FF8: The Saviours - Part One
by Astarte
Fierce winds drove the sea down into the depths, floods of water rushing downward where the sea had never been before. The winds faded then stopped but the sea had already invaded. The rock walls and pillars, contaminated by the foreign material, began to erode, gradually losing the glow that had once been strong enough to light up the cavern. One by one, glowing crystals crumbled away.
That silence was abruptly shattered by the retort of exploding rock. In the darkness, a giant block of crystal crumbled into dust, freeing the being that had been trapped inside. The young woman slowly stirred, groggy from her long sleep. At first her thoughts were dulled and she wasn't sure where she was or even her own name. After a few moments, her memories returned to her. Her designation was Chimera 13. She had been placed here by her enemies, imprisoned in crystal. She vaguely remembered the battle that she had ultimately lost.
Chimera lay there, covered in crystalline dust, not moving. How long had she slept, imprisoned in this place? She listened but could hear nothing except the sounds of water dripping down from the rocks above. Her enemies were gone. She could no longer even sense the presence of the entity that had once lived here. Only the distant called of wild animals were there.
Standing up, Chimera let the dust fall off. Carefully she fingered some of it, half expecting to feel the numbing sensation that had imprisoned her here. Nothing. Apparently the substance had degraded. Chimera smiled in satisfaction. An unforeseen chemical reaction, perhaps? They must have been confident in its ability to keep her trapped indefinitely. Strategic miscalculation: they should have terminated her when they had the opportunity.
Her own inexperience had caused her to act hastily and without any strategic planning. As a result, she had been soundly defeated. Now, it seemed her enemies had made exactly the same error. Learn from your mistakes, was the first rule she had ever been taught. The second was to learn from your enemy's mistakes. She would do this and more. Chimera fully intended to take every advantage of their error in judgement.
Looking around in the dank darkness, she tried to gather as much intelligence as possible. To the right, she could see the huge skeletal remains of some incredible beast. Close examination showed her what had happened to the entity that had lived here. The remains could belong to no other but Ultima Weapon. Someone had killed it, some time ago. She knew no normal beast could have killed such a powerful being, only man could have done so. Had someone come down here looking for her only to be confronted by Ultima Weapon? Its passing saddened her. She had always admired the being, even felt oddly attracted to it in a strange way. Its pride, dignity, fierce passion was a continual source of inspiration to her. She did not feel anger towards its killers, however, circumstances would have dictated that kill it herself.
Looking around she saw that the place had been abandoned for a significant amount of time. The machinery here was in a terrible state of disrepair. It looked as though the equipment hadn't been maintenanced in a very long time. Perhaps she had killed more of them than she had thought. Valuable equipment had been left behind to decay as though an emergency evacuation order had sounded. Frowning, Chimera scolded herself. The enemy had been in a state of panic and she had not taken any advantage of their disarray. Foolish haste and damnable inexperience.
Quietly she headed up the stairs. As she had expected, the local animals did not appreciate her presence. She was first attacked by a hungry looking ruby dragon and though she empathized with it, she had no desire to be its dinner. She was able to kill the ruby dragon before it was able to do much more than flame her ineffectually. Her fingertips sliced through the thick hide around the dragon's throat, severing a major artery and very nearly decapitating it. Further up the stairs she was attacked again, this time by a tri-face. The tri-face's attempt to poison her was admirable but futile. One well aimed fist crushed its central head's skull, sending splintered bone into its brain tissue. She leapt over its twitching carcass. Behind her she could hear scavengers bearing down on the dead bodies. At least something was going to get an easy meal.
The research centre itself was also abandoned. The entire project must have been moved elsewhere. Chimera tried to access information on the computers but the only functioning program was the steam control, everything else had been permanently wiped. This area must have been evacuated with far less haste. Equipment had been dismantled, files removed and data erased. All evidence of what had been going on here had been destroyed. They must have been far more frightened of her than she had realized. They were wise.
She decided to at least see the current date was. That was a revelation in itself and Chimera ran diagnostics to ensure the veracity of what she was seeing. Twenty years had passed! It was stunning. She could hardly conceive of how long she had been imprisoned. Did the Sorceress War still rage against Adel? What had happened during all this time?
She hastened her pace towards the uppermost levels of the research facility. Climbing through a vine-encrusted hole in the ceiling, she was confronted by another surprise: Bahamut was gone. The strange capsule which had imprisoned him was shattered and broken. It was also obvious that the capsule had been moved from its original location. It had been used to block the exit to the surface, a plug to keep her in. She was filled with conflicting emotion, joy that he was no longer imprisoned like some laboratory experiment and fury that he had most likely been reduced to being someone's GF. Mankind was so filled with hubris, that they would even dare consider themselves equal to such a noble being, much less his master. It was past now though.
Chimera stepped out into the sunlight for the first time in twenty years, reveling in the breeze that flowed through her hair. It smelled wonderful. She peeled off the filthy uniform that she wore, letting the warm sunlight caress her body. Freedom at last! No more confinement, no more tests, no more being ordered about. There was only azure sky, white clouds, and the deep blue sea.
She dove deep into the sea, thoroughly enjoying the native life around her. A school of silvery fish glimmered as they flitted back and forth in an elegant ballet. Jellyfish danced past her, trailing their long tendrils behind them. Diving even deeper, she was able to glimpse sleek torpedo shaped giants gliding through the water. Sharks, if she remembered correctly. She watched them for a long time, marveling in their grace and power. She studied them, these models of the consummate predator, as a student would watch a master. One even approached her, investigating this strange intruder into its domain. Satisfied that she was neither prey nor threat, it glided away. Far down below her, she could just barely sense dim shapes of such vastly huge proportions that it was almost beyond her comprehension. Strange songs, sung in such deep tones that her very bones seemed to vibrate, filled the water. Here, Chimera understood, were the masters of all the oceans. She felt honoured to have even caught a glimpse of them.
Exploding up to the surface, Chimera smiled softly at the beauty around her. There was so much to enjoy, so many lifeforms worthy of admiration. Sometimes her heart was so filled with love for this world that it threatened to burst. She knew that instinct had been artificially induced but she treasured it anyway. It was the only good thing that her enemies had ever done.
Turning around slightly she saw the underwater facility. Dark instincts started to resurface, to guide her thoughts. However much she wished to fight it, there was no escaping her own nature. Launching herself skyward, she willed a new uniform into existence. She then oriented herself. Galbadia must be her first destination, she knew that she could delay no longer. Twenty years had passed and she had a mission to fulfil.
*** *** ***
Zell had mixed feelings when Squall and Headmaster Cid presented him with the offer. Double his current paycheque and Special Forces status if he would transfer to the new Galbadia Garden. He understood exactly why Squall needed experienced SeeD in the new Garden. All of Galbadia had been politically unstable since the end of the War. No matter how bad Vinzer Deling had been, he had kept Galbadia together. Now, two years after his death, the country was still unstable and on the verge of civil war, Timber was still occupied, and the Galbadian military was beginning to fracture into two factions.
Half the army was loyal to General Richard Caraway, Rinoa's dad, and the other half was loyal to General Alexandros Typhon, a man known to have been Vinzer Deling's biggest ally. Headmaster Cid had made it very clear that Typhon was not an acceptable option for President. Frankly, Zell didn't blame him. Who the heck wanted someone who was in charge of Special Operations running an entire country. The new Garden was meant to act as a deterrent to civil war, a looming reminder of SeeD's military strength. It wouldn't be a deterrent, however, if it was populated with students. Galbadia Garden had to be filled with veteran soldiers or Typhon would simply ignore them.
He knew how tough this situation was on some of the people here, SeeD or not. Poor Rinoa was beside herself with worry. She might never have gotten along with her dad but she didn't hate him either. The crisis was developing to the point where Caraway would either have to win, die, or live the rest of his life in hiding. The current president was so weak that he had absolutely no control over the country at all. Right now, Caraway and Typhon were waged in a tug of war for power while President Maraj cowered in the Presidential Palace.
Under any other circumstance, Zell would have grabbed the promotion eagerly but that meant being separated from his long-time girlfriend, Iris. That was not an idea that held much appeal, he could barely survive a day without seeing her so indefinite separation was out of the question. There was no way that he was abandoning his girl just because a better job had come along.
Zell was about to refuse when Squall got one of those introspective looks he was so famous for, the strain of the past few months beginning to show on his face. Zell didn't envy Squall his position. His friend hadn't wanted to be placed in charge of things during the war against Ultimecia and here he was two years later, still the Commander-in-Chief of all active SeeDs. Zell suspected that Headmaster Cid had been eager to get rid of the burden and simply "forgot" to demote Squall. Sometimes Zell thought that his friend spent too much time thinking and occasionally drove himself crazy, trying to live up to his responsibilities. That was why Zell decided to wait until Squall spoke, it sometimes took him a while to come out and say something.
"Iris is an explosives expert." Squall said finally, the faintest expression of satisfaction on his face, apparently coming to a decision. "She's also a certified instructor. She would be valuable there, too." He looked at Cid, tacitly requesting his approval. As headmaster, it was Cid who was in charge of instructors.
"Martine will absolutely need every good instructor he can get his hands on," Cid responded smiling knowingly. Everyone knew how Zell felt about his pigtailed princess, Iris Deen. "I don't see him turning away an instructor that's being dropped into his lap."
Zell couldn't believe his luck. If Iris was willing to go, and he was positive that she would, everything would be perfect. A pay raise, a promotion and a tour of duty at a fancy new Garden, with his girlfriend, no less, all at the same time. Life couldn't get any better than this.
Unable to resist any longer, Zell eagerly accepted the position. He warned them that he wouldn't go if Iris didn't but they all knew that there was no way in the world that she would refuse. Iris had always wanted to be an instructor. She had always admired Quistis and never stopped talking about how much she wanted to teach. Both her parents had been teachers and she was eager to carry on the family tradition, even if it was in a military academy and not a university like her parents. Besides, no one blew things up with quite the same style as his Iris.
A very pleased Cid told him that his new assignment would start next week and that he would have to go and get ready. Squall was already on the intercom, paging Iris. Zell was virtually hopping with excitement, anxious to tell someone of his good fortune but desperate to hear for himself that Iris was going.
It wasn't long before Iris appeared. She squealed with near-Selphie delight at the offer, especially after learning that Zell had accepted already. It was kind of funny actually, that such a bubbly and enthusiastic girl like Iris could become so cool and businesslike when it came to explosives. Actually, now that he thought about it, if she were bubbly and enthusiastic all the time, she'd probably blow herself up. Squall ordered Nida to head for the new Garden and Iris virtually ran from the office, eager to pack up and spread the word.
Zell felt exactly the same way. He couldn't get out of the elevator fast enough, hoping to find someone, anyone, to tell about his good luck. Not looking where he was going, Zell crashed headlong into a disheveled looking Irvine. Grinning apologetically, Zell helped the tall Galbadian to his feet. He couldn't help but notice that Irvine had seen better days.
"Have you ever tried flying the Ragnorok through a Force 5 hurricane with winds hitting over 250 miles an hour?" Irvine asked in some disgust after Zell asked him what happened. Zell had to shake his head but from looking at Irvine, he suspected that his friend had. Not exactly sure how someone ended up flying through a hurricane, he asked why.
Irvine rolled his eyes and made an annoyed sound. "Selphie and I helped Matron evacuate the new orphanage on Centra. We got hit by the ugliest storm I've ever seen in my life. Twice." Irvine grew more irritated as he began to describe the events. "Selphie decided it might be fun to pass through the storm on our way there." Irvine grimaced at Selphie's apparent insanity. "So not only did she have to make this huge detour to do it, we got wholloped by this bastard of a storm, and then we lost so much time that the hurricane caught up to us while we were evacuating." Irvine shook his head incredulously. "Damn storm moved so fast I couldn't believe it."
Zell laughed then caught himself when he received a nasty glare from Irvine. Still, it was exactly the kind of thing that Selphie would do. Sometimes, she was fearless to the point of idiocy. "Did everyone get out okay?" he asked, still smiling.
Irvine sighed in resignation and allowed a faint smile to creep onto his face as well. "Oh yeah, everyone was fine. A little shaken up but no one was hurt." He shook his head once more, still unable to believe the experience. "About the only thing that would have suffered would have been that old abandoned platform out in the south west."
Zell looked at him, a little confused until he realized what Irvine was talking about. The abandoned research facility where they'd found Bahamut and Eden. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.
Irvine shrugged. "That hurricane came from that direction. Even if it didn't hit it dead on, the storm was huge and those winds were real wicked. The Ragnorok barely made it through, what would have happened to that decades old wreck?" Irvine grinned. "I'm not sorry to see it go. Miserable place."
Zell agreed, laughing. They'd fought so many monsters in there, it had seemed as though each step attracted more and more dragons, tri-faces and other ugly predators. After all that, half dead and exhausted, they were attacked by Ultima Weapon, which very nearly killed them. No, he didn't particularly miss that place either.
Irvine grinned, pushing back the cowboy hat that he habitually wore. "So what was so important you had to knock me halfway back to Centra?" he asked with an amused expression on his face.
Zell puffed up with pride and thrust a thumb towards his chest. "I'm getting promoted to Galbadia Garden," he said, making playful jabs at the air. Enthusiastically he explained the promotion and the reasons for it, forgetting completely that Irvine also knew what was going on, he especially forgot that Irvine was a Galbadian. Abruptly, Zell remembered and began to feel terrible. How would he feel if Balamb began to fall apart and was on the verge of civil war? Zell sagged visibly. Two years after he had blown his team's cover with his big mouth and he still hadn't learned a thing.
Irvine shook his head sternly and wagged his finger at Zell. "Don't be stupid, Zell, you know I'm happy for you. You've got every right to be proud.." He gave Zell a friendly thump on the back. "Galbadia's military is very powerful, a civil war would get real nasty now that the army is getting ready to declare war on itself. Someone has to prevent that. I don't think I could be there, so you have to do it." Irvine sighed regretfully. Zell knew he was thinking back to that carousel clock on the Presidential Palace when he'd cracked under the pressure. Irvine had been the only one to remember who Edea was, he'd known exactly who he was supposed to kill. Zell didn't think he could have shot her either, had he remembered who she was. He gave Irvine an energetic grin to reassure him.
"Don't you worry, Irv, I won't let you down."
*** *** ***
Chimera arrived, landing some distance from Deling city. Unsure of how much technology had changed over the past two decades, she did not want to risk detection. Her first priority was information. She had learned from her previous mistake and would not repeat it. Haste was her enemy. Recalling the old maps she had been trained with, she knew that Deling City had a large information store. Unfortunately the maps she had memorized were all twenty years out of date. She doubted, however, that a large facility like Deling's Central Library would be moved. It was statistically unlikely.
She entered the city with deliberate casualness, the best disguise being the confidence that you belong there. She was mildly concerned that her multi-coloured hair might attract attention but she was soon reassured. As she walked towards the center of the city, she noticed several young people sporting unusual hair colours, apparently her coloration was current fashion. In fact, one or two individuals complimented her.
Walking towards the center of the city, she noticed how tense everyone was. Stopping at a newspaper stand, she picked up a news magazine, memorizing all the text as she quickly flipped through the pages. Apparently she had awakened at a very opportune time. Galbadia was on the verge of fracturing, civil war was imminent, and a familiar name was trying to wrest control of the government. General Typhon, head of the Special Operations Division. She was unsure of the priority she should give him. She decided that he was a low priority at the moment since he did not pose an immediate threat to her mission. She left when the newspaper seller started glaring at her.
She briefly stopped to admire the huge stone archway that marked the Presidential Palace, it was absolutely beautiful. Looking around she noticed some couples some kissing, others holding hands, some simply enjoying each others company. She wondered what it was like to be in love. It was something that she understood only intellectually, having never experienced it. Yet another crime the enemy had committed against her. She wasn't any older that some of the young people who were kissing, yet she had been denied the opportunity.
She finally reached the library and walked up the steps. She noticed large statues of Vinzer Deling gracing either side of the large doors. This, she decided, did not bode well for the value of the information inside. Dictators tended towards this kind of tacky display, they also tended towards heavy censorship. She went inside anyway. Perhaps she could find at least a little information from this place. She spend nearly half an hour, scanning books, magazines and newspaper articles. She quickly discovered that while certain events were accurate, such as the war against Adel ending, the details were highly suspect. Vinzer Deling, according to all official reports, was personally involved in all sorts of heroic acts and had been personally responsible for saving the world from Sorceress Adel.
One item she learned about was very interesting. It was a new organization called SeeD. It appeared to be a military group founded on mercenary principles, based at military academies referred to as Gardens. Any government with sufficient funds could hire SeeD to fight for them. It was a logical and highly practical concept, one that Chimera actually admired. As with everything else however, most of the information on SeeD and their Gardens was suspect. Recent articles mentioned that a new Garden had just been constructed nearby. It was apparently state-of-the-art. This she decided, was a place that warranted further investigation.
Looking around she saw a computer terminal and immediately took advantage of the equipment. She was quite surprised to find that despite dramatic improvements in hardware, the software had not advanced very far. In fact, the software that had been used in the research center twenty years ago was more advanced than what was being used here. First she located an electronic atlas and memorized all the maps it contained. Next she needed to access government records. It only took her a few minutes to bypass the security measures and gain access to the network at large. She tapped into the government computers looking for a specific group of names and addresses. Of all the enemy, these were the most dangerous, they posed the greatest risk to her mission. As soon as she retrieved all the information she needed she shut down the computer and left. The first address was located not far from her current location.
The house was large and obviously belonged to someone of affluence. Keeping to the shadows, Chimera moved quietly to the side of the house and making certain that she could not be seen, phased through the wall. The house was as luxurious inside as it was outside, she noted. Life seemed to have been very kind to the master of this house. Every piece of furniture was a handcrafted original and some of the art on the wall were originals from famous artists. She even saw the incredibly rare, highly sought after, Griever Triple Triad card, the only perfect high card in existence, locked behind a case. She let her thoughts wander, trying to sense a presence. She detected only one person, which fit with what she remembered of him. He was upstairs, directly above her current position. She floated upward and phased through the ceiling into the room above.
It was a private laboratory. It was filled with the most modern high tech equipment that Chimera had ever seen, some of which she could not even identify. She did, however, recognize one device. It looked very much like a maturation chamber, except that this one was much smaller than the ones she remembered. Even after all this time, he still tried to play god. Off to one side, she could see another room separated from this one by a huge double-sealed glass door. Inside it was all the equipment one would associate with a coroner's autopsy room. It was the autopsy table that disturbed her most, however. A coroner did not normally require restraints for his subjects. Beside, the table was a large acetylene blowtorch. She barely restrained a shudder of disgust. The object of her contempt was bent over a piece of equipment, examining it with such intensity that he hadn't noticed her presence.
"Doctor Aman Adrick," she said calmly.
Startled the man whirled around. He had not aged well, a wrinkled old man, withered by his own corruption. He was so skinny that he seemed almost skeletal, his long gray hair was scraggly and his skin had the yellow tint that signaled advanced liver disease. His expression was one of shock at first then he smirked, a particularly unpleasant expression. He didn't seem that surprised to see a young woman floating a foot off his laboratory floor.
"Ah, Thirteen," he said with an emotionless voice that had always irritated her. "I knew that those idiots in the military were making a mistake letting you live." He seemed completely unconcerned by her presence. He sat down on a stool and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, jamming one into his mouth. He leaned towards a lit burner to light it then simply sat there, regarding her as a scientist would regard any new and interesting specimen. "I assume that you're going to kill me now since I know so very much about you. It is the only intelligent thing to do," he leaned towards her, his expression cool and passionless. "Do not disappoint me, Thirteen."
She regarded him with utter contempt. "That is my intention." She knew she should kill him immediately but the thought of even getting close to this man was repellant. Her skin crawled at the mere thought of physical contact. Even the others of the enemy had kept far away from this man, certainly they had tried to keep him away from her. He had made a sport out of indulging in every imaginable depravity. "I first require the Chimera Project data."
Aman Adrick laughed, long and hard, actually wiping a tear from his eyes. Chuckling, he wagged a finger at her. She did not like being laughed at. "Yes, of course, I'm sure you do. You cannot use your powers without the activation formula, can you?" He took a long drag from his cigarette and drank something out of a beaker that sat on the table next to him. It smelled like alcohol, probably the source of his liver disease. He had been alcoholic back then too. "Can't help you though, as far as I know the data's gone for good. I do not remember anything useful anymore. Time and alcohol have that effect on the memory, you know."
This was frustrating news. She needed to fully activate her natural abilities in order to accomplish her mission and the formula was the only means of doing it. If only she had been more patient back then, this would not be necessary. The enemy had intentionally inhibited her powers but they had intended to activate them once they felt safe in her presence. His amused laughter made it even more frustrating. He knew that she had made a severe error in judgement and was enjoying every minute of her failure.
She allowed an angry snarl to escape her lips. He was everything that she hated in humanity, he had given her a murderous instinct and then made her a slave to it, she hated him with a passion that was beyond her ability to comprehend. She unsheathed her talons. She had wasted enough time on this human garbage and there were other members of the Chimera Project that needed to be eliminated. She would take no pleasure in their deaths but his, that was a different matter.
"You are of no use to me." His head went flying across the room as her talons severed his head with surgical precision. Even as the headless torso dropped to the floor like a wet sack, she noted that the cigarette was still in his mouth. Smoking, she thought to herself, was a very unhealthy habit.
*** *** ***
There had been a huge going away party for Zell and Iris. Selphie had gone all out organizing it with food, drinks and entertainment. Even though everyone was happy for Zell and Iris, there were more than a few sad faces. Zell could have sworn that he was on his way to be executed but he was slightly damp around the eyes himself. Even if it was only for one year, he was still going to miss the whole lot of them.
When it was time to leave, everyone came out to see them off. The sight of all her friends made Iris burst into tears and then so did Selphie and Rinoa. The three clung to each other as though they were never going to see one another again. Quistis satisfied herself with a simple goodbye hug for the both of them. Irvine just grinned, gave Zell a friendly wallop on the back, and flashed a particularly charming smile at Iris, which prompted Selphie to angrily punch him in the arm. Squall rolled his eyes, smiled and saluted.
"I'll miss you so much, Sefie, Rini, Quisti," Iris sniffled and waved goodbye. Then she wiggled her way into Zell's arms and smiled at him. "Let's go before I chain myself to the Garden." Zell nodded in agreement. He was about half ready to do the same himself.
So they left the Garden that had been home for so long and watched as it sailed away over the sea. With a deep sigh, Zell and Iris entered Galbadia Garden. They were actually rather impressed by the new school. Zell couldn't get over how amazing the new Garden was. Everything about the place had to be described with words like huge, large and immense. Zell felt like a junior classman all over again, gawking at the overwhelming sights. Those techies from Fisherman's Horizon might be ultra annoying when it came to fighting but, Goddess, could they ever build.
They quickly found a staff member who directed them to Martine's office.. Their meeting with Martine went smoothly. The man looked much better than the last time they'd seen him, sitting forlornly at Fisherman's Horizon. Back then he'd been broken by the loss of his Garden but its rebirth seemed to have had a similar effect on him. He was cheerful as he greeted them and seemed especially pleased to have a Demolitions Instructor in his grasp. After a brief orientation he handed them their living quarters. He also gave them a week off to let them get aquainted with the layout of the new Galbadia.
"You'll need it," Martine said with a smile. "I still get lost in here."
After their meeting ended, they located the central directory to find their living quarters. They found Zell's first. Zell casually threw his stuff into his room then they went to settle Iris into her new place. Like everything else in the new Galbadia Garden, the private rooms for SeeD members were much larger than the ones in Balamb. Helping her unpack, Zell couldn't help but mention with more than a touch of mischief, how nice and big the beds were. Iris blushed furiously, looking very cute in Zell's opinion. She gave him a swat on the arm and chased him out of the room. Still rosy, Iris told him to look around while she got settled in.
Laughing, Zell decided to do just that. As he looked around, he decided that this might not be such a bad place after all. The first place he decided to check out was the cafeteria. Food was always a good place to start out. When he walked in, he felt almost like a pilgrim reaching a holy place. The cafeteria was more than twice the size of Balamb Garden's. Odors wafting around his head set his mouth to watering and the menu listed on the boards sent him into ecstasy. From snack foods, sandwiches and soups to hot meals ranging from vegetarian to seafood to pasta, the variety was phenomenal. Then he saw them: Hot dogs, armloads of hot dogs, chilidogs, cheddar dogs, kraut wieners, sausages of every kind. Zell wanted to swoon. He had arrived in Nirvana.
Forcibly tearing himself away from the siren call of the food, he investigated the rest of the Garden. There was a gorgeous amphitheater and a huge concert hall that Selphie would have killed to get her hands on. She could organize concerts to her heart's content in a place like this. Even the training center at the new Garden was bigger and included a non combat section fully equipped with the most modern training equipment. There was a lovely garden area accented by a pretty fountain carved in the shape of Hyne, just perfect for relaxing with your significant other.
Of all the sights in this new Garden, oddly enough, it was the library that was the truly awe inspiring sight. It was huge. Balamb Garden's library had never been that big but this one was truly immense, bigger even than the Garden's cafeteria. Rinoa would love this place, Zell thought, she loved books. There were sections on every conceivable subject that Zell could imagine.
Walking into the history section, Zell noticed a girl taking book after book off the shelves and leafing through them. Most of the books went back onto the shelves but some of them were added to a growing pile. She noticed his presence and turned to face him. He felt as though the air had been knocked out of his lungs.
Zell had always believed that his Iris was the most beautiful girl in the world but the young woman who stood before him looked like a goddess. She was tall, almost as tall as Irvine, with rainbow hair that was nearly waist long. She had pale creamy skin that stood out against her pewter body suit and a build that other women would die to possess. It was her eyes that were the most captivating. They were a jade green that he'd never thought possible in a human being.
He tried to open his mouth to say hello but all he managed were croaking sounds. He felt pangs of guilt for reacting like this the first moment Iris' back was turned but there was something about this girl that was totally arresting. His heart threatened to jump clear out of his ribcage and he was positive that he had forgotten how to breathe. The mysterious young woman stared at him, her eyes completely emotionless. Well, he thought with embarrassment, she's not impressed, is she?
He cleared his throat and tried again. "Umm, Hi there," He tried a friendly smile and stuck out his hand. "My name's Zell Dincht."
The young woman simply stared at his pro-offered hand rather coldly then made a slight shrugging motion. She turned towards the books and continued browsing through the subjects as though he wasn't there. She grabbed book after book, rapidly leafing through each.
Great, Zell though sourly, I come all this way just to meet someone who makes the old Squall look warm and friendly. He noticed however that she had a pile of books at her feet. Did she have a big project? He remembered how miserable he'd always gotten when he'd had a big assignment for class. Perhaps she wasn't doing that great in history. Well, he was a great history buff.
"You have a big history assignment? That's my favorite subject." He offered tentatively. He didn't know why he was trying to be so helpful but he just hated not being liked. Besides, she was so darned pretty.
She looked at him, those magnificent jade eyes examining him rather calculatingly. "I require historic information," she said in a slightly less than subzero voice. She waved one elegant hand towards the shelves of books. "This facility exceeds that of Deling City's library."
Deling Central Library was crummy. Dictatorship had a tendency to do that to any worthwhile center of learning or culture. Now he was positive that he was right. She was working on a paper for history and probably not doing well. Idly, he wondered why she had even gone to the Deling Central Library when this place existed right on the premises. However, not one to pass up being a noble hero, he puffed himself up slightly and asked her what exactly her project was on.
She gave him a long, considering look. Zell thought that it was kind of unnerving that she could go so long without blinking. "I require information on the past two decades, especially significant socio-political changes," she said finally. After another of those odd long looks, she said, "You may call me Kim." Her expression didn't get any friendlier. Zell was glad that he'd gotten used to Squall's mannerisms over the last two years. Kim's frigid demeanor would have driven him nuts otherwise. Cool and all business, she was definitely Squall's female counterpart. He was sure he'd get a warmer response from his computer terminal.
Zell rifled through Kim's selection. She had chosen excellent books, especially the ones dealing with the first Sorceress war and the economic collapse of Dollet a decade ago. He scanned through the books on the shelf and pulled out two others. He also chose a little book about Timber. It was kind of partisan but gave a good summary of the occupation by Galbadia.
"Most of the details of the second Sorceress War are still classified but there are lots of magazines, newsletters and articles that will give you a good idea of what happened," Zell told Kim enthusiastically, warming up to the subject. He pointed at one of the books on the shelf. "Avoid this one like the plague. Its so biased against SeeD its nauseating. I don't even know why its in here." Zell frowned in irritation. The book had been written by Deling supporters and was pretty much a fantasized version of events. It implied that Vinzer Deling had been the hero of the war and that Galbadia had stood alone against the "forces of darkness", which was how the book consistently referred to SeeD. It made vague allegations of collusion between Esthar and SeeD to overthrow the world governments. Zell was really furious when they accused Edea of creating the crisis so that Esthar and SeeD could put their "nefarious" plan into action.
Putting his additions onto her pile he noticed that she also had selections on medicine, magic, biology, chemistry, genetic engineering, aerodynamics, quantum physics, GF N-dimensional metabiochemistry, and computer technology. Zell was impressed by the sheer volume of subjects. This Kim was an extremely bright girl. He didn't think even Quistis knew all this stuff. He certainly didn't understand half of it. He wasn't even sure what N-dimensional metabiochemistry was.
Somewhat awed by her reading material, Zell took a moment to recover. "Wow, you really like reading, don't you?" He smiled up at her, determined to be friendly. It just bugged the heck out of him when he couldn't make friends with someone.
She smiled at him, the first one he had ever seen on her. The effect was rather predatory and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. He felt like a rabbit trapped with a hungry T-Rexaur. It wasn't a sensation he enjoyed very much. Deep inside his rabbit instincts screamed at him to run. He held his ground against the stupid, irrational reaction. What could this girl do to him, anyway?
"Knowledge is power, Zell Dincht." With that she effortlessly picked up her huge pile of books and walked away. Zell was glad to see her go. He couldn't wait to get out of there.
Zell hurried back to Iris' quarters, still feeling spooked for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. He stopped and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to regain his center. He didn't want to worry Iris unnecessarily. He especially didn't want to mention Kim, just in case she misunderstood his nervousness. No matter how pretty that Kim was, Iris was still his one and only. Rabbit and T-Rexaur relationships never lasted very long.
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