Chapter Eight
"Squall!" Nida called over the intercom, "Get to the Bridge now! We found Cid!" Squall raced to the elevator as it slowly opened. He walked in, Rinoa following him. He pressed the button for the third floor. As the doors slowly closed, Squall looked out over the halls of Garden, to see every pair of eyes glued to him. He smiled and waved to them to thank all of them for their help looking for Cid.
The elevator never seemed to move so slowly. As it made its way up, questions formed in Squall's head. What had happened in Cid's room? How did he get out of there? And how did he make it to the Bridge? The elevator finally made it the third floor and the doors opened. Squall and Rinoa rushed through the two double doors out to the Bridge. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. Squall figured that Cid must be on the upper level of the Bridge with Nida.
Squall rode the elevator up again with Rinoa right behind him again. Nida greeted him at the top.
"Where's Cid?" Rinoa immediately asked.
"We have some good news and some bad news." Nida replied. Instantly a pit formed in Squall's stomach.
Please let Cid be okay. Squall wished.
"Cid has been found. He's with his grandfather in FH." Squall sighed in relief.
"That's the good news." Squall turned his attention back to Nida.
"What's the bad news?" Rinoa wanted to know.
"General Caraway is dead."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The words had hit Rinoa like a train. It completely blew her away. Her father was dead. She just couldn't believe it. Memories of when Rinoa considered her father dead flooded back to her. She may not have agreed to what he was doing, but he was still her father. She didn't know how lucky she was back then when he was alive.
Tears continued to fall from her eyes. What completely tore her up was that she never even apologized for how she treated him. Whenever he came to visit his grandson at Balamb Garden, Rinoa had given him a quick, "Hi." if anything. Even after all these years, she still couldn't talk to him, and now she'd never get the chance...
Rinoa continued to sob alone in her room. She wished someone was there to comfort her, but she knew Squall was helping to pilot to FH. Rinoa remembered how Zell had gone to the Training Center to work out when Headmaster Cid had died, and also when Edea had died.
Edea. Rinoa remembered the promise she had made to herself, I think I will go to the Training Center. She wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the Training Center.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Morons." Squall muttered as he made his way be the Galbadian soldiers. He couldn't believe they almost didn't let him by to get his son. It probably would have been easier if Rinoa had been with him, but he decided to let her have some time alone. After she ran off when Nida told her General Caraway was dead, Squall hadn't seen her.
"Cid!" Squall cried as he saw his son on the ground. He picked him and held him close. Near Squall lay the bodies of General Caraway and Martine. Both looked the same as when Squall had first seen them, with the exception of more gray hair, and the holes in their chests.
Squall turned from the gory scene walking away with his son in his arms.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"What should we do?" Squall looked around at his closest friends. He hadn't been able to find Rinoa, but he thought she still needed some time alone.
"Well, we know only so many things." Quistis began, "One: Levi is someone only heard by Cid. Whether he is real or not is unknown, but all evidence points that way."
"How could Levi not be real?" Irvine interrupted.
"Let me continue." Quistis replied, "Two: there have been three deaths - Edea, Martine, and Caraway. The connection between them is also unknown, but they were all killed in a similar fashion. They were stabbed with some sort of blade through the chest. And both times they were found with Cid passed out near them."
"What is the pattern?" Selphie wondered out loud, "What connects all these people?"
"More importantly, who's next?" Zell's question received looks from everyone. Squall hadn't thought about that. Zell was right though - who was next?
Cid stirred in his father's arms. He rubbed his eyes and stared up into his father's face.
"Daddy!" Cid cried and wrapped his arms around his father, "I was scared. I was in my room, and then..." A yell interrupted him.
"Hey! I can't see!" Selphie cried. Squall looked over at her to see a swirling shadow of darkness spinning around her in front of her eyes.
Is that a Blind spell? Squall wondered.
"What the hell?" Zell yelled as the shade appeared in front of his eyes.
"What the..." Squall let go of Cid as he stood in disbelief. The smoke appeared in front of Quistis' eyes and then Irvine was blinded. Before he knew it, Squall was surrounded by complete darkness.
"Cid!" Squall called out, "Cid you have to go get the GFs so we can cast Esuna. Cid?" There was no answer, "Cid, where are you?"
"Levi, did you do this?" Squall heard Cid ask. Then Cid began to scream again.
"Cid? What's wrong? Where are you?" Squall groped around in the darkness, looking for his son. Cid's screaming continued.
"Daddy!" Cid cried, "Daddy it hurts!" Suddenly the screaming stopped. Squall heard a whisper, but he was unable to make out what it said. With that, Squall was left in complete darkness.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ma Dincht heard a loud smash from Zell's room. She was dusting his room, keeping it as clean as he had left it. Zell had always enjoyed a clean room, but since he was never home, she had kept it clean for him.
Ma Dincht immediately dropped her cleaning tools and crept down the stairs. She reached the bottom step to see that her front door had been completely blown off. She crept back up to Zell's room and called Balamb Garden.
"Hello? Can I talk to Zell Dincht? Do you know where he is?" Ma Dincht whispered nervously into the phone. She suddenly noticed a figure standing in her doorway.
"What?" she gasped in surprise. She dropped the phone on the floor. Her eyes fell on the sword the intruder carried. The sword looked like it had been made of pure lightning as it flashed in the intruder's hand. Ma Dincht took a step back just as the intruder rushed at her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Zell, we have urgent news." They had said, "It's about your mother." A call had been received from Zell's house in Balamb, and by the sound of it, Zell's mother was in trouble.
Zell paced eagerly by the entrance of Balamb Garden, waiting for it to land so he could check on his mother. Horrible thoughts had entered his mind. The fact that no one could find Cid again worried him.
What's taking so long? Zell impatiently wondered. He finally heard Nida's warning that Balamb Garden was finally landing. A minute later, Zell heard Nida say that it was safe to exit the Garden. Zell raced out and ran across the plains as fast as he could.
"Hey!" Zell continued to run, but Squall rode up next to him on a Z- board and holding another. Zell smiled seeing his friend, just as eager to see how Ma Dincht was doing. Squall turned on his other Z-board and tossed it in front of Zell. Zell jumped on and rode after Squall, realizing that Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis were all riding Z-boards behind him.
"Where did you get these?" Zell called over to Squall.
"The collection of confiscated Z-boards that Garden had collected!" Squall called back. Zell remembered how his Z-board had gotten confiscated on the day of his first mission. The five SeeDs rode on to the approaching Balamb.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ma?" Zell's voice rose once he saw what had happened to his front door. He ran into his house calling his mother's name again. Zell ran into the kitchen looking for his mother. She wasn't there. He came back into the living room and then realized the only remaining place in the house was his room. He ran up the stairs, everyone following close behind him. Cid was there, lifeless on the floor in the doorway to his room.
Zell stepped over Cid into his room. His usually neat and swept floor had blood stains all over it. His mother sat in the corner, a giant hole in her chest.
"MA!" Zell screamed and ran to her, slipping on the blood and his mother's cards that covered the floor. He kneeled at her side.
"Zell...?" Ma Dincht whispered.
"Ma! Ma, I'm here." Zell cried, sweat and tears covering his face.
"I love you, Zell." Ma Dincht took in a heavy breath, "Here, take these. To remember me by." Ma Dincht handed over the remainder of her cards that weren't stained with blood, "You never did beat me." She smiled and took in another raised breath. It was the last one she would ever take again.
"No!" Zell wept and cradled his mother's corpse in his arms. He picked her up and placed her on his bed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Everyone stood at the other side of the room, Cid once again in Squall's arms. Zell shot an angry glance over to Squall.
"It's all his fault!" Zell screamed pointing a finger at Cid, "He killed my mother!" Zell threw a punch at Cid, but Squall turned protecting him with his build. Zell threw another punch.
"Zell, stop!" Selphie cried. Irvine pulled both Zell's arms behind his back, preventing his movement.
"It's his fault! It's his fault!" Zell stopped fighting and fell to his knees sobbing, "He killed my mother. He killed my mother."
"Squall!" Nida called over the intercom, "Get to the Bridge now! We found Cid!" Squall raced to the elevator as it slowly opened. He walked in, Rinoa following him. He pressed the button for the third floor. As the doors slowly closed, Squall looked out over the halls of Garden, to see every pair of eyes glued to him. He smiled and waved to them to thank all of them for their help looking for Cid.
The elevator never seemed to move so slowly. As it made its way up, questions formed in Squall's head. What had happened in Cid's room? How did he get out of there? And how did he make it to the Bridge? The elevator finally made it the third floor and the doors opened. Squall and Rinoa rushed through the two double doors out to the Bridge. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. Squall figured that Cid must be on the upper level of the Bridge with Nida.
Squall rode the elevator up again with Rinoa right behind him again. Nida greeted him at the top.
"Where's Cid?" Rinoa immediately asked.
"We have some good news and some bad news." Nida replied. Instantly a pit formed in Squall's stomach.
Please let Cid be okay. Squall wished.
"Cid has been found. He's with his grandfather in FH." Squall sighed in relief.
"That's the good news." Squall turned his attention back to Nida.
"What's the bad news?" Rinoa wanted to know.
"General Caraway is dead."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The words had hit Rinoa like a train. It completely blew her away. Her father was dead. She just couldn't believe it. Memories of when Rinoa considered her father dead flooded back to her. She may not have agreed to what he was doing, but he was still her father. She didn't know how lucky she was back then when he was alive.
Tears continued to fall from her eyes. What completely tore her up was that she never even apologized for how she treated him. Whenever he came to visit his grandson at Balamb Garden, Rinoa had given him a quick, "Hi." if anything. Even after all these years, she still couldn't talk to him, and now she'd never get the chance...
Rinoa continued to sob alone in her room. She wished someone was there to comfort her, but she knew Squall was helping to pilot to FH. Rinoa remembered how Zell had gone to the Training Center to work out when Headmaster Cid had died, and also when Edea had died.
Edea. Rinoa remembered the promise she had made to herself, I think I will go to the Training Center. She wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the Training Center.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Morons." Squall muttered as he made his way be the Galbadian soldiers. He couldn't believe they almost didn't let him by to get his son. It probably would have been easier if Rinoa had been with him, but he decided to let her have some time alone. After she ran off when Nida told her General Caraway was dead, Squall hadn't seen her.
"Cid!" Squall cried as he saw his son on the ground. He picked him and held him close. Near Squall lay the bodies of General Caraway and Martine. Both looked the same as when Squall had first seen them, with the exception of more gray hair, and the holes in their chests.
Squall turned from the gory scene walking away with his son in his arms.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"What should we do?" Squall looked around at his closest friends. He hadn't been able to find Rinoa, but he thought she still needed some time alone.
"Well, we know only so many things." Quistis began, "One: Levi is someone only heard by Cid. Whether he is real or not is unknown, but all evidence points that way."
"How could Levi not be real?" Irvine interrupted.
"Let me continue." Quistis replied, "Two: there have been three deaths - Edea, Martine, and Caraway. The connection between them is also unknown, but they were all killed in a similar fashion. They were stabbed with some sort of blade through the chest. And both times they were found with Cid passed out near them."
"What is the pattern?" Selphie wondered out loud, "What connects all these people?"
"More importantly, who's next?" Zell's question received looks from everyone. Squall hadn't thought about that. Zell was right though - who was next?
Cid stirred in his father's arms. He rubbed his eyes and stared up into his father's face.
"Daddy!" Cid cried and wrapped his arms around his father, "I was scared. I was in my room, and then..." A yell interrupted him.
"Hey! I can't see!" Selphie cried. Squall looked over at her to see a swirling shadow of darkness spinning around her in front of her eyes.
Is that a Blind spell? Squall wondered.
"What the hell?" Zell yelled as the shade appeared in front of his eyes.
"What the..." Squall let go of Cid as he stood in disbelief. The smoke appeared in front of Quistis' eyes and then Irvine was blinded. Before he knew it, Squall was surrounded by complete darkness.
"Cid!" Squall called out, "Cid you have to go get the GFs so we can cast Esuna. Cid?" There was no answer, "Cid, where are you?"
"Levi, did you do this?" Squall heard Cid ask. Then Cid began to scream again.
"Cid? What's wrong? Where are you?" Squall groped around in the darkness, looking for his son. Cid's screaming continued.
"Daddy!" Cid cried, "Daddy it hurts!" Suddenly the screaming stopped. Squall heard a whisper, but he was unable to make out what it said. With that, Squall was left in complete darkness.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ma Dincht heard a loud smash from Zell's room. She was dusting his room, keeping it as clean as he had left it. Zell had always enjoyed a clean room, but since he was never home, she had kept it clean for him.
Ma Dincht immediately dropped her cleaning tools and crept down the stairs. She reached the bottom step to see that her front door had been completely blown off. She crept back up to Zell's room and called Balamb Garden.
"Hello? Can I talk to Zell Dincht? Do you know where he is?" Ma Dincht whispered nervously into the phone. She suddenly noticed a figure standing in her doorway.
"What?" she gasped in surprise. She dropped the phone on the floor. Her eyes fell on the sword the intruder carried. The sword looked like it had been made of pure lightning as it flashed in the intruder's hand. Ma Dincht took a step back just as the intruder rushed at her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Zell, we have urgent news." They had said, "It's about your mother." A call had been received from Zell's house in Balamb, and by the sound of it, Zell's mother was in trouble.
Zell paced eagerly by the entrance of Balamb Garden, waiting for it to land so he could check on his mother. Horrible thoughts had entered his mind. The fact that no one could find Cid again worried him.
What's taking so long? Zell impatiently wondered. He finally heard Nida's warning that Balamb Garden was finally landing. A minute later, Zell heard Nida say that it was safe to exit the Garden. Zell raced out and ran across the plains as fast as he could.
"Hey!" Zell continued to run, but Squall rode up next to him on a Z- board and holding another. Zell smiled seeing his friend, just as eager to see how Ma Dincht was doing. Squall turned on his other Z-board and tossed it in front of Zell. Zell jumped on and rode after Squall, realizing that Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis were all riding Z-boards behind him.
"Where did you get these?" Zell called over to Squall.
"The collection of confiscated Z-boards that Garden had collected!" Squall called back. Zell remembered how his Z-board had gotten confiscated on the day of his first mission. The five SeeDs rode on to the approaching Balamb.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ma?" Zell's voice rose once he saw what had happened to his front door. He ran into his house calling his mother's name again. Zell ran into the kitchen looking for his mother. She wasn't there. He came back into the living room and then realized the only remaining place in the house was his room. He ran up the stairs, everyone following close behind him. Cid was there, lifeless on the floor in the doorway to his room.
Zell stepped over Cid into his room. His usually neat and swept floor had blood stains all over it. His mother sat in the corner, a giant hole in her chest.
"MA!" Zell screamed and ran to her, slipping on the blood and his mother's cards that covered the floor. He kneeled at her side.
"Zell...?" Ma Dincht whispered.
"Ma! Ma, I'm here." Zell cried, sweat and tears covering his face.
"I love you, Zell." Ma Dincht took in a heavy breath, "Here, take these. To remember me by." Ma Dincht handed over the remainder of her cards that weren't stained with blood, "You never did beat me." She smiled and took in another raised breath. It was the last one she would ever take again.
"No!" Zell wept and cradled his mother's corpse in his arms. He picked her up and placed her on his bed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Everyone stood at the other side of the room, Cid once again in Squall's arms. Zell shot an angry glance over to Squall.
"It's all his fault!" Zell screamed pointing a finger at Cid, "He killed my mother!" Zell threw a punch at Cid, but Squall turned protecting him with his build. Zell threw another punch.
"Zell, stop!" Selphie cried. Irvine pulled both Zell's arms behind his back, preventing his movement.
"It's his fault! It's his fault!" Zell stopped fighting and fell to his knees sobbing, "He killed my mother. He killed my mother."