Disclaimer: I dont own FF8, the characters/storyline, or any of that kind of stuff. So dont sue me. Please? Well anyway we all know this is owned by (the magnificant) Square. :)
Authors Note: Ok, someone reviewed and said that I write short chapters, so here goes...
Kiros knocked softly on the door to Laguna's office, and when he recieved no reply, opened the door softly and stepped into the dimly lit room. Laguna sat at the desk, staring at the screen of the laptop on his desk. It was, Kiros realized, not switched on, and Laguna had kindof a dazed look on his face as he stared into the blank nothingness of the screen.
"Laguna..?" He said quietly, his voice loud in the quiet room. Laguna looked up, startled, as if just now realizing that Kiros had entered the room. He jumped to his feet and moved forward, grabbing Kiros' arm.
"Have they found him?" He asked urgently, mixed emotions of fear and hope seeping through his voice. Kiros shook his head slowly, trying to keep his face clear of emotion. He felt sorry for his long time buddy... he didnt think that Squall was dead, but just having him missing was having a bad effect on Laguna. It had been only three days, but during that time Laguna had been, in a sense, doing nothing. He sat at his desk staring off into space, obviously deep in thought, and the only time he said anything was to ask if Squall had been found and to ask Kiros to do some other chore in the rebuilding of the lost wing. It had been rather annoying, actually... yes, he was worried about the boy, but it was Laguna's job to keep the city together, not himself and Ward's.
"Dont worry... we're going to find him, Laguna. Quistis, Rinoa and Zell should be arriving here at 0600 to aid you in your search." Kiros glanced back as he heard the soft click of the door and acknowledged Ward as he walked into the rooms, looking awkward in his new secretories robes. He gave Kiros what he had internally dubbed "the looks" and he turned his attention back to Laguna.
"Ward says that he and I will stay behind to take care of Esthar... I think Cid is sending Irvine and Selphie to help out as well, since they have experience from running Galbadia Garden."
Kiros went on to explain. Laguna looked up, and for the first time in days, looked alive again. He let go of Kiros' arm and picked up his gun off the rack that hung behind his desk.
"Well, I guess I'd better get ready then." He said, grinning impishly as he loaded his gun. Kiros smiled, glad to see that his friend had finally gotten a hold of himself. Ward took that as his cue to leave, and did so, giving Kiros a glance that meant "I'll get the transporter ready" before leaving.
"The transporter to the airport is ready." Kiros said, though Laguna had already dashed out the door before he had said three words. He grinned again, then took up the chair that Laguna had waited, then sighed, thinking of how hard it would be to run Esthar while Laguna was gone, and switched on the screen, glancing at the pile of complaints on the desk....
Meanwhile...
"Hey, Laguna man! We finally got here!" Zell said as he jumped off of the transportation device. Quistis stepped off more gracefully and bowed slightly before giving Laguna the official SeeD salute. Rinoa followed her quietly, giving a SeeD salute as well. He remembered the time Squall had asked him to attend Rinoa's graduation Ball... it was the first time his son had ever asked him for anything, so he had gladly accepted. Thinking about Squall brought a frown to his face at this current situation, but he forced a grin onto his face.
"Its good to see you all again. How have you all been?" He asked, trying to seem cortious, though his current mood could hardly allow it.
"Oh, well yesterday they served hotdogs in cafeteria again and of course Zell couldnt get any.." Quistis began, trying to seem cheery. After they had all exchanged the proper courtesies, the mood turned somber, and Rinoa finally asked the question everyone had been dreaded to ask.
"Do you think he's alive?" She asked, her voice sounding small and scared, staring at a spot on the ground. Quistis looked at her, her face mirroring the frightened look on Rinoa's face. Laguna choked, then looked at the ground, and Kiros took that moment to show up at the entrance of the palace.
"We're not sure. We had almost destroyed Griever, and Squall went in to finish him off, but he got off a powerful light blast before Squall had a chance. It was so bright that it blinded everyone, and when it cleared, neither Squall nor Griever were anywhere to be found."
Kiros explained it in a completely neutral voice, trying to keep his own mixed feelings from showing. He hated seeing Laguna like this, all choked up and clogged with emotions that he didnt know how to deal with. They were all silent for a moment, until Zell bent down and punched the ground.
"Dont worry guys. We're gonna find him. He'll be fine.. he's Squall, ya know? We'll find him and be all worried and he'll just be like "..whatever" when we find him and be all non-chalant and stuff." Zell said, the words spilling from his mouth in a rush. Quistis nodded slowly, and a ghost of a smile showed on her face.
"Yes, that does sound like something Squall would say..." She said ruefully, just a bit of wistful sarcasm in her voice. Rinoa looked at her and chuckled softly.
"Yeah, and then he'd say 'You shouldnt have stayed and protected Garden.'" She said slowly, emitting soft laughter from everyone there, even Laguna. The mood quickly turned serious again, and they began to discuss the possible places that they might want to look for Squall .
After a half hour, they still had no idea where to start looking. As Quistis had regretfully pointed out, they could search the world for years and never find a trace of Squall. Just then, Selphie and Irvine arrived, eliciting another round of greetings between the friends. When the conversation turned back to the problem of locating Squall, Selphie's eyes suddenly lit up and bounced up and down happily.
"I know! Near Trabia, he's just got to be there!" She said excitedly. The whole group turned to stare at her, confused, most of them looking at her as if she had gone suddenly mad.
"What do you mean?" Laguna asked, half of his voice full of disbelief, while the other half was full of hope.
"Near Trabia. The big crater. You know how you cant go near it or fly over it? I know why... its from Griever's curse. Didnt you ever hear about the legend of Greiver? You remember the tribe that turns into Moomba's, right? Well its said that Griever was their god and protector, but when they started to turn to science instead of him, he got reallllly mad and made a whole bunch of earthquakes and stuff. Thats what the crater is from. And thats where a tribe village used to be... so he cursed them to live there as his slaves forever. Thats got be where Squall is!" Selphie said, her words all in a rush, then panted a little. The group looked at her strangely for a moment more, then nodded.
"Well then, the Ragnarok is parked at the Airport..."
Authors Note: I made up "the legend of Griever" in one of my other stories (sorry, cant remember which one) but thats basically the whole of it. See, it was long! And I promise that the next one will be alot more action and a whole lot less talk.... :P But please review! I didnt think I'd be able to write this good, so please review and tell me what you think so far! Thanks! :D
Authors Note: Ok, someone reviewed and said that I write short chapters, so here goes...
Kiros knocked softly on the door to Laguna's office, and when he recieved no reply, opened the door softly and stepped into the dimly lit room. Laguna sat at the desk, staring at the screen of the laptop on his desk. It was, Kiros realized, not switched on, and Laguna had kindof a dazed look on his face as he stared into the blank nothingness of the screen.
"Laguna..?" He said quietly, his voice loud in the quiet room. Laguna looked up, startled, as if just now realizing that Kiros had entered the room. He jumped to his feet and moved forward, grabbing Kiros' arm.
"Have they found him?" He asked urgently, mixed emotions of fear and hope seeping through his voice. Kiros shook his head slowly, trying to keep his face clear of emotion. He felt sorry for his long time buddy... he didnt think that Squall was dead, but just having him missing was having a bad effect on Laguna. It had been only three days, but during that time Laguna had been, in a sense, doing nothing. He sat at his desk staring off into space, obviously deep in thought, and the only time he said anything was to ask if Squall had been found and to ask Kiros to do some other chore in the rebuilding of the lost wing. It had been rather annoying, actually... yes, he was worried about the boy, but it was Laguna's job to keep the city together, not himself and Ward's.
"Dont worry... we're going to find him, Laguna. Quistis, Rinoa and Zell should be arriving here at 0600 to aid you in your search." Kiros glanced back as he heard the soft click of the door and acknowledged Ward as he walked into the rooms, looking awkward in his new secretories robes. He gave Kiros what he had internally dubbed "the looks" and he turned his attention back to Laguna.
"Ward says that he and I will stay behind to take care of Esthar... I think Cid is sending Irvine and Selphie to help out as well, since they have experience from running Galbadia Garden."
Kiros went on to explain. Laguna looked up, and for the first time in days, looked alive again. He let go of Kiros' arm and picked up his gun off the rack that hung behind his desk.
"Well, I guess I'd better get ready then." He said, grinning impishly as he loaded his gun. Kiros smiled, glad to see that his friend had finally gotten a hold of himself. Ward took that as his cue to leave, and did so, giving Kiros a glance that meant "I'll get the transporter ready" before leaving.
"The transporter to the airport is ready." Kiros said, though Laguna had already dashed out the door before he had said three words. He grinned again, then took up the chair that Laguna had waited, then sighed, thinking of how hard it would be to run Esthar while Laguna was gone, and switched on the screen, glancing at the pile of complaints on the desk....
Meanwhile...
"Hey, Laguna man! We finally got here!" Zell said as he jumped off of the transportation device. Quistis stepped off more gracefully and bowed slightly before giving Laguna the official SeeD salute. Rinoa followed her quietly, giving a SeeD salute as well. He remembered the time Squall had asked him to attend Rinoa's graduation Ball... it was the first time his son had ever asked him for anything, so he had gladly accepted. Thinking about Squall brought a frown to his face at this current situation, but he forced a grin onto his face.
"Its good to see you all again. How have you all been?" He asked, trying to seem cortious, though his current mood could hardly allow it.
"Oh, well yesterday they served hotdogs in cafeteria again and of course Zell couldnt get any.." Quistis began, trying to seem cheery. After they had all exchanged the proper courtesies, the mood turned somber, and Rinoa finally asked the question everyone had been dreaded to ask.
"Do you think he's alive?" She asked, her voice sounding small and scared, staring at a spot on the ground. Quistis looked at her, her face mirroring the frightened look on Rinoa's face. Laguna choked, then looked at the ground, and Kiros took that moment to show up at the entrance of the palace.
"We're not sure. We had almost destroyed Griever, and Squall went in to finish him off, but he got off a powerful light blast before Squall had a chance. It was so bright that it blinded everyone, and when it cleared, neither Squall nor Griever were anywhere to be found."
Kiros explained it in a completely neutral voice, trying to keep his own mixed feelings from showing. He hated seeing Laguna like this, all choked up and clogged with emotions that he didnt know how to deal with. They were all silent for a moment, until Zell bent down and punched the ground.
"Dont worry guys. We're gonna find him. He'll be fine.. he's Squall, ya know? We'll find him and be all worried and he'll just be like "..whatever" when we find him and be all non-chalant and stuff." Zell said, the words spilling from his mouth in a rush. Quistis nodded slowly, and a ghost of a smile showed on her face.
"Yes, that does sound like something Squall would say..." She said ruefully, just a bit of wistful sarcasm in her voice. Rinoa looked at her and chuckled softly.
"Yeah, and then he'd say 'You shouldnt have stayed and protected Garden.'" She said slowly, emitting soft laughter from everyone there, even Laguna. The mood quickly turned serious again, and they began to discuss the possible places that they might want to look for Squall .
After a half hour, they still had no idea where to start looking. As Quistis had regretfully pointed out, they could search the world for years and never find a trace of Squall. Just then, Selphie and Irvine arrived, eliciting another round of greetings between the friends. When the conversation turned back to the problem of locating Squall, Selphie's eyes suddenly lit up and bounced up and down happily.
"I know! Near Trabia, he's just got to be there!" She said excitedly. The whole group turned to stare at her, confused, most of them looking at her as if she had gone suddenly mad.
"What do you mean?" Laguna asked, half of his voice full of disbelief, while the other half was full of hope.
"Near Trabia. The big crater. You know how you cant go near it or fly over it? I know why... its from Griever's curse. Didnt you ever hear about the legend of Greiver? You remember the tribe that turns into Moomba's, right? Well its said that Griever was their god and protector, but when they started to turn to science instead of him, he got reallllly mad and made a whole bunch of earthquakes and stuff. Thats what the crater is from. And thats where a tribe village used to be... so he cursed them to live there as his slaves forever. Thats got be where Squall is!" Selphie said, her words all in a rush, then panted a little. The group looked at her strangely for a moment more, then nodded.
"Well then, the Ragnarok is parked at the Airport..."
Authors Note: I made up "the legend of Griever" in one of my other stories (sorry, cant remember which one) but thats basically the whole of it. See, it was long! And I promise that the next one will be alot more action and a whole lot less talk.... :P But please review! I didnt think I'd be able to write this good, so please review and tell me what you think so far! Thanks! :D