocking on her door and when she came to answer it." "Oh! What a pleasant surprise! I thought you were.protecting Balamb with Quistis and Selphie." Said Edea. "I.honestly don't have any idea how I got here. I was.walking through the woods and." Zell suddenly keeled over in pain. "My goodness! Are you all right?" Edea laid her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He said gruffly. "Well, it's a good thing that you came over! Cid. Irvine and I were getting a bit bored." She said as she invited him in. Zell stepped in. Irvine did a double take when he saw Zell standing in the doorway. "Hey, Zell! What're you doing here?" He asked. "None of your damn business." Zell turned to him coldly. "Whoa, there. No need to get defensive man! I was only asking you a question." ".I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell is happening to me." Edea stood behind him and laid a soft touch on his shoulder. "Would you care for something to drink, Zell?" "Oh, no. I'll be just fine. Thanks for your hospitality." He said as he brushed her off. Zell sat down on a worn out couch. "Hey, man. You okay?" Zell stared at him and shook his head. "My mom.is dead." Irvine did another double take. "What??? How? Did they find the murderer???" Zell started weeping silently. "Me, Quistis and Selphie didn't find anything, unfortunately. But I AM gonna find the stupid bastard who actually set foot in Balamb." "Was there anyone else murdered in the process?" asked Irvine. "The entire city of Balamb was destroyed. It's in complete ruins now." Zell said with a stern look on his face. "Shit, I'm sorry, man." ".You then stomped out of Edea's house and walked off onto the beach and totally disappeared. We were worried that something that happened to you, man. Do you remember any of this?" asked Irvine. "No.I don't. How the HELL can I just disappear like that?" Zell asked. "I don't know.but me, Edea and Cid were searching high and low for you man! We thought something had happened to you!" he said. Edea was searching around the beaches for Zell and caught up with Cid. "Honey, did you find him?" she asked. "No, I'm sorry. I'm getting worried. He's in such an emotional state from what you had told me. He's capable of doing anything." Said Cid. "Oh, there's Irvine." Said Edea as she saw him running from the horizon. "Any luck?" Cid asked. "Nope. That guy is long gone. He's nowhere to be found on this continent anywhere!" said Irvine. "I'm so worried.what if something happened to him?" asked Edea. "We can only hope for the best." Said Cid as he put his arm around her waist and stared off into the sunset. ".And that was the last time I saw you, man." Said Irvine. "I see.but it still bothers me that I can't remember how I disappeared from continent to continent like that!" exclaimed Zell. "Well, I don't know. Why don't you ask Rinoa and see if she knows anything? And Squall? Did he say anything?" "No, he didn't tell me anything. So bring Rinoa first, then Squall." Said Zell. "Okay then." Irvine walked out of the door and shut it behind him. He sighed to himself and said, "Poor guy." Irvine walked to the others. "Rinoa, it's your turn." Rinoa was staring off into space. "Rinoa?" asked Irvine as he snapped his fingers in her face. "Huh? What did you say?" "Where did YOU go off to? Zell wants to speak with you next." Rinoa hesitated. "Um.Squall! Can you go before me?" asked Rinoa. "What's wrong with going in now?" asked Irvine. ".Are you hiding anything from us, Rinoa?" asked Quistis. She sighed and didn't reply. Instead, she just walked inside Zell's room as if she was going face the day of her death. "Zell, honey? I.uh.have something that I think you should know." "Shoot." "Um." "Man, what is Rinoa hiding exactly?" asked Quistis. "She seemed like she was in another dimension or something. She kept spacing out while you were in there with Zell." Said Selphie. "I wonder what's going to happen." wondered Irvine. "I hope things are going okay in there." said Squall. There was a sudden crash in Zell's room. "YOU BITCH! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Everyone could hear Zell screaming at Rinoa. There was another crash, and a series of loud sobs of 'I didn't mean to!' and 'It was an accident!' "BULLSHIT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR SCREWED UP FACE EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!" Zell screamed from inside the room. The door busted wide open and Rinoa ran from there crying. "W-what?" asked Irvine. Rinoa brushed past the others and out of the hospital in tears. Zell came out also. He had unplugged every hospital wire that was in him and looked around. "YOU BETTER RUN!!!!!" he screamed in every direction. "Ugh." He clutched onto the side of the door. "Zell!" everyone cried. Zell had fallen to the ground, exhausted. Squall picked him up and shook him a little bit. "Zell? Zell? Are you all right? Zell???" Zell had blacked out into a coma. Everyone was surrounding Zell in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes. "What.what happened? The last thing I remember is." He bolted straight up. ".WHERE THE HELL IS THAT BITCH RINOA????" he screamed. "Calm down, Zell." Zell looked around him and saw that Rinoa wasn't there. "Where did that.bitch. run off to? I want to talk to her." "Calm down, Zell! What the hell did she say to you?" asked Irvine. "Yeah, what could possibly get you to get so furious with her?" asked Selphie. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you guys anyways." Said Zell. "We're listening." Said Quistis. "She's the reason why everyone in Balamb is dead." Said Zell grimly. "WHAT?!?!?" Everyone was in a state of shock. "But.how and in what way?" asked Squall. Zell sniffed and said, "She told me that she had 'accidentally' let loose a flaming out-of-this-world being. Turns out she still has some sorceress powers embedded deep within her." Said Zell. "How did she let it loose?" asked Selphie. "She summoned it." ".How could this be an accident if she actually SUMMONED it?" asked Quistis. "That's what I'm saying, yo!" said Zell. Everyone pondered about this for a little while. "Squall.do you know anything that happened? You never really told me about what YOU had seen. We all knew you were at Balamb Garden handling important things over there, but.did you ever see me wander by, not knowing how I got there?" Zell asked. "You know what? Now that you mentioned it." Squall was on the control bridge, trying to steer Balamb Garden out of FH when he had hit something. "What the.?" he asked to himself. "Man, I really got to work on my steering." Nida suddenly showed up. "Squall! Come quick! There's an emergency!" Nida then went down below again to warn everyone that there were monsters rampaging on the sea and headed out towards Balamb Garden! Squall could see that there was many monsters headed their way. "How.did monsters land on the sea???" Squall said. Squall took the lift down to Headmaster Cid's office and took the elevator down to the first floor. There was panic and chaos everywhere. "Above everything else, I saw you, Zell. You were completely damp. I was wondering if you had actually SWAM here, and I asked you." "Zell??? What're you doing here?" Zell looked at his companion with icy cold eyes and did not answer him. "Zell!" Squall put a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa! How come.you're so.so cold? The ocean isn't THAT freezing.Are you okay, Zell? Do you need to see the doctor?" Squall asked. ".Hold me." Zell collapsed into his arms. "Zell? Zell! Wake up!" Squall carried Zell into the Infirmary. "I had no idea what was happening to you.you were so.helpless. After I set you down on the bed, you." "Please.don't.don't leave me." Zell clutched Squall's hand tightly. "I don't.want to be alone.anymore." Zell fainted after that. ".I won't leave you, Zell. I won't leave you." Squall grasped Zell's hand firmly. "Please." Squall said with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to loose you. You are too important to everyone in this room.especially me." Squall stroked the side of Zell's cheek with the back of his hand. "I.love you too, Squall." Rinoa was peeking in the crack of the door. ".I'm sorry, Zell. Hopefully, you can forgive me one day. I really didn't mean to wreck havoc on your town." A tear slowly escaped her eye. She sniffed and walked out. It was an early morning in the city of Balamb. Rinoa was dressed in dark clothing and snuck off into the middle of the town. "I hope this spell works." Said Rinoa quietly. "It's been a while since I used my sorceress's powers, but I think I can accomplish this." Rinoa raised her hand high up into the air. A light emanated from the tips of her fingers and flashed high up into the sky. Far, far away you could barely see the light going up into the dark sky. Suddenly, moody and unwelcome clouds formed in the sky. "W-what happened?" asked Rinoa nervously. The lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder boomed, being heard from miles away. "T-this isn't the spell I was casting! Oh no!" As the thunder and lightning withdrew, a hairy, grotesque beast came out of the clouds and landed in front of her with a soft THUD. "Did you summon me?" asked the beast. "N-no! I wasn't summoning ANYTHING! I swear!" The beast leaned forward and directly stared into her eye. "Tough luck. HAHAHAHAHA!" The beast rose forward and started setting aflame to everything in sight. Rinoa trembled and couldn't move. "What is it, girl? Are you afraid of me?" Rinoa narrowed her eyes and said, "Of course not!" The beast laughed in her face. "Your false bravado is showing." He moved closer to her. "Don't mess with me and don't get in my way. If you happen to do so, I shall rip out your heart and feed it to the dogs." Rinoa was now trembling immensely. "I am NOT afraid of you." The beast grabbed her by her shirt collar and threw her all the way out into the shore. She was knocked unconscious. Zell sighed and stared into the ceiling, as if waiting for something to happen. Squall has taken a chair, sat in the corner and snored silently. Zell looked over and smiled. "You are so adorable when you're sleeping." He said to himself. He then looked over to the side, and wondered if he was being a little hard on Rinoa. "I mean, it COULD'VE been an accident, but I know I could never forget what she had done to make my life so miserable." He thought. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. The flames on all of the buildings spread quickly. Ma Dincht was trying to gather everyone to the exit, but there was too much commotion. No one listened to her and ran off in their ways only to be killed with their young by monsters that roamed freely later on. "Oh my God! I need to get everyone out of here before anyone else dies!" she cried. The beast hovered over her crossing its hairy arms. "You get out of the way, you bastard!" screamed Mrs. Dincht. "It's not nice when you talk to someone like that. Especially me." "I don't give a shit who you are! Let me pass!" The beast grabbed her by the neck. "Now, I told you that your language wasn't appropriate. Now, let me show you your punishment: DEATH!" The beast had long, incisors for nails and rammed it through her stomach. "AAAAH!!!!!" Ma Dincht screamed in pure agony. "You like that, HUH?!?!" The beast withdrew and stabbed her again and again until she was started coughing up blood. "Die, bitch." The beast threw her all the way to the side of the road. Ma Dincht saw that the Garden wasn't that far away. "Zell.son.I have to reach.you." Ma Dincht crawled hopelessly towards Balamb Garden. Not even five feet she had reached when she collapsed and died.
~*~*~*~Part Two~*~*~*~ It was a clear and beautiful day when Zell was released from the hospital. He sniffed at the fresh air. "Ahh, it feels nice to be outdoors." He looked over and saw a coffin. "..." Slight tears formed in his eyes. He walked by the coffin and kneeled in front of it. "Ma." He kissed the tips of his fingers and placed them on top of the coffin. "Mom.I love you." Several tears rolled down his cheeks. A hand was placed on Zell's shoulder. Zell looked up to see Squall. "Come on. Let's go." He said. Zell coughed and stood up. Squall turned his head at an odd angle and looked at him. "You gonna be okay?" "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." They embraced and walked towards Balamb Garden. Quistis, Selphie and Irvine followed from a distance and talked amongst themselves. "So, where do you suppose Rinoa is? No one has seen her for weeks." "I guess she felt guilty about what had happened to Zell," replied Quistis. "Who could blame her? I wouldn't want to show my face either." Said Irvine. Rinoa saw everyone from behind a tree. She clutched her necklace. "Squall.I hope you still care about me." She ran off in another direction. "So, when is the funeral?" asked Squall. "It's a couple of days. I'm probably gonna be bawling my damn eyeballs out." Said Zell while looking down on the ground. Squall frowned. He put his arm around Zell's body and Zell leaned his head on Squall's shoulder. Quistis sighed. "Don't they make a cute couple?" "Well, I'm not gay, so I wouldn't know." Said Irvine. "I think they make a good couple!" said Selphie enthusiastically. "Hey, Squall." Said Zell. "Yeah?" "Well.there's still something I'm really confused about." "Hmm?" "Well.I'm still confused on how I jumped from continent to continent. No one really explained how or why that happened." Said Zell. "Yeah, I'm kind of wondering about that also." Said Squall. "Could this be tied in with Rinoa?" asked Zell. "I have no clue. No one has seen her ever since she stormed out of the hospital that night." said Squall. "We'll go look for her, then!" "But.I thought you wanted to out for a picnic, Zell!" "It's okay. Those hot dogs can wait." "Okay." Said Squall.
"Hey guys! Zell wants to look for Rinoa. We'll get ready and meet outside in twenty minutes, okay?" said Squall. "Okay!" said Quistis. "Zell? Looking for Rinoa?" asked Irvine. "Maybe he wants to milk some more information about his mom's death." Reasoned Selphie. "That could be the reason." said Irvine. "Well, I don't know. But I'm going to support Zell all I can. He really needs his friends right now." Said Quistis. "True," said Selphie. Everyone walked inside Balamb Garden and towards the dorm rooms. "Twenty minutes, guys." Said Zell. "We know." Everyone said. Rinoa was running far, far away from everyone, practically even herself. She couldn't understand why she was running.but she needed to get away from everyone.especially from that beast that was destroying Balamb. She plopped on the sand. She was in the middle of the desert. "Rinoa." Rinoa jumped in surprise. "Who said that?" she asked into the desert. "Rinoa." The voice seemed to be everywhere now. They kept calling her name."Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." "Rinoa." She shrieked in frustration. "STOP CALLING OUT MY DAMN NAME! WHO ARE YOU????" A shapeless figure formed in front of her. "W-Who are you?" she asked with a trembling voice. "I have come to take you away from all of this." "Away.from all of this?" "Yes. Step into the portal and all of your dreams shall be fulfilled." Said the shapeless figure. It made a snapping sound and a portal appeared right in front of him. "Dreams.fulfilled?" "Go in, child. You know you want to." Said the figure. "Want.to?" Rinoa shuffled her legs a bit and slowly started walking towards the portal. "Happiness will come to you. You just need to step through that portal. Yes, child.step through." "Happiness." Rinoa stepped through and fell into a dark pit. Suddenly realizing what she had done, she looked around her. It was a damp, cold place with barely any light. "Let me out of here!" she screamed up into the entrance of the portal. The shapeless figure then jumped through the portal to face her. It morphed into the beast! "AAH! Get the hell away from me!" She screamed. "No one can hear your screams. Just succumb to the darkness." He raised a hand, ready to motion a wave of Dark Firma. A black shot of darkness came from his hands, but missed Rinoa. "Darkness? Then.your weakness should be.HOLY!!!!!" She screamed out the spell name. A barrage of lights pummeled the beast with amazing speed. When the spell was done, the beast still remained, untainted. "Your silly parlor tricks don't work on a super-being like me." Rinoa gasped and stepped back a few steps. "Super.being?" asked Rinoa nervously. "Yes. I take it you know what a super-being is in this world, right?" asked the monster. ".Someone or something that is immune to all elemental properties and has super strength." "Smart girl. Now bow down and except your fate!!!!!!" Rinoa didn't know what to do next. She knew that she couldn't do anything. But maybe. Everyone met outside. "Okay, is everyone ready to go?" asked Squall. "Yup." They replied. "So does anyone know where to even start looking for Rinoa?" asked Irvine. Everyone pondered for a moment. "Let's board the Ragnarok. We can probably cover more ground that way." Suggested Selphie. "Sounds like a plan." Everyone agreed. They were about to board when they already saw Rinoa. She was running from something. "Look! There she is!" cried Quistis. "I wonder why she looks so frightened." Said Irvine. Rinoa ran in their direction and bashed into Irvine without looking. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Calm down, Rinoa!" said Irvine. Zell heard her voice and came back down. "Rinoa? Is that you?" he asked. Squall followed him down with him. The five were looking at her and she looked at everyone back. There was coldness in those eyes. A coldness that couldn't be explained in any way words could. She then had a cold expression on her face now. What was wrong with her.? "Are you all right, Rinoa?" asked Selphie. She grinned and said, "Gotcha." She formed a ball of darkness in her hands and threw it at her five friends. A black screen of smoke covered the entire area. Everyone coughed until they passed out. Rinoa looked at all of them, collapsed on the floor with an evil look on her eye. Rinoa called upon her partner, Angelo. "INVINCIBLE MOON!" When Rinoa had turned clear, the beast scoffed. "You should know, being invincible doesn't mean shit. You WILL succumb to my darkness." He rose over his head, a ball of darkness and as it intensified, Rinoa was panicking. "What will I do?" she thought. She looked around for maybe some sort of shield. "Wait.if he's immune to ALL elemental properties.then maybe a Forbidden spell would work on him. ULTIMA!!!!!" It was too late. The beast had thrown his attack directly at Rinoa. "DARK FIRMA!!!!!!"A flash of darkness flowed freely inside her veins. "N-no! It can't end.like this!" "Except your true fate, girl! You are now my slave for all of eternity!" the beast exclaimed. "Guys.forgive me!" she spoke out through the excruciating pain. The darkness has completely absorbed her body. "You are no longer the girl you used to be. You shall be my new slave---RISE! Rise forth and obstruct those who oppose us!" After the darkness disappeared, her cold eyes shone brightly. "I will obey. I will obey you.Master Firma." The beast's eyes glowed a bright red and cackled. Zell woke up in a dark and cold cell, along with Squall. He was still unconscious. Zell crawled over to him. "Squall? Honey, you okay?" Squall struggled to open up his eyes. Zell got up and gave him hug. When Squall finally opened up his eyes, he looked around and saw that Zell was clinging on to him. "Zell?" He looked up at him and smiled warmly. "I thought you were a goner." "Nah, I would never leave you, Zell." Squall looked around his surroundings while stroking Zell's hair softly. "Where are we?" he asked. "I don't know. I just woke up here." Said Zell. "I wonder where the others are." Said Squall. "I hope they're okay." said Zell. "Yeah, I do too." They both coupled as the lights dimmed to barely any illumination at all. "Hahaha. Don't you two look so sweet together?" asked someone. "Who's there?" asked Squall. Rinoa stepped into the light. She wasn't wearing her usual blue dress. She was wearing an all-black dress with black gloves. "RINOA?!" They both exclaimed. She looked at them with unwelcome eyes. "I am no longer Rinoa. I am a servant for the magnificent FIRMA! HAHAHAHAHA!" "Firma.?" asked Zell. Rinoa didn't answer them. Instead, she flipped a switch right next to their cell cage. "Nighty-night." She said evilly. An assault of thunder magic obliterated through the cell with remarkable speed, and coursing through Squall and Zell's bodies. After a few moments, they both lost consciousness. Zell walked away from Quistis and Selphie. He had tears in his eyes and felt their sympathy for him. He was touched that they could care about him like that, but it didn't make things any better for him. He slipped into the forest short of Balamb and got lost after a few minutes of aimless wandering. He started to panic, but just gave up after two minutes and collapsed on the ground. He started sobbing. "WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!" he screamed into the deepest parts of the forest, not caring about who was listening. Zell pounded his fists onto the Earth. Suddenly, a mysterious voice spoke to him out of nowhere. "Do you want to get away from all of this?" it asked. "Who are you?" asked Zell. "A concerned friend." It replied. "I don't need your pity!" He yelled out angrily. "I could tell you are upset. But come through this portal and your wishes shall be granted." It replied. A light green portal appeared out of nowhere. Zell looked through it and saw Edea's House. "You mean, if I step through this portal, I would appear on the other side of it?" he asked. "Correct," continued the mysterious voice, "but there is a catch." "Tch, I knew it." Replied Zell. "You will undergo a change in both your mental stability as well as your appearance with the added effect of random diseases." ".I don't care. I need to speak with Edea." "Then step forward." Zell did what he was told. On the other side of the portal, he could see Edea's house in plain sight. "I shall be here when you need me," said the voice. "Fine." Said Zell gruffly. Zell ran over to Edea's House and knocked on the door. "My plan is working. Sooner or later, this idiotic fool will deteriorate as soon as he steps into my fifth and final portal. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" said the voice to itself. A few moments later, Zell ran out of the house. "Damn them all." Zell said harshly. "My, my! What has got you so worked---" "Shit! I forgotten to ask Edea if she knew anything about the attack on Balamb." Interrupted Zell. "Well, I have no knowledge of what you speak. Step through the next portal." Said the voice. "All right." The next portal was located in Balamb Garden. Zell stepped through without even thinking. The next thing he knew, there were many Balamb Garden students rushing everywhere. Nida brushed past him and looked at him strangely. "Zell??? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in Balamb?" he asked. "There is no more---" "Oh, hey listen! I can't chat! There's a bunch of monsters headed out here! Gotta go!" Said Nida hurriedly and headed off in the other direction. "Screw you too, you heartless bastard." Zell replied. Squall was going to try and calm down everyone when he saw Zell, just standing there with an expressionless face. He walked down to see what was the matter. "Zell??? What's the matter?" ".Hold me." Zell collapsed into Squall's arms. As Squall carried Zell into the Infirmary and set him on the bed, Zell clutched his hand. "Please.don't leave me." "I won't leave you, Zell. I won't leave you." Dr. Kadowaki stepped in from behind him. "You love him, don't you Squall?" She asked to him with a smile on her face. Squall paused for a moment. ".Yeah, I do. With all of my heart and soul." Dr. Kadowaki sighed and said to herself, "Young men in love these days.go figure." She walked off and went back to her desk, leaving the two alone. "Zell.if you can hear me.I'll be with you 'til the very end. I love you." Squall kissed Zell's forehead and walked on out. "Take care of him, Dr. Kadowaki." He said. "Don't worry about him! You've got other things to worry about. He'll be safe in here." She said reassuringly. Squall walked out and headed to the bridge and needed to steer the Garden out of the monsters' path. When he reached the control bridge, he saw that there were no monsters at all coming their way. He turned back towards the Infirmary. When he reached there. Zell was shivering intensely. "Zell???" Dr. Kadowaki looked up. "Thank heavens you are here! See if you can do anything. I haven't been able to reach him. It's like he's struggling for his life." Said Dr. Kadowaki. Squall walked over to him and held his hand. "Zell? Are you okay?" he asked gently. Zell didn't answer. He opened up his eyes slightly. When he saw Squall, Zell leapt onto him and squeezed him tightly around his lover's waist. "Zell? What's wrong???" asked Squall with concern. "I had a horrible nightmare, Squall! It was terrible!" Zell start crying intensely. "Shh.it was only a nightmare." Squall soothed. Zell cried harder and buried his face into Squall's chest. "What happened in the dream?" asked Squall. More tears strolled down his face. "Everyone DIED! Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, you and everyone else in the world died such horrible deaths! I was left to myself, crying on top of your lifeless body." He exclaimed softly. Even more tears rolled down his cheeks. Squall held him closer as Zell cried in his arms. "It's going to be okay, Zell. Everything is going to all right." Said Squall. Zell woke up to find himself in secluded chamber. He was in shackles and was high off the ground. "Squall? Squall, where are you?" he asked weakly. "I.I need you." "Don't make me gag on my shoes." Said someone. It was Rinoa again. "Why.why the Hell are you DOING this to us? We're supposed to be your FRIENDS!" cried Zell. "Friends? I have no friends. I have a master and nothing more." "So you are just a freakin' SLAVE then. What made you change yourself in this way?" he asked. "Don't be so bitter about things. I actually still have Rinoa in me left. I'm trying to destroy whatever is left of it." She said. "So you were BRAINWASHED!" he exclaimed. ".Go to Hell!" she screamed at him, while throwing a rock at him. "Don't loose your temper over this piece of garbage." Said a voice. "That voice." said Zell. "Yes, Master Firma." She said. "Oh my GOD! I remember whose voice that belongs to!" said Zell. "You were the freakin' bastard that led me those damn portals!" he screamed. "Oh? You think you are that smart to figure out that it was I? Well, do you think you are smart enough to figure out who destroyed your pathetic little village, Balamb?" Firma asked as he stepped out from the shadows. ".So it was YOU who destroyed Balamb! You BASTARD!!!!!" Zell screamed. "Yes. It was unfortunate that I stabbed your mother in the stomach." "....YOU DID WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!" "Come, slave. Let's leave this pathetic loser with his lonely thoughts." Said Firma as he disappeared. Rinoa walked behind him. "..." Zell took to realizing what Firma had told him. "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouted, and cried inconsolably. Quistis, Squall, Selphie, and Irvine waited patiently for what was in store for them next. "I wonder if Zell is okay." replied Squall, worriedly. "We can only hope. WE don't even know what is going to happen to us." Said Quistis. Irvine looked to the side at the metal jail cell bars. "I wonder if we can pry those open." He said while pointing to it. Selphie started weeping and said, "It's not use. We are NEVER gonna get out of here alive!" "Selphie, you can't think that. Never lose hope. NEVER!" Irvine walked over and shook her. "Get the hell away from me. I don't believe in anything anymore." "Selphie, Irvine's right. If you lose hope, then you really ARE going to die." "Listen to her, Selphie." Said Irvine. "Squall! Help us out here!" replied Quistis. Squall didn't answer her. "Squall?" she asked. "Don't mind me. I'm just worried about Zell, that's all." He said. "He's going to be fine." Said Irvine. "Yeah, he's probably safe and trying to figure out a way to get out of this big mess that we're in." she replied. Selphie perked up a little bit and placed her hands on both his shoulders. "It's gonna be alright." She said as she placed her head on his back. "Do you guys really think he's safe?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he's fine." Said Irvine. "We still need to find out on how to get out of this dungeon." Replied Quistis. "Any ideas?" asked Irvine. Squall continued looking outside the window and wondered if they were really going to get out of there alive. "We HAVE to get out of here." Said Squall. "How come you suddenly gotten so determined?" asked Selphie. "I don't know, exactly. My mind is filled with so many unanswered questions, like why Rinoa hit us with that smoke screen. And why all of us are here in a group except Zell?" "Well, maybe the person who's REALLY behind it all is targeting Zell." Reasoned Quistis. "What do you mean by whose REALLY behind it all? Rinoa was the one who knocked us unconscious!" exclaimed Irvine. "Well, Rinoa is always getting herself into so many situations. I have a gut feeling that she really isn't behind all of this. There has to be some kind of second party involved." She said. "Well, we won't find out by just sittin' on our asses and PONDERIN', now can we?" asked Irvine. He pulled out a file. "When did you think to bring one of those?" asked Squall. "I ALWAYS carry a file with me. I don't know why, but I just do." He replied as he shrugged. ".Whatever." Replied Squall. Irvine walked to the bars and started filing away. Squall looked out the window again, stared at the moon and said, "Zell.we're coming to find you. Wait for me." A five-year-old Zell walked out from his room. "Ah, there's my sweet little boy." Cooed his mother. Zell smiled a wide smile. He sat down and ate his cereal quietly. "Zell? Is there something wrong? You seem very quiet this morning." She replied. "No, I'm fine, Ma." She walked over to him and laid a hand on his head. "Now, I want you to behave. Make your mommy proud, alright?" She said. Zell smiled again and said, "Of course!" Ma Dincht smiled back. "Haha! Your adult teeth are growing in!" "Is it a good thing, Ma?" She laughed again and said, "Yes, dear." Zell got his lunchbox and ran out of the house, excitedly. Zell opened his bloodshot eyes slowly. "It was only a dream." He replied. Squall and the rest began roaming the entire, of what looked like the inside of a castle. "Man, these hallways go on forever and a day!" exclaimed Selphie. The castle had six floors, along with forty rooms on almost every floor. Zell was at the top, the sixth floor. There was only one room up there, but the others looked in every one of them, and found some extra powerful weapons. As they arrived on the last floor, they attempted in opening the door to the rather large corridor. The door wouldn't budge. Squall scratched his head in frustration. "There's a magical seal on this door. If we can break it, we can enter." Replied Selphie. "How do we know what spell to use on the door?" asked Quistis. "We'll BLAST it to smithereens with ROCKET LAUNCHERS!!" exclaimed Selphie. "What is it with you and rocket launchers?" asked Irvine. "I don't know. I guess I really like them a lot!" she giggled. "Selphie, we don't HAVE any rocket launchers." Quistis said. "And besides, rocket launchers aren't magical." Said Squall. "Oh, I know that! But rocket launchers can blow anything up!" she exclaimed. "It's not MAGIC." Said Irvine as he put a hand to his forehead, exasperated. "We need to know what kind of magical seal this is." Squall said as he placed a gloved hand on the door. "Can't we do it with Scan?" asked Selphie. "Scan only works on monsters." Replied Quistis. ".Do we have any Forbidden spells on us?" asked Irvine. "Yeah, we have Ultima." Said Quistis. "We can try to blast the seal open with Ultima." Said Irvine. "Okay. Let's blast it to smithereens!!!" exclaimed Selphie. "ULTIMA!!!!" cried Quistis. When the spell was done, the door still hadn't budged. "Damn it! What do have to do to freakin' open this damn door??" raged Squall. He banged his fist on the door. A rusty key fell from the side of the wall. Selphie picked it up. "Shall we use the key?" she asked. Squall grabbed it from her and searched for the keyhole. There was no keyhole. "Why the hell would there be a damn key if there were no keyhole?!" Squall screamed. The key started to disappear. "Huh?" asked Squall. The magical seal disappeared and the door swung wide open. "What happened?" asked Irvine. "I don't know, but we'd better go see if Zell is in there." Said Quistis. They all rushed inside to see Zell in shackles. "ZELL!" cried Squall. He didn't move. ".Zell?" asked Squall nervously. Quistis saw a tiny switch on the other side of the room. "I wonder if the switch with release Zell from the shackles." She walked over there and flipped it. Her suspicions were correct. The shackles released Zell and he landed in Squall arms. He moaned a little placed his hand on his chest. Zell opened up his eyes and saw that he was in Squall's arms. "SQUALL!!!" Zell flung his arms around Squall and kissed him heavily on the lips. "You don't know.how much I've missed you.all of you." He said happily. "You should've seen Squall. He was a nervous wreck worrying about you!" said Selphie. Zell wasn't listening. He was too busy kissing Squall. After they pulled out, Zell squeezed Squall. "Man, how did you guys find me??" asked Zell. "We looked in every single room for you, Zell." Said Selphie. "Wow! Do you guys realize how BIG this place was?" he asked. "Yes. It was a pain going through all those rooms." Said Quistis. "But we didn't mind." Replied Squall. Zell formed tears in his eyes and cried in his arms. "I was so scared.so scared that I would never see any of you guys again." He said. "It would take a lot for us to be killed, Zell." Replied Irvine. "I'm just so glad you guys are alive." "Not for long, you aren't." ~*~*~*~Final Part~*~*~*~ Everyone looked around to see who had just spoken. Suddenly, the ground started to shake violently. "YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO BE SAFE?!?!" screamed the voice. "Come out and show your ugly face, Firma!" challenged Zell. The ground vibrations intensified. Rinoa stepped into the light once again. "You idiots! Now you'll REALLY get it!" she screamed over to them. "Rinoa???" They all asked. "You are going to face his powerful wrath in just a few moments! Firma! Appear and destroy these pathetic weaklings!!!" she screamed in the air. Firma appeared mid- air and bellowed at everyone down there. "YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME????" he screamed at them. "Bring it on, dog-face!" said Selphie. The beast roared in frustration. "FEEL MY ANGER AND DIE!!!!!!!" He casted a powerful spell and hit everyone with it. The castle was knocked down and everyone fell under all the endless debris. Quistis opened up her eyes ever so slowly only to find that she was covered under small particles of cement and stone. She attempted to get up and was amazed that none of her bones were broken! She tried digging for the others. She eventually came up across Selphie. She was bleeding pretty badly and was unconscious. "S-SELPHIE! Speak to me!" she cried. She wouldn't respond. "SELPHIE!!!!!!" Quistis had broken into tears. She covered her face with her hands and collapsed onto the ground on her knees.
Quistis stopped for a moment and checked her pulse. ".She's dead." Quistis said gravely. "Rest in peace, Selphie." She said sadly. Zell, Squall, and Irvine popped up. They were all fine. "Guys." She replied despondently. "Where's Selphie?" asked Irvine. ".She's dead." "WHAT????" everyone asked. More tears rolled down her cheeks, and nodded. "It's true." "NO---!!!!" cried Irvine. He broke away from the others and looked for her body. When he came up across it, he started crying. "Selphie! Please! Don't die. You're playing a joke, right? You are playing a sick joke! Selphie.?" He shook her lifeless body. "SELPHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed into the clouds. He pummeled his face onto her stomach. Her skin was still a little warm, but he did not feel a pulse. "I see that you have a taste of reality now." Everyone turned their heads and saw Rinoa, badly beaten up from the occurrence. She coughed and collapsed to her knees. She had a solemn look on her face. "I know that it is almost my time to die." She said grimly. "Why did you do all of this?" asked Quistis. "Why the hell did you put us through all of this?" Rinoa was silent. "Answer me, you bitch!" Quistis walked over to her and slapped her across the face. Rinoa looked up at her with scorn in her eyes, but the looked away to the side. "Ah, I love a good fight." Said Firma as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "You bastard!" screamed Zell. He started charging, but Squall and Irvine held him back. "You think I'm afraid of a little simpleton like you? Hah!" He flared up a beam at Zell and fired. Irvine pushed Squall and Zell out of the way. He let the impact his him straight on. "IRVINE!!!!" They both cried. The beam hit him straight into the heart. Squall, Zell, and Quistis rushed over to him. "WHY? You JERK! That was meant for ME!" cried Zell. Irvine coughed and weakly put a hand on his shoulder. "Why did you do it?" asked Squall. "I did it.because I know you guys can win. Even without me.you all still make a great team." "You and your DAMN pride! Please." "Zell, you still need to learn.many things in your.future. Don't go throwing them away. Win this battle.for my beloved Selphie and.for me. We'll be watching you from Heaven. Be safe." With those last words, Irvine passed out and died. "IRVINE!!!! You.bastard." He said while pounding his fist into ground. "Isn't this a touching moment?" said Firma sarcastically. "Shut the hell up!" screamed Zell. "You get some sick pleasure in seeing other DIE, don't you?" "Stupid question." He started cackling and went on about how evil he's been ever since he was walking. The other three snuck off in order to devise an attack plan. "So? What the hell do we do? I mean, we probably don't stand a chance against this guy." Said Zell. "Well, I don't know, but I just want to get out of here." Said Quistis. "What are we going to do about Selphie and Irvine? I mean, we can't just LEAVE them with that bastard!" cried Zell. "Squall! Express your feelings here! We need you your help on this!" cried Quistis. "Yeah, honey. We need you." Said Zell he said as he clutched his arm. "Zell, this possibly the worse time for romance right now." Zell frowned. Squall sighed and gave him a kiss on Zell's forehead. "Okay. Come on. We really need to figure out a strategy. We're losing time and options." Said Squall. "Any ideas?" asked Zell. "I can't think of anything." Replied Quistis. "Neither can I." Said Zell. "Well, let's try and run away to another town or something." Said Squall. "Squall.have you looked around us? We're nowhere in SIGHT of Earth! This is like Compressed Time while fighting Sorceress Ultimecia." Said Quistis. "I wonder where the hell are we?" asked Zell. "You ARE in Hell!" cackled Firma. An ice crystal suddenly appeared behind Quistis and shot through her heart. "QUISTIS!" Squall and Zell cried. She keeled over in pain. Squall held her head up. "Guys.I love you both with all of my.ugh.heart." "No! Please! I can't handle another death!" said Zell, with tears in his eyes. She slowly put her hand on his cheek. "I won't be leaving.I'll still be here." She pointed to Zell's heart. "Squall?" He looked down at her, tears escaping his eyes. "Yes?" "I want you.to know.I never stopped.caring about you. You'll always.have a place.in my heart." She was dying and there was nothing the two could do about it. "Quisty! Please don't leave! We still need you." Said Zell. "Honey.I can't help you two anymore. But I WILL be watching. I hope you succeed. G." She started sobbing and muttered her last words: "Good-bye." She closed her eyes peacefully and she died in Squall's arms. He set her down gently. Zell started crying again as Squall held him. "We need to get away from here! I don't want to lose you also, Squall!" "You won't.you won't.shh." He rocked him gently as they both cried together. "You guys had better get out of here if you want to stay alive," replied Rinoa as she walked up to them. "I'll try to stall him as such as I can." "Why are YOU helping us?" asked Zell. "Do you want my help or not? I can just tell him where you are right now." Said Rinoa. "He already knows where we are." Said Zell as he pointed to Quistis' dead body. ".Then the only thing I can do is buy you some time to think this through and try to defeat him." She said to them. "I don't understand why you help us after all you have done, but thank you for helping." Zell have her a hug. Rinoa then grinned evilly and pulled out a dagger. "DIE!" Zell tumbled backwards. "NO!!!!!!!" screamed Squall as he pulled out his gunblade. "I'm sorry, Rinoa." He plunged the blade into Rinoa's back and pulled the trigger. BANG! The three of them were silent. Rinoa's eyes were wide and dropped the dagger. A dark shadow came out of her body. It screamed in pure agony and evaporated into the orange sky. Rinoa fell over and landed on her stomach. "Squall?" she asked faintly. Zell and Squall walked over to her. "Don't worry. It's me. Thank you, Squall." "For what?" he asked. ".For setting me free from the darkness." Rinoa closed her eyes and said, "Zell.take my dagger. It has some holy forces in it.take it.and kill.the beast." Rinoa died. Zell took the shimmering dagger next to Rinoa and held it in his hands. The blade of the dagger had a few encrusted jewels on it, in the shape of the sun. The handle was made with platinum metal and had diamonds on the end of it. Zell closed his hand around the handle and clutched it tightly. "I will make that bastard PAY!" Squall walked over and placed his hands on Zell's shoulders and drew him closer to him. "We'll find Firma and destroy him before he kills anyone else." "Oh, Squall.what if we are the only ones left in this entire world?" Zell asked, crying. Squall didn't answer. Zell held him tighter. "I don't know if I can take anymore of this. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Squall let go and gripped him by the shoulders. "You can NEVER lose me. I will ALWAYS stay in your heart. No matter what is to become of you or me; I will always stay in your heart." Zell nodded in agreement. They cuddled in each others' arms. The ground began to pulsate with terrible nature. From ten feet away, the ground split in half and rose Firma. He smirked sinfully. "You idiots think you can just walk away unscathed?" he laughed. "We're NOT walking away from this. We'll either kill you, or die trying." Said Zell nobly. "Stupid humans. How do you ever suppose you could EVER defeat me? No one else in your party has been successful. What makes you think you can defeat me now?" he asked. "We have this." Squall took the dagger from Zell's hand and waved it at him. "A tiny dagger couldn't even save you from a paper bag!" "We'll see about that." Challenged Squall. He rushed forward. Zell cried helplessly, "NO SQUALL! DON'T!!!!" It was too late. The monster already caught him while running. "You pitiful humans amuse me. Time to die!" he cackled. Firma raised a dark spear below Squall's stomach. Zell ran towards Squall. "Stay back, Zell!" Tears ran down his cheeks. "SQUALL!!!!!!!!!!! Don't DO this! You said you would NEVER leave me!!!!" "Just like Quistis said, I'll stay in your heart forever!" Squall's voice starting cracking as he was crying. Zell sunk to his knees. "I don't want you to die. Please! Don't sacrifice yourself for me!" Squall didn't answer him. ".Squall?" ".I'm sorry Zell. Forgive me." Zell gasped in horror. "ULTIMA!!!!!!" "NO!!!!!!!" screamed Zell in anger. A huge explosion took place. "SQUALL!!!!!!!!!!" The explosion started to crush the life out of Firma. "NOOOO!!!!!" After a few moments, Firma completely dissolved away. Squall's body was poorly mangled in the explosion and landed right next to him. He was still alive, though. Zell hugged him softly and whimpered. "Squall! Why the hell did you do that? You could have been killed!" he cried greatly on Squall's bloody chest. Squall paused for a moment and stroked his back softly. "I love you, Zell. And if that means your protection, then I would gladly give up my life for you." He said. Tears produced in his eyes and said, "Never try anything like that again, Squall! NEVER!" "I don't think you have to worry about that." "Squall.don't you DARE die out on me!" Squall didn't reply. "Zell.know that I'll always love you." "Please.tell me why you're telling me this." "I'm sorry we never went very far." "SQUALL! NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! YOU CAN'T!!!" Zell pounded on Squall chest gently. Squall put both of his hands around him. "I love you. Never forget that." More tears escaped Zell's eyes. "SQUALL! NO!!! Please God.no." Squall took a deep breath and held him tighter. "Zell.don't make things so.emotional." "Oh, Squall." Zell clutched him tighter and sobbed. "Promise me you'll never go away?" he asked. "I promise." Zell smiled at him and said, "I love you, Squall." Squall smiled back weakly and whispered back, "I love you too." Squall stroked the tears off with the back of his hand. Squall slowly started closing his eyes. "Squall? No! Don't close your eyes! You might not open them up again!" He opened them slightly and said, "Zell.it's my time." "Y-your time? No! I won't let you go!" he sniffled and squeezed him tighter. "I'll always love you and wait for you in Heaven with the others. Good-bye, my one true love." Squall closed his eyes and died. "Squall? NO! DON'T LEAVE ME! God.don't take him away!!" cried Zell. He got up and looked at the stars. It seemed like the world they were all in before was transforming back to their normal home. Zell looked around and saw the bodies of his best friends. He walked over to them. He kneeled down in front of Selphie first. "Hey, Selphie. I'm.sorry you didn't get to finish the latest Garden Festival project." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. He walked over to Irvine next. "Hey, dude. I betcha you're chasing after Selphie right now. But.thanks for protecting me, Irvine. I appreciate it." Zell walked over to Quistis. "Hey, Quisty." He kneeled down. "Thanks for supporting me and Squall. I know it was hard to watch Squall with another." He kissed her forehead and walked over to Rinoa. "Wow.you sure got yourself in such a mess this time." he said as he kneeled down. "The things we all went through together.wow." He sighed, "But.I hope you do realize that.I forgive you." He kissed the back of her head and moved on to Squall. "Squall." Zell's voice was breaking up. Zell kneeled down next to his lover. "Squall.I love you.a lot. I uh.miss you already. Go figure, eh?" Something glimmered in the corner of his eye. It was the platinum dagger. He looked at it with such sad eyes. "I can't live without my friends with me." He said as he slowly walked over to the dagger. He picked it up and clutched the handle firmly in his grasp. He walked over to Squall. "And I especially can't live my life without you.my dearest Squall." He held the knife and thrust the blade into his stomach. Zell keeled over in pain as looked down at his lover, resting ever so peacefully on the soft patch of green grass. The cringing sensation in his gash was over-powering his remaining strength. More tears rolled down his cheeks as he collapsed on the floor. He painfully reached over to Squall's hand. When he reached it, he clutched it weakly and smiled peacefully as his last breath was spent, holding his lover's hand.
*~*~THE END~*~*