Disclaimer: I do not own FF8, unfortunately, or any of the characters…even Squall. However, I own this storyline, and the fictional places such as Daragof. So…don't sue me thinking I took a claim on any of Squaresoft's characters. I don't have any money anyway…^^'
Authors Note: Yay! Chapter 5! I never thought I'd see this
story go that far! Hehe. Now, after writing chapter 5, I realized this is sorta
one of the dramatic sniffly type chapters. I tried to get some powerful emotion
stuff going on. I'm not sure if it proved successful. Anyway, reviews would be
nice, constructive criticism as well. Thanks!
~*Lixia
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Rinoa awoke from a pleasant dream with a startle.
Something made a crunch sound underneath her and she rolled over to stop the
pain in her side as well as her head.
Eyes still closed, she stayed motionless for a moment
before realizing what had happened and why her head hurt so much.
She opened her eyes and sat up, all in one move. "Where am
I?" she murmured to herself, looking around. She rubbed her head, and felt
excruciating pain coming from the back of her head.
"Damn it…Rinoa, what have you gotten yourself into now?"
she asked herself. Then she realized that she had heard a crunch sound earlier.
She reached behind her and found her SeeD communication
device. It was something to contact Cid in any case of emergency.
Well, now seemed to be a good time to use it. But she had
busted it. Rinoa stared at the little piece of machinery, inspecting if it was
usable, only to find out its hard casing was cracked. She breathed a sigh of
relief.
'Thank goodness…' she thought, desperately. She pressed
the button in the middle and waited. Nothing happened.
"Oh no! It is broken!" she panicked, turning the
emergency device over, and back again. Suddenly a rusty voice came through it,
broken by static.
"H-he-ll-o?" it said.
Rinoa lifted the piece to her mouth and started talking
into it. "Hello? I need help! This is Rinoa Heartilly of SeeD. Please, I need
help! I'm…in some sort of…"
Rinoa looked up and searched around the room for an
indication of where she was.
"I'm in a prison…in a base, I believe." She said.
"We are get-t-ting the coordinates o-of the loc-c-cation
you are at-t. W-wait a few m-mom-ments, plea-se-se." The voice replied.
Rinoa nodded even though she knew that the voice wouldn't
hear her. She sighed, and sat back against the wall. Her head still hurt.
She stared down at the floor and realized there was liquid
dripping onto the floor right in front of her. She rubbed her eyes.
'Stupid…' she thought. She was crying. And she didn't even
know why. But she felt such relief to let out all the pain and anguish, sorrow
and depression she had been carrying her entire life.
Her mother…she wanted to find her mother, only to be
tricked and trapped up in this dump.
And Squall…she didn't even get the time to tell him she
was sorry. Sorry for ever trying to force him into opening up like he was
different. She loved him for who he was. Not for being what Rinoa wanted him to
be.
Hot, bitter and salty tears streamed down her cheeks, as
the poor girl cried. Because of her Watts and Zone were gone…
"H-hello?" a voice came from her communication device.
Rinoa sniffled and cleared her throat. "Yes?"
"W-w-e…h—" the connection was filled with static before it
shut off and silence filled the intense moments afterwards. Rinoa shook the
device.
"NO! PLEASE! TALK! SAVE ME! PLEASE!!!" Rinoa began to sob
again, her tears running freely as she desperately called for help.
"Please…please save me…" she cried.
~***~
Zell grinned as he stuffed his face with hotdogs. "This is
so awesome. Thanks!" he cheered with sheer joy.
The leader of Daragof, a humble sturdy man smiled in
return.
"You're welcome. Anyway, I should be thanking you,
SeeD members. I fear my village will be under attack by the new soldiers of an
evil base. There are rumors that darkness is spreading again, even after
Ultimecia has been defeated. I know Balamb Garden, and Headmaster Cid will be
able to keep my metal safe. At least until the darkness passes."
Squall nodded. "I understand. Your metal is in good
hands."
Quistis leaned closer, proposing to ask a question. "If
you don't mind me asking, what is this metal called and why is it so valuable?"
The leader shook his head, "No, it's not a problem. I'll
explain it to you. This metal, known as Dalegzite is our most prized possession
in our humble village. I know not of how it originally formed, but it is such a
strong metal, used only to make special weapons. Just like your Gunblade,
Commander Leonhart. It is such a rare metal that I fear many enemies will try
to steal it in hopes that they could make their own strong arms. This metal is
almost completely unbreakable, only able to be broken by diamond. Our village
is too small to have our own army able to withstand any attacks." He explained.
The three SeeD's nodded. "Understood." Squall said.
Once outside of the leader's office, Squall sighed.
"Who knew a metal such as Dalegzite was so important."
Zell wondered aloud, looking at his gloves. "Oh! I forgot! Wait a second here
guys, will ya? I have to discuss something with the leader!"
Quistis cocked an eyebrow at him but shrugged. "Sure,
whatever Zell."
Zell smiled and strode back into the office, leaving
Quistis alone with Squall.
Squall leaned against the wall, his Gunblade hung over his
shoulder loosely. Quistis stood still.
Suddenly a beep sounded through the back pocket of
Squall's pants. Squall quickly took out a SeeD communication device and let the
speaker talk.
"Commander Leonhart?"
"Yes?"
"I'm afraid I have bad news for you."
"What?"
"Ms. Heartilly—"
"What? Is something wrong with her?" Squall asked, a surge
of panic taking over his body. Quistis quickly walked over to him to listen to
the speaker.
"Ms. Heartilly has been kidnapped. These two fellows came
to my office and told me personally to tell you. Enemy soldiers of an unknown
source have Ms. Heartilly trapped in a prison underneath a base. I have the
coordinates."
"Headmaster, is she ok?"
"I do not know, Commander, but return to us as soon as you
can with the metal."
"Yes sir."
The communication stopped and the device lay in Squall's
palm, motionless. Squall clenched his hand into a fist, the little machine
still within his hand.
"Squall, we'll get her back." Quistis said, trying to calm
the commander down.
Squall squeezed his eyes shut. "I know we will." He said,
reopening his eyes.
~***~
That very night, Squall made sure that the metal was
collected and ready to be transferred to Balamb Garden. They had picked up the
metal by drawing it; each of the SeeD's drew as much of the Dalegzite as they
could handle. Then they were off.
He had to find Rinoa. Had to save her. Her life, and his
depended on it. Those unknown bastard soldiers would pay for it dearly.
That night, he stood alone outside as he waited for
Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine to gather.
He looked up at the starry sky and made a promise.
"Rinoa…my angel, I promise to save you if it's the last
thing I do." He clenched his hand, his whole body tense with emotions of anger
and regret.
[End A/N: I hoped that was good. Anyway, I have Chapter 6
on it's way. I've been busily writing the past few days!! *^^*]