Chapter 9 – Not in Kansas Any More...

Squall had a restless night. His head swam with thoughts of that girl at the dance, and then about the girl in the Training Centre, and then about both girls together which was the thought that sent him into a happy sleep. What was mainly annoying him was the question of "who the hell are they?" and "why do they both know me and/or feel they can approach me as if we know each other like good friends, not best friends, just those friends which you see occasionally, usually because they live far away, you want to see them more often but train tickets are so expensive these days and I'll be damned if I'm paying for an adult ticket when I'm a student, it's not my fault my rail card got lost in the post!?" was also a question which plagued his mind. He fell asleep, happy he was now a SeeD and knew that tomorrow was going to be a good day!

"Squall!" Selphie called through Squall's bedroom door.
Squall couldn't help but think today was going to be, in nicer terms, shit.

"Squall, it's our first SeeD mission! We're going to Timber! Super awesome!"

"Super awesome?" Squall thought, "super lame, more like..." Squall wasn't the best at witty responses.

Squall got up, didn't need to get dressed or anything, because it's apparently all right to wear the same clothes you wore the night before, which are stained with monster blood. He picked up his gunblade and put it in it's sling... Or holster... Whatever the hell it is, and walked out into inevitable annoyance. Selphie had already left, and Squall could only assume they had to meet at the front gate.

It was a sunny day, the school was bustling with activity, and plenty of noise which rang through Squall's head; he was somewhat hungover from the night before. It's rather strange that there was a mission arranged the day after the Inauguration Ball, most would assume the SeeD would be out getting drunk off of their asses. Squall reached the front gate and saw Selphie there already. Along with her was Headmaster Cid, obviously there to give them their mission and wish them luck. There was also one of those creepy Faculty members, hidden under their robe. Squall wondered what they had to hide; some sort of disfigurement, gruesome face scars, or maybe they had no face at all... Or maybe they had an anus for a face. Squall eventually settled with the idea that they had anus faces, and it amused him to think of face's faeces. Squall did notice a lack of something... A severe lack of pain in the backside...

"One more minute..." the Faculty member said.

Squall and Selphie exchanged looks with each other; it was apparent they were both thinking the same thing...

"Trust Zell to be late..." Squall thought.

"I wonder," Selphie thought, "what would Squall look like if you shaved his head?"

Without warning, crashing and screaming came from the direction of the school.

"Zell..." Squall thought.

"It'd be like a peanut. I'm allergic to peanuts... Wait, was it peanuts or cucumbers...?" Selphie thought.

Sure enough, Zell came zooming through the school on a hover-board. It was the ultimate in douchebag accessories, so trust Zell to own one. It appeared he hadn't quite mastered it; Squall assumed the screams came from people who had to leap out of the way of oncoming Zell traffic. Squall was also pretty sure there was some blood on the hover-board.

"Made it! Quickly and painlessly!" Zell said, jumping from his board.

"Yeah, maybe you made it pain free, don't know about everyone else..." Squall said.

"Hey! If they don't want to get hit by a hover-board then they shouldn't be walking there!"
"Where!?" Squall asked, "the corridor!?"

"Damn straight!" Zell huffed, lifting up his hover-board.

"That is a forbidden item..." said the Faculty member apathetically.

"What? This can of soda?" Zell said, holding out a can of soda.

"No. That in your hand..."

"What? The latest issue of Balamb Buzz Weekly? With hot stories such as rumours of Deling's political movements and other stories which quite clearly make hints to later aspects of the storyline?"

"No..." sighed the Faculty member, "that hover-board..."
"What hover-board?" Zell winced.

"The one in your hand..."
"You mean the latest issue of Bal... Hey!" Zell cried as the Faculty member snatched the hover-board from Zell's hands, muttering obscenities.

"You must set an example as SeeDs. This is not setting an example!" he barked at the three team members.

"To be fair, it is still setting an example, just a bad one..." Zell muttered.

The Faculty member tried to grab at Zell, but Headmaster Cid stepped in the way.

"Good morning Gentlemen and Lady!" he bowed to Selphie, "you're first mission today! Hope you're not too hung over!"

"Not me," Zell said proudly, "stomach of steel!"
"Is that why you spent most of last night throwing up?" Selphie giggled.

"Nuh-uh!" Zell cried back.

"Yuh-uh!"
"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-uh!"
"Oh my god, shut up..." Squall said, rubbing his temples.

"I concur!" Cid beamed, "shut the hell up! Now, you'll be off to Timber to assist a resistance! That is your mission, do as they say. If they tell you to kill someone, kill them. If they tell you to clean up their mess, you clean up their mess. If they tell you to dress in skimpy costumes and re-enact the entire of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you better god damn do it..."

"Skimpy clothing?" Zell said, "easy!"

Squall gave him concerning eyes.

"When you get there, one of the resistance members will be there to meet you," the Faculty member stepped in, "he will say 'the forests of Timber sure have changed' and you will say 'but the owls are still around'. That is the password."
"I'll so remember that; 'but the chocobos are still around...'" Zell said to himself.

"No, owls..." Squall corrected him.

"What about owls?"
"The password is owl's..."
"I know the password's ours, sheesh Squall..."

"Is that it?" Selphie asked.

"Yes. We are doing this for very little money, we usually don't deal with cases like this but..."
"That is not important, Headmaster..." the Faculty member said.

"They wouldn't stop pestering. They kept saying 'we know a good lawyer'..."

"Headmaster..."
"But I didn't do it! She groped me first!"
"HEADMASTER!"

"What!? Oh yes, that's all! Wait!" he said as they started to head out, "there's still this..."

Headmaster Cid picked up a small ornament off the wall. It was a lamp, not in the traditional sense, but the kind that you would find a Genie in.
"Take this!" Cid said, handing it to Squall.

"What is it?" Squall asked, holding the object at arms length.

"It's a magic lamp!"

"Magic!" Selphie squealed.

"Sweet! Do we get three wishes?" Zell said, buzzing with anticipation.

Squall took a better look at the lamp. It was black, with a shine that you could see yourself in. Squall had his reservations; it didn't feel very good to hold, as if it was oozing evil. On the other hand, it was a MAGIC lamp, and that must mean good things were inside. Maybe, like Zell said, it would grant them wishes, because, let's face it, what the hell else would be in a magic lamp?
"Should we rub it?" Squall asked the other two.
"That's always a good idea!" Zell said, jumping around with excitement.
"I'm gonna wish for world peace," Selphie said, "ooh, or my own dictatorship!"

"It's unanimous," Squall thought. As he rubbed the lamp, he couldn't help but wonder what mysteries awaited him...

Some hours later, they re-emerged.

They were all breathing heavily, and were bloody all over.
"I meant to warn you..." Cid said, offering a handkerchief.

"What... the hell... was that?" Squall panted.

"Well..."
"Did you know what was in there?"
"Yes..."
"Why didn't... you say something?" Squall wheezed, grabbing his chest.

"I thought you knew..."
"In what world would I think that an innocent looking lamp, one which was given to me by my friggin' Headmaster, would be dangerous!?"
"Well it was black..."
"What you trying to say?"
"Well, dark colours do denote evilness... It's the basics of media..."
Squall rubbed his eyes.

"We just had to fight the freakin' devil! The devil!"
"I know... I..."
"Look at the other two, Zell's never gonna be the same again!"
Zell was sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, "Theresa falls up the stairs, Theresa falls down the stairs..."
"Who the hell's Theresa? Who knows!" Squall carried on ranting, "and look at Selphie!"
"Hi!" Selphie said, waving at Squall and Cid.
"Okay, so Selphie's no different, but she died seventeen times! Seventeen! Good job we can disobey the laws of the world!"

"Well I tried to warn you..." Cid said, cleaning his glasses.

"At what point did you try!?"

Cid started, but stopped, "ah yes, I was going to, but then I saw a leaf falling off the tree. It was so majestic..."

"It's a good job we beat that thing... I'd be careful, Sir, because now I can control the devil!"

Squall and Selphie picked up Zell and carried him off. Squall gave Cid glaring eyes as they went.

"What an ass," Cid said, "I'm so demoting that cocky son of a..."

The journey to Balamb was an uneventful one. Squall was sure Zell was flirting with Selphie; every time he killed a creature, he would follow it with "yeah, I'm a badass..." Selphie may appear stupid, but she knew what Zell was up to. Every time she killed a creature, she would follow it up with "I hope it was a guy, 'cos I hate men!" Unfortunately this did not deter Zell, probably because he was questionably male as far as psychological issues go.

Squall just walked past all the awkward moments between the moment. Zell must have assumed to awkwardness was of a sexual nature, whereas Selphie thought, and was right in thinking so, that the awkwardness was the kind where you walk in on your girlfriend doing it with your best friend... What has he got that I haven't! Sorry...

They reached Balamb quickly, although it felt like hours to Squall.

"I'd like to buy three tickets to Timber," Squall asked.

"That'll be three thousand gil please, sir!" chirped the receptionist.

"Rip off!" whispered Zell, "haggle!"
"I'm not going to haggle..."
"How about one thousand for three tickets," Zell asked, raising his eyebrows.

"How about no. If you're not going to buy the tickets then please leave, I need to go have a cigarette..."
"Wait, wait, how about one and a half thousand?" Zell said, leaning in.

"I need my fix!" she roared, punching Zell in the arm, knocking him over.

"Oh, it's on bitch!" Zell said jumping up.

"Here," Squall intervened, "take this three thousand for the tickets, and an extra five hundred for yourself."
The receptionist looked at the money in Squall's hand, and snatched it away, "it's lucky your leader is so charming and handsome, otherwise you wouldn't be going anywhere," she walked past Squall, leaning in to whisper to him, "your train doesn't leave for fifteen minutes..."
Squall just looked at her, then walked away. Was he being a proud man and walking away from potential good times, or was he now numb to sexual suggestions? Who knows...

They boarded the train, waiting for it to leave. They found themselves in a rather swanky looking train. The room they were currently in was metal all over, with a sparkling finish. Squall was used to riding trains with homeless people and crazy men who said the moogles were talking to him. This was a step up; a definite benefit of being a SeeD.

"This. Train. Is. Awesome!" Selphie said, mouth wide open.

"Intercontinental train, baby! It even goes underwater to get to Timber..." Zell said matter-of-factly.

"Wow, know anything else about trains," quipped Squall.

"Well, this particular line was opened only twenty years ago, as a means to directly connect to Timber. It used to be that you had to catch a boat to Dollet, and then a train to Timber..."
"I was joking Zell..."
"This particular line used to be owned by the Timber Train Transport until Galbadia occupied Timber an made it Galbadian Train Service..."
"Zell, shut up..."
"But then Balamb Transport Association bought them out and made their own trains. Currently, the BTA is in financial loss, and talks are in the pipeline for Dollet Transport to merge with the BTA so they have enough money to continue. Wanna know more?"
"Yeah!" Selphie said, as she sat on the floor, legs crossed, staring at Zell wide-eyed.

"Hell no..." Squall said.

Squall looked at the door to the corridor, where the SeeD suite was.

"Dude, you have to use the ticket to get in..." Zell said.

"Thanks. My tiny head couldn't work it out, even with the sign that says 'scan ticket here'..." Squall swiped the ticket and Selphie barged past him.

"Let's check this bitch out!" she shouted.

The other two followed after her. Zell spotted the SeeD suite first and raced in. Selphie was looking out of the window. The train had set off already, and Selphie was watching the scenery flash by. Squall followed Zell into the suite. He found Zell bouncing on the furniture.

"This is awesome!"
"I wish people would stop using the word awesome. It's not cool..." Squall said, observing the room. It was very plush; the room was carpeted and the walls were papered. The couches which Zell was bouncing on looked incredibly comfortable, good enough to sleep on if the two beds were already occupied.

"Nice, innit!" Zell said, settling down.

"Yeah..."
Selphie walked in, looking dazed.

"Hey, Squall, wanna hear about Timber?" Zell asked.

"Not really..." Squall said. He wanted to make sure Selphie was okay.

"Dude, it might help..."
"Zell, shut up..." Selphie was going pale, she might collapse.

"Fine, if you don't want to be prepared..."
Zell, shut the hell up. Timber, sixteen years ago, Galbadia invaded! Timber fell easily. Timber is now under Galbadian occupation. Some say there are loads of resistance factors, but I'll be damned if they've actually accomplished anything! Happy now?"
"Dude," Zell said, shocked, "it was eighteen years ago..."
"Oh you little f..."
"Guys," Selphie whimpered, "I don't feel so good..."

She stumbled forward and collapsed on the couch.

Squall checked to see if she was all right.

"Dude," Zell slurred, "I feel... Sleep... shap-al-ar-baa..."

Squall didn't know what to do. First day as a SeeD and he was already being... Pois... Wow, feeling incredibly sleepy...
"Oh no..." Squall said. His consciousness went and he fell to the floor like a log. Good job it was carpeted...

-----

Somewhere, far away, deep in a forest, three Galbadian soldiers marched. It was odd. Squall wasn't there, but his consciousness was. Was this a dream?

"Do you know where the hell you're going?" said one of the three, a skinny man with a black complexion, who had two knives on either side of his hips.

The man who he was talking to, presumably the leader, ignored him. He surveyed his surroundings.

"Laguna?"

Laguna (as that appears to be his name, could be anything, this is a dream after all) carried on ignoring him. He flicked his flowing black hair out of his eyes. All three of them were dressed in the blue Galbadian uniforms, showing they must have been low in rank. Laguna carried on, walking through the burning forest.

"Where am I?" thought Squall.

"Oh boy," said the larger man, "not again..."

It was clear he was talking to Laguna, rather than making a general statement. But Laguna ignored it still, and carried marching onwards, almost with a skip in his step.

"Hey Kiros," the larger man said, "aren't we supposed to be fighting a war against the Timber army?"
Kiros grinned, "oh yeah, Ward, so wait, why are we messin' around with a bunch of animals?"

"Well, Laguna, do you have an insight into this?" Ward asked.

"Well..." Laguna started.

"Not lost again, are we?" Kiros laughed.

"Of course not!" Laguna exclaimed, "we're on our way home, boys. Deling City here we come!"

"And how are we supposed to accomplish that feat?" Kiros said sceptically.

"My dear Kiros, I am in possession of a driving license..." Laguna said smugly.

"Yeah. Anything to drive?"
"That!" He said dramatically, pointing to an abandoned armoured car, owned by Galbadia.

"And the keys are still inside! Jackpot!" Laguna said, hopping into the driver's seat, "all aboard!"

The other two just looked at each other, and that was enough. They climbed aboard, hoping they would actually make it home.

Laguna drove the car back to Deling City, luckily without crashing it. He raced into Deling City, parking it in the middle of the road.

He jumped out and smelled the air.

"Er, Laguna," Ward said, climbing out of the car, "you can't park there..."
"Don't be absurd, Ward! We are Galbadian troops! It is one of the perks of fighting for our glorious nation!"

"Er, no it isn't..."
"Quiet, Ward, I think I know more than you..."

"Excuse me, sir," called a policeman who chased after them, "you can't park there!"
"Don't be absurd, Ward!"

"I didn't say anything..."

"Sorry, I assumed you were the one being an ass... Hello, Officer, may I help you?"
"Is this your vehicle?"
"Nope!"

I just saw you park it..." the policeman pulled out a notebook.

"My dear, Officer, we are members of the Galbadian Army! We deserve respect!"

"Yes, you do," the policeman said, looking up from his book, "but that does not mean you can break the law. And it would also help if you were actually in the war that is currently going on... Now if you don't move this vehicle, I will have to have it towed..."
"Splendid!" Laguna threw him the keys and bounded off to the city centre.

Kiros and Ward followed, offering their apologies to the stunned policeman.

"How about a drink!" Laguna asked, rubbing his hands together.

"A drink? We all know you ain't going for a drink..." Kiros said.

"Yeah, you'll just drink your juice and gawk at the Piano Lady..." Ward chuckled.

"Her name is not the Piano Lady!" Laguna snapped, "fine! We won't go for a drink..."
They stood there in silence.

"Stuff it, I'm thirsty..." Laguna muttered as he slumped off to the bar.

The bar in question was the one in the basement of the Galbadia Hotel. It was decorated in lush reds, and a piano sat on the stage at the front, currently unoccupied. They took their usual table in the corner.

"May I take your order?" asked the waitress.

"The usual," Laguna said, eyeing the stairs.

"So two pints of beer and an orange juice for you. Do you want a straw with that?" she giggled.

"Ha ha. Now get stuffed!" Laguna barked. He was in no mood for jokes. Actually, he wouldn't mind a limerick.

And then something caught his eye. He looked to the stairs to see a woman walking down them, in a flowing red gown. Laguna stared with open mouth. She was so sexy and sophisticated and classy...

She took her seat at the piano and started playing the ivory.

"There's Julia. You going to go for it tonight?" Kiros said, taking a sip of his beer which just arrived.

"I think she's a bit busy working..." Laguna said, not letting his eyes leave her.

"Yeah, we're supposed to be working, but it ain't stopping us from getting wasted!" Kiros said, giving him a nudge.

"You can't go back on your word..." Ward said, "that's how I ended up with a tattoo on my ass. Remember?"
"Sure, you couldn't sit for a week... But come on, give me a break."
"We know you'll do it..." Ward said, gulping down his drink, "another over here!"

Laguna took a sip of his orange juice ("it's a bit too tangy for my liking") and strode over to Julia.

"I'm so close to her..." Laguna thought.

"Is this guy serious?" Squall thought.

Laguna wiped the hair out of his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Oh shi..." he thought, "my leg's cramping up..."

He limped back to the table, not forgetting to turn back and give Julia a weak wave.

"Mission accomplished..." Kiros said, grinning.

"Good work, you sly dog..." Ward said, smirking.

"You can laugh if you want..." Laguna said, banging his head on the table.
Squall couldn't help but laugh.

"Even my consciousness is mocking me!" Laguna cried.

"Hey, Ward, what would you say Laguna's manliness rating is?"
"Hmm, about a minus two; because he sure is missing two of something!" Ward guffawed, gulping down another drink, "the same again!"

"Look, you better do something now, otherwise you'll be left to drag Ward back home..." Kiros said.

Kiros looked up, Ward followed his gaze, and downed another drink.

"Let's call it a night, Kiros," Ward said, standing up.
"We're going?" Laguna asked, his voice unusually high in pitch.

"We are, you're not. Have another drink on us... Maybe two..." Kiros stood up as well, and he and Ward walked off.

"Wuss! Can't hold you're alcohol!" he turned round to watch them walk off and froze at what he saw.

Julia was walking towards him. Laguna gulped. He felt his heart racing and his palms became sweaty.

"May I?" she asked. Her voice was silky and sexy.

Laguna made a whimpering noise and let her take a seat.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" she joked.

"No, no. I could do with some female company... N-Not in a rude way, it's just that I spend a lot of time with men... N-Not that that means anything, we just d-do man thing... I-I mean stuff like play c-cards and shit like that..." Laguna's voice was quickly becoming higher.

He tried to take a gulp of orange juice, his hands were shaking like jelly and the glass hardly touched his lips.

"You okay now?" she asked Laguna, pointing to his leg.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just an effect of war because I'm in the army..."
"I noticed. Such a pointless war against Timber..."
"I know, isn't it. I mean, what good is Timber, we should be taking Dollet or something..."
"I meant war is pointless, full stop. I hate it."
"Yeah! That's what I meant! That's why I joined the army!"
Julia just looked at him, "so you joined the army in protest against war?"
Laguna freaked at his mistake, "I, I, I, I..."
"Oh! So you're boycotting the army!"
Laguna almost wet himself, "sure, exactly that!"

Julia and Laguna took a good look around the room. It seemed everyone was watching them, even Kiros and Ward who hadn't left. Lying bastards.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere more private. I have a room here..."
Laguna bolted upright, "you're, you're room!?"

Julia stood up, "if you want to see me, just ask at Reception for my room number..."

And with that, Julia walked off, only looking back to give Laguna a stare.

Laguna sat and pondered for a minute.

"You coming, Laguna. Me and Ward are going to play cards..."
"Cards?" Laguna thought, "balls to that!"

Laguna shot up and ran out of the room. He ran up the stairs and threw himself at the Receptionist.

"Julia... Room..." Laguna panted.

"You must be Mr. Loire? Let me show you to Miss Julia's room..."

Laguna took a deep breath and followed the Receptionist into the elevator.

"No going back, Laguna," he thought to himself, "if you're going to throw up, do it now..."

"Thanks for coming. Please have a seat..." Julia said as she opened the door to a very nervous Laguna.

"It's my pleasure. I came as fast as I could..."
"That's what she said..." thought Squall.

Laguna tried to find a seat, but couldn't get comfortable.

"Going so soon?" she asked.

"No, I'm just kinda nervous. I'm a big fan of yours..."
Julia blushed, "so is that why you come to see me play so often?"

Laguna's stomach jumped, "you saw me?"
"How could I miss you? You have beautiful eyes..."
"Whoa! That's a bit too like a stalker!" Laguna said, stepping back.

"Says the guy who always watches me play the piano!" she said back.

They both glared at each other. But it wasn't long until they both burst out laughing.

"Do you want some wine?" Julia laughed.

Laguna took the glass, "I better be careful, if I drink to much I won't be able to shut up talking about myself..." he thought. He decided he should just relax for once, and thought one glass couldn't hurt...

Although, a couple of glasses later...

"And that's the story of my first day at school. You know, I never liked fighting, I just wanna travel! See places and write about what I see! I wanna be a journalist, so combine the two and ta-daa!" Laguna slurred, spilling his wine everywhere.

"I mean, being in the army means I get to travel with Kiros and Ward, and their cool guys, but I, I, did you say something?"

"No... Julia said, staring into his eyes.

"What was I talking about? Oh yeah! When I grow up, I wanna be a journa... Journey... I wanna write and stuff! You know, the other day, the paper printed one of my pieces of writing!"
"That's great!" Julia said, pouring more wine.

"It was only an ad for my old car, but it was so well written. They musta done some editing, 'cos I sent it in at four pages, but they cut it down to four lines! What bastards!"

He took a swig of his wine.

"Oh yeah, and then... Sorry, I didn't mean to grab your breast, and then..."

Laguna's ramblings carried on into the night. Several bottles of wine later...

"How'd I fall asleep?" Laguna said, stumbling off of Julia's bed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know wine made you sleepy..."
"Only, only red wine..." Laguna said, swaying to and fro.

"That's what we were drinking..." Julia said, cleaning up the glasses.

"Really, I coulda sworn it wasn't!" Laguna stumbled over to Julia, "I musta been talkin' about myself loads. Tell me about yourself Julia..." Laguna slumped onto a chair in the middle of the room.

"I... I want to sing..." Julia said looking into Laguna's eyes.

"Wow! I bet, I bet you're really good! Let's hear you sing!"

"I'm not very good at writing lyrics..."
"Aw! Bummer! Just... Copy someone else's and change the words. No one will notice!"

"Er, no thanks... But that's going to change, I want to thank you for helping me with my songs..."
"Me? I'm no lyrical genius. If I've said anything remotely artistic..."
"Well, kind of. All of those stories of the faces you've been and places you've seen... All of the emotions you felt and the situations you dealt... Your face, your smile, your eyes... With that I can write a song..."
Laguna looked into her eyes, as she did into his.

"Look Julia..." Laguna said, grabbing her hands, "before anything happens, I gotta tell you, I don't have protection..."

"That's sweet..." Julia said, taking her hands back. She placed them on Laguna's face.

The moment was destroyed by a knock at the door.

"Laguna, new orders!" Kiros called from outside.

Laguna shot up and straightened himself out.

"We can meet again, can't we?" she said with desperation.

"Of course! I have to hear you sing!" Laguna said. He ran to the door and swung it open.

"See you soon!" Laguna said, winking at Julia. He started to sway; the drink was catching up with him.

"Be with you in a minute, boys..." he said as he collapsed, face first.

-----

"Next stop, Timber. Next stop, Timber."

Squall's senses began to come back, one by one. His vision focused and his balance came too. He stumbled up, "were we all asleep?"

Zell and Selphie had recovered quicker than Squall had, nice to see they had helped Squall up.

"Maybe it was sleeping gas. People don't like SeeD..."
"So they put us to sleep and didn't do anything. Criminal masterminds..."

"Is anyone hurt?" Selphie asked meekly.

"No, we're all fine..." Squall said, sitting on the bed. His head was still spinning.

"What a relief!" Selphie chirped, bounding around, "I had such a nice dream..."
"Mine was hardly nice..." Squall thought.

"That Laguna was pretty handsome..." she said dreamily.

"Laguna? There was a Laguna in my dream! A Galbadian soldier, right?"

"Squall! Zell's been invading my dreams!" Selphie cried.

"Laguna..." Squall started, "Kiros and Ward..."
"Dude..." Zell said.

"That's freaky... Oh well, we've got other things to deal with!" Selphie said.

"You're right! No matter how synchronised our dreams were, we can't lose focus! We can report it when we get back to Garden..."
"Suits me!" Zell said, jumping up, "we'll be arriving soon. Let's do this!"

Zell ran out of the room.
Selphie followed him, "I'm still sleepy... Maybe if I go to sleep I can see Laguna again... And do things..."

Squall didn't know what to think. He shook his head of all doubt and headed after the other two. As long as he never had to see that jerk Laguna again; conscious or otherwise...

-----

I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Drunk talk is so much fun!
I can't wait to take control of Laguna again!

Now, excuse me if you will, but I would like to tell you about a new forum I'm a part of, .tk.

It's a british forum about tv, movies, music and games. I'm just telling you in the hopes that you'll join this friendly community and make it even better! I'm a writer on the website, so if you enjoy this then you might enjoy my writing elsewhere!

Okay, shameless plug over! Please come back next week for more of the same!

Thanks again!