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 IV- I Know You
Zell stared listlessly out the window as Irvine drove the car all the way to Balamb City. Across from him, slumped in her seat, Koorime sat silently, fiddling with a few materia orbs in her hand.
Zell watched Koorime, his gaze traveling over her features...her pretty brown hair that went well with her SeeD student uniform, her deep dark eyes, her feminine figure that concealed her inhuman strength, the playful smile that crossed her lips once in a while...Just his luck to have her as his student, someone who was nice, creative, fun-loving and sociable. God must be so good to him.
And Trinken, too, like Koorime, was a gift from heaven. While Koorime had both physical and magical strength, Trinken had amazing spiritual strength which allowed her to conjure all sorts of inborn magic. It wasn't surprising that her personality matched her hidden power. She was quiet most of the time, and had longish wavy hair and intelligent eyes that seemed to be flickering with all sorts of thoughts and ideas. Even the kasa she brought around with her reflected her character, something that looked ordinary, but when you discover its depth, you can literally drown in it.
"I think I know where Trinken is," Koorime suddenly said, breaking the silence.
"Hm?" Zell asked. "Where?"
"She's probably having trouble with her kasa," Koorime answered knowledgeably. "She's somewhere out there in the world, and we'll meet up with her soon."
Zell smiled. "I hope she arrives very-"
There was a sudden flash of light, and Trinken landed in Zell's lap. "Sorry I'm late, Instructor," she apologized, getting up from where she was. She plopped down on the seat beside Koorime.
"Where were you?" Zell demanded, trying his best to look stern. He failed. With his cheerful, comical personality, it was hard to be cold and strict. "You made us wait fifteen minutes at the gate, wondering where you've gone off to."
Trinken turned away, not meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry," she said. "I ran off without informing you. It won't happen again."
Koorime looked at her friend peculiarly. "Is something wrong with you, Trinken? You seem a little too serious."
Trinken told Zell and Koorime about her encounter with Squall.
"You saw his memory?" Zell queried. "How can you do that?"
Trinken shrugged her shoulders. "I can't really explain it. It has something to do with becoming one with the other person and trying to see through his eyes."
Koorime suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.
Trinken shoved her a little. "I don't mean that, Koorime," she told her friend. "I meant that I have to merge my chi with the other person by touching him and searching through his mind." She shrugged again. "But I just learned that from my sensei, and I can only capture bits and pieces of the other person's memories."
"But a white panther..." Zell crossed his legs in his trademark way. "What's with it? How could it hurt Squall internally?"
"I don't know," Koorime put in. "But it seems to me that we have to talk to this General Caraway in person. He might give us some answers."
**********
"Why are we at Balamb City anyway?" Koorime asked. "I mean, are we taking the train to Deling City? Where's the Ragnarok anyway?"
"It's at Esthar," Zell replied as they headed towards Zell's house for some refreshments. "Being repaired. It's supposed to have been delivered to Balamb Garden yesterday. But I think Laguna forgot again."
"Zell? Is that you?" a motherly voice came from the kitchen as they all entered the house.
"Hi, Ma," Zell greeted, walking up to his mother and kissing her on the cheek. "I brought some friends, Ma, and we're stopping here for a while before we start with the mission."
"Oh sure, Zell," Ma Dincht told him. "I'll prepare some food and drinks." She turned to the rest of the group. "Please go to the living room and make yourselves at home." She returned to her cooking.
As Zell faced the group, he caught sight of Koorime and Trinken gazing adoringly at him, their eyes glistening.
"Awwww..." they both remarked.
Zell shook his head, smiling. "Come on, come on. Let's head to the living room."
"Hey, Zell," Koorime said, walking up to him, her eyes wide and pleading. "Can we go up to your room?"
"Umm..."
"Please?" Trinken added, blinking her eyes for effect.
Zell was one who couldn't stand sad puppy faces, so he threw his arms up in exasperation and declared, "Fine, fine! Just don't mess anything up."
"Yeah!" The girls instantly dashed up the stairs to Zell's room.
Zell glanced at Irvine. "What about you, Irv? You stayin' here?"
Irvine shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's okay." His gaze fell on a stack of magazines on the desk. "Hey, porn!" He rushed to the table, flipping through the stack. "Are these yours, Zell?"
Zell shook his head vigorously. "Of course not! It's yours, don't you remember? You gave them to me because you said you ran out of space in your room and Squall wouldn't take them."
Irvine was openly ogling a picture of a woman on the first page. "Yup, I guess I'll definitely stay here for a while. You go ahead, I'll be alright," he told Zell, his gaze never leaving the page.
Zell shook his head again as he ascended the stairs to his room. He suddenly realized that everything was quiet in his bedroom, as if no one was there. Where were Koorime and Trinken?
"Girls," he began, pushing open the door.
He stopped when he saw that Koorime and Trinken were both sleeping peacefully on his bed, spent and somewhat exhausted with the day's events. He couldn't help but smile and approach them, his eyes never leaving their tranquil, angelic faces.
A part of him noticed that they had their boots on when they fell asleep, the shoes now placed on his bed. But who really cared if his bed was dirty? Not when two darlings were slumbering fitfully on his mattress.
He pulled out a blanket and draped it over them, taking care not to wake either of them. He gave them one last long look, then picked up his hoverboard. He needed some activity right now, something to keep him busy.
His hoverboard in hand, Zell walked out of the house and began skating around Balamb. When he got bored, he went to the outskirts of the city, hoping to run into some monster so he could train a little before they leave for Deling City.
Suddenly, in the distance, he spotted something unusual. A glint of metal in the forest nearby, which was quite strange because transports rarely entered the forest. What could it be?
He soared towards the heart of the forest, careful to stay in the protection of the trees. As soon as he neared the place where he spotted the glint, he began to hear some voices.
"Are you sure you obliterated all evidence that we were here this morning?" someone was saying.
"Yes, sir," another replied.
"We don't want anyone finding out about us," the first person went on. "Anyone who does...must be killed."
"What about that black-garbed man with the General's daughter? Do you think he lived?" a third voice asked.
"He will live, for a while," a younger male voice answered. "He will die a slow, painful death. And he cannot talk, because his vocal chords will not allow him to do so. In other words, he is a goner."
"Why didn't you just kill him right away?" the first man demanded. "He might tell someone."
"I assure you, Sergeant, no words shall escape his lips," the young man replied. "And remember this, you cannot dictate how I work."
Zell hopped off his hoverboard and crept stealthily through the trees to catch a glimpse of the speakers.
A stealth jet stood off to one side of the clearing, which explained the glint of metal in the sunlight. Several yards away, a group of men were talking. One of them, he noted, was a man in a military uniform. Another was a relatively young man about his age in a black suit and trenchcoat. Lying at his feet was a pure white panther, its eyes closed lazily.
Suddenly, the panther glanced up and glared at Zell's direction. Zell hid quickly into the trees, but it was too late. The panther stood up and nudged its master gently.
"Atropos tells me there is an intruder watching us and listening into our conversation," the young man told the others. "Find him and kill him." Some of the men, Galbadian soldiers, instantly dispersed.
The panther was still glaring at Zell's direction, and so was its master. Zell silently picked up his hoverboard and was just about to flee on it when a hand suddenly grabbed at his previously injured arm and lifted him a few inches above the ground.
"Here he is, Sergeant," a deep, gruff voice said.
Zell turned to see a large, tall, burly man holding his arm. He was dressed in a sleeveless muscle shirt and camouflage pants, with combat boots to match. Sneering at his quarry, he shook Zell a little, enjoying the sight of the young man wincing in pain.
Gritting his teeth, Zell swung his other fist to strike at the huge man. However, despite his size and body mass, the soldier deftly caught Zell's fist in the blink of an eye, and twisted it painfully behind his back.
"You're a stupid kid for having gone here," the man sneered. "For that, you'll have to meet your death."
Still carrying Zell as if he were a child, the soldier walked towards the clearing and dumped Zell in front of the young panther owner.
Zell instantly got up and swung his fist at the young man, hitting him squarely on the jaw. "So you were the one who hurt Squall!" Zell cried angrily. "Why? Why him? Who are you, anyway?"
The young man, who looked about eighteen or so, rubbed his jaw coolly and smiled at Zell. "You don't need to know my name. Such information won't help you when you're about to die." Glancing at the panther crouched in an alert position beside him, he added, "Atropos, do with him as you please."
**********
"Koorime! Koorime! Get up!"
Koorime groggily opened her eyes and demanded impatiently, "What?!"
Trinken glanced out the window. "I sense something wrong in the air, and it has something to do with Zell."
Koorime instantly jumped out of the bed, grabbing her huge sword and pouch of materia. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's mosey!"
**********
Atropos growled at the intruder before him, and Cyrus smiled in satisfaction. He was excited at the prospect of having another person tortured before his eyes.
Without warning, Atropos leapt at Zell for its initial attack, when suddenly, it crashed into an invisible wall between Zell and it. Snarling in annoyance, it bounded towards Zell again, and was stopped by the unseen barrier.
Cyrus looked up and saw a young girl in a braid and SeeD student uniform materialize in front of his supposed victim. Another female student followed, brandishing a gigantic sword at the soldiers around her. Lastly, a young man in a brown trenchcoat appeared and swiftly flipped out his shotgun.
"You..." Cyrus said under his breath, gazing strangely at the girl with the sword. He swore that he had seen her before, when he was still a teenager. "Koorime..."
"Huh?" Koorime asked, amazedly staring at him as if he had grown two heads. "You...know me?"
A Galbadian soldier suddenly lunged towards her, and she deftly brought down her large sword, nearly slicing the man in half. He fell to the ground, quickly grabbing a potion to cure himself.
"Stop!" Cyrus ordered in a large voice. All was silent at his command. "We shall leave right now," he told the Galbadian troops.
"Wait!" the persistent sergeant protested. "Aren't we supposed to kill them first? They saw us, they will know what we're up to."
Cyrus whipped his head towards him. "Do not forget that I am head of this mission," he said between his gritted teeth. "Obey your orders like a good soldier." Then, turning to Zell, Koorime, Trinken and Irvine, he said in a pleasant voice, "Till next time." He gestured to Atropos, glanced one last time at Koorime, disappeared in a shapeless mist, dispersing into the air. The troops hurried to the airship and retreated.
Koorime stared confusedly after the plane, her brows meeting together. Zell walked up to her and asked, "Do you know that guy?"
Koorime shook her head vigorously. "Of course not. But...I have a strange feeling that I have seen him somewhere before. I can't remember, though..." She trudged off to sit on a rock at the side, turning her back to them while drowned in her contemplation.
"Koorime...doesn't really remember her past that well," Trinken informed Zell, standing beside him. "She's...um...she used to be an experimental specimen at Esthar. The scientists there had infused her with mako, trying to follow the legend of the Great Cloud Strife. It somewhat messes with her memories though."
Zell stared at her, astonished at this piece of information. "Really?" he asked. "Is that why she's inhumanly strong?"
Trinken nodded her head slowly, then turned to see Irvine traipsing towards the sullen Koorime, doing a little dance at the same time for Koorime. Trinken stifled a giggle.
"Let's go," Koorime suddenly said, standing up and ignoring Irvine as if he had never existed. "To Deling City. We're sure to find some answers there."
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 IV- I Know You
Zell stared listlessly out the window as Irvine drove the car all the way to Balamb City. Across from him, slumped in her seat, Koorime sat silently, fiddling with a few materia orbs in her hand.
Zell watched Koorime, his gaze traveling over her features...her pretty brown hair that went well with her SeeD student uniform, her deep dark eyes, her feminine figure that concealed her inhuman strength, the playful smile that crossed her lips once in a while...Just his luck to have her as his student, someone who was nice, creative, fun-loving and sociable. God must be so good to him.
And Trinken, too, like Koorime, was a gift from heaven. While Koorime had both physical and magical strength, Trinken had amazing spiritual strength which allowed her to conjure all sorts of inborn magic. It wasn't surprising that her personality matched her hidden power. She was quiet most of the time, and had longish wavy hair and intelligent eyes that seemed to be flickering with all sorts of thoughts and ideas. Even the kasa she brought around with her reflected her character, something that looked ordinary, but when you discover its depth, you can literally drown in it.
"I think I know where Trinken is," Koorime suddenly said, breaking the silence.
"Hm?" Zell asked. "Where?"
"She's probably having trouble with her kasa," Koorime answered knowledgeably. "She's somewhere out there in the world, and we'll meet up with her soon."
Zell smiled. "I hope she arrives very-"
There was a sudden flash of light, and Trinken landed in Zell's lap. "Sorry I'm late, Instructor," she apologized, getting up from where she was. She plopped down on the seat beside Koorime.
"Where were you?" Zell demanded, trying his best to look stern. He failed. With his cheerful, comical personality, it was hard to be cold and strict. "You made us wait fifteen minutes at the gate, wondering where you've gone off to."
Trinken turned away, not meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry," she said. "I ran off without informing you. It won't happen again."
Koorime looked at her friend peculiarly. "Is something wrong with you, Trinken? You seem a little too serious."
Trinken told Zell and Koorime about her encounter with Squall.
"You saw his memory?" Zell queried. "How can you do that?"
Trinken shrugged her shoulders. "I can't really explain it. It has something to do with becoming one with the other person and trying to see through his eyes."
Koorime suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.
Trinken shoved her a little. "I don't mean that, Koorime," she told her friend. "I meant that I have to merge my chi with the other person by touching him and searching through his mind." She shrugged again. "But I just learned that from my sensei, and I can only capture bits and pieces of the other person's memories."
"But a white panther..." Zell crossed his legs in his trademark way. "What's with it? How could it hurt Squall internally?"
"I don't know," Koorime put in. "But it seems to me that we have to talk to this General Caraway in person. He might give us some answers."
**********
"Why are we at Balamb City anyway?" Koorime asked. "I mean, are we taking the train to Deling City? Where's the Ragnarok anyway?"
"It's at Esthar," Zell replied as they headed towards Zell's house for some refreshments. "Being repaired. It's supposed to have been delivered to Balamb Garden yesterday. But I think Laguna forgot again."
"Zell? Is that you?" a motherly voice came from the kitchen as they all entered the house.
"Hi, Ma," Zell greeted, walking up to his mother and kissing her on the cheek. "I brought some friends, Ma, and we're stopping here for a while before we start with the mission."
"Oh sure, Zell," Ma Dincht told him. "I'll prepare some food and drinks." She turned to the rest of the group. "Please go to the living room and make yourselves at home." She returned to her cooking.
As Zell faced the group, he caught sight of Koorime and Trinken gazing adoringly at him, their eyes glistening.
"Awwww..." they both remarked.
Zell shook his head, smiling. "Come on, come on. Let's head to the living room."
"Hey, Zell," Koorime said, walking up to him, her eyes wide and pleading. "Can we go up to your room?"
"Umm..."
"Please?" Trinken added, blinking her eyes for effect.
Zell was one who couldn't stand sad puppy faces, so he threw his arms up in exasperation and declared, "Fine, fine! Just don't mess anything up."
"Yeah!" The girls instantly dashed up the stairs to Zell's room.
Zell glanced at Irvine. "What about you, Irv? You stayin' here?"
Irvine shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's okay." His gaze fell on a stack of magazines on the desk. "Hey, porn!" He rushed to the table, flipping through the stack. "Are these yours, Zell?"
Zell shook his head vigorously. "Of course not! It's yours, don't you remember? You gave them to me because you said you ran out of space in your room and Squall wouldn't take them."
Irvine was openly ogling a picture of a woman on the first page. "Yup, I guess I'll definitely stay here for a while. You go ahead, I'll be alright," he told Zell, his gaze never leaving the page.
Zell shook his head again as he ascended the stairs to his room. He suddenly realized that everything was quiet in his bedroom, as if no one was there. Where were Koorime and Trinken?
"Girls," he began, pushing open the door.
He stopped when he saw that Koorime and Trinken were both sleeping peacefully on his bed, spent and somewhat exhausted with the day's events. He couldn't help but smile and approach them, his eyes never leaving their tranquil, angelic faces.
A part of him noticed that they had their boots on when they fell asleep, the shoes now placed on his bed. But who really cared if his bed was dirty? Not when two darlings were slumbering fitfully on his mattress.
He pulled out a blanket and draped it over them, taking care not to wake either of them. He gave them one last long look, then picked up his hoverboard. He needed some activity right now, something to keep him busy.
His hoverboard in hand, Zell walked out of the house and began skating around Balamb. When he got bored, he went to the outskirts of the city, hoping to run into some monster so he could train a little before they leave for Deling City.
Suddenly, in the distance, he spotted something unusual. A glint of metal in the forest nearby, which was quite strange because transports rarely entered the forest. What could it be?
He soared towards the heart of the forest, careful to stay in the protection of the trees. As soon as he neared the place where he spotted the glint, he began to hear some voices.
"Are you sure you obliterated all evidence that we were here this morning?" someone was saying.
"Yes, sir," another replied.
"We don't want anyone finding out about us," the first person went on. "Anyone who does...must be killed."
"What about that black-garbed man with the General's daughter? Do you think he lived?" a third voice asked.
"He will live, for a while," a younger male voice answered. "He will die a slow, painful death. And he cannot talk, because his vocal chords will not allow him to do so. In other words, he is a goner."
"Why didn't you just kill him right away?" the first man demanded. "He might tell someone."
"I assure you, Sergeant, no words shall escape his lips," the young man replied. "And remember this, you cannot dictate how I work."
Zell hopped off his hoverboard and crept stealthily through the trees to catch a glimpse of the speakers.
A stealth jet stood off to one side of the clearing, which explained the glint of metal in the sunlight. Several yards away, a group of men were talking. One of them, he noted, was a man in a military uniform. Another was a relatively young man about his age in a black suit and trenchcoat. Lying at his feet was a pure white panther, its eyes closed lazily.
Suddenly, the panther glanced up and glared at Zell's direction. Zell hid quickly into the trees, but it was too late. The panther stood up and nudged its master gently.
"Atropos tells me there is an intruder watching us and listening into our conversation," the young man told the others. "Find him and kill him." Some of the men, Galbadian soldiers, instantly dispersed.
The panther was still glaring at Zell's direction, and so was its master. Zell silently picked up his hoverboard and was just about to flee on it when a hand suddenly grabbed at his previously injured arm and lifted him a few inches above the ground.
"Here he is, Sergeant," a deep, gruff voice said.
Zell turned to see a large, tall, burly man holding his arm. He was dressed in a sleeveless muscle shirt and camouflage pants, with combat boots to match. Sneering at his quarry, he shook Zell a little, enjoying the sight of the young man wincing in pain.
Gritting his teeth, Zell swung his other fist to strike at the huge man. However, despite his size and body mass, the soldier deftly caught Zell's fist in the blink of an eye, and twisted it painfully behind his back.
"You're a stupid kid for having gone here," the man sneered. "For that, you'll have to meet your death."
Still carrying Zell as if he were a child, the soldier walked towards the clearing and dumped Zell in front of the young panther owner.
Zell instantly got up and swung his fist at the young man, hitting him squarely on the jaw. "So you were the one who hurt Squall!" Zell cried angrily. "Why? Why him? Who are you, anyway?"
The young man, who looked about eighteen or so, rubbed his jaw coolly and smiled at Zell. "You don't need to know my name. Such information won't help you when you're about to die." Glancing at the panther crouched in an alert position beside him, he added, "Atropos, do with him as you please."
**********
"Koorime! Koorime! Get up!"
Koorime groggily opened her eyes and demanded impatiently, "What?!"
Trinken glanced out the window. "I sense something wrong in the air, and it has something to do with Zell."
Koorime instantly jumped out of the bed, grabbing her huge sword and pouch of materia. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's mosey!"
**********
Atropos growled at the intruder before him, and Cyrus smiled in satisfaction. He was excited at the prospect of having another person tortured before his eyes.
Without warning, Atropos leapt at Zell for its initial attack, when suddenly, it crashed into an invisible wall between Zell and it. Snarling in annoyance, it bounded towards Zell again, and was stopped by the unseen barrier.
Cyrus looked up and saw a young girl in a braid and SeeD student uniform materialize in front of his supposed victim. Another female student followed, brandishing a gigantic sword at the soldiers around her. Lastly, a young man in a brown trenchcoat appeared and swiftly flipped out his shotgun.
"You..." Cyrus said under his breath, gazing strangely at the girl with the sword. He swore that he had seen her before, when he was still a teenager. "Koorime..."
"Huh?" Koorime asked, amazedly staring at him as if he had grown two heads. "You...know me?"
A Galbadian soldier suddenly lunged towards her, and she deftly brought down her large sword, nearly slicing the man in half. He fell to the ground, quickly grabbing a potion to cure himself.
"Stop!" Cyrus ordered in a large voice. All was silent at his command. "We shall leave right now," he told the Galbadian troops.
"Wait!" the persistent sergeant protested. "Aren't we supposed to kill them first? They saw us, they will know what we're up to."
Cyrus whipped his head towards him. "Do not forget that I am head of this mission," he said between his gritted teeth. "Obey your orders like a good soldier." Then, turning to Zell, Koorime, Trinken and Irvine, he said in a pleasant voice, "Till next time." He gestured to Atropos, glanced one last time at Koorime, disappeared in a shapeless mist, dispersing into the air. The troops hurried to the airship and retreated.
Koorime stared confusedly after the plane, her brows meeting together. Zell walked up to her and asked, "Do you know that guy?"
Koorime shook her head vigorously. "Of course not. But...I have a strange feeling that I have seen him somewhere before. I can't remember, though..." She trudged off to sit on a rock at the side, turning her back to them while drowned in her contemplation.
"Koorime...doesn't really remember her past that well," Trinken informed Zell, standing beside him. "She's...um...she used to be an experimental specimen at Esthar. The scientists there had infused her with mako, trying to follow the legend of the Great Cloud Strife. It somewhat messes with her memories though."
Zell stared at her, astonished at this piece of information. "Really?" he asked. "Is that why she's inhumanly strong?"
Trinken nodded her head slowly, then turned to see Irvine traipsing towards the sullen Koorime, doing a little dance at the same time for Koorime. Trinken stifled a giggle.
"Let's go," Koorime suddenly said, standing up and ignoring Irvine as if he had never existed. "To Deling City. We're sure to find some answers there."
