I know what you're all thinking: Phoenix needs another story like she needs a hole in the head. Oy. Have no worries that I will finish this.
This story will begin almost as a "normal" FF8 story, but what ensues will be entirely different. This has nothing to do with romance, or sorceresses, or Presidents, or conflicting nations. This is a story of suspicion, paranoia, and possible death.
Nothing Else Matters
So
close, no matter how far,
Couldn't
be much more from the heart
Forever trust
in who we are
And nothing
else matters…
Never
opened myself this way
Life is
ours, we live it our way
All
these words I don't just say
And
nothing else matters…
Trust I
seek
And I
find in you
Everyday
for us, something new
Opened
mind for a different view
And
nothing else matters…
Never
cared for what they do
Never
cared for what they know
But, I
know…
So
close, no matter how far
Couldn't
be much more from the heart
Forever
trust in who we are
And nothing
else matters…~
~Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know…--"Nothing
Else Matters" by Metallica
Chapter 1-The Crash
The Ragnarok sailed gracefully through the sky above the ocean southeast of of the Silent Country, Esthar, on a trip to Battleship Island.
"I don't see how that could happen, unless they just ate each other," Zell commented, checking the ship's auto-pilot. "I don't like this. This is way weird."
"I know," Irvine said from his position in the co-pilot's seat. "The reports said it looked like the monsters killed each other………Even the ruby dragons are supposed to be gone…."
"I don't get it," Squall said, watching the blue sky ahead of them. He crossed his arms, leather creaking as he did so. "The place was filled with monsters last time we were there. What would cause them all to just suddenly turn against each other in a mass proportion like that?"
Battleship Island wasn't far away in the distance. Squall could see it on the horizon line. He stared down vacantly at the metal floor underneath his feet.
"Is everyone ready to depart?" he said quietly. This was putting him on edge. Something wasn't right. Monsters that had co-existed for years didn't just suddenly revolt against each other in mass like that.
"Yeah, everybody's ready to go," Zell replied, wincing as he flexed his left hand. He had been injured in a fight with a grat the day before and his hand was still weak. The grat's barb from its tentacle had pierced all the way through his palm and his Ergheiz glove. He couldn't wear his fighting glove over the bandage; it hurt too much. It still hurt horribly when he flexed it, but the doctor said it would be good to try and move it. He didn't like showing pain very much. "Everybody's down in the bunks. I still don't see why we had to bring Seifer along."
"Just don't worry about him, Zell," Squall answered casually. "He won't bother you and you don't bother him. Unless he says something to you, you don't talk to him."
"……..fine," Zell said, wincing again. Squall glanced at Zell's bandaged hand.
"How's your hand doing? Are you up to this?" he asked.
"….it's…..doing better," Zell replied, holding it up for Squall to look at.
"Let me see," Squall said, kneeling down next to the seat and slowly removing the bandage. "You'll have to change this bandage before we go down, anyway."
He removed the last layer of it and winced, closing one eye as he looked at it. His face crumpled.
"…..Ouch…." Squall sympathized.
There was a large row of black stitches that marred the very middle of his hand, inch from his middle finger, almost to the end his palm. It was a large barb that had gone through his hand and out the back. Larger than Squall had ever seen. He remembered Zell cradling his left hand when he came into the infirmary. Blood was overflowing from his cupped right hand to the floor in a steady plip, plip, plip that could be heard in the quiet room. He was trembling when he came in.
Squall had been talking to Dr. Kadowaki about the current investigation of Battleship Island, which wasn't really an island at all. It was a scientific research facility in the southwest corner of the world, and was never shown on any world map that had been made to date.
He didn't really see what was wrong with Zell at first. He just walked in, holding his left hand and trembling, letting the crimson liquid fall to the floor. He was on the verge of tears, breathing through gritted teeth. Squall had asked him what was wrong and Zell had held out his hand.
"No physical combat, Zell," Squall ordered, coming back out of the memory. "If we even have to do any. Dr. Kadowaki said it would be good to move your hand, not to use it normally just yet."
"I'll be fine," Zell said, getting up. "I gotta go down and change this bandage."
"Remember what I told you about Seifer, Zell," Squall reminded him. "Ignore him unless he talks to you. That's an order."
"Yeah, yeah……whatever."
Squall grinned.
"Don't start mocking your superiors, Zell," Squall said. "It's a bad habit."
Zell looked back and waved his hand at him dismissively.
"Shut up, man…!" he laughed, pressing the button on the lift.
Rinoa leaned back on her white pillow on the lower half of the bunk bed, putting down the latest issue of Galbadian People. She crossed her legs and rested her head against the wall, shutting her eyes. She sighed and looked up at the bottom of the top bunk. These missions were so tiring. She had gone on missions what seemed like her entire life, but had really only been 2 years.
She ran a hand through her black hair, a few gold streaks on each side. She scooted herself down on the bed and curled up, shutting her eyes. I hope this doesn't last long……she thought naively.
The metal door slid open automatically, allowing an ever-bouncing, happy-go-lucky Selphie into the room.
"Hey, Rinoa," she chimed, her high voice seemingly springing back off the walls. She wasn't dressed in her usual yellow dress. She had on her SeeD battle dress uniform, instead. It was the new uniform: a black jumpsuit with black jungle boots and tight gloves to match. It had a belt with many different pouches on it, for carrying GFs, magic orbs, and items. They weren't going undercover and this would protect her more than her usual outfit.
"C'mon, it's time to get ready to go down," Selphie said.
Rinoa thought Selphie looked strange in black because it clashed with her bright personality. It just didn't seem to fit her at all. Rinoa could wear black without any problem, but it just wasn't Selphie's color. Even Irvine had professed that he didn't like the outfit on her.
"I really don't want to wear that thing," Rinoa whined. "I don't like jumpsuits."
"You just don't like it because the guys will look at you," Selphie replied, spitting her tongue out in a smart manner and then smiling playfully. She kicked the side of the bed. "Come on! Zell just said we're almost there! We have to get ready to go down and get this over with if we wanna make it back in time for the Garden festival next week!!"
"Did you get a lot of work done before we left?" Rinoa asked, forcing herself off the bed to stand up. She stretched.
"Yeah," Selphie answered. "I got a lot of good local bands from Balamb and stuff. Including Zell and his buds from town."
Rinoa raised an eyebrow.
"Zell….? In a band…???" Rinoa asked, stunned. "I'll believe it when I see it. What does he play?"
"He doesn't," Selphie said. "He's the lead singer."
Rinoa's jaw dropped in a deadpan manner and she held that expression for a moment.
"You lie."
"I swear!!" Selphie exclaimed. "You know there are auditions for the Garden Festival. And who judges who's in and who's out….? Think, Rinoa."
"You."
"Right," Selphie said. "I listened to Zell and his guys. They're good. They're real good. Zell's really good."
"Like I said, I'll believe it when I see it," Rinoa said, walking out the door.
A violent fluctuation in the ship tossed them both to the floor like dolls.
Down in the medical wing of the ship, Zell was thrown against a large cabinet where the medicine and bandages were stored, shattering the glass on the doors. The bandage he had been about to wrap his wound in flew from his hand, a loose piece streaming by like a banner. He fell forward and landed on his side, slamming his head into the uprising floor. Stunned, he tried to push himself off the cold floor. He had just enough time to glance up before the metal standing cabinet crashed down on top of him.
"What the hell happened!!??" Squall yelled, getting up from the floor.
"Monitor's showing hover engine malfunction," Irvine stated, desperately trying to pull the ship up.
Squall ran over to the comm unit and grabbed what looked like a phone, but was really the intercom.
Zell!!
There's a malfunction on one of the hover engines!! Get down there and see what you can do, or we're gonna crash!
There was nothing Zell would have liked more than to get down to the engine room and fix the problem. But, unfortunately, he was half conscious on the floor of the medical unit, a heavy cabinet full of supplies lying on the lower half of his body. He barely even heard the intercom. But, he did hear it.
"….dammit……I can't do anything……" he wheezed, having had the wind knocked out of him. He had also bit his lip rather harshly and spit blood out onto the floor. He tried to pull himself out from underneath the cabinet, attempting to drag himself out by his arms. If he could grab the doorframe that was a foot away, he could get out.
His fingers stretched out for it, but it was an impossible distance. He shook his head. He couldn't do it.
"What can I do?" Squall asked Irvine.
"You can do one or both of two things," he grunted, still pulling back furiously on the stick. "You can go and buckle up. Or you can pray."
Battleship Island was getting closer and closer by the second. Something told Squall he had better do both.
He sat down in the pilot's seat and buckled himself in tightly. "Try to land us on the Island."
"No, duh,
Squall!! What do you think I'm trying
to do!!???" Irvine said through gritted teeth. They were going to hit in less than a minute.
00:59
Seifer ran down the stairs and almost passed the med unit, when he caught Zell's form under the cabinet out of the corner of his eye. He was running so fast he skidded to a stop and turned around. He almost tripped. He grabbed the door handle and pulled himself in the room, violent vicicitudes in the ship making it hard to do anything without getting thrown into a wall. He knelt down beside Zell, who was still half conscious.
"C'mon, chickenwuss! We gotta get the hell outta here; we're gonna crash!" he said, lifting the cabinet up more than Zell had been able to. "Pull yourself out, I can't hold it up long!"
Zell pulled himself out by his forearms as quickly as he was able. "I'm out!"
Seifer let the cabinet crash back down to the floor, a loud metallic twang ringing in his ears.
They helped each other up and ran down the hall to the bunks. There were seats there with seat belts.
Zell tripped and fell.
"I twisted my ankle when that cabinet fell on me," he said, trying to get up. Seifer pulled him up by his arm and started dragging him down the hall.
"C'mon!!!" he yelled, another upheaval shaking the ship. "You fall again and I'm leaving your ass!!"
00:23
Quistis pulled the girls into the barracks and pointed to
the seats.
"Go!"
She
watched Seifer and Zell run down the hall toward the door.
"Come
on!!!" she urged, beckoning them forward with one hand and holding the door
open with the other.
They
reached the door and Quistis let them inside, letting go of the door. It slid shut quickly as they each took a
seat that was mounted in the wall between the beds. Zell limped to his and plopped down, fumbling for the safety
belt. He pulled the V-shaped belt down
over his head and locked it on both sides of him and then, pulled the lap belt
across his legs.
00:07
Battleship
Island was huge, then, as Squall watched it race toward them. He braced himself for impact, gripping the
arms of the seat tightly and shutting his eyes. "Oh, my God…….." he said through gritted teeth. Even the commander of an army wasn't without
fear. Please, everybody be ready for
impact…….
00:03
Irvine,
realizing it was futile to try and pull the ship up anymore, released the stick
and held onto the seat as Squall had. They could only wait. I hope
you guys are okay down there……
00:02
00:01
00:00
End of chapter 1
Thanks,
Darren, for helping me get started!
