^_^ Here's Chapter two.. Course it was uploaded about 6 seconds after
chapter 1.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy VIII and the rest of the Final Fantasy's because then I'd be rich. Unfortunately I don't.
Warnings. Just in case you missed it last time here it is. There will be a character death referred to in this story(Rinoa) and shonen-ai (Seifer/Zell).
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Chapter 2: Separation
Seifer's POV
Seifer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This mission was the moment of truth for him. Everyone would have their eye on him to make sure he was cut out for his almost instantaneous promotion to SeeD when he returned.
The ship was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of the engine keeping it from complete silence. Zell was sitting in the chair across the aisle from him and the prospect of picking on shorter blonde was just too tempting. Leaning out into the aisle Seifer whispered, "Hey Chicken, I have a question for you. How do you get your hair like that? Cement?"
Zell, to his credit, didn't respond only sitting and continuing to stare out the window.
Seifer smirked, this was gonna be fun. "Umm Chicken-wuss. You deaf? I asked how you got your hair to stand up like that. Complicated anti- gravity fields? Maybe some sort of quick dry cement?"
To this Zell flushed slightly with anger and his eyes began to sparkle. Seifer was barely able to keep the sigh from escaping his lips. 'He looks so cute like that.' Yes Seifer had just admitted that Zell was cute. The list also stretched to include hot, sexy, adorable, and many more.
Seifer had noticed his attraction to Zell a long time ago. Because of his image and attitude, however, he couldn't ever act on his feelings. So in order to get reactions from the other blonde he constantly teased him. Now that he was thrown from his social pedestal he spent a lot of time with the whole orphanage gang. Fuujin and Raajin had both left when they were offered a job in Esthar.
Looking at the clock Seifer surmised they'd be there soon. He closed his eyes and lay back to rest.
* * *
The sudden stop of the ship jolted Seifer from his light sleep. They'd landed near Dollet and it was dusk. They figured if they did it later at night there would be less of a chance of running into anything hostile. Seifer highly doubted that.
Stepping from the ship Seifer accepted the map shoved into his hand by Squall. Each teams route was laid out on the map, Seifer and Zell going almost directly North.
Sighing he passed the map to his partner without a word. This was really going to be fun with neither of them talking to each other.
"Okay." Squall stated looking at his watch. Glancing up at the setting sun he pressed a button on the watch, "We have 4 hours to explore our route and get back here. I want you all to keep radio contact open. And if you get lost send up a signal. Let's go."
The next two hours Seifer spent trying to ignore the hyperactive tendencies of his partner while trying to scout the area. Suddenly Zell stopped and grabbed Seifer's arm. Following the direction Zell was looking in Seifer could make out a box like shape in the distance next to one of the larger hills.
"What do you think it is?" Zell had tilted his head slightly to the side in contemplation. Another one of the looks Seifer secretly enjoyed.
"Don't know. Maybe we should go check it out. Could just be some hermit's cabin but who knows." Seifer had already started off in that direction leaving a still thoughtful Zell behind.
Upon reaching the house they found it to look exactly like a small hut, but they received no answer when they had knocked on the door. Seifer shrugged and tried the handle. Surprisingly enough it opened. Even more surprising was the light that shone from the handle for a few seconds before shutting off only to be replaced by a screechy metal voice. "User unrecognized. Program 333562 Self-destruct activated. 3." Seifer immediately spun around, grabbed Zell by the arm, and booked it out of there.
They only got four steps away before the hut exploded and the force of the blast landed Zell and Seifer on the ground. Picking himself up Seifer looked at Zell. The shorter blonde seemed to be frozen in place, eyes glazed over. Wherever his mind was it wasn't on their current problem. Said problem being the rumbling of the ground underneath them.
Seifer picked Zell up, ready to run again, when he heard a sudden roaring sound. The ground from the top of the hill began to fall away revealing the metal tip of what must have been an airship. Taking a glance from the now crumbling hill to the cliff beside them Seifer had time to clutch Zell tightly to his body and mutter one word before the cascading dirt and rocks hit them, "Shit."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Selphie's POV
Selphie groaned inwardly as another wave of soldiers took the third wave's place. The soldiers were Galbadian in dress but seemed to be more trained in their respective weapons. She guessed Galbadia wasn't as dismembered as they had thought.
A growling to her left caught her attention distracting her from battle. Irvine, emitting the animalistic growl, had thrown down his gun, held out both and hands, and watched as soldier after soldier ignited in flame. Selphie, following her companion's example, held out her hand letting her Thundaga spells wreak some havoc.
As suddenly as the soldiers had attacked they stopped. Off in the distance a rumbling could be heard, followed immediately by the appearance of a sleek, shiny airship. Selphie watched bewildered at the soldiers began to flee. Sure they were out matched in power but Selphie and Irvine were far more outnumbered.
In direction the forces were fleeing more of the airships could be made out, most likely being their transport vehicles. Looking to her boyfriend she found him slumped on the ground, clutching his side.
Crouching down she gave him a small smile, "Need any help?"
"Glad your sense of humor is still intact. Yeah a cure spell our two would help out." Irvine smiled right back trying to keep the mood light.
Selphie nodded and held a hand to his injured side. A warm feeling swept threw her before leaping from her fingers to cure the injured area.
Irvine stood, the warmth of the spell flowing through his veins, and surveyed the area. Glancing around only the remains of about 30 Galbadian soldiers was any evidence to the battle.
Selphie stood beside him, her usual chipper smile back on her face. "Guess we have something to report on huh? Wanna head back?"
Irvine gave a slight nod, "Yeah better head back. No telling what the others found."
With that they set off through the barren and slightly hilly grassland, only to be the first one's back. They sat, cuddled up together, for almost 2 hours before they were finally graced with the presence of Squall and Quistis. A very annoyed Squall and Quistis.
"We're an hour late Squall. If you hadn't gone and jumped down that damned cliff to investigate this wouldn't have happened." Quistis stood, hands on hips, seemingly extremely vexed.
"Whatever." Squall, composed emotionless mask in place, walked over to the cuddling pair. "Where are Seifer and Zell?"
Selphie snuggled a little closer to Irvine and looked up into Squall's stormy eyes, "I really don't know. We were the first ones back."
Irvine just shrugged, seeming unconcerned by lack of the two noisy blondes. Though who could really say they missed them in this serenity.
"We were attacked though. Maybe Seifer and Zell were held up because of an attack." Selphie beamed at her own pronouncement unable to contain the energy that always bubbled up inside of her.
Squall nodded in acceptance and sat down to wait. Hopefully they'd be back soon or else the hotel might give up their rooms.
While waiting Irvine and Quistis had started up a game of triple triad. They were through their 12th game when an idea suddenly struck Selphie, "What way did Zell and Seifer go?"
Squall shrugged casually, "North I think. They're late though and in another hour I'm going to leave them."
Selphie nodded, "So directly north from here." Pulling out her map she tried to discern what was taking them so long. The land was a bit hilly but otherwise flat until the cliff to the beach. "So here's this. Wait! Irvine, " she cried, her voice raising a few octaves and pulling said long- haired cowboy from his seat, "what if they were in that explosion we saw!"
Spinning around an odd look crossed Squall's face. It was a cross between panic and fear. It only showed for a second before a it was replaced by the emotionless mask that always adorned his face. "Well we'll need to set out that way. You two go in a northeasterly direction and keep communication open. We'll be going northwest " Immediately Squall spun on his heel, pulled Quistis up by her elbow, and began to trudge away.
Selphie hopped up unable to contain her worry that was coming out in a form of unstoppable energy. Dragging Irvine along at a grueling place and periodically informing Squall that they had found absolutely nothing Selphie soon came upon the remnants of the hill that the ship had come from. Immediately upon arrival an unexpected rain began to pour down but it was unable to keep Selphie, and a very unwilling Irvine, from searching the premises.
"Yellow team have you found anything?" Squall's voice broke through the steadily increasing rain from not just their radio but one from a few feet away as well.
Excitedly Selphie picked up the other radio and pressed the button, "Yeah I just found their radio guys. But this rain is seriously reducing our visibility. Even if they were lying at my feet I don't think we'd be able to see them."
"Understood. I think we should head back and continue the search in the morning when we can be of better use. Mark down your bearings and meet us back at the transport in an hour. Blue team out." Squall's voice ended and was replaced by the customary static of connection loss.
"Well Irvy I wanna check out that cliff right there and then we'll head back. Figure out where we're at before I'm back k?" Irvine nodded in response and Selphie went bouncing off to the edge of the drop off.
Peering over Selphie squinted in the dim light and harsh rain. The avalanche extended over the edge and she could only see dark clumps of dirt on the beach. Had it not been raining she probably would have noticed the two body's intertwined and half covered by the dirt. Being unable to see this however, she took her leave of the cliff and, with Irvine in tow, began the hour jog back.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As for the actual maps and such I have no clue what around Dollet looks like cus I haven't played the game in a couple of years. It was my first Final Fantasy and after 3 times I decided it was enough.
R&R cus I love to hear how my works going so I can improve. I think I'll make the next chapter even longer cus the story is going to split into three directions. ( that's why I had them all in their pairing for the mission.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy VIII and the rest of the Final Fantasy's because then I'd be rich. Unfortunately I don't.
Warnings. Just in case you missed it last time here it is. There will be a character death referred to in this story(Rinoa) and shonen-ai (Seifer/Zell).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 2: Separation
Seifer's POV
Seifer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This mission was the moment of truth for him. Everyone would have their eye on him to make sure he was cut out for his almost instantaneous promotion to SeeD when he returned.
The ship was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of the engine keeping it from complete silence. Zell was sitting in the chair across the aisle from him and the prospect of picking on shorter blonde was just too tempting. Leaning out into the aisle Seifer whispered, "Hey Chicken, I have a question for you. How do you get your hair like that? Cement?"
Zell, to his credit, didn't respond only sitting and continuing to stare out the window.
Seifer smirked, this was gonna be fun. "Umm Chicken-wuss. You deaf? I asked how you got your hair to stand up like that. Complicated anti- gravity fields? Maybe some sort of quick dry cement?"
To this Zell flushed slightly with anger and his eyes began to sparkle. Seifer was barely able to keep the sigh from escaping his lips. 'He looks so cute like that.' Yes Seifer had just admitted that Zell was cute. The list also stretched to include hot, sexy, adorable, and many more.
Seifer had noticed his attraction to Zell a long time ago. Because of his image and attitude, however, he couldn't ever act on his feelings. So in order to get reactions from the other blonde he constantly teased him. Now that he was thrown from his social pedestal he spent a lot of time with the whole orphanage gang. Fuujin and Raajin had both left when they were offered a job in Esthar.
Looking at the clock Seifer surmised they'd be there soon. He closed his eyes and lay back to rest.
* * *
The sudden stop of the ship jolted Seifer from his light sleep. They'd landed near Dollet and it was dusk. They figured if they did it later at night there would be less of a chance of running into anything hostile. Seifer highly doubted that.
Stepping from the ship Seifer accepted the map shoved into his hand by Squall. Each teams route was laid out on the map, Seifer and Zell going almost directly North.
Sighing he passed the map to his partner without a word. This was really going to be fun with neither of them talking to each other.
"Okay." Squall stated looking at his watch. Glancing up at the setting sun he pressed a button on the watch, "We have 4 hours to explore our route and get back here. I want you all to keep radio contact open. And if you get lost send up a signal. Let's go."
The next two hours Seifer spent trying to ignore the hyperactive tendencies of his partner while trying to scout the area. Suddenly Zell stopped and grabbed Seifer's arm. Following the direction Zell was looking in Seifer could make out a box like shape in the distance next to one of the larger hills.
"What do you think it is?" Zell had tilted his head slightly to the side in contemplation. Another one of the looks Seifer secretly enjoyed.
"Don't know. Maybe we should go check it out. Could just be some hermit's cabin but who knows." Seifer had already started off in that direction leaving a still thoughtful Zell behind.
Upon reaching the house they found it to look exactly like a small hut, but they received no answer when they had knocked on the door. Seifer shrugged and tried the handle. Surprisingly enough it opened. Even more surprising was the light that shone from the handle for a few seconds before shutting off only to be replaced by a screechy metal voice. "User unrecognized. Program 333562 Self-destruct activated. 3." Seifer immediately spun around, grabbed Zell by the arm, and booked it out of there.
They only got four steps away before the hut exploded and the force of the blast landed Zell and Seifer on the ground. Picking himself up Seifer looked at Zell. The shorter blonde seemed to be frozen in place, eyes glazed over. Wherever his mind was it wasn't on their current problem. Said problem being the rumbling of the ground underneath them.
Seifer picked Zell up, ready to run again, when he heard a sudden roaring sound. The ground from the top of the hill began to fall away revealing the metal tip of what must have been an airship. Taking a glance from the now crumbling hill to the cliff beside them Seifer had time to clutch Zell tightly to his body and mutter one word before the cascading dirt and rocks hit them, "Shit."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Selphie's POV
Selphie groaned inwardly as another wave of soldiers took the third wave's place. The soldiers were Galbadian in dress but seemed to be more trained in their respective weapons. She guessed Galbadia wasn't as dismembered as they had thought.
A growling to her left caught her attention distracting her from battle. Irvine, emitting the animalistic growl, had thrown down his gun, held out both and hands, and watched as soldier after soldier ignited in flame. Selphie, following her companion's example, held out her hand letting her Thundaga spells wreak some havoc.
As suddenly as the soldiers had attacked they stopped. Off in the distance a rumbling could be heard, followed immediately by the appearance of a sleek, shiny airship. Selphie watched bewildered at the soldiers began to flee. Sure they were out matched in power but Selphie and Irvine were far more outnumbered.
In direction the forces were fleeing more of the airships could be made out, most likely being their transport vehicles. Looking to her boyfriend she found him slumped on the ground, clutching his side.
Crouching down she gave him a small smile, "Need any help?"
"Glad your sense of humor is still intact. Yeah a cure spell our two would help out." Irvine smiled right back trying to keep the mood light.
Selphie nodded and held a hand to his injured side. A warm feeling swept threw her before leaping from her fingers to cure the injured area.
Irvine stood, the warmth of the spell flowing through his veins, and surveyed the area. Glancing around only the remains of about 30 Galbadian soldiers was any evidence to the battle.
Selphie stood beside him, her usual chipper smile back on her face. "Guess we have something to report on huh? Wanna head back?"
Irvine gave a slight nod, "Yeah better head back. No telling what the others found."
With that they set off through the barren and slightly hilly grassland, only to be the first one's back. They sat, cuddled up together, for almost 2 hours before they were finally graced with the presence of Squall and Quistis. A very annoyed Squall and Quistis.
"We're an hour late Squall. If you hadn't gone and jumped down that damned cliff to investigate this wouldn't have happened." Quistis stood, hands on hips, seemingly extremely vexed.
"Whatever." Squall, composed emotionless mask in place, walked over to the cuddling pair. "Where are Seifer and Zell?"
Selphie snuggled a little closer to Irvine and looked up into Squall's stormy eyes, "I really don't know. We were the first ones back."
Irvine just shrugged, seeming unconcerned by lack of the two noisy blondes. Though who could really say they missed them in this serenity.
"We were attacked though. Maybe Seifer and Zell were held up because of an attack." Selphie beamed at her own pronouncement unable to contain the energy that always bubbled up inside of her.
Squall nodded in acceptance and sat down to wait. Hopefully they'd be back soon or else the hotel might give up their rooms.
While waiting Irvine and Quistis had started up a game of triple triad. They were through their 12th game when an idea suddenly struck Selphie, "What way did Zell and Seifer go?"
Squall shrugged casually, "North I think. They're late though and in another hour I'm going to leave them."
Selphie nodded, "So directly north from here." Pulling out her map she tried to discern what was taking them so long. The land was a bit hilly but otherwise flat until the cliff to the beach. "So here's this. Wait! Irvine, " she cried, her voice raising a few octaves and pulling said long- haired cowboy from his seat, "what if they were in that explosion we saw!"
Spinning around an odd look crossed Squall's face. It was a cross between panic and fear. It only showed for a second before a it was replaced by the emotionless mask that always adorned his face. "Well we'll need to set out that way. You two go in a northeasterly direction and keep communication open. We'll be going northwest " Immediately Squall spun on his heel, pulled Quistis up by her elbow, and began to trudge away.
Selphie hopped up unable to contain her worry that was coming out in a form of unstoppable energy. Dragging Irvine along at a grueling place and periodically informing Squall that they had found absolutely nothing Selphie soon came upon the remnants of the hill that the ship had come from. Immediately upon arrival an unexpected rain began to pour down but it was unable to keep Selphie, and a very unwilling Irvine, from searching the premises.
"Yellow team have you found anything?" Squall's voice broke through the steadily increasing rain from not just their radio but one from a few feet away as well.
Excitedly Selphie picked up the other radio and pressed the button, "Yeah I just found their radio guys. But this rain is seriously reducing our visibility. Even if they were lying at my feet I don't think we'd be able to see them."
"Understood. I think we should head back and continue the search in the morning when we can be of better use. Mark down your bearings and meet us back at the transport in an hour. Blue team out." Squall's voice ended and was replaced by the customary static of connection loss.
"Well Irvy I wanna check out that cliff right there and then we'll head back. Figure out where we're at before I'm back k?" Irvine nodded in response and Selphie went bouncing off to the edge of the drop off.
Peering over Selphie squinted in the dim light and harsh rain. The avalanche extended over the edge and she could only see dark clumps of dirt on the beach. Had it not been raining she probably would have noticed the two body's intertwined and half covered by the dirt. Being unable to see this however, she took her leave of the cliff and, with Irvine in tow, began the hour jog back.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As for the actual maps and such I have no clue what around Dollet looks like cus I haven't played the game in a couple of years. It was my first Final Fantasy and after 3 times I decided it was enough.
R&R cus I love to hear how my works going so I can improve. I think I'll make the next chapter even longer cus the story is going to split into three directions. ( that's why I had them all in their pairing for the mission.