Chapter 18
The Desert Prison
Part I
"…Where am I?"
Light seeped into his pupils slowly, as the young man opened his eyes. A heavy, pulsating light.
He blinked. He took a breath. The air around him was cold.
"…Where am I?"
Zell Dincht awoke to find himself on a cold metal floor. His face hurt from being pressed up against it, and his eyes were taking some time to adjust.
He pushed himself off from the metal surface, and looked behind him. On the wall were a row of lights, blinking slowly.
"Ahh, welcome back, Zell. The 'dream world' again?"
Zell turned to see Quistis Trepe and Selphie Tilmitt sitting right next to him. Rinoa was there too still in her blue duster, sitting down, hugging her knees. They were all on the floor of some kind of dark holding room.
Zell nodded, replying to the question that Quistis asked.
"Uh huh." he said.
Selphie spoke up.
"How's Laguna doin'?"
Zell thought back to the dream… He hadn't even seen Laguna.
"Dunno… I didn't see him." Zell said, still a little sleepy.
Everyone sat quietly as Zell scratched his head, trying to wake up.
"It's not like I know everything about Ward, but…" Zell began. He decided to explain the 'dream' first.
"Well, you know Laguna and company went to that Centra place and got in a real fix, right?"
Quistis and Selphie nodded, knowingly. Rinoa just sat there, feeling somewhat left out.
"After that," Zell continued. "Ward's been all alone. He's working in some sort of prison-like place. And he's bored outta his mind!"
Zell rubbed his face. It was still achy from being asleep on the floor.
"All he wants is to be fightin' alongside Laguna." he said. Zell rubbed his face.
Everyone remained quiet. Quistis, too, had 'dreamt'. She'd waken up only a few minutes before Zell had, but she didn't feel like talking about her encounter.
"So, what is this we're experiencing?" Quistis said. She knew that no one had an answer though.
"How the hell should I know!?" Zell replied, just as confused.
Quistis shook her head, and sighed.
Zell stood up. He took a good look at his surroundings and immediately knew what had happened while he was dreaming. They were in jail. Obviously, the mission had failed, and they were all arrested. Where they were exactly, he didn't know. But he didn't even need to ask why they were in prison... They failed. The sorceress was still alive, and now they were going to pay.
"Dammit." he thought.
Zell walked around the cell a bit. After stretching, he plopped down near Selphie again.
She looked sad, but Selphie's spirits were not so easily broken.
"Well… since we're prisoners… Shouldn't we be trying to break out of here!?" she said aloud, feisty as ever. She sat on the floor, her knees together, staring at the ground angrily.
Everyone was silent at her comment. Right now, escape was impossible.
"I wonder what happened to Squall… Did they bring him here, too…?" Quistis finally said. Her head hung down as her eyes stared at the cold floor.
Everyone seemed pretty upset. Quistis was depressed and Selphie was angry. Zell was working up to it, but he was too confused and tired to be sad, or get in a rage right now.
Rinoa looked off into space, as if she were studying something in her mind. She turned over to Zell and asked him…
"Um, didn't you say that Ward was working in some sort of prison?"
Zell looked back at Rinoa.
"Yeah, so."
"And wasn't he from Galbadia?" she continued.
"Sure, he's a solider there." Zell replied, unsure about what she was getting at. He pulled on his blue water-pants, adjusting the leg.
Rinoa paused for a long time. Zell looked at her for a moment, waiting for her to speak up, but eventually just shrugged his shoulders, and laid on he floor.
Finally, Rinoa spoke again.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," she started. "but aren't you supposed to be Ward in that 'dream world'?"
Zell sat up again, and nodded.
"Just now, I was."
Rinoa's next question sounded odd.
"Does this room look familiar?" she said.
Zell glanced around. He cocked his eye, giving Rinoa a confused glance.
"Of all the stupid questi…" he thought. And then it hit him.
It did look familiar.
"Hey? Whoa??? Wait a sec…" he thought.
I know this place!" He yelled, jumping up from his spot in a rather comical manner. His abruptness startled everyone.
"Everyone listen up!" he commanded. "This is the prison that Ward works at! He's a janitor here!"
Zell raised his voice, getting excited.
"There's so many rooms just like this! It's got to be here!"
"There's a prison for political activists in Galbadia…" Rinoa said. "This must be the place where Ward works. Right here, where we are! I'm sure of it!"
Quistis couldn't understand their optimism. So what if Zell knew how to get around here? Was that going to help them now? No. Their situation was pretty hopeless as far as Quistis was concerned.
"It's no surprise we're in jail. We did attack the sorceress…" she lamented.
Zell was still examining the room, looking around and oblivious to Quistis sad comments.
"We went up against the president. We'll all be sentenced to death…" Rinoa realized. She, too, became somewhat depressed at this.
"That president is no longer in charge." Quistis reminded her.
Rinoa looked down at the ground sadly. Quistis was right. Edea was in charge now.
"Now that Galbadia's in the hands of the sorceress… What's going to happen to us?"
Selphie listened nervously to their depressing conversation She looked back and forth at Rinoa and Quistis.
"Things don't look so good…" Selphie observed sadly. She looked about the cell, and sighed unhappily. The cold, gray, metal room was scary and discouraging to Selphie, who was used to seeing bright splashes of color everywhere at Garden. The only color in the cell was the clothes that they were wearing.
Zell sat down, frustrated. He tried to remember what he'd experienced as Ward, but couldn't think of anything that would help them right now. The cells were completely unable to be opened from the inside, and all the vents were more than sixteen feet above them on the ceiling. Besides that, they were guarded by a laser-beam detection system.
Zell didn't want to just sit and wait, but there was little choice in the matter at this point. He rested his head on his right hand for a moment and thought.
"What's gonna happen to us?" he thought, mirroring Rinoa's concern. "And where the hell is that guy, Irvine? …And where's Squall…?"
Zell thought about his team leader for a moment. He'd led the assault on Edea, just as the General had commanded. But where did the Galbadian soldiers take him?
"Did the sorceress…?" Zell stopped the thought and gulped nervously. If they were to be punished, Squall would surely receive a large portion of it, and probably before any of them. What did Edea have in store for him?
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"…Where am I?"
Squall Leonhart sat up on a cold, metal bench. He blinked slowly as his eyes adjusted to the light. He found himself inside a small room, containing a bench, a small toilet, and hard metal walls. Nothing else.
He shook his head slightly, making sure that he could control his movements. The dream was over. He was back in the real world.
Squall began to think about all that had happened up to the point of his blacking out. He flipped his legs onto the floor, and rested his head in his hands.
"I… challenged Edea… My wound… ……?" Squall glanced at his right shoulder. There was no injury. No mark on his skin, no soreness. His jacket wasn't even torn in the spot he'd been stabbed.
But he remembered the pain. The incredible, twisting, pain.
"No wound…? How…?" he thought.
He tried to think back. Did he imagine it? Was it only part of the 'dream'? Even if it was… The pain was so real…
"The Galbadian soldiers… We were surrounded."
Squall started to remember. He hadn't traveled to the 'dream world' immediately after hitting the concert below the float. He was unconscious for a moment, but came to, just long enough to see what a miserable situation it had turned into. Galbadian soldiers had encompassed the float within seconds of him hitting the ground. Several stood by guarding him, while the rest rushed the top of the float, and off in another direction.
And then Squall remembered something which infuriated him.
"He was there… Seifer, leering down at me."
Squall raised his head, sitting up straight.
"Damn you, Seifer!" he yelled.
Squall tried to stand up, but fell to the ground on his knees. The metal floor clanged loudly as he hit it, and Squall rested for a moment, his hands and knees on the floor.
"Damn you…" he thought. "Damn you…"
Squall was still a little weakened, he assumed, from the earlier battle. He remained still on the floor, but he continued to hear metal clanging all around him.
And then the room moved.
Squall shifted around, getting his balance as the metal cell seemed to attach to something, and be pulled away. After more clanging and bumping, the room was silent. Then, in one jerky motion, the holding cell started moving up, like an elevator, except much faster. Squall felt every movement, and started getting sick to his stomach.
"Damn you…"
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*--------------------------PLACE MARKER---------------------*
(Sick of reading right now? Take a break, and find your spot right here when you come back to the story!)
In their own cell, Selphie, Zell, Rinoa, and Quistis heard loud noises echoing throughout the prison ventilation system. Metal clanging together, or scraping against itself, and the occasional human scream. On thud sounded especially loud, and startled all of them.
"What, what!?" Selphie screeched. "What was that loud noise?"
Suddenly, the cell's sliding door opened, revealing three angry-faced guards. They walked in slowly, all wearing blue shirts, gray guard caps, and they were all carrying guns and night-sticks. All of the prisoners stood up, staring at the guards suspiciously.
Zell took one glance at the three men, and was displeased with them immediately.
"I don't like him at all… …" He thought, giving the lead watchman a particularly nasty glare.
"It's the sound of your friend being tortured." The first guard replied to Selphie's question. He grinned wickedly, quite pleased with himself for giving them the disturbing news.
This particular guard prided himself on being abusively ruff with the prisoners, physically and mentally. In fact, some of the prisoners had come up with a rather appropriate nick-name for him… The 'Mean Guy'.
"What!? Whaddya mean!?" Zell yelled as he stepped forward.
The guards quickly cocked their guns, pointing them at Zell.
"Shut up!!!" the 'Mean Guy' yelled. "Don't screw around with me!!!"
The other guards kept their fingers dangerously close to the triggers, waiting for Zell to make a wrong move. Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa stood back, frightened.
'Mean Guy' continued.
"You understand who's in charge here!?" he screamed.
Zell tightened his lips, and narrowed his eyes. He stamped his foot in utter defiance as the guard marched over to him angrily.
"I'm asking you a question!" he said, clutching Zell's neck. He squeezed tightly.
Zell continued to stare straight at him. He wasn't afraid of this jerk, and he sure as hell wasn't going to submit to him. Not a chance.
The 'Mean Guy's' nostrils flared with anger and hostility. He released Zell's neck and smacked him across the face, hard, with his night stick.
Zell winced as his head was hit. He felt his left temple start to swell up almost immediately, but Zell didn't utter one sound. He remained silent, his facial expressions the only indication of what he felt.
He started to feel blood drip down the side of his face.
The guard wasn't satisfied with this, however. He was going to make this kid beg for mercy after the way he'd just acted.
"Little rebel prick…" The 'Mean Guy' thought. "I'll give him hell…Make him scream good…"
One of the guards took aim at Zell with his gun. Zell turned his head away, squinting his eyes.
But the 'Mean Guy' didn't order him to fire. Instead, he kicked Zell in his lower abdomen.
Zell clutched his stomach. It hurt like hell, but still no sound came from him.
"Son of a bitch…" the guard thought, infuriated.
Now on his hands and knees, Zell was trying to catch his breath. He'd almost recovered when the guard kicked him again. And again, and again. One of the other guards came up and joined 'Mean Guy', striking Zell in the side with their steel-toed boots.
They kicked him several more times, every time, in the stomach. Zell's lips quivered slightly, and he started to spit red from his mouth. Selphie, Quistis, and Rinoa gazed on in horror as Zell stayed put there, and took the pain without a single outcry.
'Mean Guy' kicked Zell once more, aiming for his ribcage. Zell heard a slight crack inside his chest at this, and gasped at the pain, but he clenched his teeth right away, not wanting to give the guards any kind of satisfaction.
"They're going to kill me…" he thought. "…Bastards… are… gonna… kill me…"
"Stop!!!" Rinoa finally yelled. She was over in the left corner of the cell, nearly brought to tears at the sight before her. Zell breathed an exhausted sigh of relief.
The 'Mean Guy' was about to take aim again, but he rested his foot and signaled for the other guard to stop as well.
"…Thanks… Rinoa…" Zell thought, collapsing onto the floor.
The guard looked down at Zell contemptuously, and spoke to him.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He started. He took hold of a clump of Zell's hair, forcing him to lift his head from the ground.
"Hey man, is there a Rinoa with you?" he asked harshly, ignoring the fact that his beating had nearly knocked Zell unconscious.
Rinoa spoke up quickly, not wanting the guards to hurt Zell again.
"I'm Rinoa."
The 'Mean Guy' released Zell's head, looking over to the young girl.
"Oh, all right. Then come over here." he said calmly. The other walked over to Rinoa, and grabbed her arm.
Zell glanced behind him from his spot on the floor. He was weakened, but he found the strength to yell out.
"Whaddya doing to Rinoa, you bastard!?" he yelled with a surprising amount of energy.
The 'Mean Guy', still standing near Zell, turned, frowned, and gave him another kick in the side. Zell tightened his stomach, anticipating the hit, but anymore like that, and Zell imagined that he would die.
"Stop it already!!!" Quistis yelled, ashamed she hadn't said it earlier.
Rinoa's voice came in, trying to calm everyone down.
"Stop." she said softly. "I'll go."
The guard released Rinoa's arm, and pulled out his gun. He jabbed her in the back, and motioned for her to move.
"Rinoa…" Quistis began, giving her an apologetic look.
Rinoa turned to Quistis, and smiled slightly.
"I'll be fine." she said. She nodded to Quistis, showing that she bore no hard feelings about their earlier confrontation. Rinoa's expression was comforting to her.
Rinoa then turned her head towards the cell door.
"Let's go." she sighed.
The guards led Rinoa through the cell door, as Selphie and Quistis gazed on. Zell lay on the floor, unable to do anything…
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Squall got thrown on the floor again, trying to suppress the urge to puke when his cell came to a halt. It slammed down with a loud boom, and remained still. Suddenly, a part of the cell wall flipped open, slamming onto the floor outside of it. Squall heard boot steps walking towards him, and he knew who it was.
"Squall, you're pitiful." A cocky voice said.
"Seifer."
Squall couldn't respond. He tried to stand up, but only fell back into Seifer's chest, completely unbalanced. Seifer caught him, and chuckled to himself. He grabbed Squall by his hair, and turned him around.
Seifer stood there a moment, glaring into the storm-blue eyes of his rival. He looked at Squall, smug faced.
" I win." he thought.
Seifer took an even tighter grip on Squall's thick brown hair, as if he was trying to tear it out, and tossed him harshly into the metal wall of the cell. Squall landed on the bench, his head now pounding with pain. Why was he still so weak? What happened to him?
"…Did they drug me?" Squall thought, unable to move. "…Is that why I can't even stand up straight… What did they do to me? …What are they going to do?"
Seifer threw back his hand in that commanding way he enjoyed, and gave an order.
"Take him away!" he yelled.
Two large animals with fiery red fur, and huge paws rushed into the cell on all fours, but then rose to stand on their hind legs only. They took hold of Squall's motionless body, and began carrying it out from the cell.
Squall blinked at the sight, but couldn't even muster the strength to fight back. He blanked out, unconscious once again.
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Squall came-to quickly this time. He found himself, however, attached to a wall by chains across his wrists and ankles. He blinked slowly, and saw Seifer standing below him.
Seifer, seeing that Squall was awake again, spoke up.
"I'm sure you can imagine what happens now." he said plainly.
Squall struggled. He moved his arms and legs around, trying to free himself from the chains.
"He's going to torture me… Damn." Squall thought. His strength was returning to him now, but only slightly... Not that it would do him any good. He turned his head and saw parts of the chains and shackles that had blackened over time from being electrified.
'Electric-Shock Persuasion'. Just a fancy name for shooting thousands of volts into someone's body, expecting them to either die, or tell the interrogator what he wanted to know. Squall realized that this was part of the punishment either Seifer or the sorceress had chosen for him.
"…What do you want?" Squall asked, looking down on his rival with disdain.
Seifer took his gunblade in hand, and pointed it right up towards Squall's face.
"Tell me what SeeD is. Edea demands to know."
"SeeD…" Squall began. He thought a moment.
"…A codename, for Balamb Garden's elite mercenary force… SeeD… Combat specialists…" Squall scanned through all the 'definitions' he'd heard for SeeD. And realized that non of them were something that Seifer hadn't heard before.
"…???"
"…Don't you already know?" Squall asked, slightly confused.
"I'm not a SeeD." Seifer replied, resting his gunblade on his shoulder. "There must be some kind of secret you're given when you become a SeeD!"
Squall glared down at Seifer, rolling his eyes.
"There's nothing. Even if there were, you think I'd tell you?"
Seifer sighed. He'd expected this.
"You're on my 'though-nut-to-crack' list." he said. "Didn't think you'd talk that easily."
Squall rolled his eyes again. For all of whatever it was had happened to Seifer, he sure hadn't seemed to change at all. Just the same old cocky jerk who thought he was something special… Only now he had power.
"…Geez. I'm, honored." Squall said sarcastically.
Seifer ignored him.
"So here's a little somethin' for ya." he said, smirking.
Seifer snapped his fingers. The prison warden near the torture chamber's control panel responded quickly, tossing down a lever on the wall.
"Why is it taking so long…?" Squall thought, anxiously. It took a moment, but then he heard the hum of electricity directly behind him.
Thousands of watts started flowing through the wall and into Squall's body, causing him to convulse violently.
"Arrrrghhhh…" Squall yelled. He uttered it more in frustration than in pain at first, but the surging energy was quickly wearing him down. Squall's muscled tightened continuously, squeezing more and more with every second.
He couldn't breathe.
Seifer glanced over to the guard, and he tossed the switch up again. The flow of electricity stopped, and along with it, Squall's convulsing body. He shook for a moment more, but then his body began to loosen up. He hung his head down, exhausted.
Seifer looked on at him, smug as ever.
"Even if you don't talk, others will."
Seifer slide his gunblade into it's hilt, and put his hands in his pockets.
"The instructor, the little messenger girl, or that Chicken-wuss… He wouldn't last three seconds!"
Seifer laughed loudly, amused at the thought of each one of them enduring this torture.
Squall raised his head. What did Seifer just say?
"Th… They're…"
"…They're… all here…?" Squall said, taking shallow breaths between each word.
Seifer nodded, still chuckling.
"Oh, you bet." he replied. "But since I like you so much, I thought you should go first."
Squall wasn't paying attention anymore. He was thinking about everyone who'd been with him.
"Zell, Quistis, Selphie…" Squall stopped a moment, hesitating to think about his 'client'. "…Rinoa? Is she here?"
"I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So… how'd I look in my moment of triumph?" Seifer continued. "My childhood dream, fulfilled. I've become the sorceress' knight."
Squall looked at Seifer again. The what?
"…Sorceress' knight…" Squall thought. He remembered back to what seemed like months ago, in Dollet, when Seifer had struck up an odd conversation about his 'dreams'.
"…His… romantic dream…?"
Squall turned his head, still trying to recover from the energy surge that had ran through him so harshly.
"But… Seifer… Now, you're just…" he turned his head back, gazing with confusion and pity on the young swordsman below him. He finished his thought aloud.
"…A torturer." he said with contempt.
Seifer became infuriated at this.
"What did you say!?" he yelled.
No response. Squall's energy was gone, and he couldn't bring himself to reply anymore.
Seifer examined his prisoner for a moment. He appeared to be asleep.
"Passed out cold, eh?" he mocked disappointment. "This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me!"
Seifer took out his gunblade again. He swung it back and forth triumphantly, then raised it to his face, and cocked it.
"The tale of the evil mercenary vs. The sorceress' knight…" he said in a dramatic tone. He swung his weapon down again.
"The fun's just started, Squall."
Still no response.
"Don't disappoint me now!" Seifer commanded.
Squall was silent. He was definitely passed out now.
He glanced back to the guard, signaling for him to throw the switch.
"This'll wake him up." Seifer thought. "…Oh yes, Squall… the fun has just started…"
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"Draw… Cure!" Selphie yelled, attempting to do just that. She drew some magic from her stocked supply, and attempted to cast it on Zell, who was sitting right beside her with a broken rib and badly bruised stomach.
"Ow ow ow…" Zell cried out, finally able to release some audible signs of pain.
"It's no use." Quistis said. "There seems to be an anti-magic field here."
Zell looked dejected. He was able to take the pain okay for a while, but he wasn't sure how badly injured he was. If they had to escape, would he be able to make it without being able to heal quickly? The magic helped a little, but only for a few moments before it started hurting again. He sighed, and even that caused a sharp pain to his stomach.
Just then, the cell door opened. A fire-red furred creature appeared, carrying a plate of food.
Selphie, Quistis and Zell looked on at it strangely. It resembled a lion, though it walked on it's hind feet, and had huge paws, front and back.
Then, Quistis realized what they were looking at.
"…A 'Moomba'…" she thought with surprise. "They're very rare… What is this one doing here?"
*--------------------------PLACE MARKER---------------------*
(Sick of reading right now? Take a break, and find your spot right here when you come back to the story!)
The small 'animal' walked in slowly, gazing at the three prisoners anxiously. It took a wrong step though, and tripped over it's right foot. The Moomba fell to the ground, landing on it's rear.
A guard outside heard the plate crash.
"What was that noise?" he said. The guard ran into the cell, and glared down at the creature.
"You again!?" He screamed. The guard kicked the Moomba right in the stomach and it collapsed onto the ground. It was the 'Mean Guy' again.
Zell became infuriated at this.
"Damn him… that numskull! I'll stop him!"
Zell stood up and glared defiantly at the guard.
"YO! Who do you think you are!?" he yelled, forgetting his own discomfort.
Selphie huffed angrily as well. She stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, you big MEANIE! Stop that!"
The guard glared back Zell. He raised his night stick to strike the young man across the face again, but Zell grabbed his arm in mid swing and tossed it back.
The guard stepped back in shock, as Zell stomped his foot.
Quistis, too, glared menacingly at the cruel guard. Enough was enough.
"…Might as well make a stand right here." Quistis thought. "Might be our only chance…"
"Y-You'll regret those words!" the guard said nervously. He backed away from the prisoners slowly, leaving the Moomba in there with them.
"He's so mean…" Selphie said once he'd left. She walked over to the small creature and bent down to it.
"You ok?" she asked.
The Moomba crawled away quickly, somewhat frightened.
"Doesn't work so well, but…" Selphie began. "Cure!" she cried, attempting to heal it.
The magic seemed to have a little more effect than it had with Zell. The Moomba shook it's head and rubbed it'd paws across it's red mane, showing signs of returning strength.
Selphie smiled playfully at the small creature.
"…It's so cute…" she thought.
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"Well now, Squall. I'll ask again."
Seifer Almasy stood before his SeeD rival, still questioning him.
"What is SeeD? And why do they oppose the sorceress?"
Squall was awake now. The third round from the electrified torture-wall had caused his body to vibrate continually. It would take a lot to knock him out now, probably enough to kill him at the same time.
"SeeD… Oppose the sorceress…?" he thought, fatigued. What did Seifer mean?
Squall thought back to all his years as a student, and SeeD cadet. Maybe it was the drugs, or the torture, or both, but Squall couldn't think of any answers to Seifer's questions. Not even believable lies.
"…I'm so tired…" Squall thought, his eyes starting to droop. "…What does he want…?"
A guard walked into the chamber. He moved toward Seifer.
"Sir Seifer, the missiles targeted for the Garden are ready to launch." he informed the vaingloriously grinning teenager in front of him.
"Excellent." Seifer replied.
The guard walked out of the room again, leaving Seifer to his work.
"Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the sorceress." Seifer said.
Squall went wide-eyed at this.
"…WHAT!?" he thought.
Seifer saw the expression on Squall's face.
"It's a pity really. I grew up there, too…" he said with a hint of sadness. Then he smirked. "But orders are orders, and Edea ants it destroyed." He said, pointing his sword at Squall.
"…N-No…." Squall stuttered.
Seifer ignored him.
"After the Garden's gone, the SeeD hunt will begin."
Seifer's voice trailed off slowly, thinking about the assignment. He started walking away.
"I'll be Edea's bloodhound and hunt down everyone of your kind." he said. Seifer laughed at this.
"It'll be fun, Squall. Don't die on me, yet."
Seifer turned his attention to the guard operating the control panel.
"Continue with the interrogation." he ordered. Then he walked out of the chamber slowly, his gunblade in hand.
The warden rubbed his hands together excitedly at this. He Ran over to Squall and gave a menacing stare.
"Ready to talk?" he asked gruffly.
Squall rolled his eyes.
"…I… don't understand… the question…" he said, taking short breaths.
The warden tried his best to intimidate his already weakened prisoner.
"Don't mess with me!" he yelled. "Edea says you know something! Now spit it out!"
He ran over to the lever again, placing his hand on it.
"Talk! What is SeeD all about!?" he screamed. The warden didn't even wait for a reply before he threw the switch down again.
The pain flew threw Squall's body. It hurt. And though Squall had become slightly used to it, he only endured the horrible convulsing and constricting just enough to hear his own thoughts.
"SeeD… Aren't we… mercenaries… from Balamb Garden… Special forces…?"
The warden once again shut off the power. But Squall's body was still vibrated uncontrollably.
"Hm? Yeah, so!" the warden demanded.
"I… I don't know any… anything… W-Why… do you… keep… asking… me…"
The warden tapped his foot impatiently.
Squall glanced over, and hung his head, his muscles still jerking around.
"…Should I lie?" he thought. "No… …Just let me die."
Squall muttered something, just barely audible.
"What's that?" the warden asked. He walked closer to Squall, standing right underneath him to hear him better.
"Your…" Squall began, finding strength.
"What did you say?" the warden yelled.
"Your… breath st…stin… stinks!" Squall finally cried. He was embarrassed to have said something so odd, but he was too weak to come up with anything better. He gathered saliva in his mouth, and spat right into the warden's eye.
"Punk…" the warden began, wiping the spit from his face with disgust. "You asked for it!!!"
The warden ran over to the controls again, and twisted a small dial near the lever. He then threw the switch down.
He'd turned the electricity up to it's full setting.
"How's that!?" he screamed, tossing the switch up and down wildly. "How you like me now, huh!?"
Squall couldn't respond. The lights in the room flickered as the bands of energy ran through Squall's insides. The pain was unbearable. Squall only found it in him to utter these two words in his own mind.
"…Good night…"
In that instance, the world went completely dark for Squall.
The warden lifted the lever again and approached Squall's body. He laughed.
"Tch! Completely knocked out cold." he mocked. "Hey you two Moombas! Watch him!"
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End Chap. 18
Cliff hanger…!
This was gonna be combined with the next chapter, but I thought 'Nique, why make things difficult for yourself? 5,000 + words is enough to keep fans happy for a few days, right?'
So, that's what I did. And I know you guys are dieing to read what happens next, but your just gonna have to wait… sorry!
(I'm not being a jerk am I?)
Oh, I am so proud of this chapter. I mean, I didn't like the fact that Zell and Squall were gettin' beat on, but I feel really good about the way I wrote it out. Hope it struck a chord with some of you as well!
And for the next chapter… dah dah dah! The return of Biggs and Wedge!
Keep an eye out for chapter 19, 'part two', coming soon!
Ta ta.
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