DISCLAIMER
I do NOT own the Final Fantasy VIII characters, just Rose at this moment. Rose is my made-up character...
Chapter I: The NORG Experiment Found
Rinoa's P.O.V.
" What do you expect to find in here Squall? It's just this giant thing in the whole mess, which is, by the way, all NORG," Zell said, who was not at all happy. He was trying to get the the cafiteria before we nabbed him to come with us to the basement. Squall was anxious to come here. He was reading some book he picked up about 3 weeks ago, then when he reached the end of it, he felt like he needed to come here.
It has been about 4 months since we finally defeated Ultimecia. And I have actually became a SeeD after 3 months of training and testing. Yes, a SeeD! I decided to join, though I had to presue the general, my father, in Deling City. But now I can stay here or at home if I felt like it.
" Squall, what is it that you expect to find in here? You know that NORG has disappeared after we defeated him. What was in that book you were reading to convince you to come here?" Quistis asked.
" Just keep looking," Squall replied. I checked the book after he was done, and I know why we're all down here. The book was actually a report NORG was keeping up-to-date... about this experiment. It doesn't give full explanations, it's just telling how this and that doesn't effect the experiment, how this did effect, how strong it gets by what emotion, ect. No name, no telling what it is. Squall is probably being careful, since NORG was the one that was behind it, and doesn't want whatever it is to attack us while asleep or something. But the only way to find out is to check it out.
" Hey Squall, we split up, right?" Irvine said. " Then how about in pairs, so that if we found a couple of things, we could check it out at the same time. It'll be a whole lot faster."
" Right," Squall said, nodding. " Everyone, get with someone and start looking around."
Irvine automatically went over to Selphie's side, smiling. Typical Irvine. Zell and Quistis paired up, leaving me to go with Squall.
" Shall we go?" I said, looking at Squall. He nods and starts walking to the left of the NORG machine thing. " So, what do you think it could be?"
" I don't know. Could be something dangerous, could be something completly innocent, it could even be someone that had to live through whatever NORG put him through."
" That's something that I wouldn't least expect from NORG. Let's find that room," I said as I walked over to a wall. The book said something about a hidden doorway, so why not in a wall? Squall began to bang in places of the wall, trying to get the door to open, or at least try to find some sort of sound that would tell us that the room is right there. I tapped a few times at one spot, then moved over to the right, tapping there. Still the dull 'thunk' is heard. I kept moving over to the right, tapping and listening.
" This is goin' to take forever!" I heard Zell say somewhere on the other side of the room. " I bet all the hotdogs are gone now..."
" Is your stomach really that important than this?" Quistis retorted.
" I'm going to die of hunger if this room isn't found any time soon!" was Zell's only answer.
" Zell, stop complainin'," Squall said.
BING
I looked at where I had just tapped at. And everyone looks around.
" Whoever that was, tap again," Zell said. I tapped once more.
BING
" Over here guys!" I said. " This must be the room."
Everyone was now over where I am at, and all are just looking at the wall.
" Great, now that we found it, how are we going to get in?" Irvine said.
" With this thing," Squall said as he pulls out a weird key thing. " It was with the report."
" And how is that going to help when we can't find the keyhole FOR it?" Zell said.
" You just have to look in the right place," Squall said as he kneels onto the floor in front of the door.
!WARNING: A STUPID INTRUPTION!
The guy that guards the Bridge of Death on the movie, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail': What... is your name?
Squall: Squall Lionheart, leader of the Balamb Garden SeeDs.
Guard: What... is your quest?
Squall: To find the hidden keyhole to the room.
Guard: What... is Rinoa's name?
Squall? It's Rinoa...
Guard: Oh really? I didn't know that- #gets thrown into the Gourge of Enternal Peirl# AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Rose: ... What the frickin' hell?
Squall: Do not ask me, it's your story...
Rose: Yeah, but I was away from the keyboard when this happened...
Squall: Then who wrote it?
Jackie: Mwahahahahaha! #holds the keyboard#
Roach: You cannot steal my laugh! GET HER!
Zell: CHARGE! Kill her for typing this in!
Jackie: AHHHH! #runs away and drops the keyboard#
All but Rose: #chasing Jackie#
Rose: ... #picks up the keyboard and starts typing the chapter once more#
" It's in the floor?" Zell said.
" Yeah," Squall said as he locates the keyhole. It would have never been found if Squall haven't blown some dust from it.
" Now, I never would have thought of that," Zell said.
" That's because you're the Chicken-wuss," Seifer said from behind us.
" Who the hell invited you?" Zell said. " And I'm not a damn Chicken-wuss!"
" Guys, please don't start fighting," I said. Seifer has changed ever since he got free of Sorceress Edea, who was under the control of Ultimecia. Seifer is more willing to fight along-side Squall and us, and also, he's more caring about his friends as Squall is now. Though he still pick fights with Zell and Squall.
" Squall, just open the damn door," Seifer said. Squall doesn't say anything as he slips the key into the hole. There was a hiss sound before the door suddenly opened.
" Whoa..." Selphie said as she steps into the room first. It was brightly light of blue/green, and there was alot of tables with chemicals and sorts. There were also about 2 jars filled of silery substance, though I have no clue of what it is. They were right next to a covered container. There was also some smashed containers of chemicals on the floor. Must have been when the Garden first started flying.
" This is really freaky."
" Well, what's behind curtain # 1?" Zell tried to joke, though it wasn't at heart. He was just a bit freaked of what could be in the container. All around us were empty cages too, which probably held monsters. Because there was a small pit that people used to pit monsters against one another, and the pit had a glass dome overhead. It's cruel, how people enjoy watching creatures fight and one or both dies in the process.
" I have an idea. How about Chicken-wuss pulls the curtain aside. That way, if something attacks, it's just him that dies," Seifer said.
" Shut-up Seifer!" Zell said.
" And they're both SeeDs?" Irvine mumbled. " I understand that they will always fight, but they act like kids sometimes..."
" No kidding," I agreed.
" Some of these chemicals are actually lethal poison..." Quistis said as she examines the beakers. " Some are antidotes for the poisons, and the rest are unknown to me until I inspect them more."
" What the hell was NORG doing anyway? Doesn't really make sense unless he was trying to see what effects whatever the experiment was," Zell said.
" Quistis, check the computer and see if we can get any info on this," Squall said.
" Sure."
As Quistis works on the computer, Seifer and Zell were looking at the same container that is covered.
" Go ahead, pull the tarp from it," Seifer said.
" No way, you."
" Once a Chicken-wuss, always a Chicken-wuss."
" If I'm such a chicken-wuss, then why are you trying to make me move the damn curtain away from it?"
" Because you're too scared, and it's fun watching you squirm."
" No, I think YOU'RE scared to move that curtain and find out what the thing is exactly."
" Cut it out, the both of you," I said as I finally stepped between them. " I'M going to pull the curtain aside, so that I don't have to listen to you two bicker anymore," I said as I reached over to the curtain. I decided to see what's in it before I pull the cloth aside, so I lifted a side and peered in. There was absolute clear water in the container, and also- " Squall, the experiment is a someone," I said, shocked from this, as the monitor next to the container beeps. The curtain has fallen as soon as I pulled at it. Inside was a girl, unconsious. Zell and Seifer have gone into a sort of shock themselves from the sight of someone in there.
" And all the info about what NORG did is here," Quistis said, bringing up a screen. " It's mostly about how all the poisons he used is uneffective to her, and some other information, like about how it is believed that she is like a Sorceress, yet not one at all... It also gives some of the abilities she can do."
" Well, first things first. We better get her to Doctor Kadowaki, since she is still alive. Quistis, stay here and record everything from the hardware," Squall said.
" 'Kay, will do. Just get her to the doc quickly," Quistis replied. I quickly went over to the machine that controls the girl's life support and pressed on the drain button. The water drained almost automatically, the girl only supported by some chains on her wrists now.
" Can you open it?" Squall said.
" Give me two seconds of locating the button," I said as I looked among the many buttons. I finally found it and pressed it. The glasses slid apart, now the only thing to do is to get her off the chains. Seifer was the first one to shake off the surprise and help Squall with getting her out of the container. It took awhile though, since they had to hack the strong chains off. Squall have already removed the oxygen mask from her.
" Alright, use Ice on the chains, it'll make it easier to hack off," Seifer suggested.
" Right." Squall worked on one as Seifer does the other. It was definetly much easier to get them off, and now they carried her out of there. Her clothes were almost completly lavender purple, the patterns on her sleeves were ruby red and white, and her belt is black, with a buckle with the waning cresent moon light blue, a white star pattern #a small circle in the middle, with lines off of it, the longest in the directions of north, south, east, and west, and the other lines inbetween them a bit shorter. The long lines have smaller circles at the end# in the middle of the emptiness of the moon, and a sun pattern, the color orange/yellow, underneath the moon #A circle the size of the waning moon if the moon was completly full, and has a sort of curvy triangles coming off of it, only 8 of them. Kinda like the star pattern, but all the same size instead of 4 longer than the others. The top one is just touching the moon underneath#. She was also wearing a black glove, covering her wrist from view. It looks like she was trying to hide whatever is under it.
" Squall, you can go on ahead, I can carry the girl," Seifer said.
" Alright, then I'll go on and inform the doc about her new patiant," Squall said. " Rinoa, you help him out if he does need it. Zell, Selphie, and Irvine, look around the lab and see if you can find anything that could belong to this girl," he said as he ran out of the room. Seifer and I began walking out of the room too.
" Guys, is it me, or is that stuff in the jars moving?" Selphie said. Looking back at the silver stuff, they were now completly against one side of the jar, following us.
" Seifer, move over to the right," I said. He did so, and it followed him. " Whatever that stuff is, it must be the girl that it's following. But we'll find out more about it once she's getting medical attention," I said. " Come on Seifer, let's go quickly. We don't know if there's something wrong with her because of whatever NORG did to her."
" Right," he said as he once again started to get out of the room.
" Hey, I also meant me with you!" I said as I ran after him. " Squall said so!"
Squall's P.O.V.
" Alright Squall, I'll get a bed prepared, and I'll examine her as soon as they get here," Doctor Kadowaki said, looking a bit shocked from this news, but has recovered once she rushed over to the cabinets. No matter the situation, no matter who the person is, she'll help any way she could. It shouldn't be too much longer until Seifer gets here. That girl was extremly light, probably about 50 to 70 pounds. And I had also contacted Headmaster Cid, but he's away until tomorrow. So we just have to talk to him when he gets here.
' I can't believe that she survived for months down there. It was a good thing that I read that report,' I thought as I looked over down the hall. Seifer and Rinoa finally reached the corner and was heading this way. " Doc, they're here," I said as they entered the office.
" Over here Seifer," Doctor Kadowaki said. " We better get her dried off first."
" I'll help Doctor," Rinoa said as she comes over. Seifer hands the girl over to the girls, then left the room, me following.
" You noticed how light she is?" Seifer asked.
" Yeah, I did. It's probably was from those months of no food. I'm still surprised that she's still alive," I said as I crossed my arms.
" I know. She'll wake up sometime soon, I'll bet. Whatever was in the water, it was keeping her unconsious."
" It has to be. It was too clear to be just plain water. And the chains, she must have been a strong girl. Yeah, it explains why she was in that thing in the first place."
Seifer doesn't say anything for a few minutes. " Why did NORG make her some sort of experiment? She has to be more than some human, since NORG, from what I can tell, doesn't care about anything that involves a human."
" ..." I didn't say anything at first. " Is it possible that Ultimecia ordered NORG to capture the girl and figure out everything that she's capible of?"
" Why do you think Ultimecia was the one?" Seifer asked.
" It would make some sense, wouldn't it? Ultimecia was controlling Edea, and NORG was in contact with her. It's a possibility that she discovered the girl and her power and wanted to know what she was."
" But what power could she have to interest her? Other than make her either more powerful, or it could somehow be the very power to defeat her."
" Well, we'll never know until she wakes up, huh guys?" Rinoa said as she walks out of the office. " Doctor Kadowaki is checking her health and everything. From what she could tell, she's okay other than a bit undernurised. But she's double-checking for traces of poison, just in case."
" Alright, so now what are we to do with the new patiant anyway? We don't know anything about her, so who knows if she'll attack once she wakes up," Seifer pointed out.
" I know, so that's why we're going to keep watch on her. Rinoa, can you watch her for 4 hours?" I asked.
" Sure. Who is it that I switch with so I can get some sleep?"
" Seifer," I said, glacing at Seifer. " After 4 hours, you come and take Rinoa's place. That way, there's someone to alert the others once she does wake up."
" Alright," Rinoa and Seifer said. I pulled out the small communicater Headmaster Cid gave to all of us.
" Guys, found anything?"
" Hey Squall! Yeah, we found a backpack in some storage room. And this weird-looking weapon. All of these things belongs to the girl. By the way, her name is Rose," Zell said.
" And how would you know that?" I said.
" Selphie looked through it and found the name on most of the belongings."
" It was better than Zell or Irvine looking through it!" I heard Selphie.
" Why the hell is that?"
" Zell, you eat more food than the rest of us, and there was food in that bag."
" I wouldn't eat any of her food!"
Rinoa was trying hard to not laugh at this small arguement that could be heard only in the hallway by my communicater. And Seifer was smirking.
" It sounds so like you Chicken-wuss," Seifer said.
" Seifer? Why don't you come down here and tell that in my face!" Zell yelled.
" Zell, shut-up and continue searching," I said. " Once you're done, bring whatever that belongs to Rose to Doctor Kadowaki's office."
" Alrigh', will do," he said as I shut the communicater.
" Now that it's almost 9 Rinoa, start watching Rose as soon as Kadowaki is done with the check-up. Seifer, you take Rinoa's place at around 12, and I take over at 4 am."
" 'Kay Squall," Rinoa said as she goes back into the office.
" Seifer, you better get some sleep while you can," I said as I headed towards the dorms.
" Sure, whatever," I heard Seifer said as I got out of the hallway. I reached my room at last.
' It has been a long day...' I thought as I plopped onto my bed. ' Maybe tomorrow, all these troubles will get better... Who am I kidding? It's going to be a bit more complicated, especially with the girl...' I lay down. ' Why did NORG keep that girl down there? Where did she come from anyway? And I personally doubt that she'll trust us, not after what NORG put her through. I would be the same way...' I turned over to my side. ' What is it with experimenting on people anyway? Doctor Odine is the exact way, with Ellone, Sis. Sure, she had strong powers, including taking people to the past. What sort of powers does this Rose have that interested NORG and Ultimecia? ... I should stop thinking all these questions, and find out the answers when Rose does wake up...' I thought as sleep slowly consumed me.
