Absolutely nothing major happens in this chapter until the end. I thought this chapter disappointing personally..... Chapter 10 looks promising from what I've got so far, though....Next chapter'll be better, promise!!
Sgt. Phoenix
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Chapter 9--Waiting
"So....what do we do once we find D'ken?" Selphie asked, sitting in the pilot's seat of the Ragnarok. "I mean, how many places are there a dragon can hide for a couple millenia?"
"I don't know. Lucca didn't say she knew where he was. She just said 'go northeast and find D'ken'," Zell said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the tooth that the Dileja had given him. "She gave me this to show him so he'd help us. You know all the faerie stories we were told as kids at the orphanage? They exist. She told me everything. Mermaids, elves, goblins, dwarves, *everything*."
"We would do well to try and ally ourselves with each race that still exists," Kildare said, glancing at Ondine. She was still staring out the window, having never seen clouds and sunshine before. Her fingers were seemingly glued to the glass.
"How do we do that, Kildare?" Squall asked, perplexed. "How are we supposed to find them?"
"D'ken will help us," Kildare stated. "Believe it or not, dragons have a significant influence over peoples of the ancient world, especially the wood elves. And Leviathan has allied himself with you, has he not? If that is true, the Merrows will more than likely sway to our cause. Not to mention the fact that if Jasper *is* released, it spells certain doom for them. Jasper has a unique hatred for them, no one knows why."
"The king of the elves is who we should find first, after we find D'ken," Ondine said, practically having to pry herself from the window. She kept stealing glances at it while she was talking. "The elves will make powerful allies against Danda and his minions."
"Minions? The only minions we saw were Garden students," Irvine said, his usual southern drawl standing out against the other voices in the room.
"Oh, don't think that he won't enlist some of the more evil and mischievious races to help him," Kildare said.
"Like who?"
"Spriggans, goblins, pixies, Redcaps, and the like," Ondine explained. "Most won't attack us directly, but they will make life hard for us while we travel. Stealing things, sabotaging the ship, giving us horrible nightmares, and a number of things other than that. But, with the right protection against them, we should be fine."
"Spriggans? Redcaps? What are those?" Rinoa asked innocently.
"Spriggans are skilled thieves who are small in size, but they can inflate themselves to make you think they are bigger than they are. They can cause whirlwinds that destroy crops and have been known to steal human babies and leave a baby Spriggan in its place. They are very, very repulsive in appearance," Kildare said, her face wrinkling in distaste. "Redcaps are a different story. Redcaps are mean creatures who, like their name implies, wear red caps. They carry axes and have large noses. They color their caps red with blood. We don't want to come upon them. It would be better for us to run if we see any."
"We need to go back to Garden," Zell said, wondering how Dani was faring with translating the Book. There was this fatigue running through him that he couldn't explain. He sat in one of the many seats in the cockpit, sitting doubled over with his arms crossed over his stomach. He didn't look up at his friends as he spoke. "I left the Book with Dani; she's translating it for us."
Irvine knelt down in front of him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, just tired, still," Zell lied. He knew he wasn't alright. If he'd been standing up, his knees would have been wobbling. If he could have stood up in the first place, that is. He didn't want anyone to worry about him; everyone had enough on their minds as it was. He remembered Squall telling him he could have a seizure if he gave a prophecy, but he couldn't tell if that was what was wrong or if he was just tired.
"Your face...you're so pale," Rinoa commented. "You need to go lie down and go to sleep."
"Come on," Irvine said, taking his hand. "Me an' Squall'll take you down there and stay with you."
"I feel miserable..." Zell said, trying to stand up. He supported himself by holding onto the back of the chair, his legs trembling just as he predicted.
"C'mon," Squall said, putting his arm around Zell to help him stand. "Down to the bunks with you." Zell pulled out the necklace from under his shirt. It was glowing dimly, the light brightest in the center.
"Oh, God...that's what it is," Zell whispered. "A prophecy...It's like the Stone's preparing me for it or something...."
"What do we do...?" Rinoa said.
"We can't do anything but put him somewhere safe, like down in the barracks," Squall said, helping Zell to the lift. Irvine followed, standing to Zell's left.
"You girls stay here. We'll take care of him," Irvine said. He pressed the 'down' button on the elevator and it started to sink into the floor. Selphie blew him a kiss from the pilot's seat. He waved back to her and pressed two fingers to his lips, holding them out to her.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"What do we do about Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin?" Irvine asked Squall as they helped their friend down the stairs.
"We need to find them and pick them up," Squall said. "Just so we can keep an eye on them. We don't need them out screwing everything up."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Zell's legs gave way. Squall and Irvine caught him and helped him stand again. Zell grasped the side of his head, closing his eyes.
"God, everything's spinning....."
"It's just a little further," Irvine comforted. "You just need to lie down."
They helped him walk through the entrance to the barracks and Squall pressed the button next to the first door. Zell lied down on the bed and shut his eyes.
"Are you still dizzy?" Squall asked him, sitting down in a chair by the bed.
"It's getting better," Zell replied, out of breath.
Squall looked down at the floor. "Look, Zell, I...I'm sorry about what happened at the bridge. I just lost it, I didn't mean anything I said up there. About Trabia and Timber, I didn't mean that."
"I know. Don't worry about it, I understand," Zell said, closing his eyes again. "Just let me go to sleep and we'll call it even, okay?"
"Done."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, use the camera and zoom in on that truck on the highway," Selphie said to Quistis who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat.
"That looks like the truck Seifer rented in...*Dollet*!!" Quistis exclaimed as the camera slowly zoomed in on it as it moved. "It had a cling-on on the windshield that said 'Dollet Rent-a-Car'. Maybe we can go back there and see if we can find anything on this girl Naomi."
"But, we have to find D'Ken first!" Kildare protested, putting her hands on her hips.
"But," Rinoa said, sitting to the left of Selphie,"we had better pick them up. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Quistis brought the great airship down to the ground on the highway, bringing the truck to a screeching halt just inches from the ship's hull. Seifer saw the cargo door open, but he hesitated.
"Now, what exactly the hell do they want?" he asked no one in particular.
"GO," Fujin said, pointing to the open door. "SAFE."
"What do you mean 'safe'?" Seifer inquired, leaning on the steering wheel and looking at her. "You don't think we're safe on our own?"
"CURIOUS," Fujin corrected herself. You had to interpret what Fujin was saying because of her speech impediment. It was hard to tell what she meant at times. She spoke in short thoughts and feelings instead of complete sentences. "FEEL UNEASY. SOMETHING COMING. BAD."
"I feel it, too, ya know," Raijin said, backing her up.
"Alright, alright, you whiners," Seifer said, putting the truck into gear and driving inside the cargo hangar.
The three of them got out of the truck and looked around the cargo hangar.
"This is a bigger ship than it looks from the outside," Seifer commented as he gazed at the stairway and the off-road vehicles that were there: Squall's black jeep, Zell's neon green 4-wheeler, and Irvine's bright red truck. They could go anywhere and do nearly anything with the three vehicles. But, of course, Zell still owed Squall 500 Gil for helping him to pay for the 4-wheeler.
Irvine came out of the barracks to see what was going on and why they had landed.
"Hey, cowboy, nice digs," Seifer said, indicating the inside of the ship.
"Thanks, now what's going on?"
"You tell me. Last I remember I was being promised the low-down on everything after you got finished at Galbadia Garden," Seifer told him. He flung his gray jacket back in his usual manner and threw his gunblade up on his shoulder.
(Haughty b****rd...) Irvine thought bitterly. "Go up to the cockpit. You'll get your explanation there. Squall's busy at the moment."
"Doing what?" Seifer asked curiously. "And where's chickenwuss at? Still at Garden?"
"Actually, after being given orders not to, he followed us here in the Ragnarok. He's not such a chickenwuss after all, now is he?" Irvine asked. He hated it when Seifer called Squall, Zell, and him names. He had no idea where 'chickenwuss' came from or 'puberty boy', for that matter. He, on the other hand, did look like a cowboy and he didn't mind being called that.
"There's a difference between bravery and loyalty, cowboy. He's only got one of the two. And where's Squall?"
"That's none of your business right now. Just go up to the cockpit and you'll find out what's going on," Irvine said, turning to go back to the barracks. Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin followed him. Irvine pressed the button that allowed him access to the barracks. The door slid open and Irvine stepped inside, letting it close quickly behind him.
Seifer pressed the same button, but to his misfortune, nothing happened.
"It's locked, Seifer," Irvine said from the other side of the metallic door. "Go up to the cockpit. You don't need to be down here."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
***Squall's POV***
"How's he doing?" Irvine asked me as the door slid open. I still sat on the bed next to Zell with my hand on his shoulder watching him sleep. Zell was curled up in a ball facing away from the door. I took his hand from Zell's shoulder and took my gloves off to feel of his cheeks. I gasped slightly at what I felt.
"Irvine, get a cold rag," I said to Irvine. He went over to the small cabinet and took out a black washcloth and ran cold water over it in the sink until it was soaked. He wrung most of the water out of it and handed it to me.
I wiped Zell's face off gently while Irvine sat down in the chair next to the bed. The pillow was soaked with sweat.
"He's got a fever," I said to Irvine, holding the rag in my hand. "He was fine when you went into the hangar, but now..."
"What about the necklace?" Irvine asked me. "Is it glowing anymore?"
I took the chain of the necklace and brought the Stone up so I could see it. It was glowing only a little brighter than before. "Just a little bit more," I said to him. "Why did we land?" I let the Stone drop from my hand and back to the bed.
"It seems the girls read our minds. They picked up Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin," Irvine said to me. "I sent them up to the cockpit. I locked the door to the barracks so they won't be down here."
"Good. There's no reason for him to be--"
Zell started trembling. I looked down at him and his blue eyes were open wide.
"S'Squall....it's happening, I feel it...." he said and swallowed hard. Sweat was already building back up on his face and I wiped it away. He breathed deep for air like he had something lodged in his throat. I bent over and put my arms around him, hoping to hold him down. I had seen seizures before and he could get violent or hurt himself if he wasn't controlled.
"Just hold on, it'll be over soon," I comforted, not knowing what else to do for him. I could only hold onto him and wait for it to happen.
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Sorry for the cliffhanger, folks. I'll try to get chapter 10 up real soon, okay?
Sgt. Phoenix
Sgt. Phoenix
************************************************************************************************
Chapter 9--Waiting
"So....what do we do once we find D'ken?" Selphie asked, sitting in the pilot's seat of the Ragnarok. "I mean, how many places are there a dragon can hide for a couple millenia?"
"I don't know. Lucca didn't say she knew where he was. She just said 'go northeast and find D'ken'," Zell said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the tooth that the Dileja had given him. "She gave me this to show him so he'd help us. You know all the faerie stories we were told as kids at the orphanage? They exist. She told me everything. Mermaids, elves, goblins, dwarves, *everything*."
"We would do well to try and ally ourselves with each race that still exists," Kildare said, glancing at Ondine. She was still staring out the window, having never seen clouds and sunshine before. Her fingers were seemingly glued to the glass.
"How do we do that, Kildare?" Squall asked, perplexed. "How are we supposed to find them?"
"D'ken will help us," Kildare stated. "Believe it or not, dragons have a significant influence over peoples of the ancient world, especially the wood elves. And Leviathan has allied himself with you, has he not? If that is true, the Merrows will more than likely sway to our cause. Not to mention the fact that if Jasper *is* released, it spells certain doom for them. Jasper has a unique hatred for them, no one knows why."
"The king of the elves is who we should find first, after we find D'ken," Ondine said, practically having to pry herself from the window. She kept stealing glances at it while she was talking. "The elves will make powerful allies against Danda and his minions."
"Minions? The only minions we saw were Garden students," Irvine said, his usual southern drawl standing out against the other voices in the room.
"Oh, don't think that he won't enlist some of the more evil and mischievious races to help him," Kildare said.
"Like who?"
"Spriggans, goblins, pixies, Redcaps, and the like," Ondine explained. "Most won't attack us directly, but they will make life hard for us while we travel. Stealing things, sabotaging the ship, giving us horrible nightmares, and a number of things other than that. But, with the right protection against them, we should be fine."
"Spriggans? Redcaps? What are those?" Rinoa asked innocently.
"Spriggans are skilled thieves who are small in size, but they can inflate themselves to make you think they are bigger than they are. They can cause whirlwinds that destroy crops and have been known to steal human babies and leave a baby Spriggan in its place. They are very, very repulsive in appearance," Kildare said, her face wrinkling in distaste. "Redcaps are a different story. Redcaps are mean creatures who, like their name implies, wear red caps. They carry axes and have large noses. They color their caps red with blood. We don't want to come upon them. It would be better for us to run if we see any."
"We need to go back to Garden," Zell said, wondering how Dani was faring with translating the Book. There was this fatigue running through him that he couldn't explain. He sat in one of the many seats in the cockpit, sitting doubled over with his arms crossed over his stomach. He didn't look up at his friends as he spoke. "I left the Book with Dani; she's translating it for us."
Irvine knelt down in front of him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, just tired, still," Zell lied. He knew he wasn't alright. If he'd been standing up, his knees would have been wobbling. If he could have stood up in the first place, that is. He didn't want anyone to worry about him; everyone had enough on their minds as it was. He remembered Squall telling him he could have a seizure if he gave a prophecy, but he couldn't tell if that was what was wrong or if he was just tired.
"Your face...you're so pale," Rinoa commented. "You need to go lie down and go to sleep."
"Come on," Irvine said, taking his hand. "Me an' Squall'll take you down there and stay with you."
"I feel miserable..." Zell said, trying to stand up. He supported himself by holding onto the back of the chair, his legs trembling just as he predicted.
"C'mon," Squall said, putting his arm around Zell to help him stand. "Down to the bunks with you." Zell pulled out the necklace from under his shirt. It was glowing dimly, the light brightest in the center.
"Oh, God...that's what it is," Zell whispered. "A prophecy...It's like the Stone's preparing me for it or something...."
"What do we do...?" Rinoa said.
"We can't do anything but put him somewhere safe, like down in the barracks," Squall said, helping Zell to the lift. Irvine followed, standing to Zell's left.
"You girls stay here. We'll take care of him," Irvine said. He pressed the 'down' button on the elevator and it started to sink into the floor. Selphie blew him a kiss from the pilot's seat. He waved back to her and pressed two fingers to his lips, holding them out to her.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"What do we do about Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin?" Irvine asked Squall as they helped their friend down the stairs.
"We need to find them and pick them up," Squall said. "Just so we can keep an eye on them. We don't need them out screwing everything up."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Zell's legs gave way. Squall and Irvine caught him and helped him stand again. Zell grasped the side of his head, closing his eyes.
"God, everything's spinning....."
"It's just a little further," Irvine comforted. "You just need to lie down."
They helped him walk through the entrance to the barracks and Squall pressed the button next to the first door. Zell lied down on the bed and shut his eyes.
"Are you still dizzy?" Squall asked him, sitting down in a chair by the bed.
"It's getting better," Zell replied, out of breath.
Squall looked down at the floor. "Look, Zell, I...I'm sorry about what happened at the bridge. I just lost it, I didn't mean anything I said up there. About Trabia and Timber, I didn't mean that."
"I know. Don't worry about it, I understand," Zell said, closing his eyes again. "Just let me go to sleep and we'll call it even, okay?"
"Done."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, use the camera and zoom in on that truck on the highway," Selphie said to Quistis who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat.
"That looks like the truck Seifer rented in...*Dollet*!!" Quistis exclaimed as the camera slowly zoomed in on it as it moved. "It had a cling-on on the windshield that said 'Dollet Rent-a-Car'. Maybe we can go back there and see if we can find anything on this girl Naomi."
"But, we have to find D'Ken first!" Kildare protested, putting her hands on her hips.
"But," Rinoa said, sitting to the left of Selphie,"we had better pick them up. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Quistis brought the great airship down to the ground on the highway, bringing the truck to a screeching halt just inches from the ship's hull. Seifer saw the cargo door open, but he hesitated.
"Now, what exactly the hell do they want?" he asked no one in particular.
"GO," Fujin said, pointing to the open door. "SAFE."
"What do you mean 'safe'?" Seifer inquired, leaning on the steering wheel and looking at her. "You don't think we're safe on our own?"
"CURIOUS," Fujin corrected herself. You had to interpret what Fujin was saying because of her speech impediment. It was hard to tell what she meant at times. She spoke in short thoughts and feelings instead of complete sentences. "FEEL UNEASY. SOMETHING COMING. BAD."
"I feel it, too, ya know," Raijin said, backing her up.
"Alright, alright, you whiners," Seifer said, putting the truck into gear and driving inside the cargo hangar.
The three of them got out of the truck and looked around the cargo hangar.
"This is a bigger ship than it looks from the outside," Seifer commented as he gazed at the stairway and the off-road vehicles that were there: Squall's black jeep, Zell's neon green 4-wheeler, and Irvine's bright red truck. They could go anywhere and do nearly anything with the three vehicles. But, of course, Zell still owed Squall 500 Gil for helping him to pay for the 4-wheeler.
Irvine came out of the barracks to see what was going on and why they had landed.
"Hey, cowboy, nice digs," Seifer said, indicating the inside of the ship.
"Thanks, now what's going on?"
"You tell me. Last I remember I was being promised the low-down on everything after you got finished at Galbadia Garden," Seifer told him. He flung his gray jacket back in his usual manner and threw his gunblade up on his shoulder.
(Haughty b****rd...) Irvine thought bitterly. "Go up to the cockpit. You'll get your explanation there. Squall's busy at the moment."
"Doing what?" Seifer asked curiously. "And where's chickenwuss at? Still at Garden?"
"Actually, after being given orders not to, he followed us here in the Ragnarok. He's not such a chickenwuss after all, now is he?" Irvine asked. He hated it when Seifer called Squall, Zell, and him names. He had no idea where 'chickenwuss' came from or 'puberty boy', for that matter. He, on the other hand, did look like a cowboy and he didn't mind being called that.
"There's a difference between bravery and loyalty, cowboy. He's only got one of the two. And where's Squall?"
"That's none of your business right now. Just go up to the cockpit and you'll find out what's going on," Irvine said, turning to go back to the barracks. Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin followed him. Irvine pressed the button that allowed him access to the barracks. The door slid open and Irvine stepped inside, letting it close quickly behind him.
Seifer pressed the same button, but to his misfortune, nothing happened.
"It's locked, Seifer," Irvine said from the other side of the metallic door. "Go up to the cockpit. You don't need to be down here."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
***Squall's POV***
"How's he doing?" Irvine asked me as the door slid open. I still sat on the bed next to Zell with my hand on his shoulder watching him sleep. Zell was curled up in a ball facing away from the door. I took his hand from Zell's shoulder and took my gloves off to feel of his cheeks. I gasped slightly at what I felt.
"Irvine, get a cold rag," I said to Irvine. He went over to the small cabinet and took out a black washcloth and ran cold water over it in the sink until it was soaked. He wrung most of the water out of it and handed it to me.
I wiped Zell's face off gently while Irvine sat down in the chair next to the bed. The pillow was soaked with sweat.
"He's got a fever," I said to Irvine, holding the rag in my hand. "He was fine when you went into the hangar, but now..."
"What about the necklace?" Irvine asked me. "Is it glowing anymore?"
I took the chain of the necklace and brought the Stone up so I could see it. It was glowing only a little brighter than before. "Just a little bit more," I said to him. "Why did we land?" I let the Stone drop from my hand and back to the bed.
"It seems the girls read our minds. They picked up Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin," Irvine said to me. "I sent them up to the cockpit. I locked the door to the barracks so they won't be down here."
"Good. There's no reason for him to be--"
Zell started trembling. I looked down at him and his blue eyes were open wide.
"S'Squall....it's happening, I feel it...." he said and swallowed hard. Sweat was already building back up on his face and I wiped it away. He breathed deep for air like he had something lodged in his throat. I bent over and put my arms around him, hoping to hold him down. I had seen seizures before and he could get violent or hurt himself if he wasn't controlled.
"Just hold on, it'll be over soon," I comforted, not knowing what else to do for him. I could only hold onto him and wait for it to happen.
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Sorry for the cliffhanger, folks. I'll try to get chapter 10 up real soon, okay?
Sgt. Phoenix