VIII
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, does not go away."
--Anonymous
Zell had named the hangar closet the "Commodore Suite."
It had been Squall's office--and defacto bunk--on their infrequent air missions, but little sign of that remained. Squall had always been exceptionally fastidious, his quarters exceptionally spartan--the hangar was no exception. Now, there was little more than a legal pad and a sleeping pad.
He had left so little behind.
Quistis stood in the office, one hand on the makeshift desk, staring at the remnants. She had lost track of time, wandering in her own thoughts, when the door slid open behind her and Zell stepped in.
She jumped--she hadn't expected anyone. She had nearly forgotten that there were other breathing bodies on the ship. She pulled herself up, trying her best to retake her professionalism--to assume the role of leader. "Is there something--"
"Don't do it," Zell begged.
She trailed off at the look in his eyes. "...what?"
"This! Don't--just, don't do this!" Zell stepped forward, hands half-entreating, half-fisted. "You're acting like Squall did! Irvine says you won't talk to him and I know you don't want to talk to me and now--now you've been spending more time in here than Squall did, and I bet you're taking all the blame for it and--and--dammit! Don't go thinking you're the only one who feels bad about this!"
Quistis shook her head. "But I should have--"
"Dammit! I said no!" Zell's voice was rising, his control wavering. "How do you think the rest of us feel? I--I laughed in his face last time I talked to him alone! How do you think I feel? How do you think Irvine feels? He still thinks he should have gone after Squall as soon as we saw you alone! And, dammit, we sill have a job to do, and we sure as hell aren't going to do it if we're moping around here!"
Zell was shaking with suppressed emotion. (Too much has happened,) Quistis realized. (We can't take any more of this.) A tear beaded in her eye--she turned away. (I can't take any more of this. But I have to be in control--)
Zell caught her, pulling her into what was as much a tackle as an embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her shoulder--held on as tightly as if he were sure she was going to disappear, and he couldn't let her go.
"Selphie's still alive," he said, as soon as they had both stopped shaking. "She's gotta be. And Rinoa. We're gonna find them. Okay?"
Quistis took a shuddering breath. "...okay," she said.
"We're gonna find them. " Zell released her, looking faintly chagrined. There was a watery shine in his eyes. "We just gotta know where to loo--"
The ship lurched beneath them.
Both jumped. Zell looked around, muttering something under his breath. "Let's get to the bridge!" he said, running out the door with Quistis hard on his heels.
When they arrived they saw nothing out of the ordinary, Irvine was leaning against the wall next to the copilot's seat, and Nida was handling the controls.
"What is going on?" Zell demanded.
"It's simple," Irvine said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "If you think about it, first Rinoa was taken, then they tried to get Ellone, and Squall was being targeted, too. There's only one major thing that connects the three."
"Only one?" Quistis asked.
"Only one major thing that connects the three," Irvine said again. "The Ultimecia plot."
"So..."
"So aside from Seifer, who we probably couldn't find even if by some chance we actually wanted to, who's the other person who was most involved in the plot?"
Quistis thought for a moment--then her eyes went wide.
"Exactly," Irvine said. "Matron."
"But what about Selphie?" Zell asked. "She didn't have anything more to do with the plot than we did."
"I'm working on it, OK? I don't have it all figured out yet." Irvine turned back to the window. "But we're going to the orphanage, see if we can beat the blackies there."
"All right," Quistis said. "Good. Let's see how fast this thing can fly."
Staring out at the horizon below, Quistis sighed. (We'll find her,) she thought. (We'll get Rinoa back, Squall. I promise.)
-
Laguna opened his eyes to darkness.
The gloom was all-pervasive. There was a dirt floor beneath him, and the air smelled musty and cold. He couldn't tell where he was, or when. And he had a pounding headache.
There was the sound of muffled sniffling from across the room (if one could call it a room), and Laguna shook his head, trying to make anything out in the black.
"Where are we?" he asked. "Who--who's there?"
Someone put a hand on his shoulder, and he almost jumped out of his skin. "Si--Mr. Laguna? It's me," the person said. "Selphie Tilmitt? From SeeD? And Rinoa's here, too."
"Why?" Laguna asked. "What happened?"
"We don't know," Selphie said. "But it's been a real bummer. No one's done anything with us yet, they just sort of leave us here, and they haven't given us food or light or anything, except..." she shifted, cloth loud in the silence. "They came and dragged me around outside a bit. Fisherman's Horizon. Said something about showing me to someone, but then they got attacked so they didn't..."
She trailed off.
"I don't know what's happening," Rinoa moaned softly. "I can't tell where we are."
Moving over to her, navigating by the sound of her voice, Laguna clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Your dad's Caraway, right? He'll probably have the whole Galbadian military out looking for you. And Kiros and Ward will be sure to mobilize Esthar. And your friend, Squall--do you think he'd just leave you here? We're gonna be found in no time."
"But--" Rinoa sounded unconvinced.
"Yeah!" Selphie said. "I even saw Squall and Irvy and Quistis and Zell, and they tried to rescue me," she said--with a certain amount of forcen enthusiasm.
"Don't worry about it," Laguna said again. "I--"
There was a low, silty laugh from the far end of the chamber, sliding like the sand in an hourglass. "Fools," the voice said. "They can never find us here. We are nowhere."
Laguna jumped. "What? Who are you?"
Lurid red eyes opened, spilling a ghastly light in the void.
"I am Diablos," the voice said, "and welcome to my netherworld."