Chapter Twelve:
(Dollet Beach)
Quistis opened the boat hatch and Zell clattered down the ramp,impatient to get this mission over with.Seifer swaggered past him,shoving Squall out of the way.Quistis rolled her eyes, "I'd love to come with you guys,but I'm stuck guarding the boat." Seifer shot her a sickly smile, "Yes,such a pity.I'm sure we'll manage without you though." She pressed the switch to shut the doors and put two fingers up at him with a grin.
(Go Quissy!..........show that arrogant shit!)
"It's this way,hurry up." Seifer ascended the stairs and disappeared into the half-ruined streets of Dollet.Zell approached Squall with trepidation,he was lost in thought,staring at something further down the beach,a pained look in his cloudy eyes. "You,okay?" He asked uncertainly.Squall pointed to the metal carcass sprawled in the sand,riddled with bullet-holes from all those months ago. "Our first mission together........" He replied wistfully.Zell scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "It's been that long eh?......" Squall turned away suddenly and started for the steps, "Yeah....seems like forever."
(.........there's something wrong here...........)
Zell sighed,too much was going on for him to stress over Squall,he followed the SeeD up into Dollet,trying to shake the tiny ball of fear building in his guts.................
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(Dollet Government Offices)
"STUPID,BLOODY,awh! Where the hell are they?!?!!" Seifer rifled around in the desks on the ground floor of the large Government Offices like a man possessed.They had found the building fairly easily and Squall had broken the locks with his gunblade in no time.Zell leaned against a filing cabinet and flicked through the useless admin documents,he considered that the files Cid wanted might not even be here anymore,but kept looking anyway.
(What a waste of time...........I could be out doing somethin' worth while,but noooooooooo)
Squall piped up from the far end of the room, "I found them." Seifer strode over and snatched them out of his hands. "Let's get out of this dump." He sneered,shoving the papers into his trenchcoat pocket. "Aren't those important?" Zell inquired coyly.Seifer ignored him and blustered outside,leading the way back to the shore.
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(Dollet Beach-Twenty minutes later)
(I need a beer,bath and my bed...............)
Zell traipsed along behind Squall as Seifer pushed them down the stairs towards the waiting boat.Due to Seifer's brilliant sense of direction,they'd only gotten lost three times,every time Squall suggested they go left,Seifer said right.
(And I'm stuck in the middle............)
*Rumble*
"What was that?" Squall glanced around the empty shore,drawing his gunblade swiftly.
*RUMBLE RUMBLE CRACK*
"Ohh SHIT!" Seifer ran for the boat as the ground infront of them split,crumpling down to a dark crevasse,a blanket of hot steam rose and shrouded the air around them,making it impossible to see.
*RARRRAARRRRRR*
"Quistis open this fucking door NOW!?!!?!!?" Seifer was panicking now,banging on the hatch with the hyperion,blindly.
(What the hell is going on?)
"Squall?" Zell yelled over the deafening cries of the unseen creature. "I'm here." He felt a firm hand close around his wrist.
(Thank Hyne,I'm not alone.............)
Suddenly the mist cleared,blown away by an unnatural gust of wind.Quistis gave them a quick thumbs up and bungled Seifer into the boat hold.
(A spell......why didn't I think of that!)
"Zell!" Squall's voice sounded strange,a tinge of unusual emotion...........fear?
Zell whipped round to see the monster emerging from it's shadowy resting place.It was colossal,bigger than any Guardian force Zell had ever seen,a cross between an insect and chemistry experiment gone wrong.It lowered a pair of dripping mandibles in their direction and Zell was hit with a waft of it's foul breath. "Ugh! *Cough*...*Gag*...." He staggered back and Squall took over,running at the monstrosity,hacking and slashing with his shimmering gunblade,Zell shook himself back to reality.....
(My fists aren't gonna do jack......)
He gripped his wrist with his left hand and pushed out,stepping forward,clumsily in the sand.He felt the air around him begin to crackle with static,sparking against his skin,making the hairs on his neck stand on end....
(Just like when we.......)
Squall finished his assault on the insect and sprinted for the boat,there was no chance of them beating this thing,the ship,didn't even have machine guns to help out anymore.....
He skidded to a halt,turning back,dropping his gunblade........
(ZELL?!?!!!?)
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Zell watched as the creature was consumed by a white hot flurry of lightening strikes,he smiled victoriously.
(That should do it....)
"Huh?" His face changed,eyes glazing slightly as the monster reappeared,unscathed,a rainbow glow emanating from it's chest........
(REFLECT?...........I-I'm gonna die..........)
He stood rooted to the floor,unable to move a muscle as he tried to comprehend what was about to happen.Then something shoved him,hard from the right and he was falling,tumbling head over heels over the gritty sand.He lay still and opened his eyes hesitantly.
Squall slammed into Zell's side and flung him out of reach of the spell,the ground at his feet filled with a piercing light,the heavens themselves opened and rained searing lightening through his body,burning his skin,he closed his eyes and let the agony overwhelm him...........
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(Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.......)
(Oh god-oh god...............Squall.......)
Quistis summoned as many GF's as she could,every spell draining her energy,until she could barely stand,the creature finally gave a final roar and phased out of existence......She sank to the ground,exhausted and passed out gratefully.
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Zell scrambled up,tearing across the beach,oblivious to his own wounds,only Squall mattered now.Seifer was kneeling over Quistis,he picked her up gently and headed for the ship.He looked back to Zell,
(........This isn't happening.......I didn't like them,but I never wanted to see Squall dead..........)
"Wake up.....Oh HYNE.....Squall wake up???!?!" Zell cradled Squall's broken body in his arms,his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
(..............let this be a nightmare...........)
"Please......" He pleaded softly, "I'll do anything,just don't die......." He pressed his head against Squall's chest,salty tears wetting Squall's deathly pale skin.He felt a faint vibration,deep inside......
(His heart........it's still beating!!!)
Seifer's hand touched his shoulder lightly, "We have to go....." Zell looked up at him,dizzy with hope, "He's still alive." Seifer swallowed,a wave of relief coursing through him,he nodded and helped Zell lift the unconscious SeeD into the hold.
(Don't die on me............I won't let you go..........)
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(Dollet Beach)
Quistis opened the boat hatch and Zell clattered down the ramp,impatient to get this mission over with.Seifer swaggered past him,shoving Squall out of the way.Quistis rolled her eyes, "I'd love to come with you guys,but I'm stuck guarding the boat." Seifer shot her a sickly smile, "Yes,such a pity.I'm sure we'll manage without you though." She pressed the switch to shut the doors and put two fingers up at him with a grin.
(Go Quissy!..........show that arrogant shit!)
"It's this way,hurry up." Seifer ascended the stairs and disappeared into the half-ruined streets of Dollet.Zell approached Squall with trepidation,he was lost in thought,staring at something further down the beach,a pained look in his cloudy eyes. "You,okay?" He asked uncertainly.Squall pointed to the metal carcass sprawled in the sand,riddled with bullet-holes from all those months ago. "Our first mission together........" He replied wistfully.Zell scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "It's been that long eh?......" Squall turned away suddenly and started for the steps, "Yeah....seems like forever."
(.........there's something wrong here...........)
Zell sighed,too much was going on for him to stress over Squall,he followed the SeeD up into Dollet,trying to shake the tiny ball of fear building in his guts.................
******************************************************************************
(Dollet Government Offices)
"STUPID,BLOODY,awh! Where the hell are they?!?!!" Seifer rifled around in the desks on the ground floor of the large Government Offices like a man possessed.They had found the building fairly easily and Squall had broken the locks with his gunblade in no time.Zell leaned against a filing cabinet and flicked through the useless admin documents,he considered that the files Cid wanted might not even be here anymore,but kept looking anyway.
(What a waste of time...........I could be out doing somethin' worth while,but noooooooooo)
Squall piped up from the far end of the room, "I found them." Seifer strode over and snatched them out of his hands. "Let's get out of this dump." He sneered,shoving the papers into his trenchcoat pocket. "Aren't those important?" Zell inquired coyly.Seifer ignored him and blustered outside,leading the way back to the shore.
******************************************************************************
(Dollet Beach-Twenty minutes later)
(I need a beer,bath and my bed...............)
Zell traipsed along behind Squall as Seifer pushed them down the stairs towards the waiting boat.Due to Seifer's brilliant sense of direction,they'd only gotten lost three times,every time Squall suggested they go left,Seifer said right.
(And I'm stuck in the middle............)
*Rumble*
"What was that?" Squall glanced around the empty shore,drawing his gunblade swiftly.
*RUMBLE RUMBLE CRACK*
"Ohh SHIT!" Seifer ran for the boat as the ground infront of them split,crumpling down to a dark crevasse,a blanket of hot steam rose and shrouded the air around them,making it impossible to see.
*RARRRAARRRRRR*
"Quistis open this fucking door NOW!?!!?!!?" Seifer was panicking now,banging on the hatch with the hyperion,blindly.
(What the hell is going on?)
"Squall?" Zell yelled over the deafening cries of the unseen creature. "I'm here." He felt a firm hand close around his wrist.
(Thank Hyne,I'm not alone.............)
Suddenly the mist cleared,blown away by an unnatural gust of wind.Quistis gave them a quick thumbs up and bungled Seifer into the boat hold.
(A spell......why didn't I think of that!)
"Zell!" Squall's voice sounded strange,a tinge of unusual emotion...........fear?
Zell whipped round to see the monster emerging from it's shadowy resting place.It was colossal,bigger than any Guardian force Zell had ever seen,a cross between an insect and chemistry experiment gone wrong.It lowered a pair of dripping mandibles in their direction and Zell was hit with a waft of it's foul breath. "Ugh! *Cough*...*Gag*...." He staggered back and Squall took over,running at the monstrosity,hacking and slashing with his shimmering gunblade,Zell shook himself back to reality.....
(My fists aren't gonna do jack......)
He gripped his wrist with his left hand and pushed out,stepping forward,clumsily in the sand.He felt the air around him begin to crackle with static,sparking against his skin,making the hairs on his neck stand on end....
(Just like when we.......)
Squall finished his assault on the insect and sprinted for the boat,there was no chance of them beating this thing,the ship,didn't even have machine guns to help out anymore.....
He skidded to a halt,turning back,dropping his gunblade........
(ZELL?!?!!!?)
******************************************************************************
Zell watched as the creature was consumed by a white hot flurry of lightening strikes,he smiled victoriously.
(That should do it....)
"Huh?" His face changed,eyes glazing slightly as the monster reappeared,unscathed,a rainbow glow emanating from it's chest........
(REFLECT?...........I-I'm gonna die..........)
He stood rooted to the floor,unable to move a muscle as he tried to comprehend what was about to happen.Then something shoved him,hard from the right and he was falling,tumbling head over heels over the gritty sand.He lay still and opened his eyes hesitantly.
Squall slammed into Zell's side and flung him out of reach of the spell,the ground at his feet filled with a piercing light,the heavens themselves opened and rained searing lightening through his body,burning his skin,he closed his eyes and let the agony overwhelm him...........
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(Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.......)
(Oh god-oh god...............Squall.......)
Quistis summoned as many GF's as she could,every spell draining her energy,until she could barely stand,the creature finally gave a final roar and phased out of existence......She sank to the ground,exhausted and passed out gratefully.
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Zell scrambled up,tearing across the beach,oblivious to his own wounds,only Squall mattered now.Seifer was kneeling over Quistis,he picked her up gently and headed for the ship.He looked back to Zell,
(........This isn't happening.......I didn't like them,but I never wanted to see Squall dead..........)
"Wake up.....Oh HYNE.....Squall wake up???!?!" Zell cradled Squall's broken body in his arms,his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
(..............let this be a nightmare...........)
"Please......" He pleaded softly, "I'll do anything,just don't die......." He pressed his head against Squall's chest,salty tears wetting Squall's deathly pale skin.He felt a faint vibration,deep inside......
(His heart........it's still beating!!!)
Seifer's hand touched his shoulder lightly, "We have to go....." Zell looked up at him,dizzy with hope, "He's still alive." Seifer swallowed,a wave of relief coursing through him,he nodded and helped Zell lift the unconscious SeeD into the hold.
(Don't die on me............I won't let you go..........)
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