Author's note: Hi y'all! Sorry for the longest wait of your lives! Chapter 11 is here! *Gasp!* Selphie left alone on the Ragnarok! Oh no! And what's this? The SeeDs are going with her, but how are they ever going to get there? She took the Ragnarok! There may be ways, but hang on to your seats ladies and gentleman, the moment of truth is here! Has Selphie made her choice really?



Chapter 11 - The Road Taken


'Whatever road I choose, I'll always end up in the same place.'

-Zell





He opened his eyes. Swirls of colours envisioned his eyes and all he could see is darkness. He had a splitting headache and his eyes felt like it was about to pop out at the back of his head. A weak hand reached up and touched the corner of his mouth. He stared at the fingers now filled with small traces of blood. His blood.

A door, preferrably, the exit door, opened. Foosteps could be heard. And a screeching voice jumped him out from his reverie. A very familiar voice.

"Let go of me!" the voice shrieked. A shadow appeared at the wall beside him. The shadow shrunk smaller and smaller as the figures came closer and closer. He didn't bother to look. He figured they were the same two men who plagued his thoughts with pain and torture. He didn't even move as the cell door was opened slightly, making squeeking noises as it flew.

"Zell!" The blond man was startled at the mention of his name. He jerked his head to his right and realized that the person who had protested earlier was the one person he least expected to be here. He sat up and stared at her, his face expressionless, not sure if this was a dream.

Weak from travel, the girl ran up to him and collapsed on her knees as she wrapped her arms around his weary body. She placed a hand on his battered face, frowning in sadness. "What did they do to you?" she whimpered. She rested her head on his lap and cried.

Zell did not have the strenght to wrap his arms around her, instead he placed one bloody hand on her back, comforting her whenever he could. His bones were crying out in pain, screaming in his head that they were breaking, aching and dying.

He closed his eyes, wishing this was all a dream, that she wasn't really here. If she was, he would be ready to break down and die if she was here just for his sake. He would be ready to burn for bringing her here. "What the hell are you doing here, Selphie?"

Selphie looked up and smiled. "I'm here to get you out, Zell," she replied. She stood up and sat down next to him on the bed and examined him. His face was severely bruised. One eye was closed, beaten from punches he had to take for being so vulnerable. His other eye was cut at the side, each side seemed to have been cut by a knife. He had a cut at the corner of his mouth and his nose were crooked, slanting slightly to his right. His eyes were no longer holding that same energetic glow whenever he got a hot dog. His eyes, that were once green with happiness and smiles were replaced with sorrow.

Zell looked up. "Where are the others?"

Selphie looked down on the ground. "I... I went alone," she answered.

Zell's one good eye widened. This is what he was afraid of. Because of him, Selphie is stuck in this cell in an effort to try and bring him back. "What?! That is the stupidest thing to do, Selphie!"

"Oh and you trying to be a hero by getting yourself tortured is not a stupid thing to do?!" Selphie fired back, her words stinging Zell's ears. She took a deep breath, anger taking over her hyper-active role.

The blond man didn't know what else to say. He was at loss for words. After all, Selphie was right. Was what he did a smart thing to do?

"Zell," she said, softly, calming herself down after bringing up her voice from anger. She leaned closer and looked into his distorted face.

The sky began to cry as darker clouds changed the ever calming mood of the night, replacing the decent sky with devastation and corruption. Selphie glanced at Zell, her eyes looking at him right in the face. His face, that was once filled with hope and kindness, were washed away by the rain, like a mud slide that destroyed the face of the earth. His no longer formed that same beauty that once dominated him. In his face, he held a child and became an innocent little boy, wanting to run in his mother's arms.

"I came here, because..." she paused, not really sure how to say it. "I want to be with you," she continued.

Zell stood up and paused by the light that emitted from the swinging lamp on the other side of the bars. "Why, Selphie? Why did you have to come here and ruin death for me?"

Selphie gasped. She couldn't say anything. Zell wanted to die? "Zell, what are you talking about?"

Zell looked his shoulder, his neck still aching from the previous torture. He would rather face the men who inflicted him pain, than stare straight into the woman who tortured his heart and soul. "I'm talking about how you feel guilty." He turned completely around. "That's what it is, right? You feel guilty because you turned me down. Well, guess what, Selphie? You want to know what I think why you're here? You're here to make everything all right, because if we do get out of here alive, you'll feel glad that you saved me and then you'll just run back into Irvine's arms and I would still feel tortured because the one girl whom I'd like to spend my whole life with is going to be with someone else!" He took a deep breath and pried his eyes away from her. "Whatever road I choose, I'll always end up in the same place."

Selphie stood up. She felt it. All the pain he felt both inside and out were coming together, all mixing in one bowl, all swirling in one colour. She felt his loss, his deep feelings for her. She walked up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. "What if you choose the right road that leads to somewhere else? Isn't that what you want?"

Zell felt her hands against him. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and gently removed her hands from him. He turned around and met her eyes. "I thought you wanted to be in a different road? I thought that maybe if I close the path, you'll choose the other road."

Selphie shook her head. She went up to him and once again wrapped her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. "Don't," she whispered. Selphie looked up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up as green eyes met green. "Don't ever close the path. What if I'm there to cross it?" She went on her tip toes and for one intense moment, their lips met into a passionate kiss.


****************

He groaned and rubbed his eyes with his arm. What just happened? He looked around and found no one was else was sitting there beside him. "Selphie?" he called. "Selphie!" He looked out the window and noticed that he was somewhere familiar. A tall building, maybe a tower, he doesn't know, but this was all too familiar in his eyes. D-District Prison? He turned on the phone near the dashboard and was surprised as well, when it rang by itself. It rang twice before Nida actually answered it.

Gingerly, he pressed the phone in his ear. "H-hello?"

"Nida," a deep voice spoke.

"Yes, who is this?" He looked around cautiously for any soldiers running up to him. When he saw no one was there, he took a deep breath and leaned back on his chair. The Ragnarok was somewhere safe so that none of the Galbadian soldiers could see the red aircraft. Selphie was a smart one.

"This is Squall," the voice answered.

Nida nodded. "Yes sir. Uh... you must be wondering where I am... you see it wasn't-"

"Forget that," Squall interruped. "I know where you are. Where is Selphie now?"

Nida sighed. He lowered his voice. "Um... I think she went in herself."

The young Commander was silent for awhile, then he spoke again. "Well then, are you still in the Ragnarok?"

Nida nodded, as if the Commander was there. "Yes I am sir."

"I want you to report back here immediately," Squall ordered.

"What, sir?" Did he hear right? What about Selphie?

"You heard me, Nida. I want you to return to Garden immediately with the Ragnarok on check. The SeeDs and I will get Selphie and Zell back."

"Um... yes sir." Squall had definitely made his orders clear. At times, Squall can irritate him, but the young Commander always made the right decisions. He never hesitates to risk him or anyone else's life to save more lives. Nida admired him for that.

"Good. Squall out." Before he could protest further, Nida heard the other line click off. He removed the telephone from his ear and stared at the phone.


****************

Squall put the phone back down on its reciever and leaned back further on his seat. Selphie was smart to turn off the phone when she left unexpectedly and it was a good thing that he phone right after Nida turned it back on. He looked up at the worried faces of his friends. Seifer, with his arms draped over Quistis' shoulder, tapped the end of his Hyperion lightly at his side. His face was expressionless. Quistis fidgeted with her fingers nervously, looking up at Squall and giving him a questionable gaze. Squall calmly stood up and went around his desk. Rinoa was sitting on the couch and she looked up when Squall formed himself in a thinking position.

"Well? Break it to us already!" Seifer said, removing his arms from around Quistis. He looked at Squall.

Squall glanced at Rinoa, at Quistis, then lastly, at Seifer. "Well, Selphie has been captured." He said it as calmly as Rinoa hoped he would.

"Dammit!" Seifer hissed. He slammed a hand down on the rectangular table. Quistis placed both her hands on his shoulders and began rubbing them, to calm him down. Seifer took a deep breath, closed his eyes and backed away from the desk. "What do we do now?"

Squall looked at him. "Like what we planned before. Once Nida gets back here with Ragnarok, he'll take us back to the prison."

Seifer sighed a breath of relief. He placed a hand on one of Quistis' hands that were still rubbing his shoulders and nodded. "I can't wait to kick some Galbadian ass!" He swiped Hyperion in front of him and hit nothing but air.

Rinoa stood up to stand by Squall's side and smiled up at him. "We're already to bring them back, Squall."

Quistis nodded. "I just hope that they can wait a few more hours or so until we get them out."

Seifer turned around and kissed Quistis' forehead. "I'm sure they can. They're both strong."

"Yes, but even the strongest ones never survives," Quistis spoke gently.









GoodGurl: Yep! Another action is coming up next chapter! The SeeDs to the rescue! Ever wonder what happened between Selphie and Zell after that? Well, you just have to wait and see on the next chapter! Heh! Heh! Please r/r! Thanx! ;)