Disclaimer: You've seen this before...still don't own FF...I own others...
*The Hotel*
Squall was sleeping soundly. He had the blankets drawn over his head and was not making a sound. That was why Irvine was worried when he came in with the bad news. He opened the window to a bright sunny morning and light flooded the small room. He pulled the covers off Squall to reveal a laughing sight. Squall was all curled up in a ball and had two pillows over his head. He had on a white T-shirt that was all wrinkled and his boxers were just a mess. He tried to shake him awake. When that didn't work, Irvine tried the most conventional way to wake him up. Taking a wooden spoon and tin skillet from the small kitchen in the room, Irvine walked over to Squall. Placing the skillet by Squall's ear, he began to bang on the pan with the spoon. Pretty soon a disheveled Squall was throwing a peculiar pan at the door followed by a familiar spoon. Irvine hid behind the door screaming.
Irvine: You wouldn't wake up!!
Squall: A PAN!! YOU PANSY!! YOU...
Irvine: Flicker's been hurt!!
Squall: I'LL...what?
Irvine: A girl ran in this morning (comes out from behind the door to see Squall holding his gunblade in the air) and told us.
Squall: So that's what I heard last night...
Irvine: What do you mean? She was at her house.
Squall: I heard a scream but I thought it was a dream.
Irvine: Well, get dressed. I'll wake Zell. Sorry 'bout the pan.
Squall: It's ok. Where's she at right now?
Irvine: She's at her house still. We're not really sure how she's hurt or what happened. Better call Laguna and inform him.
Squall: I will while you go wake up Zell. Oh, and don't take off the duct tape.
Irvine: Sure.
Irvine left Squall speechless, sitting on the side of his bed. Squall held his head in his hands and thought. He replayed everything over in his mind. He had watched her run to her house. She had watched her tiny little figure enter her house. He had then left the roof. Squall's eyes were wet with tears but he brushed them aside and dressed in his normal clothes. He clipped his gunblade to his belt and proceeded out the door.
*Irvine's Attempt to Wake Zell*
Irvine entered the room and saw Zell sprawled on the floor with his hands by his face, no doubt trying to suck his thumb again. He was still childish. Irvine found Zell's room had no kitchen. He didn't know how he was gonna wake him if the usual screaming and shaking didn't work. He proceeded shaking until Zell moved a little but didn't fully wake up at which time Irvine yelled:
Irvine: HOOOOOOTDDDDDDDOOOOOOOGGGGSSS!!!
Zell: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
Evidently startled by the whole ordeal, Zell had been dreaming about Quistis again. A shudder when down Irvines' back. He dreamed of Selphie of course but Zell was well, weird. So who knew what sick things he might dream. Zell hadn't changed clothes so he stood up. He followed Irvine out to the Lobby to meet Squall there. Squall was holding a pair of scissors in one hand and steadying himself on the counter with the other. It was 6:45 in the morning. He wasn't used to this. He was an early riser but even he had his limits. He came towards Zell with the scissors. Zell backed into Irvine and moved behind him. Irvine stepped aside and Zell was left to fend for himself. He stood there shaking violently. Squall came closer and snipped the tape on his hands. Zell looked in disbelief at his hands then to Squall smiling mischievously. He ripped his hands apart and the tape fell to the ground. Zell went for his mouth to rip it off. He couldn't find the end. Squall undid the tape and that's when trouble started again for him. Zell began screaming.
Zell: WHY THE WORLD DID YOU DO THAT!?
Squall: You're annoying...
Zell: I DON'T CARE!! I AM GETTING YOU FOR THIS!!
Squall: '...' Let's go.
Zell: Where?
Squall: My friend's hurt. I called dad to let him know. Kiros said he'd tell him.
They left down the road and in ten to twenty minutes came to the house. There was a car there. Squall knocked on the door. Someone came and answered it.
Saitek: Sorry, no visitors allowed.
Flicker: It's ok, Saitek. Let them in.
Saitek: What are you up for?!
The young man rushed out of the doorway to catch a very weak Flicker. He picked her up and nodded for the three boys to follow. They came in and Zell shut the door. The house was like a little girl's dollhouse. There were little horses everywhere. The walls were a soft pink and there was a sofa and chair in the living room. Irvine sat down in the chair and Zell sat upright on the couch. Squall followed this Saitek on back. The house was very small. There was only Flicker's room and another room at the end of a very small hallway. Squall turned in to the room and was amazed. There were little rainbows on the walls. An etched glass window was what made the light that way. It was very pretty and Squall couldn't help but give in to the softness of everything here. Then his eyes met Flicker's painful stare. It was so unlike the happy, cheerful look he expected. He went to sit in a chair at her bedside and she smiled weakly. Her right arm was bandaged all along her lower arm. There were bloodstains on it. Her hair was in a serpentine on the back of her head. He face was pasty white and her grip was weak. Two fingernails were broke in jagged pieces. Her eyes were misty and she didn't look good. She wanted to talk but only could smile.
Saitek: I found her this morning outside the barn.
Squall: What happened?
Saitek: A thief and his attack beast had been waiting for her. The thief stole her necklace and the beast mauled her arm. Then I suppose she was knocked out or beaten savagely. She called out your name when I shook you awake so I thought it was you who did it. But she told me.
Squall: So she is well enough to talk?
Saitek: I gave her some meds to ease off the pain in her arms. It'll make her delirious a little but she can talk.
Flicker gave a light squeeze of his hand and Squall looked at her. She didn't laugh or smile, just looked at him in pain.
Squall: Who did this to you?
Flicker: I-i don't know. It was black, just black.
Squall: Could you excuse us?
Saitek: Sure.
Flicker: He takes good care of me.
Squall: Who is he?
Flicker: A guy friend, like you. He's the vet for my horses. We were gonna go riding and it's a good thing he came when he did.
Squall: I should have been here.
Flicker: You can't blame yourself.
Squall: No, I heard you scream.
Flicker: Oh, look, I am terribly sorry to have troubled you this early. You could say I was a love-struck filly.
Squall: Hehe, it's ok. I don't really want to go the Palace anyway. My dad is crazy.
Flicker: I know! He rides horses backwards, you know?
Squall: Has he been here before?
Flicker: Yeah, once or twice.
Squall: Flicker, uh, can you read thoughts?
Flicker: Huh? Oh, you mean last night?
Squall: Yeah, you said 'don't worry, she loves you' and then you smiled.
Flicker: It's a gift my family has possessed a long time.
Squall: I have to leave soon. But I am gonna find who did this to you. What did the guy or the animal look like?
Flicker: Well, it was a GF. It was an Ifrit. The guy was covered in black. I can't really say much about him. Or if there was even really a guy. It was too dark.
Squall: Well, I'll find him. You can count on that.
Flicker leaned up and gave Squall her strongest hug she could muster. He felt tears on his jacket soaking through. A tear of his own went rolling down his cheek onto her shirt.
Flicker: I am so...sorry. So sorry...
Flicker's grip released and she slid silently back into bed. Squall wiped his tears away, covered her back up and tucked her in. Before realizing it, he kissed her on the forehead softly and left the room. He felt no guilt, however. He came into the living room and shook Saitek's hand and told Irvine and Zell their new mission. Squall figured that a blood path wouldn't be hard to follow. The three See D's left and looked around the house. Irvine was pretty good at limping on his own now. He was almost healed. Just six more days then he could walk freely. Squall went to where Saitek said he found her. Sure enough there was a pool of blood inside a dry spot. There were huge drippings in line leading towards the timber behind her house. The horses didn't seem to mind much that there were new people here. They snuck in and proceeded following the blood. The grass was trampled and pushed aside as the person or whatever it was had made a hasty retreat. Squall was so furious he had his gunblade in hand. They came to a glade and the blood and grass stopped. They were in the middle of the forest, in a clearing. At least Zell and Squall were, Irvine was a sniper and in case something happened he stayed in the timber. Squall looked around and kept his sword in front of him. Zell kept his back pressed to Squalls' so nothing could sneak up. Squall had taken all the GF's from the girls without them knowing. He summoned Shiva and asked her to climb or rather float over the trees and look for any smoke or houses. Shiva reappeared at the clearing and said she saw no such thing. She stayed out and Squall summoned Siren, Cerberus, his Ifrit, and Diablos. Each one of the GF's headed in a different direction and looked for a sign of human life. They were instructed to lead them back to the clearing and all GFs would be summoned back to help. The GFs dispersed. Squall and Zell sat and waited. Irvine waited in the cover of the trees. All of a sudden one of the female GF's let out a devilish, hair-raising scream. All the GF's returned at once to the clearing except Siren, the silent one.
*The Girls on the Road Again*
Selphie was a little uncoordinated from being on a speeding horse. Illasu was laughing at how she had to hold onto a walking chocobo's neck. Selphie was a mess. She had her legs as tight as she could get them around the poor thing and was indeed clutching its neck. Honey was just walking along not minding it a bit. Rinoa and Quistis turned around in their saddles too see. Rinny burst out laughing too. She accidentally hit Lily in the rump and that sent her galloping off. Quistis chuckled quietly at the sight of both of them. Miraka was quite 'sophisticated' as far as chocobos go. Rinoa regained control of her horse and turned back to meet them again. They came to the fork in the road where they left the boys and turned right. Illasu's horse went into a bouncy little trot. He liked to run so she had to pull the reins even tighter. His zebra mane made it kind of hard to see the middle of the road.
Illasu: How long till we get there?
Selphie: Another... two hours or so...
Illasu: Are you all right?
Selphie: Yeah, I am just holding on for dear life.
Illasu: Ok, whatever Selphie.
Selphie: What do you mean whatever?! I could die if I let go!
Illasu: You're letting go right now.
Selphie was so caught up in the argument that she was flailing her arms about. She looked around and smiled hugely. Then she remained riding, without holding poor Honey's neck. They saw a couple classmates heading to town. It was warm and breezy so it was a good day to be out luckily. The two hours didn't seem that long when they got the talking. About half way there, two motorcycles passed them. The hair flying out the back was familiar. The three girls looked at each other and Illasu kept looking forward. They had a meeting on their chocobos. It was odd to see two chocobos sidestepping and all three heads inwards. Selphie vowed she wouldn't freak out just yet. Rinoa said that she would try to muster the courage to talk to them but then Quistis volunteered as their teacher. So Rinoa's job became if Selphie did freak out to help her. They reached the Garden at a fast pace. Trojan was faster than the chocobos and he had to stop once in a while to let them catch up. They made it to the school finally and turned in their chocobos. Rinoa noticed a familiar chocobo. She was very curious.
Rinoa: Isn't that Chicken?
Mizuiro: Yeah, Squall called me.
Rinoa: What happened?
Mizuiro: A dragon pup crossed the road and it scared them to high Heaven. He crashed into Hashi and he knocked him senseless. I had to go pick him up.
Rinoa: How was Squall? Did he say?
Mizuiro: Nah, they were gone before I got there and he didn't say on the radio. Sorry, I didn't ask.
Rinoa: It's ok.
Mizuiro: Who is this beauty behind you?
Illasu: He's mine. His name's Trojan. I was kinda hoping he could stay here for two weeks. I've got some money, if I have to pay for food and board.
Mizuiro: All I need is 50 gil. That should cover a cup of grain every other day. He's not that big so that should work quite nicely. Does he stable at night or free roam?
Illasu: Free roam, I'll take care of him. I just need to know where to put him and where the food is. Oh, and possibly a damp, warm towel, he ran pretty hard in the last stretch getting here.
Mizuiro: I saw. He looked pretty good.
Illasu: Around the corner then?
Mizuiro: Sure, you can put his stuff there or inside the tack room. Either is fine.
Illasu led her horse inside the barn and into the stable. Feeding him fresh hay and untacking him, she left the door open so he could go as he pleased. She shut the inner gate and walked down the aisle. She threw her stuff on a saddle horse and left. She took her saddlebags and followed Selphie to her room. Everyone stared at the girl who was almost twins with Selphie but just had that common sense about her, unlike someone they knew. Selphie was skipping down the halls, singing. Illasu just smiled and laughed at her. She looked like a giddy horse. Illasu thought about horses a lot. She decided she'd ask Mizuiro if she could work in the barn a little. She was sure the keeper would appreciate the help with all those animals. All the boys looked at Illasu and their girlfriends slapped them on the face. She just smiled back. She never got this much attention at her Garden. Outfitted in carpenter jeans that were really baggy, a T-shirt that said Equus America on it and blue tennis shoes, she didn't look real different. Her long brownish red hair was in two braided pigtails and her natural blond bangs stood out. She wore glasses and she was kind of embarrassed everyone was looking but she had courage like no other so she walked with her head held high. Selphie had always taught her to be proud. They arrived at the fuzzy kingdom and Selphie grabbed her PS2 from under her bed. Dragging out two giant teddy bears, they sat and played video games. Selphie was really good and by the time it was 7 am and everyone was heading back to class, Selphie had her beat 12-5 on Chocobo Racing. They got up and decided to go eat breakfast. That was a sight. Usually Illasu was never up till 12 so she never had gotten breakfast before. Everyone crowded in and lined up. When it was Selphie's turn, they were the last ones because Selphie couldn't decide.
Selphie: Lucky Charms please!
Cafeteria Lady: Sorry Selphie, you know you're not allowed.
Selphie: SO, I have friend here.
Cafeteria Lady: I don't care. Orders are orders.
Selphie: Ugh, (slams her head in to the counter and holds up two fingers) two bowls of LIFE.
She took the two bowls, handed one to Illasu and headed over to her table. They sat down with Rinoa and Quistis. Quistis was reviewing her lesson plans and Rinoa was reading her magazine when Selphie bounded up.
Rinoa: Here Selphie, just for you.
Selphie: RINNY!!! OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Rinoa: Sure.
Rinoa wasn't very talkative in the morning because she usually sat next to Squall and fell asleep on his shoulder again. He usually dragged her in here. She did like LIFE, however, and started eating slowly. Illasu sat next to Selphie. Selphie started singing like she always did. It was the dreaded cereal jingle again. Every breakfast Selphie sang this jingle and did a reenactment of the Leprechaun. She was quite childish like Zell and hotdogs. Quistis was studying heavily. Illasu sat quiet and looked around at people and managed to tell Selphie her idea of hanging out in the stable some.
Selphie: Sure! That's a great idea!! I am sure Mizu would love to have you!
Illasu: O-okay, hehe.
Selphie: You'd probably like the Library too.
Illasu: You guys have a Library!
Selphie: Duh, doesn't every school!
Illasu: No, unfortunately. Mine has a bookshelf but all the books get stolen or people don't bring them back.
Selphie: Oh, well you can use ours for now. I'll talk to Cid about you getting a card if you want.
Illasu: Sure, that'd be wonderful. Thanks Selph.
Selphie: No problem! Want a horseshoe?
Illasu took the sticky marshmallow and ate it. She was having a good time.
Selphie: Have you met Irvy yet?
Illasu: No, but you always talk about so it's like I know him.
Selphie: You'll get to meet him next week.
Illasu: That'll be nice, I guess. He's sounds really nice.
Selphie: Oh, he is!! He's so wonderful!
Quistis: (cough)Girly!
Selphie: Quistis!!
Quistis: What? I had a tickle in my throat!
Selphie: You called him girly!
Quistis: NO, I didn't!
Selphie: Did she Rinny?
Rinoa: Hmm?
Selphie: Did Quistis call him a girl?
Rinoa: Eh?
Selphie: Go back to sleep dear friend.
Rinoa smiled and laid her head down on the table. Quistis was done with her bowl and needed to get to class. She got up and left.
Quistis: You might want to check out my class today, Illasu. It appears Cid wants me to teach Art History.
Illasu: How did you know I liked art?
Selphie: OH, ME!! I TOLD HER!!
Quistis: Well, I must get going. Cya later Selphie!!
Selphie: Bye Quisti! It's nice to have an agent working on the inside.
Illasu: Huh?
Selphie: Quistis' is an instructor so we know what to expect from our instructors. (standing on her chair, one hand on her hip, and a finger in the air) WITHOUT QUISTI WHERE WOULD WE BE?! (Lifts one leg and puts her hands in an I don't know position) I CAN TELL YOU THAT MY FRIEND!! DOWN THE DRAIN!!
Cafeteria Lady: Sit down, Selphie! What the! How did you manage to get Lucky Charms?
Selphie gets off the chair and grabs her bowl of cereal. Running without spilling, she runs out of the cafeteria. The Cafeteria Lady runs after her, rather waddles like a penguin and tries to catch her for justice. Illasu is left all alone in the huge cafeteria and Seifer sees her sitting with sleepy Rinoa. Getting up, he waves to her to come sit there. Since no one else had done this, Illasu woke Rinoa carefully and had her walk with her to the table. She sat down as Seifer ordered a small, silver haired girl to go get some strong tea from the other Cafeteria Lady. They always had two in the morning for Selphie. Coming back, Seifer introduced himself.
Seifer: Hey, I'm Seifer and this is Fujin.
Illasu: I'm Illasu, Selphie's friend.
Seifer: I didn't see you come in last night. All new students are supposed to come see us first.
Illasu: Oh, I am just visiting. (beginning to feel uncomfy about those pointed teeth and getting fidgety) Um, I was gonna go talk to Mizuiro about something but I don't know the way.
Micky-chan: (I tell you they are pointed!)
Rinoa: I'll take you. Selphie won't be back for a long time unfortunately. This is good, thanks Seifer.
Seifer: You're welcome. Where's Squall? I, uh, noticed he wasn't here.
Rinoa: Don't even think about it. Zell's been teaching me something things and I have Selphie's uncoordination. (cocks her eyebrows to see Seifer fidget a little)
Seifer: Well, I can take you around the Garden if you like.
Rinoa: Not necessary. I will, thanks for the tea. See ya later, loser.
Rinoa got up followed by Illasu. She muttered thanks anyway to Seifer and he waved her off. Illasu was glad to get out of there. She was shy and when Selphie ran out and left her, she was a little stressed out. Rinoa had to go back to change but told her the way to the Stables. Illasu headed that way and everyone still looked at her. A few boys catcalled to her. This made her very uncomfy. When she was outside in the warm sun and fresh air she was relieved to hear the familiar sounds of the horses. She ran into the stable and messed around till Mizuiro appeared.
*The Twins in their dorm*
The twins had arrived late before the girls and had thrown luggage here and there, then crashed. The girls had insisted on sleeping in the back but the boys didn't want them to, so they all slept in the front. Rin and Kuro in her bed and Yugo and Shiro in hers. They didn't even change clothes, they were so tired. Shiro was usually up before Kuro, so she wasn't used to seeing the ghostly form of Rin sitting by the window. Shiro got up and stretched. Rin didn't make a sound. He just stared out the window and when he noticed her finally she waved. He smiled and she came and sat in the big window with him.
Shiro: This was my favorite part of the whole room. I love to sit and watch things. Kuro hated it. She wanted all darkness.
Rin: I like darkness too. Light is not so bad though. You have to have light, otherwise there would be no dark.
Shiro: You're really deep. Why are you so depressing? You were laughing last night.
Rin: It is a long story not worth telling.
Shiro: I love stories. You can tell me anything and I'll never tell. I promise.
Rin: Thank you, but I have never shared this story and I intend to keep it that way. I am truly sorry. You looked scared when you saw me in the window.
Shiro: I didn't expect you to be up first. I usually am.
Rin: My brother seems to like you a lot.
Shiro: Don't you like my sister a lot? I know she's hard to get along with but she really is a good person.
Rin: I like her but she is secretive like me. I do not think it would work if both were secretive.
Shiro: She's just like that at first. Then as she gets to know you, you'll learn more about her.
Rin: You are very friendly for being her twin. Are you opposite twins?
Shiro: Yeah, I never agree with her on anything.
Rin: So it seemed.
Kuro: Hey.
Rin: Good morning.
Kuro: Shiro, shut that infernal window.
Shiro: But Kuro! We were looking.
Kuro: Oh, I'm sorry.
Rin: It is okay. If you want, you should sit down with us. It is quite peaceful.
Kuro: That was never my thing.
Rin: Please?
Kuro: All right. Only for you though.
Kuro sat on his lap and laid her head on his shoulder. She watched and found that with Rin it was somewhat enjoyable. Yugo was soon awake and they all joked about him. He was quite cheerful in the morning to, especially when he kissed Shiro on her cheek and said good morning. She gave him a hug and they went to breakfast. Kuro and Rin stayed in the window and Kuro pointed at the sea and told him where Dollet was and that at night you could open the window and the breeze was magnificent. It was cold but in the warm nights of summer. It felt refreshing. Rin and Kuro soon got up and headed for the cafeteria too. They went hand in hand. Shiro and Yugo had their arms around each other and Shiro was laughing at Yugo still. Soon the tall shadow of Rin was over them both, even though he was only 2 inches taller than Yugo. They all found they had missed breakfast so they grabbed a granola bar and some tea. Shiro fell asleep on Yugo half way through her granola bar though. They sat for a long time just talking.
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Well, chapter 11 is whipped out right after 10! Wow, I am moving fast. Well, now we have the twins and their boyfriends in the Garden. Selphie has had a bowl of the dreaded Lucky Charms and is being chased. The boys are in the middle of a forest. Will they ever reach the Palace? I actually think Squall would appreciate this. Well R&R please!!