~~~Legend of Tojie~~~
The stars were beautiful. RedXIII knew that something was comming, he could sense it. The sun was already long gone, but vision was good, thanks to the stars. He looked out across the vast feild of grass he was laying in, then rested his head on his arms. *If there was any danger*, he thought to himself, *then it isn't coming tonight.*
"It's too bright out here. Damn stars!" Cloud wasn't in a good mood, and he had no time to admire the beautiful stars. Feeling he didn't have time for saftey, he stepped into the street and started to walk. He crossed without noticing the on-coming car. "Hey! Why don't you watch where you are goin' huh?!" Cloud ignored the angry driver's remark and kept on walking. He knew he didn't have time to get into a fight, even if it was fun. Cloud glared down at his watch. "Oh man! They're gonna kill me if I'm late!"
Not too far away, Zidane was admiring the stars. "Man they're beautiful! Not every night you get a view like this." He was too lost in the wonder of the stars to realize the time. Suddenly, an annoying beeping sound rang in Zidane's ears. "What the...?" He looked down at his watch. "Hmph! Better get a move on."
"Where is everyone!?" An annoyed Squall yelled. "Relax," said Rinoa. "They're not that late." A moment later the door slammed open and Cloud rushed in. He was holding his knees trying his best to catch his breath. "Good, at least one of them is here! Where could Zidane be?"
"Crap!" Zidane was running as fast as he could. "This is not good! I'm late for everything anymore! All thanks to this stupid watch!" Zidane took off the watch and threw it. Luckily, it landed in the lap of a needy hobo. "Well, that's my good deed for today!"
Quistis was enjoying the time that Zidane's tardiness was giving her. She strolled around Balam Garden and talked to many people. As a retired teacher she thought she could now talk to them like regular people, not students. She paid a special visit to a small group of boys. They were standing next to a railing, which they chose as their 'hang-out.' Many teachers in the Garden suspected this bunch to be rude, but they judged them incorrectly.
They knew that they passed off as the 'bully type', but that didn't concern them. They were happy just being them. Quistis knew the bunch well, so she walked over. "Hey Quistis!" The boys said in unison. "Hey," she said and invited herself into the conversation.
After a short conversation, Quistis made her way back to the room.
Zell was also taking advantage of this unusual opertunity. He was sparing with a friend from class. "Okay... you're good Jay, but you can't beat me!" Zell ran forward and jumped in the air. Jay prepare himself for impact, but was suprised when he felt nothing. He gave a sigh of releif, but then he felt the pain in his back. He jumped forward and turned in mid-air. He saw Zell waving at him with a grin on his face behind the spot he was standing.
Zell dashed forward. Jay had no way to get out of the way because he was still desending from his jump. As soon as he landed his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell to the ground and smacked the side of his face on the floor. Zell, being the good sport that he was, walked over to Jay and helped him to his feet.
A sound caught Irvine's attention. He was in the middle of target practice. He and a couple of buddies were shooting the human-shaped cardboard cut-outs. He was confident. He knew that no one could out-gun him. Everyone knew that he was the fastest and best shot in the Garden.
Guns were his life, he knew everything. He knew the size and shape of every gun, right down to the last detail. He could even say the name of the gun just by hearing the sound of it. But the noise he heard was no gunshot. He looked over at the clock on the wall. He realized he was late.
Squall gave a impatient sigh when he saw Zidane stanging in the doorway. "Hey, I know what you're gonna say Squall, so I'll say it for you." Zidane changed his voice to an irritating high pitched and squeeky voice. "Why are you always late Zidane? You know these meetings are very important..." Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie were giggiling, so Zidane decided to carry this on for a little while longer.
After a few minutes of this, Squall decided that he had had enough. "Alright! Shut up!" Squall said as he slammed his fist on the table. Zidane stopped, starteled. "Hey Squall, what's your deal?!" Zidane pointed over to the three giggiling girls. "You don't want them to have even the least bit of fun at these boring and stupid ass meetings of yours?!" "Yeah! What's your problem Squall?" the three girls said in unison.
Cloud cleared his throught loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "Hey, if you're all done with that pointless conversation, we can finally get this meeting under way!" Cloud was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking over to the door. "The extremely late ones are finally here." Zell and Irvine were standing on the inside of the doorway. Irvine had his gun slung across his shoulder which was his normal pose. Zell was as loose as ever, just letting his arms hang by his sides. "It's about time you guys got here!" Cloud said, purposely trying to annoy Zell. It was easy for him, he did it all the time, even though they never actually had a fight. That was because they didn't speak to eachother outside of these meetings. "Hey! I know you weren't on time Cloud!" Zell took a large step forward and made a fist. "If it wasn't so small in here I would tear off your head and sh..." "Hey!" Squall inturrupted Zell's insult. "We gotta get down to buisness. Okay, so here is the deal..."
*What is it that I sense? Is it good? Or is it evil?* RedXIII couldn't stop thinking about what it was he was sensing. *How strong could it be, and how far away is it?* These thoughts have been churning in his mind for what felt like an eternity. *Why would it be comming? What is it looking for? Should I trust my senses? Is there really something coming or is it just my imagination?* He couldn't do anything but worry. It was late, but the thoughts continued. He was unable to sleep.
"So that's it? All we have to do is rescue this chick and it's all over?" Cloud wasn't very enthusiastic about this mission and everyone knew. He made sure that it was obvious in his voice. "Listen, I know we all think that this mission is gonna be a peice of cake," Squall said as he looked around the room. "But there isn't anything easy about this mission. Especially because there is a hostage involved!" "Hostage! You only told us that this girl was kidnapped, I mean that is a big deal, but a hostage?!" Zell said with a suprised expression on his face.
Elsewhere, far away, a girl by the name of Garnet was straped to a wooden chair. The seat of the chair was not at all smooth. She kept adjusting herself but she couldn't get into a comfortable position. She was in a foul smelling room, and her life was in danger, she thought she might as well be somewhat comfortable. Her long black hair was begging to split in some places, and her bangs curved over so they coverd one eye. She would have adjusted them but her hands were under restraints. She tried to raise her lips and blow at the annoying bangs, but to no avail. She looked around the room she was in to see if there was something sharp. That way she could cut the straps holding her down. She was looking to the back of the room when she heard the metal door open, then close again. She was afraid to look because of the fear she might cry.
In the Garden, Laguna was playing pool. He knew he wasn't at all good at the game, but he played anyway. He never liked it when someone challenged him to a game because he would never win, and he was not at all a good looser. But right now was different. He was playing with his pal Ward, who which Laguna couldn't believe, was worse than he at the game. Ward on the other hand, was actually quite good. He was purposely loosing for Laguna. He knew how hard it was for him to loose every time, and since he hadn't played a game with him before, he thought he would let him win.
Laguna, who was feeling quite lucky on this night, was doing his best to seem like a pro pool player. He tried to hold the stick the right way, but he always scratched the table. For this Ward would laugh at him. Even though he was doing his best to hide his professionality, but he didn't want to look like he was the worst player in the world. But Ward wondered what he would do if Laguna challenged him again and he played for real. Ward knew that he would. Laguna always challenged the people he knew he could beat, not only in pool, but in every game he played.
Laguna was well aware of the meeting that Squall was holding. He was the one that informed Squall of the situation. But he didn't mention every detail. He did this for Zidane's saftey. Zidane was very attached to Garnet, and if he knew it was her who had been kidnapped, it would affect his thinking, and he would undoubtedly do something stupid. But he was going to make sure that that didn't happen, he was going to come along.
"So who is the girl?" Zidane asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know," Squall responded. "Laguna didn't tell me." "Then how are we gonna know who to look for?!" Zell interrupted as he slammed his fist on the table. Cloud invited himself into the conversation. "She'll be the one bound and gagged." "That isn't even funny Cloud!" Selfie yelled pointing in Clouds direction. "Are ya sure he sould come along Squall?" she asked as she turned her head in Squall's direction. "It wasn't my decision to make. But even if it was he would still have to come along." "Well duh! I'm the best there is!" Cloud said as he jumped forward. "Oh yeah! We can't deny that!" Zidane said sarcasticly.
*They're coming! But what can I do about it? Is it my fight? How can I find out?* The thoughts continued. *I need to find some help!* He got up from the feild and ran as fast as he could. He could sense where the Garden was, so he headed that way. He knew the forces there were strong, he could sence that. But they were nothing compared to what he was sencing in the feild. He ran.
She was scared. She knew she was scared, and she wanted to hear somthing. But not just anything. Something familiar. Something she was comfortable around. What she wouldn't give to be anywhere in the world but here. Zidane. For the first time since she saw her kidnappers his name appeared in her mind. She knew why, and she didn't mind denying it. She didn't care what anyone else thought. But she was happy that her name was now in her mind. It gave her a sense of comfort.
"What do you mean?!" RedXIII had arrived not too long ago and explained what he had sensed earlier. Everyone had their eyes wide open. "Great!" Squall continued. "Now we have a hostage situation and this!" Then Cloud gave his opinion. "Yeah, from your information, I guess we can classify this as the 'we're gonna get our asses kicked' mission!" "Hey!" Zidane interrupted. "If we all work together we can beat whatever the hell it is!" But RedXIII knew better. "Actually, when I said it was stronger... I ment it wasn't like anything any of you had ever been up against."
Irvine was in no way ready for those words. His eyes practically bulged out of his head. *What? How can that be?!* His palms began to sweat which they hadn't done for a long time. Finaly, he brought up the courage to speak. "This thing that you said you were sensing, were you able to tell how close it is?" RedXIII turned his gaze toward him. "Unfortunately," he said with a tone of dissapointment in his voice. "No. At this time still it would be virtually impossible to tell. And to tell you the truth," he lowered his gaze down to the floor. "When I do find out, it may already be too late."
Vivi didn't need to attend the meeting that was taking place. He already heard it from Laguna. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't get Laguna to tell him who it was that had been kidnapped, but he knew that she was someone that he knew well. He got up from his bed and decided to walk around the Garden. It was quiet. He knew that most of the students that lived there were fast asleep, but he could see someone farther down. He couldn't make out who it was so he walked toward it.
After a little while of walking he saw that it was Zidane. He saw Vivi and waved him over. Vivi walked over as Zidane spoke to him. "Vivi, if you're up and about for the same reason that I am, then you're worried about who it was that has been kidnapped. Am I right?" Vivi nodded and jumped up and sat on a bench. "Well," Zidane continued. "I think I found out who it is." Vivi looked at Zidane with his eyes wide because of this comment. Vivi swallowed hard. He was almost afraid to ask, but he knew he had to. "Who?" "Garnet." Vivi's eyes grew larger. "How did you find that out?" "I felt empty for a while after I found out what it was we had to do, and I felt that I just needed someone to talk to. So I called who I always call, Garnet. When she didn't answer at first, I wasn't worried in the least. But after the day finished and night came, she still hadn't answered. Then I realized why Laguna didn't tell Squall who it was who had been kidnapped. I guess he was doing it because he thought I would do what I'm doing now." Vivi looked down toward the floor. "Well, what are you doing now?" Zidane looked up to the ceiling. It took him a few minutes to answer. "Worrying."
*Uh... I never could get used to plane rides.* This was only one of the many thoughts that Zidane had rushing through his mind. *What am I going to do when I see her? What sudden impulses will I get?* No one was able to tell that Zidane was having a serious problem, but he thought they did. That's why he kept looking around the room. Selphie noticed this, but didn't say anything. She was too worried about the mission.
Zidane stretched as he stepped out of the plane, but he knew there wasn't any time to relax. RedXIII jumped out of the plane and ran forward. Laguna was the last one to step out, and as he did, he gave instructions. "Okay, there is no time to rest. Follow me!" They walked for a while. But Zidane hardly noticed.
"This is the place!" Lagna said as he pointed at the extremely tall building. Zidane almost jumped out of his skin. "Let's go!" He screamed as he ran toward the door. "Zidane, wait!" Laguna's plea was no good. Zidane ran through the door and dissappeared. Laguna felt Vivi tugging on his shirt, so he gave him his attention. The others saw Vivi whisper into his ear, and when he did, his eye's grew wider with every word. "OH MY GOD!" "What?! What did he say?!" Squall was extremely worried. Then a loud thump was heard. It came from inside the building. RedXIII spoke with a shaky voice, "It's him...."
"Zidane! Stop! You can't beat him!!" Garnet was doing her best to stop Zidane from making his worst mistake. He was fighting a huge man, whose power was enormous. "No!" Zidane cried back as he got up from the ground. "I can take him!" Zidane ran forward with his daggers and slashed. The huge man knocked him out of the way. "You can not defete me! I am the all mighty Tojie!" Tojie was not a very well known person. In fact, it seemed like he just appeared over night. "Hahahaha!!! I am invinsible!" He was gigantic. He wasn't very muscular, but he was built like a brick wall. Tojie walked over to Zidane, picked him up, and threw him across the room. Zidane slammed into the wall and fell to the floor.
They were running up the stairs as fast as they could. "The sound of fighting is getting closer! Don't stop running!"
Zidane jumped up and slashed downward. His daggers dug into Tojie's skin, but they didn't seem to have any affect on him. Tojie reached back and grabbed Zidane. Zidane held onto the daggers, they were pulled out of Tojie's tough skin. As soon as they did, he fell to the floor. Zidane pulled himself out of Tojie's grip and ran over to where Garnet was strapped to the chair. He cut her loose, but as he did, Tojie began to push himself up. "Hurry Garnet, run!" She did what Zidane had said and ran out the door. As soon as she ran out the door, Laguna, Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, Vivi, and RedXIII came through the door.
"I can take you all on!" Tojie's thunderous voice boomed. "Guys, meet Tojie." Even though Zidane was tired and bruised, he still had to add a little bit of humor to this scene. It seemed like everyone charged forth at once. Squall shashed upward, but was knocked away. Selphie hit Tojie with her nunchucks, but was knocked to the wall with one gigantic swat. Quistis tried to use her whip to strangle Tojie, but it wasn't able to fit around Tojie's tree trunk-like neck. Laguna shot at Tojie, he grabbed his chest in pain as he started to bleed. Rinoa used her wrist boomerang to slice Tojie, a small slit was made in his side. RedXIII jumped past Tojie, but as he passed him, he sliced Tojie's body to shreds. Tojie hugged himself in pain and fell on his knees. Vivi shot fire at the huge man and darkened his skin. Zell used his 'fists of fury' and left many deep imprints on Tojie's now tender skin.
Zidane turned toward Cloud. Even without words, Cloud knew what Zidane was saying. They both ran forward at great speed. To Tojie's suprise, in perfect unison they jumped to the side, jumped off the wall, did two sumersaults in the air, and slashed downward, slicing Tojie's head clear off his shoulders. Blood filled the room. For some reason, a loud beeping sound was heard. "A bomb!" No one knew who said those words actually, but they were said and that was all that mattered. Zidane pointed over to the window and everyone jumped out. While still in mid air, the building exploded. They were all pushed forward with great force. They hit the ground with great force, and were knocked out.
At the party, everyone was having a great time. Then Laguna stood up and raised his voice so he could get everone's attention. "Excuse me! I'd like to make a toast to Zidane and Cloud. Because without their great unison, we probably wouldn't be alive today!" The room gave a slight chuckle, but no one really appreciated, nor understanded Laguna's humor. "Hey!" A small voice called out. "Where are Cloud and Zidane?"
Elsewhere, at the sparing grounds, a large croud was formed. Irvine had just run up because of all the commotion. "Hey, what's going on?" A person who was near the inside of the circle cried back with an answer. "A huge fight! This is great!!" "Who's fighting?!" Irvine cried, but no one answered him. Then he saw the figure jump. He could tell who it was. "Cloud? What is going on, who is he fighting?" Then he saw another figure jump up, but this time he could not make out who it was, but everyone else knew, so they chanted his name. "Zidane! Zidane! Zidane!" The crowd all shouted in unison.
Cloud rushed forward and held his sword over his shoulder so he could gain speed. He slid to a stop and slashed diagonaly upward and left. But Zidane was prepared for this so he was already in the air. He threw one of his daggers down at Cloud. Unfortunately for Cloud, he did not intend on this. The dagger made a high pitched whisling sound as it came at him. He tried to twist out of the way but to no avail. The sword went through his leg and stuck into the ground. Cloud cried out in pain as he tried to remove the dagger from his bloody leg.
Zidane was descending from his jump at a great speed. He held his remaining dagger out in his hand with his arm stretched out. All Cloud noticed was the pain of splitting skin on his arm. He turned his head and saw Zidane kneeling near him, with his arm still stretched out. He got up and walked around to where Cloud was still pinned to the ground because of his dagger. He reached down and quickly pulled the dagger from his leg. Cloud cried out in pain as the dagger was removed.
Cloud slowly stood up, but everyone could tell he was in pain. Zidane was surprised that he could even get up at all. Weakly, Cloud pulled up his sword and went into a battle stance. He gave a weak swing of his sword which completely missed Zidane, then fell to the ground. "You were a fool to challenge me to this. I thought you would have been happy to even beat Tojie. But you had to be a big tough guy and say you could have taken him without my help. So then you challenged me so everyone could see how much stronger than me you are. But now look at the outcome. You're half dead on the floor, bleeding all over yourself, and you can't even say a catchy comeback. I regret agreeing to your challenge Cloud." Zidane walked through the crowd of people as the medics came. They were warned by Zidane to stand by, just in case someone got hurt. The circle of people broke apart as Cloud was carried away on a stretcher.
Zidane was standing on the balcony on the of the Garden. He could hear the celebration in the backgroud. He was dissappointed with what happend in the fight. *Why did I say I would fight him?* He tried to recall what had happend. He could hear what Cloud had said. "Hey! You know, I could have beaten Tojie by myself! I didn't need your help! Cause you are weak! To prove it, I challenge you to a fight!" Zidane regreted what he had done. But something released him from that. He looked up at the sky.
The stars were beautiful.
The stars were beautiful. RedXIII knew that something was comming, he could sense it. The sun was already long gone, but vision was good, thanks to the stars. He looked out across the vast feild of grass he was laying in, then rested his head on his arms. *If there was any danger*, he thought to himself, *then it isn't coming tonight.*
"It's too bright out here. Damn stars!" Cloud wasn't in a good mood, and he had no time to admire the beautiful stars. Feeling he didn't have time for saftey, he stepped into the street and started to walk. He crossed without noticing the on-coming car. "Hey! Why don't you watch where you are goin' huh?!" Cloud ignored the angry driver's remark and kept on walking. He knew he didn't have time to get into a fight, even if it was fun. Cloud glared down at his watch. "Oh man! They're gonna kill me if I'm late!"
Not too far away, Zidane was admiring the stars. "Man they're beautiful! Not every night you get a view like this." He was too lost in the wonder of the stars to realize the time. Suddenly, an annoying beeping sound rang in Zidane's ears. "What the...?" He looked down at his watch. "Hmph! Better get a move on."
"Where is everyone!?" An annoyed Squall yelled. "Relax," said Rinoa. "They're not that late." A moment later the door slammed open and Cloud rushed in. He was holding his knees trying his best to catch his breath. "Good, at least one of them is here! Where could Zidane be?"
"Crap!" Zidane was running as fast as he could. "This is not good! I'm late for everything anymore! All thanks to this stupid watch!" Zidane took off the watch and threw it. Luckily, it landed in the lap of a needy hobo. "Well, that's my good deed for today!"
Quistis was enjoying the time that Zidane's tardiness was giving her. She strolled around Balam Garden and talked to many people. As a retired teacher she thought she could now talk to them like regular people, not students. She paid a special visit to a small group of boys. They were standing next to a railing, which they chose as their 'hang-out.' Many teachers in the Garden suspected this bunch to be rude, but they judged them incorrectly.
They knew that they passed off as the 'bully type', but that didn't concern them. They were happy just being them. Quistis knew the bunch well, so she walked over. "Hey Quistis!" The boys said in unison. "Hey," she said and invited herself into the conversation.
After a short conversation, Quistis made her way back to the room.
Zell was also taking advantage of this unusual opertunity. He was sparing with a friend from class. "Okay... you're good Jay, but you can't beat me!" Zell ran forward and jumped in the air. Jay prepare himself for impact, but was suprised when he felt nothing. He gave a sigh of releif, but then he felt the pain in his back. He jumped forward and turned in mid-air. He saw Zell waving at him with a grin on his face behind the spot he was standing.
Zell dashed forward. Jay had no way to get out of the way because he was still desending from his jump. As soon as he landed his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell to the ground and smacked the side of his face on the floor. Zell, being the good sport that he was, walked over to Jay and helped him to his feet.
A sound caught Irvine's attention. He was in the middle of target practice. He and a couple of buddies were shooting the human-shaped cardboard cut-outs. He was confident. He knew that no one could out-gun him. Everyone knew that he was the fastest and best shot in the Garden.
Guns were his life, he knew everything. He knew the size and shape of every gun, right down to the last detail. He could even say the name of the gun just by hearing the sound of it. But the noise he heard was no gunshot. He looked over at the clock on the wall. He realized he was late.
Squall gave a impatient sigh when he saw Zidane stanging in the doorway. "Hey, I know what you're gonna say Squall, so I'll say it for you." Zidane changed his voice to an irritating high pitched and squeeky voice. "Why are you always late Zidane? You know these meetings are very important..." Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie were giggiling, so Zidane decided to carry this on for a little while longer.
After a few minutes of this, Squall decided that he had had enough. "Alright! Shut up!" Squall said as he slammed his fist on the table. Zidane stopped, starteled. "Hey Squall, what's your deal?!" Zidane pointed over to the three giggiling girls. "You don't want them to have even the least bit of fun at these boring and stupid ass meetings of yours?!" "Yeah! What's your problem Squall?" the three girls said in unison.
Cloud cleared his throught loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "Hey, if you're all done with that pointless conversation, we can finally get this meeting under way!" Cloud was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking over to the door. "The extremely late ones are finally here." Zell and Irvine were standing on the inside of the doorway. Irvine had his gun slung across his shoulder which was his normal pose. Zell was as loose as ever, just letting his arms hang by his sides. "It's about time you guys got here!" Cloud said, purposely trying to annoy Zell. It was easy for him, he did it all the time, even though they never actually had a fight. That was because they didn't speak to eachother outside of these meetings. "Hey! I know you weren't on time Cloud!" Zell took a large step forward and made a fist. "If it wasn't so small in here I would tear off your head and sh..." "Hey!" Squall inturrupted Zell's insult. "We gotta get down to buisness. Okay, so here is the deal..."
*What is it that I sense? Is it good? Or is it evil?* RedXIII couldn't stop thinking about what it was he was sensing. *How strong could it be, and how far away is it?* These thoughts have been churning in his mind for what felt like an eternity. *Why would it be comming? What is it looking for? Should I trust my senses? Is there really something coming or is it just my imagination?* He couldn't do anything but worry. It was late, but the thoughts continued. He was unable to sleep.
"So that's it? All we have to do is rescue this chick and it's all over?" Cloud wasn't very enthusiastic about this mission and everyone knew. He made sure that it was obvious in his voice. "Listen, I know we all think that this mission is gonna be a peice of cake," Squall said as he looked around the room. "But there isn't anything easy about this mission. Especially because there is a hostage involved!" "Hostage! You only told us that this girl was kidnapped, I mean that is a big deal, but a hostage?!" Zell said with a suprised expression on his face.
Elsewhere, far away, a girl by the name of Garnet was straped to a wooden chair. The seat of the chair was not at all smooth. She kept adjusting herself but she couldn't get into a comfortable position. She was in a foul smelling room, and her life was in danger, she thought she might as well be somewhat comfortable. Her long black hair was begging to split in some places, and her bangs curved over so they coverd one eye. She would have adjusted them but her hands were under restraints. She tried to raise her lips and blow at the annoying bangs, but to no avail. She looked around the room she was in to see if there was something sharp. That way she could cut the straps holding her down. She was looking to the back of the room when she heard the metal door open, then close again. She was afraid to look because of the fear she might cry.
In the Garden, Laguna was playing pool. He knew he wasn't at all good at the game, but he played anyway. He never liked it when someone challenged him to a game because he would never win, and he was not at all a good looser. But right now was different. He was playing with his pal Ward, who which Laguna couldn't believe, was worse than he at the game. Ward on the other hand, was actually quite good. He was purposely loosing for Laguna. He knew how hard it was for him to loose every time, and since he hadn't played a game with him before, he thought he would let him win.
Laguna, who was feeling quite lucky on this night, was doing his best to seem like a pro pool player. He tried to hold the stick the right way, but he always scratched the table. For this Ward would laugh at him. Even though he was doing his best to hide his professionality, but he didn't want to look like he was the worst player in the world. But Ward wondered what he would do if Laguna challenged him again and he played for real. Ward knew that he would. Laguna always challenged the people he knew he could beat, not only in pool, but in every game he played.
Laguna was well aware of the meeting that Squall was holding. He was the one that informed Squall of the situation. But he didn't mention every detail. He did this for Zidane's saftey. Zidane was very attached to Garnet, and if he knew it was her who had been kidnapped, it would affect his thinking, and he would undoubtedly do something stupid. But he was going to make sure that that didn't happen, he was going to come along.
"So who is the girl?" Zidane asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know," Squall responded. "Laguna didn't tell me." "Then how are we gonna know who to look for?!" Zell interrupted as he slammed his fist on the table. Cloud invited himself into the conversation. "She'll be the one bound and gagged." "That isn't even funny Cloud!" Selfie yelled pointing in Clouds direction. "Are ya sure he sould come along Squall?" she asked as she turned her head in Squall's direction. "It wasn't my decision to make. But even if it was he would still have to come along." "Well duh! I'm the best there is!" Cloud said as he jumped forward. "Oh yeah! We can't deny that!" Zidane said sarcasticly.
*They're coming! But what can I do about it? Is it my fight? How can I find out?* The thoughts continued. *I need to find some help!* He got up from the feild and ran as fast as he could. He could sense where the Garden was, so he headed that way. He knew the forces there were strong, he could sence that. But they were nothing compared to what he was sencing in the feild. He ran.
She was scared. She knew she was scared, and she wanted to hear somthing. But not just anything. Something familiar. Something she was comfortable around. What she wouldn't give to be anywhere in the world but here. Zidane. For the first time since she saw her kidnappers his name appeared in her mind. She knew why, and she didn't mind denying it. She didn't care what anyone else thought. But she was happy that her name was now in her mind. It gave her a sense of comfort.
"What do you mean?!" RedXIII had arrived not too long ago and explained what he had sensed earlier. Everyone had their eyes wide open. "Great!" Squall continued. "Now we have a hostage situation and this!" Then Cloud gave his opinion. "Yeah, from your information, I guess we can classify this as the 'we're gonna get our asses kicked' mission!" "Hey!" Zidane interrupted. "If we all work together we can beat whatever the hell it is!" But RedXIII knew better. "Actually, when I said it was stronger... I ment it wasn't like anything any of you had ever been up against."
Irvine was in no way ready for those words. His eyes practically bulged out of his head. *What? How can that be?!* His palms began to sweat which they hadn't done for a long time. Finaly, he brought up the courage to speak. "This thing that you said you were sensing, were you able to tell how close it is?" RedXIII turned his gaze toward him. "Unfortunately," he said with a tone of dissapointment in his voice. "No. At this time still it would be virtually impossible to tell. And to tell you the truth," he lowered his gaze down to the floor. "When I do find out, it may already be too late."
Vivi didn't need to attend the meeting that was taking place. He already heard it from Laguna. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't get Laguna to tell him who it was that had been kidnapped, but he knew that she was someone that he knew well. He got up from his bed and decided to walk around the Garden. It was quiet. He knew that most of the students that lived there were fast asleep, but he could see someone farther down. He couldn't make out who it was so he walked toward it.
After a little while of walking he saw that it was Zidane. He saw Vivi and waved him over. Vivi walked over as Zidane spoke to him. "Vivi, if you're up and about for the same reason that I am, then you're worried about who it was that has been kidnapped. Am I right?" Vivi nodded and jumped up and sat on a bench. "Well," Zidane continued. "I think I found out who it is." Vivi looked at Zidane with his eyes wide because of this comment. Vivi swallowed hard. He was almost afraid to ask, but he knew he had to. "Who?" "Garnet." Vivi's eyes grew larger. "How did you find that out?" "I felt empty for a while after I found out what it was we had to do, and I felt that I just needed someone to talk to. So I called who I always call, Garnet. When she didn't answer at first, I wasn't worried in the least. But after the day finished and night came, she still hadn't answered. Then I realized why Laguna didn't tell Squall who it was who had been kidnapped. I guess he was doing it because he thought I would do what I'm doing now." Vivi looked down toward the floor. "Well, what are you doing now?" Zidane looked up to the ceiling. It took him a few minutes to answer. "Worrying."
*Uh... I never could get used to plane rides.* This was only one of the many thoughts that Zidane had rushing through his mind. *What am I going to do when I see her? What sudden impulses will I get?* No one was able to tell that Zidane was having a serious problem, but he thought they did. That's why he kept looking around the room. Selphie noticed this, but didn't say anything. She was too worried about the mission.
Zidane stretched as he stepped out of the plane, but he knew there wasn't any time to relax. RedXIII jumped out of the plane and ran forward. Laguna was the last one to step out, and as he did, he gave instructions. "Okay, there is no time to rest. Follow me!" They walked for a while. But Zidane hardly noticed.
"This is the place!" Lagna said as he pointed at the extremely tall building. Zidane almost jumped out of his skin. "Let's go!" He screamed as he ran toward the door. "Zidane, wait!" Laguna's plea was no good. Zidane ran through the door and dissappeared. Laguna felt Vivi tugging on his shirt, so he gave him his attention. The others saw Vivi whisper into his ear, and when he did, his eye's grew wider with every word. "OH MY GOD!" "What?! What did he say?!" Squall was extremely worried. Then a loud thump was heard. It came from inside the building. RedXIII spoke with a shaky voice, "It's him...."
"Zidane! Stop! You can't beat him!!" Garnet was doing her best to stop Zidane from making his worst mistake. He was fighting a huge man, whose power was enormous. "No!" Zidane cried back as he got up from the ground. "I can take him!" Zidane ran forward with his daggers and slashed. The huge man knocked him out of the way. "You can not defete me! I am the all mighty Tojie!" Tojie was not a very well known person. In fact, it seemed like he just appeared over night. "Hahahaha!!! I am invinsible!" He was gigantic. He wasn't very muscular, but he was built like a brick wall. Tojie walked over to Zidane, picked him up, and threw him across the room. Zidane slammed into the wall and fell to the floor.
They were running up the stairs as fast as they could. "The sound of fighting is getting closer! Don't stop running!"
Zidane jumped up and slashed downward. His daggers dug into Tojie's skin, but they didn't seem to have any affect on him. Tojie reached back and grabbed Zidane. Zidane held onto the daggers, they were pulled out of Tojie's tough skin. As soon as they did, he fell to the floor. Zidane pulled himself out of Tojie's grip and ran over to where Garnet was strapped to the chair. He cut her loose, but as he did, Tojie began to push himself up. "Hurry Garnet, run!" She did what Zidane had said and ran out the door. As soon as she ran out the door, Laguna, Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, Vivi, and RedXIII came through the door.
"I can take you all on!" Tojie's thunderous voice boomed. "Guys, meet Tojie." Even though Zidane was tired and bruised, he still had to add a little bit of humor to this scene. It seemed like everyone charged forth at once. Squall shashed upward, but was knocked away. Selphie hit Tojie with her nunchucks, but was knocked to the wall with one gigantic swat. Quistis tried to use her whip to strangle Tojie, but it wasn't able to fit around Tojie's tree trunk-like neck. Laguna shot at Tojie, he grabbed his chest in pain as he started to bleed. Rinoa used her wrist boomerang to slice Tojie, a small slit was made in his side. RedXIII jumped past Tojie, but as he passed him, he sliced Tojie's body to shreds. Tojie hugged himself in pain and fell on his knees. Vivi shot fire at the huge man and darkened his skin. Zell used his 'fists of fury' and left many deep imprints on Tojie's now tender skin.
Zidane turned toward Cloud. Even without words, Cloud knew what Zidane was saying. They both ran forward at great speed. To Tojie's suprise, in perfect unison they jumped to the side, jumped off the wall, did two sumersaults in the air, and slashed downward, slicing Tojie's head clear off his shoulders. Blood filled the room. For some reason, a loud beeping sound was heard. "A bomb!" No one knew who said those words actually, but they were said and that was all that mattered. Zidane pointed over to the window and everyone jumped out. While still in mid air, the building exploded. They were all pushed forward with great force. They hit the ground with great force, and were knocked out.
At the party, everyone was having a great time. Then Laguna stood up and raised his voice so he could get everone's attention. "Excuse me! I'd like to make a toast to Zidane and Cloud. Because without their great unison, we probably wouldn't be alive today!" The room gave a slight chuckle, but no one really appreciated, nor understanded Laguna's humor. "Hey!" A small voice called out. "Where are Cloud and Zidane?"
Elsewhere, at the sparing grounds, a large croud was formed. Irvine had just run up because of all the commotion. "Hey, what's going on?" A person who was near the inside of the circle cried back with an answer. "A huge fight! This is great!!" "Who's fighting?!" Irvine cried, but no one answered him. Then he saw the figure jump. He could tell who it was. "Cloud? What is going on, who is he fighting?" Then he saw another figure jump up, but this time he could not make out who it was, but everyone else knew, so they chanted his name. "Zidane! Zidane! Zidane!" The crowd all shouted in unison.
Cloud rushed forward and held his sword over his shoulder so he could gain speed. He slid to a stop and slashed diagonaly upward and left. But Zidane was prepared for this so he was already in the air. He threw one of his daggers down at Cloud. Unfortunately for Cloud, he did not intend on this. The dagger made a high pitched whisling sound as it came at him. He tried to twist out of the way but to no avail. The sword went through his leg and stuck into the ground. Cloud cried out in pain as he tried to remove the dagger from his bloody leg.
Zidane was descending from his jump at a great speed. He held his remaining dagger out in his hand with his arm stretched out. All Cloud noticed was the pain of splitting skin on his arm. He turned his head and saw Zidane kneeling near him, with his arm still stretched out. He got up and walked around to where Cloud was still pinned to the ground because of his dagger. He reached down and quickly pulled the dagger from his leg. Cloud cried out in pain as the dagger was removed.
Cloud slowly stood up, but everyone could tell he was in pain. Zidane was surprised that he could even get up at all. Weakly, Cloud pulled up his sword and went into a battle stance. He gave a weak swing of his sword which completely missed Zidane, then fell to the ground. "You were a fool to challenge me to this. I thought you would have been happy to even beat Tojie. But you had to be a big tough guy and say you could have taken him without my help. So then you challenged me so everyone could see how much stronger than me you are. But now look at the outcome. You're half dead on the floor, bleeding all over yourself, and you can't even say a catchy comeback. I regret agreeing to your challenge Cloud." Zidane walked through the crowd of people as the medics came. They were warned by Zidane to stand by, just in case someone got hurt. The circle of people broke apart as Cloud was carried away on a stretcher.
Zidane was standing on the balcony on the of the Garden. He could hear the celebration in the backgroud. He was dissappointed with what happend in the fight. *Why did I say I would fight him?* He tried to recall what had happend. He could hear what Cloud had said. "Hey! You know, I could have beaten Tojie by myself! I didn't need your help! Cause you are weak! To prove it, I challenge you to a fight!" Zidane regreted what he had done. But something released him from that. He looked up at the sky.
The stars were beautiful.