I don't own FF8 or any of the characters. Squaresoft are the ones who
created it all!!!
Arriving in Winhill
The Ragnarok sped through the skies at a very swift pace, while the passengers on it started to get excited and nervous at the same time.
"I can't believe we're actually on our way to Winhill now! We're going to Winhill! We're going to Winhill! Woo-hoo!" shouted Selphie at the top of her voice, almost losing control of the airship.
"Whoa, take it easy there Sephie. Just concentrate on flying this thing, k?" said Irvine anxiously.
"Yeah we don't want to die before we even begin this mission!" said Zell sarcastically.
"Oh Zell! Don't make me mad otherwise I really might crash!" said Selphie crossly.
Very likely she'll ever get mad. thought Squall, who was seated right at the back of the Ragnarok.
Laguna was looking out the window deep in thought. "Hmm, I wonder what Ell's doing right now?" he asked himself.
"Probably being thankful that she got away from an insane moron who talks to himself," said Kiros sensibly.
"HEY! I'm not insane, I was only thinking out loud!" yelled Laguna.
Ward shook his head.
Quistis was seated in front of Laguna, Kiros and Ward. "Excuse me Laguna, I was just wondering, but how strong are the Galbadians now?" she asked, turning around in her seat.
Laguna's attention turned to Quistis. "Hmm, gee . . . ah well I guess, they're pretty strong now but -"
"- I'll answer that question since Laguna doesn't seem to know," cut in Kiros. "The Galbadians have improved a lot in strength since last time you, we or anyone for that matter fought against them. Even though you all beat Ultimecia, this will still be a hard battle, so I advise you to stay on your guard at all times, even when you think it is safe to relax. They have been under tough training sessions which have improved their skill in battle remarkably. Don't underestimate them, whatever you do."
Quistis nodded and turned around again.
Zell overheard some of what had been said and he punched the air saying, "Yeah, but this'll still be a walk in the park right?"
Quistis shook her head. "Don't get cocky Zell. You know as well as I do that this mission is going to be a hard one. You're just being overconfident."
Zell hunched his shoulders and sighed heavily.
While all of these matters were being discussed, Squall was silent and motionless. Even though he had only just left her, he already missed Rinoa terribly. Hunched over with his head down, Squall returned to his deep thoughts. Why did Rinoa have to be the Sorceress? If she weren't, none of this would've happened, and I'd still be with her. But then again, if she weren't, I wouldn't be as close to her as I am now. She wouldn't have gone into a coma, she wouldn't have gone into space, and she wouldn't have had to be sealed in the Sorceress Memorial. Those were the most affectionate times I've had with her, besides after we beat Ultimecia. Life is so complicated . . . Squall left his thoughts as the Ragnarok landed with a bump.
"Yay! Here we are everyone!" called Selphie, as she got up out of her seat.
Everyone made their way to the exit, and stepped out. Squall was the last to get off the ship, since he had been right at the back.
They all looked around them, to find themselves just outside of Winhill. As far as anyone could see, it was still the same little village they had known it to be.
Laguna looked into the village wistfully. He seemed to be remembering his peaceful life there, a long time ago.
No one was going to venture into the village just yet, because they needed to plan out what to do and where to go.
"It's currently 9:21 everyone," said Kiros. "We need to plan this out carefully. First we'll get into our groups."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then organised themselves into the 2 groups they had decided on earlier on.
Ward stood in one area, along with Zell, Quistis and Selphie. Squall went over to stand by Laguna, Kiros and Irvine.
"Alright Kiros, I'll take over now," said Laguna, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. He sounded different from his usual lively self. Everyone guessed it was because he was anxious to make sure that Winhill was kept safe. "Defenders, your job as you know, is to protect the villagers, making sure they don't get hurt. You won't have far to go, because most of them are in the town square. Our spies have reported that the shop-owners have left their residences, and have taken refuge in the houses in the town square. This is probably because they somehow heard about the Galbadians' attack, and wanted to be safe from any danger."
Here Laguna stopped, either to observe the responses from his listeners, or to ponder over what he was going to say next.
In any case, it seemed to be the right moment to stop, because Selphie piped in just then. "Hey great!! That makes our job easier, right?"
"Ah . . . not exactly, because there'll still be Galbadian soldiers in that area. They won't be as strong as the others though, so you'll be able to take them out easy," said Laguna.
"K, so how do know when to join up with you guys?" asked Zell, gesturing towards the fighter group.
"Hmm, well I think . . . actually I don't really know how we're s'posed to inform you that it's time to join forces," said Laguna, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly.
Kiros smiled. "I figured Laguna wouldn't be that prepared, so I got hold of these communicators." Here Kiros produced two quite small devices. "These are communicators I picked up back at Esthar. They enable us to talk to each other by holding down this red button, and speaking into it."
"Oh, so they're kinda like walky-talkies right?" said Selphie.
"In a way, but they are slightly different," said Kiros. He pointed to a small screen at the top of one of the 'walky-talkies'. "This here is a screen so that when we talk to each other, we'll be able to see the other person's face as well. They reach up to a very long distance, so we should have no trouble communicating with each other. That answers your question Zell."
Zell punched the air excitedly.
"Ok, that probably covers everything, correct?" said Laguna.
They all nodded.
"Alright then. We'd better enter Winhill now," said Laguna. "I think it best that the fighting group goes first. We'll make our way into a certain area, and the defending group can stay in the town square."
With that, Laguna started walking into the village, followed by Kiros, Squall and Irvine.
Ward started to follow shortly after Laguna and his group had made their way into Winhill.
The 'fighting group' kept on until they came to the part of Winhill which was filled with grassy plains and flowers. It was totally deserted, but they all knew that the Galbadians would venture forth in a few hours. Laguna gestured for everyone to follow him, before crouching down behind some tall, long grass which also had bushy plants in front of it.
Everyone crouched down and hid behind the long grass.
"This is a good hiding spot, eh?" said Laguna proudly.
". . . Whatever," said Squall.
Laguna sighed. "Let's see now. It's 9:46 now. Time seems to go by quickly doesn't it?"
No one said anything.
"Only a few hours left. Remember, the Galbadians are set to attack at 12:00," said Laguna.
Still no one said anything. There was complete silence.
"Aww come on, somebody say something!" said Laguna, in a slight tone of frustration.
Still there was silence.
"Aaarrrggghhh!!! I can't bear it! It's too quiet! Actually you're probably so silent because you know that the Galbadians are going to show up any minute," said Laguna.
"Laguna, they're not going to be here until 12:00. It's only 9:48 now," said Kiros.
"Then why are you all so noiseless?" asked Laguna.
"Probably because we don't have anything to say to you Laguna," Kiros commented.
Laguna hunched over slightly. "Gee, this is going to be a long morning . . ."
Meanwhile, the 'defending group' hadn't gone very far. They were all in the town square.
Quistis seemed to be in charge, since Ward couldn't give orders, and Zell and Selphie weren't exactly the best leaders in the world.
"Okay everyone," said Quistis. "There are quite a few houses around here. I suggest we round up all the villagers who are most likely hiding in all the different residences. We'll tell them who we are and we'll ask them to stay in two of the houses. That way, two of us can protect one house, and the other two can protect the other."
"Wow! Great idea Quistis!" said Selphie.
"Yeah, good thinkin'!" said Zell.
Ward nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's start with this house here," said Quistis, pointing to the closest home. "I'll do the talking."
They all nodded and walked over to it, and Quistis knocked on the door.
A woman's voice could be heard from inside the house, "If you're those Galbadians, we didn't do nothin' to you, so leave us alone!"
Then a young girl's voice sounded. She sounded as if she was in her early 20's. "Mother, Galbadians wouldn't knock, would they?"
The woman seemed to consider this for a second, and then she said, "Maybe, Emily. But then again, those Galbadians are sneaky individuals. You never know what to expect."
Emily sighed. "I think you should just answer the door mother."
Emily's mother was silent for a moment, before finally making the decision to open the door.
When she did, Quistis, Ward, Selphie and Zell were standing there, looking very un-Galbadianish.
"Hello," said Quistis, smiling. "You're probably wondering who we are. Well to make it truthful, we are not Galbadians."
"Oh thank the heavens for that!" said the woman. "Because you know, we kept hearing about Galbadians coming to attack today."
Quistis looked away. "I'm sorry, but they will be attacking today. We're here to help you."
"Really? Thankyou so much. I'm Maree. This is my daughter Emily, and my husband Jacob is upstairs," said the woman.
Quistis nodded. "My name is Quistis, and this is Ward, Selphie and Zell."
"Hi, nice to meet you," said Selphie cheerfully.
"Yo!" said Zell.
Ward raised his hand.
Maree looked confused because Ward did not say anything.
Quistis saw Maree's puzzled expression, and she quickly added, "Oh I forgot to tell you, Ward can't speak. He permanently lost his voice a long time ago."
"I see," said Maree. "Sorry to hear that."
"Anyway," said Quistis. "We need to get all the villagers of Winhill into two separate houses. Would you be able to help us to get everyone to agree?"
"Certainly," said Maree. "Emily, please get your father and tell him what all this is about."
Emily got up off her chair and ran upstairs.
Soon, Jacob came down the stairs, already informed about who the 'defending group' were.
"Hello," he said. "I understand you're here to help us. Well we'll accept your help, even though we don't know you at all."
Then they all went to each house, explaining to the citizens what was going on. The citizens agreed to do what they were told, because they were frightened of what would happen to their village.
Soon, all the people of Winhill were divided into the two biggest houses.
Quistis and Ward were in one house, and Selphie and Zell were in the other.
Of course, the villagers had lots of questions, and Quistis, Selphie and Zell answered them all.
Jacob, Maree and Emily happened to be in Quistis and Ward's house. Emily was very curious about everything, so she asked Quistis a good question. "Excuse me, Quistis? Are there others here besides you, Ward, Selphie and Zell?"
"Yes there are," said Quistis. "In a different area are Laguna, Ki -"
"- Laguna!? Laguna is here?" said some of the villagers all at once. "Why, we haven't seen Laguna for . . . so long!"
Quistis nodded. "I know that Laguna lived here a long time ago. Well now he is the President of Esthar."
Emily's eyes brightened. "Is there any chance of . . . Ellone being here too?"
Quistis shook her head. "Ellone isn't here. How do you know her?"
"We were friends . . . a long time ago. I used to play with her almost every day. We were only little kids back then though. Then she was taken away. I don't remember much about it . . . I really want to see her again." Emily's eyes saddened.
Quistis smiled. "I'm sure that we'll be able to arrange something after all of this is over."
Emily smiled. "Thankyou. I've always wondered what became of Ellone."
"She lives in Esthar with Laguna. Right now though, our friend Rinoa is staying with her," said Quistis.
Emily nodded, which concluded all the questions.
So Quistis, Ward, Selphie and Zell all stayed in those two houses to guard and protect the villagers from any harm that might come to them; most likely harm from Galbadian soldiers, who would be attacking Winhill very soon. . .
Long chapter, don't you think? Anyway, please R+R if you liked it. It really helps. The things people say are really encouraging, and that's what helps me to continue. So thanks everyone! This chapter was dedicated to:
townberry, Angelprinczess29, the-angel-of-the-lion, Renegade Seraph, Angelwhispher, Wumbahi, krnman and Momiji-chan. Thankyou so much!
Arriving in Winhill
The Ragnarok sped through the skies at a very swift pace, while the passengers on it started to get excited and nervous at the same time.
"I can't believe we're actually on our way to Winhill now! We're going to Winhill! We're going to Winhill! Woo-hoo!" shouted Selphie at the top of her voice, almost losing control of the airship.
"Whoa, take it easy there Sephie. Just concentrate on flying this thing, k?" said Irvine anxiously.
"Yeah we don't want to die before we even begin this mission!" said Zell sarcastically.
"Oh Zell! Don't make me mad otherwise I really might crash!" said Selphie crossly.
Very likely she'll ever get mad. thought Squall, who was seated right at the back of the Ragnarok.
Laguna was looking out the window deep in thought. "Hmm, I wonder what Ell's doing right now?" he asked himself.
"Probably being thankful that she got away from an insane moron who talks to himself," said Kiros sensibly.
"HEY! I'm not insane, I was only thinking out loud!" yelled Laguna.
Ward shook his head.
Quistis was seated in front of Laguna, Kiros and Ward. "Excuse me Laguna, I was just wondering, but how strong are the Galbadians now?" she asked, turning around in her seat.
Laguna's attention turned to Quistis. "Hmm, gee . . . ah well I guess, they're pretty strong now but -"
"- I'll answer that question since Laguna doesn't seem to know," cut in Kiros. "The Galbadians have improved a lot in strength since last time you, we or anyone for that matter fought against them. Even though you all beat Ultimecia, this will still be a hard battle, so I advise you to stay on your guard at all times, even when you think it is safe to relax. They have been under tough training sessions which have improved their skill in battle remarkably. Don't underestimate them, whatever you do."
Quistis nodded and turned around again.
Zell overheard some of what had been said and he punched the air saying, "Yeah, but this'll still be a walk in the park right?"
Quistis shook her head. "Don't get cocky Zell. You know as well as I do that this mission is going to be a hard one. You're just being overconfident."
Zell hunched his shoulders and sighed heavily.
While all of these matters were being discussed, Squall was silent and motionless. Even though he had only just left her, he already missed Rinoa terribly. Hunched over with his head down, Squall returned to his deep thoughts. Why did Rinoa have to be the Sorceress? If she weren't, none of this would've happened, and I'd still be with her. But then again, if she weren't, I wouldn't be as close to her as I am now. She wouldn't have gone into a coma, she wouldn't have gone into space, and she wouldn't have had to be sealed in the Sorceress Memorial. Those were the most affectionate times I've had with her, besides after we beat Ultimecia. Life is so complicated . . . Squall left his thoughts as the Ragnarok landed with a bump.
"Yay! Here we are everyone!" called Selphie, as she got up out of her seat.
Everyone made their way to the exit, and stepped out. Squall was the last to get off the ship, since he had been right at the back.
They all looked around them, to find themselves just outside of Winhill. As far as anyone could see, it was still the same little village they had known it to be.
Laguna looked into the village wistfully. He seemed to be remembering his peaceful life there, a long time ago.
No one was going to venture into the village just yet, because they needed to plan out what to do and where to go.
"It's currently 9:21 everyone," said Kiros. "We need to plan this out carefully. First we'll get into our groups."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then organised themselves into the 2 groups they had decided on earlier on.
Ward stood in one area, along with Zell, Quistis and Selphie. Squall went over to stand by Laguna, Kiros and Irvine.
"Alright Kiros, I'll take over now," said Laguna, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. He sounded different from his usual lively self. Everyone guessed it was because he was anxious to make sure that Winhill was kept safe. "Defenders, your job as you know, is to protect the villagers, making sure they don't get hurt. You won't have far to go, because most of them are in the town square. Our spies have reported that the shop-owners have left their residences, and have taken refuge in the houses in the town square. This is probably because they somehow heard about the Galbadians' attack, and wanted to be safe from any danger."
Here Laguna stopped, either to observe the responses from his listeners, or to ponder over what he was going to say next.
In any case, it seemed to be the right moment to stop, because Selphie piped in just then. "Hey great!! That makes our job easier, right?"
"Ah . . . not exactly, because there'll still be Galbadian soldiers in that area. They won't be as strong as the others though, so you'll be able to take them out easy," said Laguna.
"K, so how do know when to join up with you guys?" asked Zell, gesturing towards the fighter group.
"Hmm, well I think . . . actually I don't really know how we're s'posed to inform you that it's time to join forces," said Laguna, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly.
Kiros smiled. "I figured Laguna wouldn't be that prepared, so I got hold of these communicators." Here Kiros produced two quite small devices. "These are communicators I picked up back at Esthar. They enable us to talk to each other by holding down this red button, and speaking into it."
"Oh, so they're kinda like walky-talkies right?" said Selphie.
"In a way, but they are slightly different," said Kiros. He pointed to a small screen at the top of one of the 'walky-talkies'. "This here is a screen so that when we talk to each other, we'll be able to see the other person's face as well. They reach up to a very long distance, so we should have no trouble communicating with each other. That answers your question Zell."
Zell punched the air excitedly.
"Ok, that probably covers everything, correct?" said Laguna.
They all nodded.
"Alright then. We'd better enter Winhill now," said Laguna. "I think it best that the fighting group goes first. We'll make our way into a certain area, and the defending group can stay in the town square."
With that, Laguna started walking into the village, followed by Kiros, Squall and Irvine.
Ward started to follow shortly after Laguna and his group had made their way into Winhill.
The 'fighting group' kept on until they came to the part of Winhill which was filled with grassy plains and flowers. It was totally deserted, but they all knew that the Galbadians would venture forth in a few hours. Laguna gestured for everyone to follow him, before crouching down behind some tall, long grass which also had bushy plants in front of it.
Everyone crouched down and hid behind the long grass.
"This is a good hiding spot, eh?" said Laguna proudly.
". . . Whatever," said Squall.
Laguna sighed. "Let's see now. It's 9:46 now. Time seems to go by quickly doesn't it?"
No one said anything.
"Only a few hours left. Remember, the Galbadians are set to attack at 12:00," said Laguna.
Still no one said anything. There was complete silence.
"Aww come on, somebody say something!" said Laguna, in a slight tone of frustration.
Still there was silence.
"Aaarrrggghhh!!! I can't bear it! It's too quiet! Actually you're probably so silent because you know that the Galbadians are going to show up any minute," said Laguna.
"Laguna, they're not going to be here until 12:00. It's only 9:48 now," said Kiros.
"Then why are you all so noiseless?" asked Laguna.
"Probably because we don't have anything to say to you Laguna," Kiros commented.
Laguna hunched over slightly. "Gee, this is going to be a long morning . . ."
Meanwhile, the 'defending group' hadn't gone very far. They were all in the town square.
Quistis seemed to be in charge, since Ward couldn't give orders, and Zell and Selphie weren't exactly the best leaders in the world.
"Okay everyone," said Quistis. "There are quite a few houses around here. I suggest we round up all the villagers who are most likely hiding in all the different residences. We'll tell them who we are and we'll ask them to stay in two of the houses. That way, two of us can protect one house, and the other two can protect the other."
"Wow! Great idea Quistis!" said Selphie.
"Yeah, good thinkin'!" said Zell.
Ward nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's start with this house here," said Quistis, pointing to the closest home. "I'll do the talking."
They all nodded and walked over to it, and Quistis knocked on the door.
A woman's voice could be heard from inside the house, "If you're those Galbadians, we didn't do nothin' to you, so leave us alone!"
Then a young girl's voice sounded. She sounded as if she was in her early 20's. "Mother, Galbadians wouldn't knock, would they?"
The woman seemed to consider this for a second, and then she said, "Maybe, Emily. But then again, those Galbadians are sneaky individuals. You never know what to expect."
Emily sighed. "I think you should just answer the door mother."
Emily's mother was silent for a moment, before finally making the decision to open the door.
When she did, Quistis, Ward, Selphie and Zell were standing there, looking very un-Galbadianish.
"Hello," said Quistis, smiling. "You're probably wondering who we are. Well to make it truthful, we are not Galbadians."
"Oh thank the heavens for that!" said the woman. "Because you know, we kept hearing about Galbadians coming to attack today."
Quistis looked away. "I'm sorry, but they will be attacking today. We're here to help you."
"Really? Thankyou so much. I'm Maree. This is my daughter Emily, and my husband Jacob is upstairs," said the woman.
Quistis nodded. "My name is Quistis, and this is Ward, Selphie and Zell."
"Hi, nice to meet you," said Selphie cheerfully.
"Yo!" said Zell.
Ward raised his hand.
Maree looked confused because Ward did not say anything.
Quistis saw Maree's puzzled expression, and she quickly added, "Oh I forgot to tell you, Ward can't speak. He permanently lost his voice a long time ago."
"I see," said Maree. "Sorry to hear that."
"Anyway," said Quistis. "We need to get all the villagers of Winhill into two separate houses. Would you be able to help us to get everyone to agree?"
"Certainly," said Maree. "Emily, please get your father and tell him what all this is about."
Emily got up off her chair and ran upstairs.
Soon, Jacob came down the stairs, already informed about who the 'defending group' were.
"Hello," he said. "I understand you're here to help us. Well we'll accept your help, even though we don't know you at all."
Then they all went to each house, explaining to the citizens what was going on. The citizens agreed to do what they were told, because they were frightened of what would happen to their village.
Soon, all the people of Winhill were divided into the two biggest houses.
Quistis and Ward were in one house, and Selphie and Zell were in the other.
Of course, the villagers had lots of questions, and Quistis, Selphie and Zell answered them all.
Jacob, Maree and Emily happened to be in Quistis and Ward's house. Emily was very curious about everything, so she asked Quistis a good question. "Excuse me, Quistis? Are there others here besides you, Ward, Selphie and Zell?"
"Yes there are," said Quistis. "In a different area are Laguna, Ki -"
"- Laguna!? Laguna is here?" said some of the villagers all at once. "Why, we haven't seen Laguna for . . . so long!"
Quistis nodded. "I know that Laguna lived here a long time ago. Well now he is the President of Esthar."
Emily's eyes brightened. "Is there any chance of . . . Ellone being here too?"
Quistis shook her head. "Ellone isn't here. How do you know her?"
"We were friends . . . a long time ago. I used to play with her almost every day. We were only little kids back then though. Then she was taken away. I don't remember much about it . . . I really want to see her again." Emily's eyes saddened.
Quistis smiled. "I'm sure that we'll be able to arrange something after all of this is over."
Emily smiled. "Thankyou. I've always wondered what became of Ellone."
"She lives in Esthar with Laguna. Right now though, our friend Rinoa is staying with her," said Quistis.
Emily nodded, which concluded all the questions.
So Quistis, Ward, Selphie and Zell all stayed in those two houses to guard and protect the villagers from any harm that might come to them; most likely harm from Galbadian soldiers, who would be attacking Winhill very soon. . .
Long chapter, don't you think? Anyway, please R+R if you liked it. It really helps. The things people say are really encouraging, and that's what helps me to continue. So thanks everyone! This chapter was dedicated to:
townberry, Angelprinczess29, the-angel-of-the-lion, Renegade Seraph, Angelwhispher, Wumbahi, krnman and Momiji-chan. Thankyou so much!