Title: Stranger Thingsā¦
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunniesā¦^.^v
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!
CHAPTER III-The Abduction
"Where are those girls?" Zell muttered through his gritted teeth as he stood alone at the Garden directory, waiting for his two students.
"Instructor D! Instructor D!" a familiar voice called from behind him.
Zell turned and saw Ethan running towards him.
"Instructor D!" the boy repeated. He stopped in front of Zell, trying to catch his breath. When he did, he continued, "Jared and Keisha told me to apologize to you for them. They said they're really sorry."
Zell shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "That's okay. I needed some training anyway. Were you the one who called Squall?"
Ethan nodded his head proudly. "Yep! I ran to the library when you left."
Zell playfully tousled Ethan's brown hair. "Good job, kid. If you didn't get Squall, I'd have been that T-Rexaur's lunch."
"ZEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" Two voices chimed in the distance.
Zell rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned to scold them for being late but when he caught sight of them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped uselessly open.
Koorime and Trinken, both smart in new SeeD student uniforms, were heading towards him, a half-consumed hotdog in each of the girls' hand. Slung on their other hands were two plastic bags filled to the brim with...with...
"Hi, Zell!" Koorime greeted, waving a hand at him. "Look what we got for you!" She jogged the last few meters and shoved a bag towards him.
"What the-" Zell began, but was at a loss for words when he saw what was inside. "Hotdogs?!"
"Yup," Trinken confirmed as she arrived. She handed the other bulging bag to him. "Alllllllll for you."
Zell raised an eyebrow at them. "Me? Why?"
"BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU!!!" They both glomped onto him tightly.
"Please..." Zell said as he struggled to breathe. "Air...need...air..." The girls instantly released him.
Zell glanced back at the contents of the plastic bags. Hotdogs? he thought, touched by the girls' kindness. All for me? My friends never gave me something like this. This is too...flattering.
"You were late by almost an hour," Zell told them. "Did it take you that long to line up for these?"
Trinken shook her head. "Nah...it took us only a minute to get those hotdogs. The cafeteria lady immediately handed them to us when Koorime threatened to impale her with her sword."
"Ooooohhhh..." Ethan, who was still standing beside Zell, remarked. "Cool sword, miss! How can you carry it?"
Koorime unstrapped her sword and waved it around with two fingers, making everyone in the direct vicinity drop down to the floor. "See? Just like this."
"May I try?" Ethan said as he got up from the floor.
"Sure," Koorime consented, carelessly handing it to him.
As soon as the sword left her fingers, it fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud, bringing Ethan along with it. "Hey, help," he squeaked.
"But if it took you only a minute, then..." Zell said, also getting up from the floor.
Koorime gestured towards Trinken. "Trinken had trouble transporting us here from the dormitory. Her kasa still needs some practicing."
Trinken gave Zell a sheepish grin, holding a large wide-brimmed hat in front of her. She said, "You won't believe where we've been. We even ended up in President Laguna's bathtub, with him in it!"
A large sweatdrop ran down Zell's head. "Couldn't you just have walked?"
"Ummmm..." they both said sheepishly, shrugging their shoulders, their eyes all sparkly.
Zell let out a huge sigh and proceeded towards the library entrance, the girls following closely behind him. "Okay, girls," he began. "This is the Garden library, where we do all our research and-"
"Zell! Zell!" a voice from the distance interrupted him.
Zell turned to see Quistis running towards him, an alarmed look on her face. What could have happened?
"Zell! I'm so glad you're here," Quistis said breathlessly. "There's been trouble."
"Trouble?"
"General Caraway has taken Rinoa forcibly and brought her back to Deling City. He left a note saying he didn't want his daughter to be associated with anyone who is allied with Esthar," Quistis explained.
"Taken her," Zell said. "But how? She was in the Garden-"
"She wasn't in the garden, Zell," Quistis corrected. "She was at Balamb City with Squall. He was beaten up pretty badly and left in the forest to die."
Zell couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Squall? Beaten up? Since when?"
Quistis fell silent. "I don't know. But he's in serious condition. He's in the infirmary right now with Dr. Kadowaki. He's being treated for internal bruises."
"Internal bruises? How can anyone accomplish that? Surely not ordinary Galbadian soldiers," Zell told her.
"That's what you'll have to do," Quistis said. "Find out what really happened. A few witnesses at Balamb told me that some Galbadian soldiers had approached the couple and asked to speak with them outside the city. No one saw anything after that."
Zell glanced at the two students behind him. "But the girls-"
"Take the girls," Quistis instructed. "That will be their SeeD field test. And if you do find what's going on around here, do what you can in your power to stop it. Irvine will accompany you, of course. He'll meet you at the gate. Selphie still has to supervise another SeeD mission, and I have to take over the Garden in Squall's place." She began to head back to the elevator. "Good luck!"
Zell whirled around to face his two students. "This is no ordinary mission," he told them seriously. "This is about my friends. I have to save Rinoa and find out what's going on, too."
"Awwww...Zell, you're so determined and loyal to your friends," Koorime and Trinken said, hugging him on both sides.
Zell smiled uneasily and wiped the sweat from his brow. This was going to be one looooooong mission.
**********
"Internal bruises? That's...strange," Trinken said as the three of them headed towards the infirmary to check on Squall.
"Yeah," Koorime agreed, her sword now strapped to her back. "I mean, there's no human or monster who could inflict such injuries. It's too...impossible."
"General Caraway must have something up his sleeve," Zell mused out loudly. "Or else, why would he want Rinoa back so suddenly? And so badly that he beat up Squall just to get her? And Squall, how could he be so helpless?"
"You can't go in," Dr. Kadowaki told them as they reached the infirmary entrance.
"And why not?" Zell asked, stamping a foot in front of him. "We're his friends. We have a right."
"I'm sorry, Zell," Dr. Kadowaki explained. "Squall specifically requested me to not let anyone in. Even close friends. He didn't explain why."
"What about Quistis?" Trinken pointed out. "I mean, how did she get in?"
"She didn't," Dr. Kadowaki corrected. "I only told her what happened. She didn't even get to see him."
"But doesn't Zell have a right?" Koorime asked, reaching for her sword.
Zell instantly laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Let's just go, Koorime," he said, leading her away. "Squall probably doesn't want us around."
Koorime was somewhat still annoyed, but she relented and went with him. It was only when they reached the Garden Hall that they realized that something was amiss.
"Hey, where's Trinken?" Zell queried.
**********
Replacing her kasa on her head, Trinken crept to the side of Squall's bed, watching him labor over every breath.
"Squall," she whispered, stroking his dark bangs away from his face. His scar was still there, etched forever on his forehead. "Squall, answer me."
Squall opened his eyes a slit. "Hm?" he mumbled.
"I'm just a friend," Trinken told him, gently closing his eyes.
She carefully placed a palm on her forehead, closing her eyes too. Summoning her inborn magic, she soon felt a warm, cozy feeling passing through her fingers. In a few moments, she called out some of Squall's memories.
The first thing she saw was a white creature growling at her. No, it was growling at Squall. She was seeing it through his eyes. Beside the creature stood a tall dark blurry figure. The memory was still a little hazy, but as she concentrated on it, the picture soon became clearer.
The creature was actually a large cat of some sort. A panther perhaps. But according to her knowledge of the world, there was no white panther that existed. The figure standing beside it was a handsome young man with blond hair, dressed in a black suit. He was smiling evilly at her, a glint in his eyes. As Trinken watched, the panther suddenly leapt at her, and the memory went black.
Squall was suddenly moaning beside her, sweat beading on his forehead. It was as if he was in severe pain. Trinken took her hand away, and as she did so, his moaning intensified.
"Squall? Is something wrong?" Dr. Kadowaki's voice came from outside the room.
Grabbing her kasa, Trinken prepared to disappear into it, but not after casting one last glance at the pained, tortured Squall Leonhart.
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunniesā¦^.^v
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!
CHAPTER III-The Abduction
"Where are those girls?" Zell muttered through his gritted teeth as he stood alone at the Garden directory, waiting for his two students.
"Instructor D! Instructor D!" a familiar voice called from behind him.
Zell turned and saw Ethan running towards him.
"Instructor D!" the boy repeated. He stopped in front of Zell, trying to catch his breath. When he did, he continued, "Jared and Keisha told me to apologize to you for them. They said they're really sorry."
Zell shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "That's okay. I needed some training anyway. Were you the one who called Squall?"
Ethan nodded his head proudly. "Yep! I ran to the library when you left."
Zell playfully tousled Ethan's brown hair. "Good job, kid. If you didn't get Squall, I'd have been that T-Rexaur's lunch."
"ZEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" Two voices chimed in the distance.
Zell rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned to scold them for being late but when he caught sight of them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped uselessly open.
Koorime and Trinken, both smart in new SeeD student uniforms, were heading towards him, a half-consumed hotdog in each of the girls' hand. Slung on their other hands were two plastic bags filled to the brim with...with...
"Hi, Zell!" Koorime greeted, waving a hand at him. "Look what we got for you!" She jogged the last few meters and shoved a bag towards him.
"What the-" Zell began, but was at a loss for words when he saw what was inside. "Hotdogs?!"
"Yup," Trinken confirmed as she arrived. She handed the other bulging bag to him. "Alllllllll for you."
Zell raised an eyebrow at them. "Me? Why?"
"BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU!!!" They both glomped onto him tightly.
"Please..." Zell said as he struggled to breathe. "Air...need...air..." The girls instantly released him.
Zell glanced back at the contents of the plastic bags. Hotdogs? he thought, touched by the girls' kindness. All for me? My friends never gave me something like this. This is too...flattering.
"You were late by almost an hour," Zell told them. "Did it take you that long to line up for these?"
Trinken shook her head. "Nah...it took us only a minute to get those hotdogs. The cafeteria lady immediately handed them to us when Koorime threatened to impale her with her sword."
"Ooooohhhh..." Ethan, who was still standing beside Zell, remarked. "Cool sword, miss! How can you carry it?"
Koorime unstrapped her sword and waved it around with two fingers, making everyone in the direct vicinity drop down to the floor. "See? Just like this."
"May I try?" Ethan said as he got up from the floor.
"Sure," Koorime consented, carelessly handing it to him.
As soon as the sword left her fingers, it fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud, bringing Ethan along with it. "Hey, help," he squeaked.
"But if it took you only a minute, then..." Zell said, also getting up from the floor.
Koorime gestured towards Trinken. "Trinken had trouble transporting us here from the dormitory. Her kasa still needs some practicing."
Trinken gave Zell a sheepish grin, holding a large wide-brimmed hat in front of her. She said, "You won't believe where we've been. We even ended up in President Laguna's bathtub, with him in it!"
A large sweatdrop ran down Zell's head. "Couldn't you just have walked?"
"Ummmm..." they both said sheepishly, shrugging their shoulders, their eyes all sparkly.
Zell let out a huge sigh and proceeded towards the library entrance, the girls following closely behind him. "Okay, girls," he began. "This is the Garden library, where we do all our research and-"
"Zell! Zell!" a voice from the distance interrupted him.
Zell turned to see Quistis running towards him, an alarmed look on her face. What could have happened?
"Zell! I'm so glad you're here," Quistis said breathlessly. "There's been trouble."
"Trouble?"
"General Caraway has taken Rinoa forcibly and brought her back to Deling City. He left a note saying he didn't want his daughter to be associated with anyone who is allied with Esthar," Quistis explained.
"Taken her," Zell said. "But how? She was in the Garden-"
"She wasn't in the garden, Zell," Quistis corrected. "She was at Balamb City with Squall. He was beaten up pretty badly and left in the forest to die."
Zell couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Squall? Beaten up? Since when?"
Quistis fell silent. "I don't know. But he's in serious condition. He's in the infirmary right now with Dr. Kadowaki. He's being treated for internal bruises."
"Internal bruises? How can anyone accomplish that? Surely not ordinary Galbadian soldiers," Zell told her.
"That's what you'll have to do," Quistis said. "Find out what really happened. A few witnesses at Balamb told me that some Galbadian soldiers had approached the couple and asked to speak with them outside the city. No one saw anything after that."
Zell glanced at the two students behind him. "But the girls-"
"Take the girls," Quistis instructed. "That will be their SeeD field test. And if you do find what's going on around here, do what you can in your power to stop it. Irvine will accompany you, of course. He'll meet you at the gate. Selphie still has to supervise another SeeD mission, and I have to take over the Garden in Squall's place." She began to head back to the elevator. "Good luck!"
Zell whirled around to face his two students. "This is no ordinary mission," he told them seriously. "This is about my friends. I have to save Rinoa and find out what's going on, too."
"Awwww...Zell, you're so determined and loyal to your friends," Koorime and Trinken said, hugging him on both sides.
Zell smiled uneasily and wiped the sweat from his brow. This was going to be one looooooong mission.
**********
"Internal bruises? That's...strange," Trinken said as the three of them headed towards the infirmary to check on Squall.
"Yeah," Koorime agreed, her sword now strapped to her back. "I mean, there's no human or monster who could inflict such injuries. It's too...impossible."
"General Caraway must have something up his sleeve," Zell mused out loudly. "Or else, why would he want Rinoa back so suddenly? And so badly that he beat up Squall just to get her? And Squall, how could he be so helpless?"
"You can't go in," Dr. Kadowaki told them as they reached the infirmary entrance.
"And why not?" Zell asked, stamping a foot in front of him. "We're his friends. We have a right."
"I'm sorry, Zell," Dr. Kadowaki explained. "Squall specifically requested me to not let anyone in. Even close friends. He didn't explain why."
"What about Quistis?" Trinken pointed out. "I mean, how did she get in?"
"She didn't," Dr. Kadowaki corrected. "I only told her what happened. She didn't even get to see him."
"But doesn't Zell have a right?" Koorime asked, reaching for her sword.
Zell instantly laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Let's just go, Koorime," he said, leading her away. "Squall probably doesn't want us around."
Koorime was somewhat still annoyed, but she relented and went with him. It was only when they reached the Garden Hall that they realized that something was amiss.
"Hey, where's Trinken?" Zell queried.
**********
Replacing her kasa on her head, Trinken crept to the side of Squall's bed, watching him labor over every breath.
"Squall," she whispered, stroking his dark bangs away from his face. His scar was still there, etched forever on his forehead. "Squall, answer me."
Squall opened his eyes a slit. "Hm?" he mumbled.
"I'm just a friend," Trinken told him, gently closing his eyes.
She carefully placed a palm on her forehead, closing her eyes too. Summoning her inborn magic, she soon felt a warm, cozy feeling passing through her fingers. In a few moments, she called out some of Squall's memories.
The first thing she saw was a white creature growling at her. No, it was growling at Squall. She was seeing it through his eyes. Beside the creature stood a tall dark blurry figure. The memory was still a little hazy, but as she concentrated on it, the picture soon became clearer.
The creature was actually a large cat of some sort. A panther perhaps. But according to her knowledge of the world, there was no white panther that existed. The figure standing beside it was a handsome young man with blond hair, dressed in a black suit. He was smiling evilly at her, a glint in his eyes. As Trinken watched, the panther suddenly leapt at her, and the memory went black.
Squall was suddenly moaning beside her, sweat beading on his forehead. It was as if he was in severe pain. Trinken took her hand away, and as she did so, his moaning intensified.
"Squall? Is something wrong?" Dr. Kadowaki's voice came from outside the room.
Grabbing her kasa, Trinken prepared to disappear into it, but not after casting one last glance at the pained, tortured Squall Leonhart.
