Disclaimer: Look at the previous chapters. Its still the same.

Several hours later, the great lion woke up. It looked through the crumbling windows and ceiling and saw that the rain had ceased. The sky was still overcast and dark gray, signaling that the letup was only temporary. Eagerly, the lion growled in anticipation as it burst through a large hole and the wall and took flight towards its intended destination. Nothing would stop it this time...

***

*CRACK*! "I win!"

"OW! D**n it, Irvine! You dirty cheater!"

"Now, now, Zell, I won fair and square...my foot just happened to slip..." Irvine and Zell's arm-wrestling match had gone awry. Due to the fact that the women were gone, the two men had no one to stop them from competing with one another. Just as Zell was about to win, Irvine delivered him a swift kick in the shins. Zell was about to throttle Irvine when Headmaster Cid's voice crackled over the P.A. system.

"Will Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas report to the main office immediately!" the Headmaster requested urgently. Irvine and Zell looked at one another for a split second then rapidly sped off to the elevator, knocking students over as they went.

"Will Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas report to the main office immediately!" Squall looked up from an ink drawing he had been working on to get his mind off his condition, stopped what he was doing, and rushed to meet Headmaster Cid.

The first thing Squall, Irvine, and Zell noticed as they entered the office were an extremely disheveled looking Quistis and Selphie. Their grimy, dirt covered faces were streaked with tears.

"What happened?!" Squall asked quickly. "Where's Rinoa?!"

"It was this giant, evil looking winged lion...it all happened so quickly...took Rinoa..." Selphie managed to gasp out.

"..."

"Oh, Squall," Quistis began. "We couldn't help her. We had only gone to Balamb to restock on healing items so we didn't have our weapons. The beast was too powerful...oh, Squall, were so sorry..." Cid stood up from the chair behind his desk. He began to address the men.

"I called you three up here so we can try to find Rinoa. The women managed to take note of the direction the monster was heading. They said it flew towards the south west, so we have a general direction. I'm going to send you five out on the Ragnarok to search for Rinoa. A creature that size isn't going to be easy to hide, so fly low and search thoroughly. If the creature had wanted to harm Rinoa, it would have done so on the spot."

Cid looked at Squall, who was currently speechless. "All of you except for Squall may go prepare to leave." Once the others had left the room, the old man turned to Squall.

"Squall, I want you to be careful on this search." He cautioned. "This monster did not capture Rinoa randomly. Quistis told me that the monster ignored everyone and went through many people to get to her and her alone. I suspect that the lion is using Rinoa is bait to convince you to come to it. Be careful. I cannot stress that enough." Squall looked up at the Headmaster with angry eyes.

"You should be more concerned about Rinoa. I'll be fine." With that, Squall stormed out of the office to prepare.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but it's difficult to write a long chapter when you're sleepy. My younger brother got into a four-wheeling accident last night, so I haven't gotten a whole lot of sleep. He's okay, he was just a little loopy the other day and nothing's broken, so he'll be alright. Anyway, I'll update soon and once again, everyone's reviews are greatly appreciated!