BROKEN WINGS
A FFVIII Fan Fiction
Chapter 11
Flying Purple People Eater

"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you this breaking news."

I sit in the SeeD lounge, bored out of my mind and watching some ridiculous show that's full of scandal and controversy, when this announcement breaks, interrupting a love scene between a man and his best friend's wife. Oh, sweet relief! I'm so tired of watching this crap. The only thing I normally watch is televised sports, blitzball mostly, but since I won't be allowed to participate in any missions for a couple more days, I have absolutely nothing better to do.

I lean forward and watch the screen intently.

"We have just received unconfirmed reports from Esthar that the infamous Sorceress Adel has awakened and has taken control of the notorious Dr. Odine's desert laboratory outside of Esthar. Camera crews are on the scene with our correspondent Corri Donaldson. Corri, what's the situation?"

On screen, I see Odine's laboratory in the distance, and it has been surrounded by military vehicles and police transport units. Behind it sits the Lunatic Pandora, which glows with a cold, crystalline fire even in the daylight, which seems to intensify the effect. The Pandora is just as I remember.

"Well, Dick, we are still uncertain as to whether or not Adel is in fact alive, however, police officials and Esthar military forces are on the scene and have been unable to enter the building. A source close to President Laguna Loire has yet to confirm or deny anything. Sources tell us there may be as many as six SeeD's already present in Esthar, including President Loire's son, SeeD Commander Squall Leonhart and SeeD Assistant Commander Quistis Trepe. Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly is also rumored to have some kind of involvement with this situation, but it's unclear how she's tied to the events that have transpired so far. President Loire was not available for comment. Back to you, Dick."

"Sorceress Adel was supposedly destroyed two years ago inside the Lunatic Pandora, which sits behind the building you see on screen by an elite team of SeeD's from all three Gardens. We will bring you more information as this situation unfolds . . ."

"So much for a covert operation," Xu's voice says from the doorway of the SeeD lounge.

"Great Hyne on a train," I breathe. "What the hell is the media doing there?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling they're going to get in the way," Xu states. With Quistis out on a mission, the responsibility of Commander has fallen to her. I can tell she's secretly thrilled and is doing a terrible job of hiding her pleasure a the fact that she's in charge.

"Have you heard from them yet?" I ask, longing to be part of the team.

"No," she replies and avoids making eye contact with me. "Having difficulty contacting them, even through President Loire's office. Seems someone's been calling for him repeatedly, claiming to be from Garden, so they won't even talk to me now."

"That sucks. So what are we going to do?"

"I can't say just yet. But I wanted to ask you if you think you're ready to go back out into the field. Dr. Kadowaki has given her reluctant approval, so the final decision is up to you."

"Hell yeah, I'm ready. You think I like sittin' around doin' nothin' while my team is on a mission?" Yes! And I thought I'd be trapped in FH while my friends were out saving the world once again.

"Good," Xu says, satisfied. From her smirk, I can tell she's really enjoying this power thing. "You'll leave at three this afternoon for Esthar. Meet the rest of the team in the lobby at a quarter till. We have arranged to use Headmaster Cid's most experimental craft, the Edea."

WOOOHOOO! I'm goin' on a mission, baby! I stand up and stretch, cracking my knuckles.

Xu smiles secretly. "Very few know about it, so keep it under wraps until then. Just be there at two-forty-five for the mission briefing."

So what do I do with myself for three hours? Might as well grab a bite to eat. Maybe I'll get lucky and that girl I scared half to death will be there. If so, there won't be any problem getting myself a plate full of hot dogs.

No such luck. I end up with barbecued steak. Again. It sucks. You'd think with the amount of students at Balamb Garden who eat hotdogs, they'd be smart enough to order more. I eat my steak without tasting it. I'm so excited about my up coming mission, I barely notice the steak is tough enough to make boots out of and the barbecue sauce is really just a reddish-brown liquid that tastes disturbingly like water and salt.

~~~~~~

Finally. A quarter till three.

As I wait for Headmaster Cid and Xu's to arrive, I pace the hall way, throwing punches into the air. I imagine my target is Adel, and that I'm smashing her ugly, masculine face into a pulp. I'm so nervous. I never could hold still when I was nervous, which, when I was a kid was all the time, thanks to one Seifer Almasy. I don't like to admit this, but Seifer's the reason I chose martial arts as my specialty, so that no one would ever pick on me again. Unfortunately, my fame as a top notch hand to hand fighter was completely lost on him. He might have stopped hitting me, but he found other ways to bully and pick on me. Like calling me chicken-wuss. I know I shouldn't let stuff like that bother me, but there's something about the way that Seifer says it that gets under my skin.

A select few wait with me. Nearby, Iris Deen, my ex-girlfriend, whom everyone calls the Pigtail Girl, waits, leaning against the rail and staring into the indoor river that encircles the center pillar of the Garden. I hear she's become a top-notch mage, and carries some very rare and powerful spells. Also in my crew, is the young man we used to call chubbs, Rowan King, who is now second only to Squall when it comes to using a gunblade. He's only fourteen, but one of these days, he may actually exceed Squall in skill.

When Xu and Cid finally arrive, we all stand at attention and salute our superiors.

"Well," Cid says, giving each of us a look of approval, "I won't bore you with a long speech. I just want to wish you luck on this mission. It will be trying for some of you, because some of you have personal ties to those involved, and I know it won't be easy for you. Just remember, do what is right and what is just, and in the end you shall have no regrets."

With that, Xu leads us to the Gala room without speaking. When we arrive, instead of the tables and festive decorations we are used to, there is a large airship, which looks identical to the Ragnarok, but on a smaller scale. So this is why we never have parties here anymore!

"You are the first SeeDs in Garden, other than myself, Quistis, Selphie and Squall to have seen this vessel. She is equipped with the most advanced radar technology, Q-562 self-propelled hydraulic missiles, touch controls, and zero gravity capabilities. It is equipped with hover technology and can double as a sea craft. She can take off, land, and pilot herself without the aid of an onboard pilot, and has outmatched any jet the Galbadian government has to offer in every area. What you see here is the best of the best, hands down."

I stare up at the dragon-like, mini-Ragnarok in awe. So I'm gonna be riding in this thing? "So it flies itself?" I ask. As far as I know, Balamb Garden doesn't train pilots. Selphie had to go to Deling City to go through ground school on her own gil, so I'm certain none of those I'm with are able to fly this contraption.

"Yes. However, pilot controls can be take over at any time." Xu says and folds her hands in front of her.

"So who's flown it?"

"So far, Selphie's the only one," she says, a smug smile on her face.

Selphie knew about this thing and didn't tell me?! I'm amazed that she'd been able to contain herself after cruising around in this. I bet Squall had to threaten her with excommunication to keep her mouth shut.

"So, on to the mission," Xu says formally. "You will all be going to Esthar to lend support and aid in apprehending the Sorceresses Adel and Rinoa. Termination of both targets is our only option, as we have yet to get through to President Loire about the situation there."

"Wait a minute?!" I exclaim, unable to believe my own ears. "What are you talking about? You want us to eliminate Sorceress Adel, cool. But what's this about killing Rinoa too?"

Xu sighs, her expression somewhere between exasperation and guilt. "Overline News Media just confirmed that Rinoa has something to do with this mess, and that she is involved with Adel under some rather . . . shady circumstances. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding, but our sources are rather reliable."

"I'm not gonna kill Rinoa!" I exclaim, pounding my fist against the palm of my hand. This has to be a terrible mistake, because there's no way Rinoa would team up with Adel. Rinoa's too nice for that.

"If I can not trust you to follow Garden's directive, then you will remain here, in the brig until this situation is resolved." She states this in a cold, callous voice. I though Squall was cold, but compared to Xu, he's a warm slice of gyshal pie. Xu would be Trabian snow in early January.

"Oh, hell no!" I exclaim. "I'm goin' and you aren't going to stop me."

"We have no other option, Zell. Unless there was some confusion, it must be done."

This is unbelievable. Rinoa is my friend. She's one of us, SeeD or not. Sorceress or not. I won't kill her.

"Will you follow our orders or not," Xu asks, approaching me, her eyes narrowed to slits.

I debate this. If I tell her yes, then I can go, but if I keep running my mouth, I'll end up in the dank, dark bowls of Garden, otherwise known as the brig. Well, that's an easy decision.

"Fine," I say, not meaning it. "I will abide by your orders."

"Good," she smirks and continues. "You are to use whatever means necessary to support your comrades and if their efforts should fail, you to destroy both Sorceresses. Using any means at all. Just as long as they are most certainly dead. We can't afford to assume like we did before. We need to be sure. Is this understood?"

I am sickened by the coldness in her voice.

We salute her, and she names me team captain. She doesn't look very happy about letting me run the show, but what choice does she have? She can't exactly assign Iris the position, as mealy mouthed as she is. Nor could she let Rowan take control, not that he wouldn't be a good leader, it's just that he's so young no one's really confident enough to trust him to make good, sound decisions.

Well, that's that. We're on a mission to kill one of my closest friends. Does everything always have to be so screwed up? Why can't we just live our lives participating in cut and dry missions with no personal involvement whatsoever? Life would be so much easier if things stayed on an even keel and our personal lives never mingled with our professional lives. But that's the way it's been since the beginning, right? I guess I should be used to it by now, but I'm not.

How can Xu and Cid reasonably expect me to go against everything I believe in and kill her? I believe in my friends. I believe in them even if I don't believe in anything else.

Reluctantly, I board the Edea, trailing my squad. Before the hydraulic lift raises me up inside the vessel, I give Xu one last look. She is not looking at me, but is fiddling with some kind of control box, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

The bitch. She's getting off on this! I didn't like Xu before, but now I really don't like her.

The interior of the Edea is nothing like the inside of the Ragnarok. For one thing, there is no hangar, merely a storage compartment with two uncomfortable looking bunks, a restroom and the cockpit, which seats eight. The six of us will sit comfortably here. I pick the seat furthest away from Iris and belt myself in, cinching the straps tightly across my chest and lap. Everyone else does the same except for Rowan.

"Chubbs, belt yourself in," I call up to him. "I've got a feeling this thing can haul some ass."

Rowan rolls his eyes, but he belts himself in. "Hope we get to blow some stuff up. That would be cool."

"Do me a favor and don't talk," I say.

Above us, the glass ceiling of the Gala room separates and slides away, as if on a track of some sort. There is nothing but open sky above us. Seagulls dive and swoop on the ocean wind above, carefree and serene, as if they didn't have a care in the world.

The engines of the Edea scream to life and I feel the craft lift from the floor, slowly at first, then with increasing power until we have cleared the Garden all together. Suddenly, I am jolted back into my seat and my head slams against the headrest as the mini-Ragnarok begins it's high powered flight towards Esthar.

This is one hellofa ride. Too bad I'm not able to enjoy it.




Damn this car. Every time we hit a dip in the sand, my head smacks the roof, sending bright stars of pain through my eyes. I already have a scorching headache, and the sun's glare off the white sand isn't helping any either. Never mind the fact that I'm driving when I'd rather not be and Quistis rides shotgun. Why couldn't I have been in the other car? Selphie, Jill, Irvine and Laguna piled into the luxury cruiser that seats four without even asking if Quistis or I would like a ride. So now I'm stuck driving this hunk of metal that probably came from some third world country and will more than likely run out of fuel before we are halfway there.

I'm glad Quistis has been silent for most of the trip. I can't stand that motherly look of concern that she's been giving me all day, as if I'm a wounded child who needs to be taken care of.

I don't wan to think about Rinoa right now, but all my thoughts drift back to her and the way she looked and acted last night. As bad as the situation was, I did leave Odine's lab with a little bit of hope. She could have let Seifer have me. She could have killed me herself, but she let me go. To me, that means somewhere inside, the real Rinoa was still there, and she still has a little bit of control over the situation. It means that there's still a chance of saving her.

"Squall?" she asks, biting her lip and looking at me with those concerned eyes of hers.

"What?" I ask and lean back in my seat. A spring from the seat cushion pokes me just behind my bad knee.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Do I have a choice?"

I can see by her expression that my comment hurt her feelings. Sometimes I don't think about what I say until after it's been said. And then I regret it not thinking about it before hand and end up sticking my foot in my mouth.

"Hyne, Squall. You can be so cold sometimes. I don't know what I see in you," she says and then closes her eyes and puts a hand to her forehead.

"What are you talking about?" I ask dully.

"Come off it, Squall. You know how I feel about you."

What the hell is she saying? If she's gonna tell me she loves me, I'm parking this car right here and walking the rest of the way. I have a lot of respect for Quistis, but I can't handle this right now. Not with Rinoa acting like some insane, murderous sorceress. Not with the most important person in my life in danger of being cut down by Esthar Armed Forces.

"Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that, no matter what, you can always rely on me, and that I'll always be there for you. We're family, no matter what." Her voice wavers slightly and I can tell she's trying her best not to cry.

"Thanks," I manage. My hand tightens on the steering wheel of this junk heap and I shift the car into fourth gear, stepping down hard on the gas as the sand levels out before me. We'll be there soon.

"But Squall?" she murmurs, her eyes pleading with me to hear her out.

Shit. Here she goes. I can feel it coming, I can see it in her eyes. Quisty, you're my friend and I care for you, but I can't handle hearing you admit to your feelings for me. Not now.

Nevertheless, she sighs and says, "I do love you. Maybe not the way I should, but I do. I'm not stupid enough to even dream of you choosing Rinoa over me, but it still hurts that you did."

I slam my fist against the steering wheel, causing the car to veer off to the left. "Quistis, stop this. OK? I don't need this from you right now. You're the commander now, and you can't be spouting off about this ridiculous crush of yours. Please!"

She slumps back in her seat and looks out the window. Fresh tears glisten in her eyes. "You treat me like crap sometimes, Leonhart. You know that?"

Aggravated, I sigh. "You bring it on yourself sometimes, Trepe. You deserve better than me."

She smiles ironically despite her tears. "Do I?"

"Yes, you do," I say and leave it at that because I don't know what else to say to her. Military vehicles up ahead surround Odine's lab and there's a sea of makeshift support buildings made of khaki canvas. Near the back of this circus I notice several vans from news stations. Bloody hell. How are we supposed to get into the building if we can't even get near it?

"What is all this?" she asks, sitting up and peering through the filthy windshield at the spectacle that seems to have set up overnight. She wipes away the tears and sniffles a little, but I think she's done being emotional. I should apologize, but not now. Don't want her to get all teary on me again.

"Trouble," I reply. "It's your call, Commander."

"You're still the Commander and you know it," she fires back.

"I resigned," I say with a shrug. "Make the call."

"Let's go find out who's in charge I guess." Her brow furrows and she bites her lip again. "We'll be shot down if we go in there now."

I shrug and curse the spring that has now dug a hole in the back of my knee.

We pull into the lot and park beside where Irvine has parked the luxury car. He leans against the driver's door with his arms across his chest watching the commotion around us, a bored looking Selphie at his side. Jilly fidgets with her katal and Laguna is nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," Irvine greets us and stands up straight, adjusting the hat on his head. "You believe this shit?"

"Irvie, watch your language," Selphie admonishes, appearing more interested in her nails than the frenzy that is going on about us. Selphie must have been a duck in a former life; she lets everything roll off of her like water.

"So what's the situation?" I ask.

Irvine laughs. "Directly to the point, hunh?"

"Always," I reply, unamused.

"Laguna's talking with some military people now. Esthar military sent a team in about an hour ago, but they haven't come out and they're not answering their walkie-talkies. Don't know if they're dead or what. And now, the General of the Estharian Armed Forces isn't letting anyone in, under any circumstances."

"Not even us?" Quistis asks, tilting her head to one side.

"Nope. He went behind Laguna's back and came out here anyway, even though Laguna told him to wait for confirmation from him. I'd bet that one Estharian General will be out of a job tomorrow."

What if I just make a run for it? Would they shoot me down? Probably. Then there'd be no chance at all of me getting Rinoa back.

Shit, this is a mess. Wouldn't be so bad if there weren't all this to deal with. We're just wasting precious time, now.

"So what do we do?" Quistis asks.

"I guess we just wait and hope that Laguna figures something out," Irvine says. He pauses and looks at me kindly and pats me on the back. "We'll get her back, man."

All I can do is nod. I'm beginning to doubt that there's much that can be done. But I don't voice my thoughts on this. I don't want to scare them, don't want to admit out loud what might already be happening. A week ago, Rinoa was herself. Each day that passed, she lost a little more of herself to Adel. Last night, there was only a little of her left, barely enough for her to allow me to go free. I worry that today there won't be anything left at all.

We wait in silence, watching the melee around us, unamused by the frenzied rantings of reporters and the pompousness of the Esthar Soldiers. I've never personally encountered one in battle, and until two years ago, only seen one through Laguna's eyes, twenty years before. They haven't changed much. They still wear shiny, metallic uniforms, still have the same cock-sure attitudes that I remember. .

Forty minutes pass before Laguna returns, smiling his usual carefree grin at all of us. "Ok, it's a go. You guys ready?"

I nod as I ready my gunblade and check my junctions.

"But, uh, guys?" Laguna says, loosing the smile and becoming serious, something I didn't think Laguna capable of. "The Esthar Military wants Rinoa dead too. They've contracted SeeD. And it's too late for me to call it off. The mission is already in the works."

"What?!" I ask. "But we don't have anyone with the ability to take down a sorceress left at garden. We're all here." I indicate my friends.

"Something about missiles and bombs," Laguna says with a shrug. "I didn't understand all of it because the General used some high tech mumbo jumbo and a bunch of double talk. The gist of it is that Garden is sending a high tech jet called the Edea, which Esthar commissioned to Garden six months ago. It's amazing! It's got all these neat gadgets and features. We made two, the Edea and the Rinoa. I named 'em myself! I took one for a test drive and I had the time of my life. Fantastic ride! And, it's capable of wiping out the entire city, eh, without a pilot." He realizes what he's saying and scratches the back of his head.

"So the point is?" I ask, frightened at what he's implying. I know about the Edea, but I didn't know there was a Rinoa too. From what I understand, it can obliterate the whole of Esthar, which is immense, than I can only imagine what it could do to Odine's lab.

"The point is, this thing is heading to this site. They're about to clear the area, which means it'll be here in just a little while, and it's armed to strike. With Q-562 hydraulic bombs." Laguna now wrings his hands together, realizing the seriousness the situation.

With bombs that size, I have no trouble picturing what would happen should they strike the lab. The whole thing would be reduced to a pile of dust. Not rubble, but pure, powdery dust. I was never told the Edea carried such tremendous strike power, I only knew it had bombing capabilities.

"How much time do we have?" I ask.

Laguna swallows hard and blinks. "About twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes.

How do we convince Seifer, Adel and Rinoa to get out of the lab in such a short amount of time? Better yet, how do we prevent the Lunatic Pandora from being destroyed as well? Wait, can it be destroyed? If it can, we have to move it and move it fast. We need it to switch their personalities back. But how do we move it? And, if we get it moving, do we have to take it to Tears Point for the switch to work? And if that's the case, there'll be another Lunar Cry.

So many questions, so many possibilities. I snap out of my thoughts and realize everyone is staring at me.

"Squall? What's our plan?" Irvine asks.

Even though I've resigned my position as Commander, they're still looking up to me. I'm as lost and clueless as they are, confused about how to handle this, and they still think I have all the answers. I look at Quistis for direction.

"You're still our commander," she says. "Even if this is only in an unofficial capacity."

I sigh and look at my friends. Whether I want it or not, they've all silently elected me leader. "Let's get them out of there. They may all be insane, but they'll listen."

They have to listen.

Nineteen minutes.

"Come on," I yell and sprint for the doors.

"Squall?" Quistis, asks as she runs beside me. "Why would Cid send the Edea for this mission?"

"I don't know," I breathe. "I'm trying to figure that out myself."

"He wouldn't have Rinoa killed, would he?"

"I hope not," I say. But then, the man did order us to kill his own wife during the second sorceress war, so I guess it's possible that he did. We are SeeDs after all. We are trained to destroy sorceresses.

"Maybe someone we have a traitor in our ranks," she suggests as we hit the doors at the same time, flinging them back hard enough to make them slam into the wall. Glass shatters and cascades to the floor.

I check my watch. Eighteen minutes.

Selphie, Irvine, and Jilly are right behind us and follow as I hurry towards the double doors at the end of the foyer.

"Be prepared," I tell them.

The doors fly open before we can touch them, and Rinoa, flanked by Adel and Seifer greets us with a warm smile. At her feet are three dead Estharian soldiers. She steps over them without even a glance down, as if their deaths matter nothing to her. "Brothers, sisters!" she exclaims, opening her arms to embrace us. Her lips curve into a warm smile and her eyes sparkle with joy. Then, she walks to me and embraces me as if she were still the way she was before. But I know she's not. I can tell just by looking at her eyes that nothing has changed since last night.

"There's no time," I tell her as I push her away, glancing at Seifer, who smirks at us as if he is already the victor of the battle to come. "There are bombs on their way here. All of you have to get to safety."

Adel steps forward, her bright red braid swishing behind her. "This is a trick."

"I wish it were," I gush. "If we don't get out of here, we're all dead."

Rinoa smiles and caresses my face. Her touch makes me shudder. "Foolish boy, to think we'd fall for such a trick."

"It's not a trick, Rinoa!" Selphie cries out and steps forward, her green eyes wild and frightened. "We have to go, now. Please!"

"Selphie!" Rinoa exclaims, her eyes glittering with happiness. "There's someone you must meet. She's been waiting nineteen years to see you again."

"What?" Selphie asks, confused. "Rinoa, you don't understand. We don't have any time to talk. We have to get out of here 'cause they're gonna blow us up!"

Fifteen minutes.

Rinoa laughs and snatches Selphie's hand, pulling her forward. I watch in horror as Rinoa hands Selphie over to Adel like a small sacrificial lamb. Try as she might, Selphie can not break free from Rinoa's grasp and she screams, "Lemmie go!"

None of us seem able to move forward to save her.

"Pipe down," Rinoa hisses and gives Selphie a rough shove. Selphie falls at Adel's feet and peers up at the tall, ugly woman. "Selphie Tilmitt, meet your mother, Adel."




*******
Notes
*******

I am an obsessive note maker, and let it be known to all that I hate adverbs. They are the bane of my existence. This particular chapter had so many, I wanted to scream. I took almost every one of them out just to spite myself. This chapter is also where I started to really let my writing skills slide in favor of getting the chapters posted quickly. From this point on is where the real re-write begins.

So here's where I shamelessly plug other writers......check out Noacat's story Angel Wing. It's an adaptation of the game, but not quite your average novelization or adaptation. The banter between Selphie and Zell alone makes it worth reading, nevermind the fact that it's so well written it makes you wonder why Noacat isn't working on a novel for publication. Maybe if we bug her, she'll post another chapter some time in the near future.....*wink*

Thank you reviewers....love to hear your comments!