Chapter 3 – Lost Hope

No one said anything, or could say anything for that matter. Getting through the Earth's atmosphere seemed impossible to everyone, but finally, the Ragnarok managed to get through. After that, the ship slowed down its' pace a bit, conserving fuel for later. Selphie set the controls to autopilot, as she finally let out a huge sigh of relief. To Squall, she still looked nervous, but not as badly as she did before.

"Damn, that was rough." Zell commented as he accidentally unbuckled his seatbelt, thinking the ride was over. "Hey, what the………how do I get back down?" he asked, trying furiously to swim, but only could achieve a miserable little doggy paddle.

"Relax Zell." Quistis said as he rolled her eyes. "You're not dying. Here, let me give you a hand." Unbuckling herself, she quickly flew over to Zell and almost threw him to his seat, where he quickly buckled himself back down. Everyone stared at Quistis with a shock. She smiled, "Hey, c'mon. I'm not the top instructor at Balamb Garden for nothing. They prepare you for this kind of stuff. You know what I mean by that, right Squall?" she asked him, actually to see if he was in this world or another.

It took awhile for Squall to realize she was asking him that question. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure, I know." he finally replied.

After that, nobody really said anything, for the reason there was nothing to talk about. Zell was still moving around in his seat, and by his actions, his comrades could tell he was very anxious to head into battle. Selphie was looking through the window of the airship, with Irvine right behind her, both of them marveling at the beauties of space. Quistis looked at Squall with a worried look, but knew even if she said anything, it wouldn't help, so just sat there and read an old issue of the Timber Maniacs magazine.

'Staring in outer space can really help things' Squall silently thought to himself. 'I've got too many things to look out for. Rinoa, my friends, the world………this could be so much easier if I was alone.' Squall noticed the ship was not traveling anymore.

Selphie quickly got up. "Hmm…must be a problem with the engine or something. I better go and fix it." she said excitedly with Irvine following with a smile.

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"My lordship………" Raven began. "It seems that the SeeD space shuttle has stalled in the middle of space, thanks to a couple of spies we had sent out earlier. What shall we do with it?"

Dragoon thought for a moment. "Damn myself, I should not even be thinking about this situation. I'm not going to give any mercy, on the off chance that they'll actually accomplish something. Take the Plasma Cannon and shoot them to pieces." he ordered as Raven saluted and took leave. "Sapphire, I always knew that Raven would be my top officer. Don't you agree with me, from what you've seen so far?"

Sapphire unemotionally, smiled. "Of course, my lord. But still, nothing compared to you." she answered back, again, without any emotion.

All Dragoon could do is smile. 'It's a pity I can't keep her…' he began to himself. '…she would make a lovely queen. But I need those sorceress powers she has in order for me to complete my plan. Oh well, I'll have my fun now, while I still can. Too bad I can't do it now, no time at all, with the invasion in less than two months away…maybe next week.' He devilishly smiled, making it obvious what his true intentions were.

"Is the Plasma Cannon ready for firing?" Raven asked slowly.

"Yes, sir." was the reply.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for!!!" Raven shouted back. "FIRE!!"

The henchmen locked onto the coordinates that the Ragnarok was located at, and all that had to be done was the push of one simple button. The crew leader let Raven have the honors. Smiling as his lordship, Dragoon would, he took one finger and lightly gave it a push. The cannon began glowing, gathering energy at the tip of its opening. Everything fell silent for that moment, followed by a huge explosion like sound, and the huge blast was off…

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"La la la la la…" She sang as she continued to work on the busted engine. "You know Irvine………" Selphie began. "………too bad these rings don't work out in space. This space suit is super hot. I'm sweating like a pig."

It was obvious to Irvine that she was still scared. "Haha…Sefie, that's why they are called Lunar Rings, and not space rings. They are intended to work when we are in the moon's atmosphere" he replied, hoping to make an impression on her.

"DUH! I'm not stupid, Irviiiiine" she replied back with a laugh.

Irvine frowned, 'Ah, yet another chance gone awry' he thought to himself. 'Next time I'll for sure get her…' They then resumed working on the engine, while making small talk to each other, completely unaware of what was yet to occur.

Zell unbuckled his seatbelt and gave the zero gravity thing another try. With caution, he slowly traveled around the cockpit area. "Hell yea! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this thing guys." he added as he tried punching and kicking in air, only to send himself hitting the wall behind him. "Oww………" Quistis gave a small chuckle at the sight of Zell but was soon distracted by the beeping sound that was going on.

Squall quickly moved to the controls and pushed a couple of buttons to see what it was all about. Zell came over, and in that second, knew what was happening. "DAMNNNN!!! We have to get out of here are we're going to be fried alive!"

"It's too late, Zell…we're already fried." Squall said sadly as the beam headed for the airship, only about a hundred yards apart. In that instant, everything went quiet. The singing of Selphie was not heard. Irvine's bright smile was no where to be seen. Zell's cursing was no where to be found. Quistis's yell went dead.

All that was heard was one short sentence before the airship disappeared, "I'm sorry Rinoa, I guess I couldn't keep my promise after all."