Disclaimer: I don't own anything mentioned in this fic. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. Zero. Zilch. All I own are my stories, a broken stapler, a pen, a notepad, a CD player, and a stuffed chocobo...
A/N: Ok, you asked for it! Chapter Two! Mwaha! As mentioned in Chapter One, there's a lot of Zell, Irvine, and Fujin favoritism in this fic and a bit of Rinoa and Raijin bashing. Hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Read on! Oh, wait! This chapter is a bit longer than the last and just manages to get the whole thing rolling. Bear with me, please! And stand by for chapter three! Ok, now you can read on! Go!
Critters: Ch. 2
"Oh shit," was all Zell could say about the situation. There were two large and presumably unhappy T-Rexaurs advancing on him, one of them having bits of Zell's rental car hanging from its massive jaws. Zell was once again aware of something attached to his left leg. Sure enough, the tiny, adorable creature was, indeed, attached firmly to his left leg, trembling in fear. Zell looked from the T-Rexaurs, to the box, to the little monster on his leg a few times. He checked the back of his mind to see if any of his GFs were equipped. Damn, he thought, all I have is Tonberry. He pondered for a moment, before he was interrupted by the thunderous roar of the larger of the two dinosaurs. The moment was all he needed. He had a plan.
As the gargantuan creatures stalked closer, Zell backed up until he was next to the box of eggs. "Neeb!" squeaked the little monster, still clinging to his leg. Zell focused and summoned on Tonberry, who came rather reluctantly. Just as Tonberry made his appearance, Zell lifted the waterlogged box into his arms and ran like he'd never run before. All Tonberry had to say was, "Why me?" and went through his routine.
"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Zell screamed as he ran down the road through the mist with thunderous footsteps behind. The tiny green creature scrambled up Zell's back in fear and became firmly attached to Zell's head. "Hey! Careful! Watch the hair!" he cried as the little monster tightened its terrified grip on Zell's cranium. "NEEEEEEEB!!" it screamed, as it looked back at the huge dinosaurs following them. All Zell could think about was the unlikeliness of his ability to outrun two giant T-Rexaurs bent on revenge. Just a little further, he thought to himself.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the Garden's lights. Just as suddenly, he heard a loud screech and a roar behind him. He wheeled around just in time to dodge an oncoming vehicle. It was yellow, rusted, full of dents, and gave off more smoke than a forest fire. It was Seifer. The roar had come from a T-Rexaur unfortunate enough to have its foot in Seifer's path. Once again, the intimidating monsters were out-intimidated, and ran. Though, whether they were afraid of getting their toes run over, or hated smoke, or hated Seifer, Zell could only guess. He decided he shouldn't, and gave up on that particular thought process immediately, as Seifer's car halted with a screech. The driver's side door burst open and, sure enough, it was Seifer.
"Hey chicken-wuss! What are you doing out this early? It's eight o'clock! That's a little early to be gettin' your ass kicked!" Seifer laughed and walked over to Zell. He paused a moment to look at the quivering mass of green on Zell's head. "What the hell is that?" he asked.
"That? That's...uh...well...it's..." Before he could finish, the little critter detached itself and plopped onto the ground in front of Seifer, and said:
"Neeb!"
"Neeb? What the hell's a 'neeb'?"
"It's a little monster I found in a ditch. I couldn't just leave it to get hurt or killed. I also found these." Zell held out the box of eggs. Seifer was struck speechless. He scratched his head a moment, then looked at Zell.
"Why do you have a box of monster eggs?"
"L-Like I said, I couldn't just leave them. Do you think Cid will mind if I keep them?"
"Of course he'll mind, numb-skull!"
"What should I do?" Zell asked, giving Seifer a sad puppy-dog look. Seifer looked away, and noticed the tiny monster had the same face. He sighed. "Well, since I'm gonna be here for a little while, I guess I'll help. Just don't tell Squall I'm being a nice guy, understand! Hmm...Lemme see..." Seifer carefully lifted a basketball sized, basketball shaped, basketball colored egg and tossed it from hand to hand. "What's this? A soccer ball?" He laughed again and looked it over. "I like this one. I think I'll keep it, eh?"
"Hey, wait --"
"Now, now, Zell. The less you have to deal with, the more likely it is that Cid will let you keep 'em. Get it?"
"Uh...Okay," Zell replied, not entirely trusting Seifer. Seifer, however, had already opened a door and motioned for Zell to hop into the back seat of his clunky, junky, rust bucket of a car. Zell hastily declined the offer and continued to jog towards Garden.
Within about ten minutes, Zell, with a green monster on his head and a box of eggs in his arms, was standing in Headmaster Cid's office.
"Zell, do you plan on keeping and raising monsters here?" Cid asked skeptically. He took another look at the eggs. "I though you said you found ten of them. There's only nine here..."
"Uh, yeah. I, um, ran into Seifer and he said he'd take care of one for me. Is that okay?"
"Hm...that's a good idea. Zell, this could be a big thing. We could be the first Garden to raise and train monsters! This could be big. Zell, I want you to find each of your friends and see if they're willing to take part in this. They'll each hatch and raise a monster! I can see a future here! I think I might even try!" Cid enthusiastically picked up a football shaped, black egg from the box. "I think I'll take this one," he said, walking over to his desk.
"I think I might try as well." It was Edea, who'd been sitting on a small sofa in the corner. She walked over to the box and picked out a smooth, cream colored egg. With no further comment, she walked out of Cid's office and into an adjoining room. Cid dismissed Zell, and went back to sorting paperwork.
Downstairs, Zell ran into the rest of his friends in the cafeteria. He greeted them, as usual, and set the now dry box on the table. Everyone just looked at him. "Hey, guys. What's up?" he asked.
"Zell," Irvine began, "Why is there a box of eggs on the table?"
"Oh, these? Yeah, I, uh, found them. Cid said I should get each of you to take one. It's sort of an experiment. He wants each of us to hatch and raise a monster. He said it might be a big thing, you know, to have tame monsters," he explained. The other shrugged.
"I'll take one!" Selphie yelled, reaching into the box and withdrawing a soft, round, pink egg. She giggled and prodded Irvine to take one. He did, mostly so he would no longer be prodded. He grabbed a sleek, metallic-looking egg. Rinoa sighed and picked out a greenish-blue egg. Everyone looked at Squall. "What?" Squall said, then sighed in exaspiration and took a large, ocean-blue egg. Just then, Quistis walked in and stopped, staring at her friends. "What's all this?" she asked, walking over hesitantly.
"Headmaster Cid said he wants us all to hatch and raise a monster from these eggs. Pick on, Quisty," Irvine said, leaning back. Quistis shrugged and took a slightly cone-shaped egg with a slight pink-yellow tint. "So, where'd these monster eggs come from?" she asked, taking a seat.
"Zell found them," Selphie said, biting into a sandwich.
"Oh, I see. And it was Cid's idea to raise them?"
"Yeah, actually," Zell replied.
"I don't think I should..." Squall began, but became silent when everyone gave him one of those "don't start" looks.
"Zell, what are you going to do with the last two?" Rinoa asked.
"I dunno. I guess I'll --" he was suddenly cut off by a loud shout from across the cafe. "Hey, what's up, ya know?!" It was Raijin. He ran over to everyone and gave each person a hug, except for Squall, who settled for a handshake. Fujin and Seifer joined, Seifer carrying a tray of sodas and burgers in one hand, the orange, round egg in the other. "Greetings," Fujin said, giving a nod to each person. She looked into the box, pointed, and said, with a slight shrug, "What's this?" Once again, Zell explained. Fujin nodded once, then reached in and picked up a blue egg with two black stripes and one black spot. She looked it over, then decided she'd take it. Raijin happily took the last egg, a green one with strange white spots at the larger end. Zell sighed, picked up the box, and heaved into a trash can. This was a good start, he thought. Selphie was entertaining herself by entertaining Zell's little critter, which soon tired of Selphie's hyperness and plopped down on Zell's head with a tired, "Neeeeeeeeb."
"I hear ya, little guy. She's a handful!"
"Neeb neeb!"
"Zell, aren't you going to give it a name?" Rinoa asked.
"Uh...yeah...how about...Neeb!" he said, patting the monster's head. It chirpped happily, crawled to Zell's right shoulder, and nuzzled him happily. "Neeb! Neeeeeeeeb!" it squeked in approval.
"All righty then! You're name is now Neeb!"
"Neeeeeeeb! Neeb neeb!"
* * * * * * *
Over the course of a week, each of the friends attentively cared for his or her egg. Selphie went as far as carrying it everywhere with her in a backpack. Fujin, Raijin, and Seifer were allowed to stay at Garden, since they were taking part in Cid's little experiment. Then, one Friday night, the quiet peace of Balamb Garden was shattered.
"It hatched! It hatched it hatched it hatched!!" screamed a very excited Selphie as she ran around the bottom floor, then returned to her dorm. Rinoa and Quistis followed. "Look! Isn't it adorable?!" Selphie cried as she cradled an adorably cute, pink creature in her arms. It was about the same size as Neeb, but very different in all other respects. It was pink, to start. Its body was cylindrical in shape and soft as a marshmallow. Its ears were cone shaped and stuck straight up off its head. Between its big, green eyes was a tiny, blue stone. It had a powder-puff tail, and sat back on rubbery, penquin-like feet, holding its front paws up like a rabbit. It looked up at Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie and squeaked, "Kichi!"
"Oooooh! It's so cuuuute!!!" Selphie squealed.
"It's just precious!" Rinoa said, patting the little pink marshmallow on the head. "It's just like a marshmallow peep!"
"Kichi!" the little critter replied.
"Its name will be Kichi!"
"Kichi! Kiiiichiii!" the pink thing squeaked back. Just down the hall, Quistis was back in her room watching the hatching of her egg. Wonder how cute this one will be, she thought as cracks appeared all along the egg's surface. She sighed and called Rinoa and Selphie down to her room to watch. What will it be?...
A/N: Yeah, it was quite a bit longer than expected. This is only chapter two! The ball is rolling and soon there will be 8 new monsters loose in Garden. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and I promise it'll be more exciting than this one was...maybe? ^_^
A/N: Ok, you asked for it! Chapter Two! Mwaha! As mentioned in Chapter One, there's a lot of Zell, Irvine, and Fujin favoritism in this fic and a bit of Rinoa and Raijin bashing. Hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Read on! Oh, wait! This chapter is a bit longer than the last and just manages to get the whole thing rolling. Bear with me, please! And stand by for chapter three! Ok, now you can read on! Go!
Critters: Ch. 2
"Oh shit," was all Zell could say about the situation. There were two large and presumably unhappy T-Rexaurs advancing on him, one of them having bits of Zell's rental car hanging from its massive jaws. Zell was once again aware of something attached to his left leg. Sure enough, the tiny, adorable creature was, indeed, attached firmly to his left leg, trembling in fear. Zell looked from the T-Rexaurs, to the box, to the little monster on his leg a few times. He checked the back of his mind to see if any of his GFs were equipped. Damn, he thought, all I have is Tonberry. He pondered for a moment, before he was interrupted by the thunderous roar of the larger of the two dinosaurs. The moment was all he needed. He had a plan.
As the gargantuan creatures stalked closer, Zell backed up until he was next to the box of eggs. "Neeb!" squeaked the little monster, still clinging to his leg. Zell focused and summoned on Tonberry, who came rather reluctantly. Just as Tonberry made his appearance, Zell lifted the waterlogged box into his arms and ran like he'd never run before. All Tonberry had to say was, "Why me?" and went through his routine.
"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Zell screamed as he ran down the road through the mist with thunderous footsteps behind. The tiny green creature scrambled up Zell's back in fear and became firmly attached to Zell's head. "Hey! Careful! Watch the hair!" he cried as the little monster tightened its terrified grip on Zell's cranium. "NEEEEEEEB!!" it screamed, as it looked back at the huge dinosaurs following them. All Zell could think about was the unlikeliness of his ability to outrun two giant T-Rexaurs bent on revenge. Just a little further, he thought to himself.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the Garden's lights. Just as suddenly, he heard a loud screech and a roar behind him. He wheeled around just in time to dodge an oncoming vehicle. It was yellow, rusted, full of dents, and gave off more smoke than a forest fire. It was Seifer. The roar had come from a T-Rexaur unfortunate enough to have its foot in Seifer's path. Once again, the intimidating monsters were out-intimidated, and ran. Though, whether they were afraid of getting their toes run over, or hated smoke, or hated Seifer, Zell could only guess. He decided he shouldn't, and gave up on that particular thought process immediately, as Seifer's car halted with a screech. The driver's side door burst open and, sure enough, it was Seifer.
"Hey chicken-wuss! What are you doing out this early? It's eight o'clock! That's a little early to be gettin' your ass kicked!" Seifer laughed and walked over to Zell. He paused a moment to look at the quivering mass of green on Zell's head. "What the hell is that?" he asked.
"That? That's...uh...well...it's..." Before he could finish, the little critter detached itself and plopped onto the ground in front of Seifer, and said:
"Neeb!"
"Neeb? What the hell's a 'neeb'?"
"It's a little monster I found in a ditch. I couldn't just leave it to get hurt or killed. I also found these." Zell held out the box of eggs. Seifer was struck speechless. He scratched his head a moment, then looked at Zell.
"Why do you have a box of monster eggs?"
"L-Like I said, I couldn't just leave them. Do you think Cid will mind if I keep them?"
"Of course he'll mind, numb-skull!"
"What should I do?" Zell asked, giving Seifer a sad puppy-dog look. Seifer looked away, and noticed the tiny monster had the same face. He sighed. "Well, since I'm gonna be here for a little while, I guess I'll help. Just don't tell Squall I'm being a nice guy, understand! Hmm...Lemme see..." Seifer carefully lifted a basketball sized, basketball shaped, basketball colored egg and tossed it from hand to hand. "What's this? A soccer ball?" He laughed again and looked it over. "I like this one. I think I'll keep it, eh?"
"Hey, wait --"
"Now, now, Zell. The less you have to deal with, the more likely it is that Cid will let you keep 'em. Get it?"
"Uh...Okay," Zell replied, not entirely trusting Seifer. Seifer, however, had already opened a door and motioned for Zell to hop into the back seat of his clunky, junky, rust bucket of a car. Zell hastily declined the offer and continued to jog towards Garden.
Within about ten minutes, Zell, with a green monster on his head and a box of eggs in his arms, was standing in Headmaster Cid's office.
"Zell, do you plan on keeping and raising monsters here?" Cid asked skeptically. He took another look at the eggs. "I though you said you found ten of them. There's only nine here..."
"Uh, yeah. I, um, ran into Seifer and he said he'd take care of one for me. Is that okay?"
"Hm...that's a good idea. Zell, this could be a big thing. We could be the first Garden to raise and train monsters! This could be big. Zell, I want you to find each of your friends and see if they're willing to take part in this. They'll each hatch and raise a monster! I can see a future here! I think I might even try!" Cid enthusiastically picked up a football shaped, black egg from the box. "I think I'll take this one," he said, walking over to his desk.
"I think I might try as well." It was Edea, who'd been sitting on a small sofa in the corner. She walked over to the box and picked out a smooth, cream colored egg. With no further comment, she walked out of Cid's office and into an adjoining room. Cid dismissed Zell, and went back to sorting paperwork.
Downstairs, Zell ran into the rest of his friends in the cafeteria. He greeted them, as usual, and set the now dry box on the table. Everyone just looked at him. "Hey, guys. What's up?" he asked.
"Zell," Irvine began, "Why is there a box of eggs on the table?"
"Oh, these? Yeah, I, uh, found them. Cid said I should get each of you to take one. It's sort of an experiment. He wants each of us to hatch and raise a monster. He said it might be a big thing, you know, to have tame monsters," he explained. The other shrugged.
"I'll take one!" Selphie yelled, reaching into the box and withdrawing a soft, round, pink egg. She giggled and prodded Irvine to take one. He did, mostly so he would no longer be prodded. He grabbed a sleek, metallic-looking egg. Rinoa sighed and picked out a greenish-blue egg. Everyone looked at Squall. "What?" Squall said, then sighed in exaspiration and took a large, ocean-blue egg. Just then, Quistis walked in and stopped, staring at her friends. "What's all this?" she asked, walking over hesitantly.
"Headmaster Cid said he wants us all to hatch and raise a monster from these eggs. Pick on, Quisty," Irvine said, leaning back. Quistis shrugged and took a slightly cone-shaped egg with a slight pink-yellow tint. "So, where'd these monster eggs come from?" she asked, taking a seat.
"Zell found them," Selphie said, biting into a sandwich.
"Oh, I see. And it was Cid's idea to raise them?"
"Yeah, actually," Zell replied.
"I don't think I should..." Squall began, but became silent when everyone gave him one of those "don't start" looks.
"Zell, what are you going to do with the last two?" Rinoa asked.
"I dunno. I guess I'll --" he was suddenly cut off by a loud shout from across the cafe. "Hey, what's up, ya know?!" It was Raijin. He ran over to everyone and gave each person a hug, except for Squall, who settled for a handshake. Fujin and Seifer joined, Seifer carrying a tray of sodas and burgers in one hand, the orange, round egg in the other. "Greetings," Fujin said, giving a nod to each person. She looked into the box, pointed, and said, with a slight shrug, "What's this?" Once again, Zell explained. Fujin nodded once, then reached in and picked up a blue egg with two black stripes and one black spot. She looked it over, then decided she'd take it. Raijin happily took the last egg, a green one with strange white spots at the larger end. Zell sighed, picked up the box, and heaved into a trash can. This was a good start, he thought. Selphie was entertaining herself by entertaining Zell's little critter, which soon tired of Selphie's hyperness and plopped down on Zell's head with a tired, "Neeeeeeeeb."
"I hear ya, little guy. She's a handful!"
"Neeb neeb!"
"Zell, aren't you going to give it a name?" Rinoa asked.
"Uh...yeah...how about...Neeb!" he said, patting the monster's head. It chirpped happily, crawled to Zell's right shoulder, and nuzzled him happily. "Neeb! Neeeeeeeeb!" it squeked in approval.
"All righty then! You're name is now Neeb!"
"Neeeeeeeb! Neeb neeb!"
* * * * * * *
Over the course of a week, each of the friends attentively cared for his or her egg. Selphie went as far as carrying it everywhere with her in a backpack. Fujin, Raijin, and Seifer were allowed to stay at Garden, since they were taking part in Cid's little experiment. Then, one Friday night, the quiet peace of Balamb Garden was shattered.
"It hatched! It hatched it hatched it hatched!!" screamed a very excited Selphie as she ran around the bottom floor, then returned to her dorm. Rinoa and Quistis followed. "Look! Isn't it adorable?!" Selphie cried as she cradled an adorably cute, pink creature in her arms. It was about the same size as Neeb, but very different in all other respects. It was pink, to start. Its body was cylindrical in shape and soft as a marshmallow. Its ears were cone shaped and stuck straight up off its head. Between its big, green eyes was a tiny, blue stone. It had a powder-puff tail, and sat back on rubbery, penquin-like feet, holding its front paws up like a rabbit. It looked up at Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie and squeaked, "Kichi!"
"Oooooh! It's so cuuuute!!!" Selphie squealed.
"It's just precious!" Rinoa said, patting the little pink marshmallow on the head. "It's just like a marshmallow peep!"
"Kichi!" the little critter replied.
"Its name will be Kichi!"
"Kichi! Kiiiichiii!" the pink thing squeaked back. Just down the hall, Quistis was back in her room watching the hatching of her egg. Wonder how cute this one will be, she thought as cracks appeared all along the egg's surface. She sighed and called Rinoa and Selphie down to her room to watch. What will it be?...
A/N: Yeah, it was quite a bit longer than expected. This is only chapter two! The ball is rolling and soon there will be 8 new monsters loose in Garden. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and I promise it'll be more exciting than this one was...maybe? ^_^