CHAPTER TWO: REVELATIONS
Xu Tseng, one of the highest-ranking SeeD officers in Balamb Garden has often been overlooked by many of the students by her calm demeanor. Although she was not apart of the legendary six that defeat Ultimecia in the time-compressed world, she is nevertheless a bright, intelligent woman with great expectations and a bright future. So much so, that she was even on the short list for headmaster when Cid abdicated his position for his superintendentory duties. Upon hearing the news she was truly honoured, but respectfully asked to be taken off the list. It's not that she couldn't handle the job, quite the opposite she was capable. She just prefers not to be in the spotlight.
Xu walked through the corridors of Balamb Garden checking on the status of their repairs. 'Everything is on schedule' the methodical and meticulous Xu thought as she walked by. The universal chimes came on which diverted her attention.
"Xu please report to the Infirmary." Nida's familiar voice came through. She sighed and redirected her destination and headed for the elevator. The door swish opened and seconds later she was on the first floor. The main floor was filled with the noise of repairs, junior officers and civilians. Xu smiled to herself, she was elated that life was slowly going back to normal. She walked down the stairs and turned right and took the first left to reach the Infirmary.
"Someone wanted to see me?" Xu smiled as she walked into the Infirmary.
"Yo, Xu come here." Zell's voice came booming from within.
"What's up?" Xu asked entering the room where Zell's voice emanated from. Zell didn't acknowledge her question. He was intently looking at the patient lying in the bed. "Zell?" Xu placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, hey Xu." Zell smiled nonchalantly and return his gaze to the patient. Xu noticed that Zell was looking at the patient full of sympathy and concern. "Do you know this person?" Xu asked compassionately.
"Yeah." Zell sighed enigmatically.
"A relative?"
"You can say that." Zell sighed. "She's my big sis."
"Zell, Don't be silly!" Xu playfully rebuked. "This woman is over forty years old. How can you -" Zell darted a staid look at Xu. "You're serious." She whispered in awe. "But how can this be?" She asked.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Ragnarok broke through the atmosphere and was welcomed by the sun hovering low in the eastern sky. Things were quiet on the Ragnarok. Dr. Odine was working frantically over the data the vortex produced while the rest of the crew remained silent and took a much-needed nap. President Loire was awake watching the two lovers holding each other. He could see their dark silhouette as they blocked the rays of the rising sun.
"Young love." He whispered to himself. 'How long ago was it when he was in love, eighteen, perhaps nineteen years. A long time.' He thought looking at the wedding ring he still wore. He was perpetually lost in the past. 'So short.' He thought. Time was moving swiftly by and Laguna could feel every second passing.
"We're in communication range with Balamb Garden." The Estharian navigator reported.
"Open audio channels."
"Channels open." He replied.
"This is President Loire in command of the Ragnarok. Request permission to dock."
"Permission granted." Nida's voice came ranging through.
"We'll be in synchronous velocity in fifteen minutes." Laguna said half to himself still watching the lovers gently holding each other.
"Roger. Balamb Garden out." Nida said closing the communication channels at her end. Laguna leaned back and gave the order to begin docking procedures. It was a long time since he had any rest and he was feeling very tired. The rising of the sun didn't bother him; all he needed was fifteen minutes of sleep. Just fifteen minutes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Quistis Trepe adjusted her thin wire brimmed glasses and patiently watched the sun rise as she waited for the Ragnarok. It was always windy on the docking bay, but she didn't care. Her mind was elsewhere; she raised her hand and parted her blonde bangs from blocking her eyes. In the far distant she could make out a small metallic red dragon hovering slowly towards the end of the docking bay. It was the Ragnarok. She quickly walked towards the hanger bay door and waited patiently for it to open.
"Quistis?" Squall asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Where's Xu?" He was expecting his executive officer to greet him not the head instructor, he wasn't disappointed, just mildly surprised.
"Xu, along with Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Ministers Seagill and Zabac are in the infirmary." Quistis explained.
"Kiros and Ward is here?" Laguna asked. "That explains why the Excalibur and the Masamune is in synchronous velocity along with Ragnarok." Laguna rationalized as he looked to his right and left and saw two airships docked at parallel parking speeds to the Ragnarok.
"Are they hurt?" Rinoa asked.
"No. They're fine." Quistis reassured. "Follow me and all your questions would be answered." Quistis said as she exited the docking bay.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Are you sure this is Ellone?" Xu asked.
"It's her all right." Selphie sighed. "That is if she were in her forties." Selphie sighed. "Is she asleep?" She asked in her girlish voice.
"No she's dead." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. The room fell silent - deathly silent. They were all thinking the same thing. 'How can this be Ellone? Why is she in her forties? How did she get on that ship from the other side of the vortex? Who and why were those black ships attacking her?' All they had were questions; they just wanted some answers - needed them.
"They're back." Quistis announced from the reception area.
Without a word Xu exited the room. "Over here Squall." Xu said as she walked towards him. "Quistis, Rinoa, President Loire." Xu nodded greeting each person professionally.
"Umm...Rinoa, President Loire. There's something the two of you should see." Quistis tactfully suggested. Rinoa and Laguna smiled and nodded as they parted company with Squall and Xu. They quickly and quietly entered the room Xu came out of.
"Report." Squall gave the simple command.
Xu took out her digital pad and punched in a few commands. "Repairs to Balamb Garden is underway, they should be finished within three hours. Currently Balamb Garden is en route to its original location; we should arrive within the hour. Civilians and junior officers are back on board safe and sound."
"That's good." Squall sighed.
"During the battle we had several minor injuries and seven fatalities. Here are their names and family you should contact." Xu sighed giving Squall the names of the SeeDs that sacrificed their lives. Squall swore under his breath. "Is there something wrong?" Xu asked.
Squall hated to loose anyone under his command. He also hated reporting their deaths to their families. He never knew what to say. Anything he came up with always sounded so empty. 'What can I say? They died in the line of duty? That they saved the world?' It all sounded hollow. "Nothing." Squall sighed.
Xu smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "There will be a vigil in the Quad to those who knew and cared about them."
"Anything else?" Squall asked trying to change the subject.
"We were able to save six out of fifteen people on board the Destiny. The survivors are presently in comas." Xu sighed. "There is something else." Xu paused. "Something odd about one of the dead we collected."
"Odd?" Squall sighed. "How so?"
"Well among the dead there's a person that -" Xu couldn't think of the words to describe the phenomenon in the room she came out of.
"What's going on, Xu?" Squall concernedly asked.
"One of the dead passengers aboard the Destiny was Ellone." Xu said above a whisper.
"Sis?" Squall said pushing Xu out of the way. As Squall was about to enter the room Minister Seagill was leaving and bumped into each other. They exchanged smiles and apologies as Squall pushed his way towards Ellone.
"Is she?"
"Yes." Dr. Kadowaki answered promptly. She was anticipating Squall's question.
She lay silently on the bed, dead. Squall noticed that she was wearing her favourite green, blue dressed that he always remembered her wearing. Her face was worn with age, and weathered by time. 'She's twenty years older than what she's suppose to be.' Squall thought.
"Squall what are you thinking?" Rinoa asked.
Squall looked up and stared at her, than to Dr. Kadowaki. "Are we sure that this is Ellone?" Squall asked, his voice barley above a whisper. He knew the answer before he started the question. He could tell by just looking at President Loire and his friends surrounding the bed. She was very important to him, to all of them.
Eyes darted at the doctor and she gave a deep sigh. She considered her words carefully. "For all intensive purposes this is Ellone, except that she's in her forties." Dr. Kadowaki protested.
Squall stared at Ellone for a moment and in turn looked at everyone in the room. The students, his friends, comrades were looking at him wondering what he wanted to do next. An epiphany then hit him with the fortitude of a violent storm. "Xu, how many survivors were there again?" Squall asked.
"Six."
"Doctor, If I'm not mistaken Ellone was on the ship with those survivors, so maybe they'll have the answers we seek." Squall sighed. "Are we able to wake them?"
"Yes, maybe, but I don't think -"
"Doctor, we need to find answers."
Dr. Kadowaki took a deep sigh and reluctantly agreed with her commander. She led the group into the other room where the survivors were sleeping. There were three men and three women lying on beds with monitors showing their faint pulses. 'They're not much older than I am.' Squall thought to himself. 'What were they doing on that ship? How did they know Ellone?'
"Which one do you want me to revive?" Dr. Kadowaki asked.
Squall looked at each person and noticed that they had on familiar uniforms, but he couldn't remember where he seen them before. 'Never mind that.' He thought, he had bigger things to worry about. He passed each student once and than pointed to a male. "That one." Squall decided.
"Why him?" President Loire asked.
The question surprised Squall. He was not accustomed for people objecting to his orders. 'Why not?' He thought. Squall took a deep breath and sighed. "I choose him because according to the command pips on his uniform he is the most senior officer. Which suggests that he's been on that ship longer and could probably answer more questions." Squall sighed.
"Sounds good to me." Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
Squall was glad that his justification was generally accepted. For some odd reason Squall felt a strange affiliation towards this child. This teenaged man was approximately his age with similar body build as him. His raven black hair was covering his eyes, but that didn't matter because they were closed. He looked familiar, he didn't know where, but Squall thought he knew him. There was just strange sense of familiarity and brotherly love towards him. 'Why do I think I know him?' Squall sighed.
"Are you ready?" Kadowaki asked.
"Wake him."
Doctor Kadowaki walked to the opposite end of where Squall was standing and put a needle into his arm. "That should do it." Doctor Kadowaki said to herself. "He should wake momentarily."
The raven-haired man slowly opened his ocean blue eyes and smiled as he saw Squall's face. "Father?" He said weakly.
Squall was surprised at the response. "Hardly." Squall chuckled to himself. "My name is Squall Leonhart, commander to Bal -"
"Where am I?" The raven-haired youth sat up in bed abruptly. Squall saw fear in his eyes and tried to calm him to no avail. "When am I? Who are all of you? Where's Ellone?" He asked frantically as his body started shaking.
"Restrain him!" Doctor Kadowaki demanded. "He's going into shock."
Squall and Irvine quickly pinned him down by his shoulders as he squirmed in his bed trying to break free. His ranting continued as Dr. Kadowaki put another needle in his arm as he slowly fell asleep.
"So much for that idea." Squall sighed.
"It was a good idea." Irvine smiled.
"That was strange." Squall sighed.
"Did he call you father?" Selphie asked.
"He did." Squall sighed dismissing that wild thought. "He must be delusional. What do you think Dr. Kadowaki?" Squall asked.
"Maybe." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "I won't be sure unless I do more tests."
"Should we try to wake another one?" Zell asked.
"I don't think so." Dr. Kadowaki ordered. "I think we did enough for one morning." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "We can try again later."
"I agree with the doctor." Quistis sighed.
"All right." Squall sighed. "We'll try later tonight."
"All right then, everybody out." Dr. Kadowaki ordered. "That's includes you Mr. President."
"Understood." Laguna sighed. "Commander. If you don't mind, may we stay here?" Laguna asked. "I like to see how this turns out."
"Absolutely. I understand completely." Squall smiled surreptitiously. The last thing he wanted to deal with was dignitaries from another government. Even those that he knew personally. "Xu, would you mind showing President Loire and Minister Zabac to our VIP rooms."
"Right this way." Xu smiled as the nine of them left the infirmary leaving Dr. Kadowaki all alone. They walked into the main corridor where Xu lead the President and his Minister to their rooms.
The six remaining adolescents, the legendary six, congregated in the hall for a short breather. It had been a long time since they had been in the same room together. 'How long was it?' Squall asked himself. 'Almost a year.'
"Yo, Squall." Zell said breaking the silence.
"What is it Zell?" Squall sighed.
"I don't know if you noticed, but didn't those uniforms seem familiar?"
"I did." Squall sighed. "I just didn't know where."
"Yeah, me too. I thought it might be the Guardian Forces preventing my memories from resurfacing." Zell explained.
"Now that you mention it they do look familiar." Quistis sighed.
"Yeah, now I'm remembering seeing them too." Irvine sighed. "It wasn't too long ago either." Irvine scratched the back of his head.
"Me too." Selphie joined in cheerfully. "I know, why don't we check our journals." Selphie asked jumping with excitement.
"That's a good idea." Squall smiled. "Albeit my journal is not that meticulous to include uniform decor." Squall sighed.
"Nor mine. It's more like something Xu would write down." Zell sighed.
"Rinoa what do you think?" Quistis asked.
Squall was surprised that she was there. She remained very quiet ever since they entered the infirmary. "Are you okay?" Selphie asked. Rinoa didn't hear her question.
"Rinoa?" Squall said giving her a little budge. Rinoa woke from her daydream. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"Yeah." Rinoa sighed unconvincingly. "I'm just tired that's all."
"Maybe you should get some rest." Squall suggested.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."
"Quistis, do you mind showing Rinoa to one of our guest rooms?"
"Not at all." Quistis smiled. "It'll give us some time to catch up." Quistis smiled. "Will you two be staying here also?" Quistis asked Irvine and Selphie. They looked at each other and smiled. "Well?" Quistis hinted.
"Yeah." They finally said in unison.
"All right." Quistis grimace. "Follow me."
The six of them parted. The four of them headed towards the dormitory as Zell and Squall walked towards the main lobby of Balamb Garden. "Where are you off to?" Zell asked.
"To the bridge." Squall sighed. "You?"
"I think I'll catch some z's." Zell sighed. "By the way, do you know where Minister Seagill went to?" Zell asked. "He sure left the infirmary in a hurry." Zell added.
"No, I don't." Squall sighed. "But I have a feeling we'll soon find out." Squall said ominously as he walked up the stairs to the elevator.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kiros tapped the armrest of the captain's chair of the Excalibur impatiently. The Estharian Airships are the most advanced ships in the whole world. They're stealthy, fast, powerfully armed and most importantly looked cool. It has been a while since Kiros left the president and was wondering what he was up to. 'Is Laguna okay? Yeah, Ward's looking after him. He should be in good hands.' Kiros smiled to himself.
"We're approaching the Airstation." The pilot announced.
"Reduce speed and clear us for priority landing." Kiros ordered.
"Aye sir." The pilot returned.
The metallic red dragon airship landed on the Airstation without any problems. Kiros ordered the pilot to keep the engines hot and to wait for him.
He ran on the transparent blue walkway towards an intersection where a floating transport disk hovered silently. He looked up to see a transparent hollow red tube above it. He sat on the disk "Presidential Palace." He said confidently as bluish white light surround him. The transport disk suddenly levitated and pushed in the direction of the palace.
He wasn't sure where she was, but he had to start in the most logical place - her room. The transport disk was spat out of the transparent red tube onto the station closest to the palace. Kiros got up and ran to his right and took a left towards a tall, slightly concave golden building. In the center of this golden building was another floating disk.
He got on and without saying anything a blue transport shield encased him on the disk and with great speeds pushed him towards the Presidential Palace. The great speed pushed his body into his seat as he saw the beautiful palace of blue transparent glass. He was suddenly deposited into the palace as the blue shielding disappeared. "I hope she's home." Kiros said to himself as he went further into the palace.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ellone always loved watching the sunrise over the great metropolis of Esthar. She loved the way the morning light reflected the transparent walkways and tubes that the ancient Estharian built. Ever since she's called Esthar home she has never missed a sunrise or sunset.
"Come in." She ordered. The door slither opened.
"Ellone." A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Uncle Kiros." She smiled running towards him giving him a hug. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" Ellone smiled.
"Laguna needs your help and ask you to come to Balamb Garden to do him a favour." Kiros said getting to the point.
"Uncle Laguna." Ellone sighed. "He's not -"
"No, he's fine." Kiros quickly reassured. "He just need you."
"All right." Ellone smiled. "I'm ready let's go."
"Come let's make haste." Kiros said grabbing her hand and rushed out of her room. "Our timing is imperative."
"All right." Ellone sighed.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rinoa couldn't shake the odd feeling she had while she was in the infirmary. It wasn't the same feeling that she got when the violet vortex was hovering in their atmosphere. This was a different feeling altogether. Ever since she met Ellone and those six survivors she had an odd feeling that they didn't belong here. Like they were not of this world, at least not entirely.
"Enough Heartilly." She said to herself. "Your back in Balamb Garden, back with Squall." She walked to her window and saw a small island that they were heading to. She knew instantly that it was Balamb Island. They were almost there, almost home.
"Rinoa?" Selphie daintily asked. "Are you okay?" Rinoa turned around and saw Selphie and Quistis. "Are you okay?" Selphie repeated.
"Yeah. Fine." Rinoa said unconvincingly.
"You don't sound fine." Quistis added.
"Did Squall do something stupid again?" Selphie asked.
"No." Rinoa smiled. "Squall and I are fine." She lied.
"Really?" Quistis asked not entirely believing her.
"Well, we're still trying to rekindle an old romance." Rinoa sighed. "It's more difficult then I anticipated." Rinoa sighed.
"Yeah I know what you mean." Selphie sighed as she threw herself on Rinoa's bed full of self-pity. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it.
"You and Irvine are having troubles too?" Rinoa sighed as she joined her.
"Yeah." Selphie sighed.
"How about you, Quistis? Please tell me people still fall in love." Rinoa sighed as she grabbed the second pillow and hugged it.
"You two are pathetic." Quistis smiled as she joined them on the bed.
"Just answer the question." Selphie sighed.
"I'm married to my work." Quistis sighed stating the obvious. She walked towards the window and leaned against it. She tilted her head and looked out towards the slowly approaching Balamb Island. "Don't get me wrong, I love my work, but it makes poor company." Quistis sighed. "We're all pathetic aren't we?" Quistis sighed returning her gaze to the girls.
"Yeah." The other two women agreed.
"So what were you thinking about when we so rudely interrupted?" Quistis asked.
"Those survivors and Ellone." Rinoa sighed. "I'm getting an odd feeling about them." Rinoa sighed.
"Odd?" Quistis asked. "What ever do you mean?"
"It's a feeling that they don't belong here - at least not now, but oddly enough they also feel like they do - I don't know." Rinoa sighed with frustration. "It's rather confusing."
"That it is." Selphie sighed in agreement. "This is so depressing."
"Yeah." The other two women sighed.
"You know what I do when I'm depressed?" Rinoa asked.
"What?" Quistis asked.
"Ice-cream."
"Sounds great." Selphie moaned with pleasure.
"The cafeteria just got a huge shipment of triple chocolate ice-cream." Quistis hinted with a smirk on her face.
"Really?" Rinoa asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Quistis smiled. The three women looked at each other and knew what they were thinking about. "Let's go." Quistis smiled as they rushed out of Rinoa's room.
* * * * * * * * * *
Zell tried to get some sleep, but he couldn't. He was obsessed with those uniforms 'Why couldn't I remember them?' He asked himself. He kept rolling on his bed like it was an uncomfortable mass of rocks. The uniforms haunted his mind that he could think of nothing else.
Zell yelled in frustration and got off his bed. He put on his Ehrgeiz gloves and started punching his bag hanging in his room. He let out some grunts of rage as each punch drove a little part of his frustration away. 'Why can't I get these uniforms out of my mind?' Zell thought punching his bag with more power. He had ravished through his journal when he and Squall parted ways to quickly see if he had written about those uniforms, but he couldn't find anything.
It has been a long time since he felt this helpless. 'When was the last time?' He thought to himself. 'It must have been a year ago when we went off to fight...That's it!' Zell smiled to himself. "I know where I saw those uniforms." Zell exclaimed to himself. He grabbed a towel on his bed to wipe off his sweat and ran out of his room with serendipity.
He ran out of the dormitory and continued running to his left. In no time he ran pass the Parking Lot, Training Center, and the Library. He almost ran into the Library, but remembered that he needed to find Squall. He ran into the Main Lobby, up the stairs and into the elevator.
The elevator swished up to the third floor where Zell got off. He walked pass the former Headmasters Chambers towards a lift in the center of the room. The ancient platform lifted up one more time to the bridge of Balamb Garden.
"Yo Xu, where's Squall?" Zell announced serendipitously, as he looked around the Bridge.
"Just one moment Zell." Xu said. "We're in docking procedure right now." Xu said watching her panel and ignored Zell's presence, because she knew if they land the wrong way, paths leading into and out of Balamb Garden would lead to dead ends. There would be chaos everywhere.
"We're over the designated spot now." Nida reported.
"Good." Xu sighed. "Nida rotate Balamb Garden negative 12.5 degrees." Xu commanded.
"Aye, negative 12.5." Nida repeated.
The Garden slowly turned in position, hovering over their spot. "Good, begin docking procedures." Xu sighed. She paused for a moment and watched the scene outside rotate. "Hail the Ragnarok and Masamune and tell them that they could land in their designated spots." Xu ordered as she turned her attention to Zell. "Now Zell, how may I help you?" Xu asked professionally.
"Do you know where Squall is?" Zell repeated his question.
"Commander Leonhart is in the Training Center." Xu simply answered.
"Thanks. See ya." Zell said. He quickly got off the bridge and headed for the Training Center on the first floor. Before entering the Training Center he junction his Guardian Forces and took a deep sigh and ran into the room.
The Training Center was more humid then the rest of the Garden. It mimicked a jungle or rainforest very well. It even felt, like at any minute, that it would rain. 'Where can Squall be?' Zell thought to himself. He ran to his right and crossed the bridge.
He ran into the room where there was a small island connected with a series of smaller wooden bridges. He saw a mysterious kid dressed in a green jacket with white khakis. Zell automatically noticed him as one of the Card Club Members. 'What was his name again?' Zell asked to himself. 'Card Magician Joker.' Zell said snapping his fingers.
"Yo dude, have you seen Squall?"
"Yeah, he went that way." He pointed to a direction in front of Zell.
"Thanks man." Zell said running in the direction where the entrepreneur Joker pointed. In the distant he could see Squall fighting two T-Rexaurs. Squall ran towards the T-Rexaur on the right and triggered his gunblade as it hit it's nose. It roared with pain as the dinosaur to the left bit Squall on his left shoulder.
"Yo, Squall!" Zell yelled. Squall turned around and saw Zell running up towards him. "Watch out!" Zell yelled. Squall quickly turned around and saw the right dinosaur coming towards him. He jumped and evaded the bite and slashed his Lion Heart down on the T-Rexaur's nose. It roared in pain as it fell down in defeat. The remaining T-Rexaur bit Squall on the other shoulder behind him. He scream through his teeth, that significant bite damaged him twice as it should.
Zell swore to himself for his carelessness. He rushed to help his injured friend when he heard a violent rustling in the bushes. Suddenly a Grat jumped out. "Oh man! I don't need this now." Zell whined to himself.
The plant monster looked like a four legged and four armed Venus Flytrap. Zell jumped up and down ready as the Grat came towards him and used two of its arms to hit him on the head. He blocked the attack somewhat, but was still damaged a bit and it still pained him. Without a second thought, he rushed towards the plant and gave it a strong punch. It screamed in pain, as it's four arms dropped to the ground and died. Zell had noticed that the monsters in captivity seemed to be weaker than in the wild as he looked over the dead plant's body.
"Squall." Zell gasped. He has totally forgotten about Squall. He ran towards him as he saw the T-Rexaur turned around and used it's tail and knocked Squall down on the floor. Squall was on his knees in pain. Zell obvious knew that it was his fault that he was in critical pain.
He dashed through the mock forest and caught up to Squall. From his distance he could see Squall pulling out a card and concentrated on it. 'He's summoning a guardian force.' Zell thought to himself. He saw that the T-Rexaur was preparing for another attack when Zell acted impulsively and ran in front of Squall and took the bite for Squall. He slowly got out of the way of the Guardian Force's blow.
Squall took a couple of steps towards the T-Rexaur as he disappeared into a shimmering aura of green lights. The air surrounding the environment suddenly turned cold and Zell knew that Shiva was coming. A transparent, icy crystal stalagmite came out of the newly frozen ground and living within the stalagmite was a blue skinned nymph - Shiva. She opened her eyes and saw the T-Rexaur in her sights. She broke out of her icy prison and with all her might shot a wave of ice beams towards the reptile and disappeared.
The T-Rexaur died in shock from the freezing cold. As a rule, reptiles didn't care much for the cold. Squall reappeared as he saw the second of the T-Rexaur died. The battle was over, and Squall was on the ground in pain.
"Sorry man." Zell said as he rushed to his friend and cast Curaga on him.
"It's my fault that you almost died." Zell sighed as he pulled Squall and rested him behind the fallen tree trunk. Squall rested his head and closed his eyes to catch his breath.
"That's okay, it's my fault for turning around."
"I still shouldn't have yell your name in battle."
"You're forgiven Zell, and thanks for taking a blow for me." Squall said with a heavy breath. "It was stupid, but thank you." Squall said suppressing his pain. Squall had never told him, but of all his friends that he had, he considered Zell to be his best friend - not that he let him know about it.
"No prob!" Zell brushed the selfless act off. "It's the least I could do for getting yourself in trouble in the first place." Zell smiled as he joined Squall behind the fallen log to catch his breath.
"So what was so important that you risked my life for?" Squall with dry sarcasm. Zell was about to apologize again and then he realized that Squall was joking. There were times where Zell found it difficult to tell when Squall was being sarcastic - this was one of them.
"I figured out where I saw those uniforms." Zell sighed.
"Oh where?" Squall lifted his head with interest.
Zell took a deep sigh and began his story. "You see I was so frustrated that I started to..."
"Zell." Squall sternly warned. "Get to the point."
"All right." Zell sighed. "You're going to miss an awesome story."
"I'll risk it." Squall sighed.
"I saw them, we saw them in the time-compressed world a year ago." Zell sighed.
"The future SeeD soldiers." Squall said in awe.
"That's right."
"Are you saying that they're from the future?"
"Sounds crazy I know, but it explains why Ellone is in her forties and it also explains the ramblings of the survivor we woke up." Zell sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Squall asked.
"Don't you remember what he said?" Zell asked.
"Yeah, he asked a bunch of questions."
"Ah, you're so dense!" Zell sighed in frustration. "What did he call you?"
"He called me..." Squall's jaw dropped and looked at Zell. "You mean that boy in the infirmary is..."
"Your son." Zell completed his comment.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Writers Note: I used the concept of cards to help Squall and company to focus their Guardian Forces dwelling within them. I found it easier to pass on a Guardian Force from one player to another via a material substance (i.e. the card) than have them switching Guardian Forces invisibly. So please no reviews telling me that Guardian Forces are not summoned in this manner.
Disclaimer: The names of persons, places, and events pertaining to the Final Fantasy Genre (specifically Final Fantasy VIII (game)) is not my invention and is the property of Square - no profit was made from the writing of this fan fiction. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination (that is those that are not under the pervious citation) and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Xu Tseng, one of the highest-ranking SeeD officers in Balamb Garden has often been overlooked by many of the students by her calm demeanor. Although she was not apart of the legendary six that defeat Ultimecia in the time-compressed world, she is nevertheless a bright, intelligent woman with great expectations and a bright future. So much so, that she was even on the short list for headmaster when Cid abdicated his position for his superintendentory duties. Upon hearing the news she was truly honoured, but respectfully asked to be taken off the list. It's not that she couldn't handle the job, quite the opposite she was capable. She just prefers not to be in the spotlight.
Xu walked through the corridors of Balamb Garden checking on the status of their repairs. 'Everything is on schedule' the methodical and meticulous Xu thought as she walked by. The universal chimes came on which diverted her attention.
"Xu please report to the Infirmary." Nida's familiar voice came through. She sighed and redirected her destination and headed for the elevator. The door swish opened and seconds later she was on the first floor. The main floor was filled with the noise of repairs, junior officers and civilians. Xu smiled to herself, she was elated that life was slowly going back to normal. She walked down the stairs and turned right and took the first left to reach the Infirmary.
"Someone wanted to see me?" Xu smiled as she walked into the Infirmary.
"Yo, Xu come here." Zell's voice came booming from within.
"What's up?" Xu asked entering the room where Zell's voice emanated from. Zell didn't acknowledge her question. He was intently looking at the patient lying in the bed. "Zell?" Xu placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, hey Xu." Zell smiled nonchalantly and return his gaze to the patient. Xu noticed that Zell was looking at the patient full of sympathy and concern. "Do you know this person?" Xu asked compassionately.
"Yeah." Zell sighed enigmatically.
"A relative?"
"You can say that." Zell sighed. "She's my big sis."
"Zell, Don't be silly!" Xu playfully rebuked. "This woman is over forty years old. How can you -" Zell darted a staid look at Xu. "You're serious." She whispered in awe. "But how can this be?" She asked.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Ragnarok broke through the atmosphere and was welcomed by the sun hovering low in the eastern sky. Things were quiet on the Ragnarok. Dr. Odine was working frantically over the data the vortex produced while the rest of the crew remained silent and took a much-needed nap. President Loire was awake watching the two lovers holding each other. He could see their dark silhouette as they blocked the rays of the rising sun.
"Young love." He whispered to himself. 'How long ago was it when he was in love, eighteen, perhaps nineteen years. A long time.' He thought looking at the wedding ring he still wore. He was perpetually lost in the past. 'So short.' He thought. Time was moving swiftly by and Laguna could feel every second passing.
"We're in communication range with Balamb Garden." The Estharian navigator reported.
"Open audio channels."
"Channels open." He replied.
"This is President Loire in command of the Ragnarok. Request permission to dock."
"Permission granted." Nida's voice came ranging through.
"We'll be in synchronous velocity in fifteen minutes." Laguna said half to himself still watching the lovers gently holding each other.
"Roger. Balamb Garden out." Nida said closing the communication channels at her end. Laguna leaned back and gave the order to begin docking procedures. It was a long time since he had any rest and he was feeling very tired. The rising of the sun didn't bother him; all he needed was fifteen minutes of sleep. Just fifteen minutes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Quistis Trepe adjusted her thin wire brimmed glasses and patiently watched the sun rise as she waited for the Ragnarok. It was always windy on the docking bay, but she didn't care. Her mind was elsewhere; she raised her hand and parted her blonde bangs from blocking her eyes. In the far distant she could make out a small metallic red dragon hovering slowly towards the end of the docking bay. It was the Ragnarok. She quickly walked towards the hanger bay door and waited patiently for it to open.
"Quistis?" Squall asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Where's Xu?" He was expecting his executive officer to greet him not the head instructor, he wasn't disappointed, just mildly surprised.
"Xu, along with Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Ministers Seagill and Zabac are in the infirmary." Quistis explained.
"Kiros and Ward is here?" Laguna asked. "That explains why the Excalibur and the Masamune is in synchronous velocity along with Ragnarok." Laguna rationalized as he looked to his right and left and saw two airships docked at parallel parking speeds to the Ragnarok.
"Are they hurt?" Rinoa asked.
"No. They're fine." Quistis reassured. "Follow me and all your questions would be answered." Quistis said as she exited the docking bay.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Are you sure this is Ellone?" Xu asked.
"It's her all right." Selphie sighed. "That is if she were in her forties." Selphie sighed. "Is she asleep?" She asked in her girlish voice.
"No she's dead." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. The room fell silent - deathly silent. They were all thinking the same thing. 'How can this be Ellone? Why is she in her forties? How did she get on that ship from the other side of the vortex? Who and why were those black ships attacking her?' All they had were questions; they just wanted some answers - needed them.
"They're back." Quistis announced from the reception area.
Without a word Xu exited the room. "Over here Squall." Xu said as she walked towards him. "Quistis, Rinoa, President Loire." Xu nodded greeting each person professionally.
"Umm...Rinoa, President Loire. There's something the two of you should see." Quistis tactfully suggested. Rinoa and Laguna smiled and nodded as they parted company with Squall and Xu. They quickly and quietly entered the room Xu came out of.
"Report." Squall gave the simple command.
Xu took out her digital pad and punched in a few commands. "Repairs to Balamb Garden is underway, they should be finished within three hours. Currently Balamb Garden is en route to its original location; we should arrive within the hour. Civilians and junior officers are back on board safe and sound."
"That's good." Squall sighed.
"During the battle we had several minor injuries and seven fatalities. Here are their names and family you should contact." Xu sighed giving Squall the names of the SeeDs that sacrificed their lives. Squall swore under his breath. "Is there something wrong?" Xu asked.
Squall hated to loose anyone under his command. He also hated reporting their deaths to their families. He never knew what to say. Anything he came up with always sounded so empty. 'What can I say? They died in the line of duty? That they saved the world?' It all sounded hollow. "Nothing." Squall sighed.
Xu smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "There will be a vigil in the Quad to those who knew and cared about them."
"Anything else?" Squall asked trying to change the subject.
"We were able to save six out of fifteen people on board the Destiny. The survivors are presently in comas." Xu sighed. "There is something else." Xu paused. "Something odd about one of the dead we collected."
"Odd?" Squall sighed. "How so?"
"Well among the dead there's a person that -" Xu couldn't think of the words to describe the phenomenon in the room she came out of.
"What's going on, Xu?" Squall concernedly asked.
"One of the dead passengers aboard the Destiny was Ellone." Xu said above a whisper.
"Sis?" Squall said pushing Xu out of the way. As Squall was about to enter the room Minister Seagill was leaving and bumped into each other. They exchanged smiles and apologies as Squall pushed his way towards Ellone.
"Is she?"
"Yes." Dr. Kadowaki answered promptly. She was anticipating Squall's question.
She lay silently on the bed, dead. Squall noticed that she was wearing her favourite green, blue dressed that he always remembered her wearing. Her face was worn with age, and weathered by time. 'She's twenty years older than what she's suppose to be.' Squall thought.
"Squall what are you thinking?" Rinoa asked.
Squall looked up and stared at her, than to Dr. Kadowaki. "Are we sure that this is Ellone?" Squall asked, his voice barley above a whisper. He knew the answer before he started the question. He could tell by just looking at President Loire and his friends surrounding the bed. She was very important to him, to all of them.
Eyes darted at the doctor and she gave a deep sigh. She considered her words carefully. "For all intensive purposes this is Ellone, except that she's in her forties." Dr. Kadowaki protested.
Squall stared at Ellone for a moment and in turn looked at everyone in the room. The students, his friends, comrades were looking at him wondering what he wanted to do next. An epiphany then hit him with the fortitude of a violent storm. "Xu, how many survivors were there again?" Squall asked.
"Six."
"Doctor, If I'm not mistaken Ellone was on the ship with those survivors, so maybe they'll have the answers we seek." Squall sighed. "Are we able to wake them?"
"Yes, maybe, but I don't think -"
"Doctor, we need to find answers."
Dr. Kadowaki took a deep sigh and reluctantly agreed with her commander. She led the group into the other room where the survivors were sleeping. There were three men and three women lying on beds with monitors showing their faint pulses. 'They're not much older than I am.' Squall thought to himself. 'What were they doing on that ship? How did they know Ellone?'
"Which one do you want me to revive?" Dr. Kadowaki asked.
Squall looked at each person and noticed that they had on familiar uniforms, but he couldn't remember where he seen them before. 'Never mind that.' He thought, he had bigger things to worry about. He passed each student once and than pointed to a male. "That one." Squall decided.
"Why him?" President Loire asked.
The question surprised Squall. He was not accustomed for people objecting to his orders. 'Why not?' He thought. Squall took a deep breath and sighed. "I choose him because according to the command pips on his uniform he is the most senior officer. Which suggests that he's been on that ship longer and could probably answer more questions." Squall sighed.
"Sounds good to me." Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
Squall was glad that his justification was generally accepted. For some odd reason Squall felt a strange affiliation towards this child. This teenaged man was approximately his age with similar body build as him. His raven black hair was covering his eyes, but that didn't matter because they were closed. He looked familiar, he didn't know where, but Squall thought he knew him. There was just strange sense of familiarity and brotherly love towards him. 'Why do I think I know him?' Squall sighed.
"Are you ready?" Kadowaki asked.
"Wake him."
Doctor Kadowaki walked to the opposite end of where Squall was standing and put a needle into his arm. "That should do it." Doctor Kadowaki said to herself. "He should wake momentarily."
The raven-haired man slowly opened his ocean blue eyes and smiled as he saw Squall's face. "Father?" He said weakly.
Squall was surprised at the response. "Hardly." Squall chuckled to himself. "My name is Squall Leonhart, commander to Bal -"
"Where am I?" The raven-haired youth sat up in bed abruptly. Squall saw fear in his eyes and tried to calm him to no avail. "When am I? Who are all of you? Where's Ellone?" He asked frantically as his body started shaking.
"Restrain him!" Doctor Kadowaki demanded. "He's going into shock."
Squall and Irvine quickly pinned him down by his shoulders as he squirmed in his bed trying to break free. His ranting continued as Dr. Kadowaki put another needle in his arm as he slowly fell asleep.
"So much for that idea." Squall sighed.
"It was a good idea." Irvine smiled.
"That was strange." Squall sighed.
"Did he call you father?" Selphie asked.
"He did." Squall sighed dismissing that wild thought. "He must be delusional. What do you think Dr. Kadowaki?" Squall asked.
"Maybe." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "I won't be sure unless I do more tests."
"Should we try to wake another one?" Zell asked.
"I don't think so." Dr. Kadowaki ordered. "I think we did enough for one morning." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "We can try again later."
"I agree with the doctor." Quistis sighed.
"All right." Squall sighed. "We'll try later tonight."
"All right then, everybody out." Dr. Kadowaki ordered. "That's includes you Mr. President."
"Understood." Laguna sighed. "Commander. If you don't mind, may we stay here?" Laguna asked. "I like to see how this turns out."
"Absolutely. I understand completely." Squall smiled surreptitiously. The last thing he wanted to deal with was dignitaries from another government. Even those that he knew personally. "Xu, would you mind showing President Loire and Minister Zabac to our VIP rooms."
"Right this way." Xu smiled as the nine of them left the infirmary leaving Dr. Kadowaki all alone. They walked into the main corridor where Xu lead the President and his Minister to their rooms.
The six remaining adolescents, the legendary six, congregated in the hall for a short breather. It had been a long time since they had been in the same room together. 'How long was it?' Squall asked himself. 'Almost a year.'
"Yo, Squall." Zell said breaking the silence.
"What is it Zell?" Squall sighed.
"I don't know if you noticed, but didn't those uniforms seem familiar?"
"I did." Squall sighed. "I just didn't know where."
"Yeah, me too. I thought it might be the Guardian Forces preventing my memories from resurfacing." Zell explained.
"Now that you mention it they do look familiar." Quistis sighed.
"Yeah, now I'm remembering seeing them too." Irvine sighed. "It wasn't too long ago either." Irvine scratched the back of his head.
"Me too." Selphie joined in cheerfully. "I know, why don't we check our journals." Selphie asked jumping with excitement.
"That's a good idea." Squall smiled. "Albeit my journal is not that meticulous to include uniform decor." Squall sighed.
"Nor mine. It's more like something Xu would write down." Zell sighed.
"Rinoa what do you think?" Quistis asked.
Squall was surprised that she was there. She remained very quiet ever since they entered the infirmary. "Are you okay?" Selphie asked. Rinoa didn't hear her question.
"Rinoa?" Squall said giving her a little budge. Rinoa woke from her daydream. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"Yeah." Rinoa sighed unconvincingly. "I'm just tired that's all."
"Maybe you should get some rest." Squall suggested.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."
"Quistis, do you mind showing Rinoa to one of our guest rooms?"
"Not at all." Quistis smiled. "It'll give us some time to catch up." Quistis smiled. "Will you two be staying here also?" Quistis asked Irvine and Selphie. They looked at each other and smiled. "Well?" Quistis hinted.
"Yeah." They finally said in unison.
"All right." Quistis grimace. "Follow me."
The six of them parted. The four of them headed towards the dormitory as Zell and Squall walked towards the main lobby of Balamb Garden. "Where are you off to?" Zell asked.
"To the bridge." Squall sighed. "You?"
"I think I'll catch some z's." Zell sighed. "By the way, do you know where Minister Seagill went to?" Zell asked. "He sure left the infirmary in a hurry." Zell added.
"No, I don't." Squall sighed. "But I have a feeling we'll soon find out." Squall said ominously as he walked up the stairs to the elevator.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kiros tapped the armrest of the captain's chair of the Excalibur impatiently. The Estharian Airships are the most advanced ships in the whole world. They're stealthy, fast, powerfully armed and most importantly looked cool. It has been a while since Kiros left the president and was wondering what he was up to. 'Is Laguna okay? Yeah, Ward's looking after him. He should be in good hands.' Kiros smiled to himself.
"We're approaching the Airstation." The pilot announced.
"Reduce speed and clear us for priority landing." Kiros ordered.
"Aye sir." The pilot returned.
The metallic red dragon airship landed on the Airstation without any problems. Kiros ordered the pilot to keep the engines hot and to wait for him.
He ran on the transparent blue walkway towards an intersection where a floating transport disk hovered silently. He looked up to see a transparent hollow red tube above it. He sat on the disk "Presidential Palace." He said confidently as bluish white light surround him. The transport disk suddenly levitated and pushed in the direction of the palace.
He wasn't sure where she was, but he had to start in the most logical place - her room. The transport disk was spat out of the transparent red tube onto the station closest to the palace. Kiros got up and ran to his right and took a left towards a tall, slightly concave golden building. In the center of this golden building was another floating disk.
He got on and without saying anything a blue transport shield encased him on the disk and with great speeds pushed him towards the Presidential Palace. The great speed pushed his body into his seat as he saw the beautiful palace of blue transparent glass. He was suddenly deposited into the palace as the blue shielding disappeared. "I hope she's home." Kiros said to himself as he went further into the palace.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ellone always loved watching the sunrise over the great metropolis of Esthar. She loved the way the morning light reflected the transparent walkways and tubes that the ancient Estharian built. Ever since she's called Esthar home she has never missed a sunrise or sunset.
"Come in." She ordered. The door slither opened.
"Ellone." A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Uncle Kiros." She smiled running towards him giving him a hug. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" Ellone smiled.
"Laguna needs your help and ask you to come to Balamb Garden to do him a favour." Kiros said getting to the point.
"Uncle Laguna." Ellone sighed. "He's not -"
"No, he's fine." Kiros quickly reassured. "He just need you."
"All right." Ellone smiled. "I'm ready let's go."
"Come let's make haste." Kiros said grabbing her hand and rushed out of her room. "Our timing is imperative."
"All right." Ellone sighed.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rinoa couldn't shake the odd feeling she had while she was in the infirmary. It wasn't the same feeling that she got when the violet vortex was hovering in their atmosphere. This was a different feeling altogether. Ever since she met Ellone and those six survivors she had an odd feeling that they didn't belong here. Like they were not of this world, at least not entirely.
"Enough Heartilly." She said to herself. "Your back in Balamb Garden, back with Squall." She walked to her window and saw a small island that they were heading to. She knew instantly that it was Balamb Island. They were almost there, almost home.
"Rinoa?" Selphie daintily asked. "Are you okay?" Rinoa turned around and saw Selphie and Quistis. "Are you okay?" Selphie repeated.
"Yeah. Fine." Rinoa said unconvincingly.
"You don't sound fine." Quistis added.
"Did Squall do something stupid again?" Selphie asked.
"No." Rinoa smiled. "Squall and I are fine." She lied.
"Really?" Quistis asked not entirely believing her.
"Well, we're still trying to rekindle an old romance." Rinoa sighed. "It's more difficult then I anticipated." Rinoa sighed.
"Yeah I know what you mean." Selphie sighed as she threw herself on Rinoa's bed full of self-pity. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it.
"You and Irvine are having troubles too?" Rinoa sighed as she joined her.
"Yeah." Selphie sighed.
"How about you, Quistis? Please tell me people still fall in love." Rinoa sighed as she grabbed the second pillow and hugged it.
"You two are pathetic." Quistis smiled as she joined them on the bed.
"Just answer the question." Selphie sighed.
"I'm married to my work." Quistis sighed stating the obvious. She walked towards the window and leaned against it. She tilted her head and looked out towards the slowly approaching Balamb Island. "Don't get me wrong, I love my work, but it makes poor company." Quistis sighed. "We're all pathetic aren't we?" Quistis sighed returning her gaze to the girls.
"Yeah." The other two women agreed.
"So what were you thinking about when we so rudely interrupted?" Quistis asked.
"Those survivors and Ellone." Rinoa sighed. "I'm getting an odd feeling about them." Rinoa sighed.
"Odd?" Quistis asked. "What ever do you mean?"
"It's a feeling that they don't belong here - at least not now, but oddly enough they also feel like they do - I don't know." Rinoa sighed with frustration. "It's rather confusing."
"That it is." Selphie sighed in agreement. "This is so depressing."
"Yeah." The other two women sighed.
"You know what I do when I'm depressed?" Rinoa asked.
"What?" Quistis asked.
"Ice-cream."
"Sounds great." Selphie moaned with pleasure.
"The cafeteria just got a huge shipment of triple chocolate ice-cream." Quistis hinted with a smirk on her face.
"Really?" Rinoa asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Quistis smiled. The three women looked at each other and knew what they were thinking about. "Let's go." Quistis smiled as they rushed out of Rinoa's room.
* * * * * * * * * *
Zell tried to get some sleep, but he couldn't. He was obsessed with those uniforms 'Why couldn't I remember them?' He asked himself. He kept rolling on his bed like it was an uncomfortable mass of rocks. The uniforms haunted his mind that he could think of nothing else.
Zell yelled in frustration and got off his bed. He put on his Ehrgeiz gloves and started punching his bag hanging in his room. He let out some grunts of rage as each punch drove a little part of his frustration away. 'Why can't I get these uniforms out of my mind?' Zell thought punching his bag with more power. He had ravished through his journal when he and Squall parted ways to quickly see if he had written about those uniforms, but he couldn't find anything.
It has been a long time since he felt this helpless. 'When was the last time?' He thought to himself. 'It must have been a year ago when we went off to fight...That's it!' Zell smiled to himself. "I know where I saw those uniforms." Zell exclaimed to himself. He grabbed a towel on his bed to wipe off his sweat and ran out of his room with serendipity.
He ran out of the dormitory and continued running to his left. In no time he ran pass the Parking Lot, Training Center, and the Library. He almost ran into the Library, but remembered that he needed to find Squall. He ran into the Main Lobby, up the stairs and into the elevator.
The elevator swished up to the third floor where Zell got off. He walked pass the former Headmasters Chambers towards a lift in the center of the room. The ancient platform lifted up one more time to the bridge of Balamb Garden.
"Yo Xu, where's Squall?" Zell announced serendipitously, as he looked around the Bridge.
"Just one moment Zell." Xu said. "We're in docking procedure right now." Xu said watching her panel and ignored Zell's presence, because she knew if they land the wrong way, paths leading into and out of Balamb Garden would lead to dead ends. There would be chaos everywhere.
"We're over the designated spot now." Nida reported.
"Good." Xu sighed. "Nida rotate Balamb Garden negative 12.5 degrees." Xu commanded.
"Aye, negative 12.5." Nida repeated.
The Garden slowly turned in position, hovering over their spot. "Good, begin docking procedures." Xu sighed. She paused for a moment and watched the scene outside rotate. "Hail the Ragnarok and Masamune and tell them that they could land in their designated spots." Xu ordered as she turned her attention to Zell. "Now Zell, how may I help you?" Xu asked professionally.
"Do you know where Squall is?" Zell repeated his question.
"Commander Leonhart is in the Training Center." Xu simply answered.
"Thanks. See ya." Zell said. He quickly got off the bridge and headed for the Training Center on the first floor. Before entering the Training Center he junction his Guardian Forces and took a deep sigh and ran into the room.
The Training Center was more humid then the rest of the Garden. It mimicked a jungle or rainforest very well. It even felt, like at any minute, that it would rain. 'Where can Squall be?' Zell thought to himself. He ran to his right and crossed the bridge.
He ran into the room where there was a small island connected with a series of smaller wooden bridges. He saw a mysterious kid dressed in a green jacket with white khakis. Zell automatically noticed him as one of the Card Club Members. 'What was his name again?' Zell asked to himself. 'Card Magician Joker.' Zell said snapping his fingers.
"Yo dude, have you seen Squall?"
"Yeah, he went that way." He pointed to a direction in front of Zell.
"Thanks man." Zell said running in the direction where the entrepreneur Joker pointed. In the distant he could see Squall fighting two T-Rexaurs. Squall ran towards the T-Rexaur on the right and triggered his gunblade as it hit it's nose. It roared with pain as the dinosaur to the left bit Squall on his left shoulder.
"Yo, Squall!" Zell yelled. Squall turned around and saw Zell running up towards him. "Watch out!" Zell yelled. Squall quickly turned around and saw the right dinosaur coming towards him. He jumped and evaded the bite and slashed his Lion Heart down on the T-Rexaur's nose. It roared in pain as it fell down in defeat. The remaining T-Rexaur bit Squall on the other shoulder behind him. He scream through his teeth, that significant bite damaged him twice as it should.
Zell swore to himself for his carelessness. He rushed to help his injured friend when he heard a violent rustling in the bushes. Suddenly a Grat jumped out. "Oh man! I don't need this now." Zell whined to himself.
The plant monster looked like a four legged and four armed Venus Flytrap. Zell jumped up and down ready as the Grat came towards him and used two of its arms to hit him on the head. He blocked the attack somewhat, but was still damaged a bit and it still pained him. Without a second thought, he rushed towards the plant and gave it a strong punch. It screamed in pain, as it's four arms dropped to the ground and died. Zell had noticed that the monsters in captivity seemed to be weaker than in the wild as he looked over the dead plant's body.
"Squall." Zell gasped. He has totally forgotten about Squall. He ran towards him as he saw the T-Rexaur turned around and used it's tail and knocked Squall down on the floor. Squall was on his knees in pain. Zell obvious knew that it was his fault that he was in critical pain.
He dashed through the mock forest and caught up to Squall. From his distance he could see Squall pulling out a card and concentrated on it. 'He's summoning a guardian force.' Zell thought to himself. He saw that the T-Rexaur was preparing for another attack when Zell acted impulsively and ran in front of Squall and took the bite for Squall. He slowly got out of the way of the Guardian Force's blow.
Squall took a couple of steps towards the T-Rexaur as he disappeared into a shimmering aura of green lights. The air surrounding the environment suddenly turned cold and Zell knew that Shiva was coming. A transparent, icy crystal stalagmite came out of the newly frozen ground and living within the stalagmite was a blue skinned nymph - Shiva. She opened her eyes and saw the T-Rexaur in her sights. She broke out of her icy prison and with all her might shot a wave of ice beams towards the reptile and disappeared.
The T-Rexaur died in shock from the freezing cold. As a rule, reptiles didn't care much for the cold. Squall reappeared as he saw the second of the T-Rexaur died. The battle was over, and Squall was on the ground in pain.
"Sorry man." Zell said as he rushed to his friend and cast Curaga on him.
"It's my fault that you almost died." Zell sighed as he pulled Squall and rested him behind the fallen tree trunk. Squall rested his head and closed his eyes to catch his breath.
"That's okay, it's my fault for turning around."
"I still shouldn't have yell your name in battle."
"You're forgiven Zell, and thanks for taking a blow for me." Squall said with a heavy breath. "It was stupid, but thank you." Squall said suppressing his pain. Squall had never told him, but of all his friends that he had, he considered Zell to be his best friend - not that he let him know about it.
"No prob!" Zell brushed the selfless act off. "It's the least I could do for getting yourself in trouble in the first place." Zell smiled as he joined Squall behind the fallen log to catch his breath.
"So what was so important that you risked my life for?" Squall with dry sarcasm. Zell was about to apologize again and then he realized that Squall was joking. There were times where Zell found it difficult to tell when Squall was being sarcastic - this was one of them.
"I figured out where I saw those uniforms." Zell sighed.
"Oh where?" Squall lifted his head with interest.
Zell took a deep sigh and began his story. "You see I was so frustrated that I started to..."
"Zell." Squall sternly warned. "Get to the point."
"All right." Zell sighed. "You're going to miss an awesome story."
"I'll risk it." Squall sighed.
"I saw them, we saw them in the time-compressed world a year ago." Zell sighed.
"The future SeeD soldiers." Squall said in awe.
"That's right."
"Are you saying that they're from the future?"
"Sounds crazy I know, but it explains why Ellone is in her forties and it also explains the ramblings of the survivor we woke up." Zell sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Squall asked.
"Don't you remember what he said?" Zell asked.
"Yeah, he asked a bunch of questions."
"Ah, you're so dense!" Zell sighed in frustration. "What did he call you?"
"He called me..." Squall's jaw dropped and looked at Zell. "You mean that boy in the infirmary is..."
"Your son." Zell completed his comment.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Writers Note: I used the concept of cards to help Squall and company to focus their Guardian Forces dwelling within them. I found it easier to pass on a Guardian Force from one player to another via a material substance (i.e. the card) than have them switching Guardian Forces invisibly. So please no reviews telling me that Guardian Forces are not summoned in this manner.
Disclaimer: The names of persons, places, and events pertaining to the Final Fantasy Genre (specifically Final Fantasy VIII (game)) is not my invention and is the property of Square - no profit was made from the writing of this fan fiction. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination (that is those that are not under the pervious citation) and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.