Rinoa awoke to find herself in a strange body in a strange place- she quickly reminded herself that it was Squall's body. Involuntarily, she looked around, and saw Seifer's bearded face grinning evilly at her. No, she reminded herself, at Squall…
"Do you remember this place, Squall?" She heard Seifer ask. Rinoa suddenly found herself lost in Squall's memories of torture, of humiliation at the hands of Seifer, memories he had not let her know about. Oh, Squall, she thought to herself, why didn't you tell me?
Rinoa suddenly found herself speaking through Squall's mouth. "This- is the prison in Galbaldia desert, where you tortured me." Squall's voice was close to breaking under the memories. Seifer continued his rant, but Rinoa wasn't paying attention. She had the information she needed- Galbaldia desert! The prison where they were all held! Suddenly, she found herself writhing in pain, as Seifer sent electricity cascading through her- No, she again forced herself to remember- Squall's body. There were a few seconds, then she felt Squall's body burn under a firaga spell. She herself had fallen victim a few of them before and they were not nice, but this one hurt more than usual- because she wasn't actually the victim of it, but her lover was. A few more seconds passed, until she saw Seifer grinning evilly again, then experienced an unusual pain- like her whole body was being crushed. Squall's body was in the process of vomiting when Rinoa felt herself fade out of it, and found herself waking up back in her own body, in Ellone's lounge. She slowly stood up, feeling a little nauseous, and looked over to where Zell was sat.
"Well?" He asked, impatiently. "Did you find out where they were?" Rinoa nodded.
"It's bad," she answered, going over and tending to Ellone, who was a little weary after sending Rinoa into Squall's body.
"I'm fine," Ellone said. Zell stood up, repeating his last question.
"WELL?" He asked, impatiently, "Where are they?" Rinoa hung her head- it was not news she had wanted to hear.
"They're being kept," she started, "in the D-District prison in Galbaldia desert. You remember the place, don't you?" Zell nodded- he remembered being the one who'd had to bust all the others out.
"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, gesturing for Rinoa to hurry up.
"Right!" Rinoa replied, enthusiastically. Before going, however, she turned and addressed Ellone.
"Thank you," she simply said, a more than humble tone to her voice. Ellone shook her head.
"You should go- he needs you," she said to her two younger friends. Rinoa shook Ellone's hand, and then they briefly hugged each other.
"Always be there for him," Ellone whispered in Rinoa's ear.
"I will," Rinoa whispered back.
"Geez!" Zell shouted. "Enough already! Squall needs our help!" Rinoa decided to appease her impatient friend this time, and left. Ellone waved to them as they walked out the door. Please, Hyne, she thought, let them get there on time…
Back in the torture chamber, Squall was once again attached to the rack, and was close to giving out. Seifer had had him up there for nearly six hours, and he was weary, bruised, battered and bloody, not to mention singed from all the electric shocks he'd received. And yet Seifer still wanted more. Squall watched as Seifer picked up Quistis' chain whip, the weapon she put to good use during the Ultimecia incident.
"This is a remarkable weapon," Seifer commented. Squall chose not to respond- every time he responded, Seifer only tortured him more.
"Of course," he continued, "I'm not as good as the instructor is with it, but I think I can guess how it works." He demonstrated this by cracking the whip across Squall's face. Squall winced as a line of red pain traced its way from his hairline to his chin, going over his left eyelid in the process. Had his eyes not been shut, Seifer would have taken his left eyeball clean out. Seifer swung it a second time, slashing open Squall's shirt, and his chest at the same time. Squall hung his head in a combination of pain, despair, and shame at what he was about to do- I can't take this any more, he thought, a beaten man.
"I-" he began, wearily.
"You what, Squall?" Seifer asked him. Finally! Seifer thought. I've beaten him!
"I-" Squall repeated, but before he could continue, a siren went off. Seifer rushed over to his control console.
"NO!" He shouted...
In the cells, Irvine was holding Selphie in his muscular arms, as she slept off the effects of the poison and the truth serum. He was mad at Seifer- mad that he could do something like that to someone who'd never done anything to him, and mad that he didn't even show any remorse for it. However, they had a plan, and it was about to be implemented.
"Psst!" Quistis shouted from her look-out spot near the door, "now's the time!" Quistis hadn't got away without some questioning at the hands of Seifer herself, only he had given up when he realised she didn't possess any information which was new to him. She had been returned to the cell, a bit roughed up, but in generally better condition than either Irvine or Selphie were. As Quistis stood ready, holding her "whip", which was in fact just Irvine's shirt ripped up (he had been none too happy about it, mind) and tied together at the ends, Irvine himself set Selphie down and gently woke her up.
"Hey, Sefie," he said, gently, as the petite girl slowly came to.
"Irvy?" She asked, still hung over from the effects of the poison/truth serum. "What happened to your shirt?" Irvine smiled- she was going to be all right, he just knew it. He handed her the homemade Shinobou he and Quistis had fashioned from a strut of the sole bed they had, and tied the two broken pieces together with the leftovers from Irvine's shirt.
"This is a yucky weapon," she complained, standing upright, and trying it to see how it works. "Although," she admitted, "it's not THAT bad..." Quistis suddenly beckoned her over to the left-hand side of the door, while Quistis herself stood on the right-hand side. Selphie immediately knew what they were planning, and nodded at Quistis to let her know. Quistis nodded back, and suddenly, the door opened. There were three cloaked guards, who were staring straight at the shirtless Irvine, confused.
"Hi," Irvine said to the guards, who simply looked at each other before simultaneously shrugging. Before they could act, however, two of them were knocked out cold, one by Quistis' shirt whip cracking of the back of his neck, one by Selphie bringing her bed strut shinobou crashing down on the guard's head. The third one, seeing all this, charged straight at Irvine. Irvine managed to sidestep the guard, and used his own momentum against him, sending him crashing into a wall. The guard was knocked cold immediately. The SeeDs quickly changed into the guards' uniforms, and escaped out the door.
In the torture chamber, Seifer was livid.
"The Ragnarok!" He shouted. "How did they find me?" Squall smiled, and started to chuckle- he didn't care how they found them, he was just glad that they did.
"You're screwed now, Seifer," Squall laughed in Seifer's face. Seifer boiled over with rage, and once again, punched Squall hard in his package. Squall vomited, again, but didn't care- soon enough, he'd be free of this nightmare. And, as if to make the moment even better, Quistis, Irvine and Selphie all came bounding through the door, taking Seifer completely by surprise and knocking him out cold. They were subdued, however, by the state of their friend, who was hanging on the wall.
"What took you all so long?" Squall asked, as wearily as when he nearly asked Seifer to- No, Squall thought to himself, don't think about it, man. Relieved to find he was, for the best part, alright, they helped Squall off the wall, and when Selphie had figured out how to disable the magic barrier, treated him with several Esuna and Curaga spells. Squall, although bloodied and still very, very sore from the torture, got his second wind from the magic, and was quickly on his feet, returning the weapons Seifer had stolen to their rightful owners. Selphie in particular was glad to have her weapon back, discarding her bed strut shinobou with a disgusted look on her face. As they were all about to leave, Irvine raised a point no one else had noticed.
"Wait a minute," he started, "what about him?" He was referring, of course, to Seifer, who, despite the fact that he was hit hard, was already starting to stir. Squall answered his question.
"I know just the thing..." he said, grabbing Seifer under an arm and motioning for Irvine to do the same.
Seifer awoke a few minutes later to find himself in an unfamiliar position- Where am I? He thought, to punctuate the point. He didn't stay confused for long, however. I'm attached to the torture rack, he realised, and I'm not in pain. That means Squall and the others didn't stick around to torture me. He shook his head, smirking.
"Wimps," he said out loud, before saying something towards his wrist. "Attention, all servants of the Almasy empire," he commanded, sounding official, "the prisoners are loose. Initiate maximum security measures."
The SeeDs were about to exit the building when they heard the announcement.
"Damn!" Squall shouted. "We gotta hurry!" They ran to the door where they exited last time, only to find it sealed. Squall tried to activate a control panel slightly further back from the door, only to be stunned when a door slid down from the roof, separating him from Irvine, Selphie and Quistis, who were as stunned as he was. Squall heard footsteps descending the stairs, and saw Seifer, gunblade in hand, discard a remote over the side of the stairs.
"Do you remember this place, Squall?" She heard Seifer ask. Rinoa suddenly found herself lost in Squall's memories of torture, of humiliation at the hands of Seifer, memories he had not let her know about. Oh, Squall, she thought to herself, why didn't you tell me?
Rinoa suddenly found herself speaking through Squall's mouth. "This- is the prison in Galbaldia desert, where you tortured me." Squall's voice was close to breaking under the memories. Seifer continued his rant, but Rinoa wasn't paying attention. She had the information she needed- Galbaldia desert! The prison where they were all held! Suddenly, she found herself writhing in pain, as Seifer sent electricity cascading through her- No, she again forced herself to remember- Squall's body. There were a few seconds, then she felt Squall's body burn under a firaga spell. She herself had fallen victim a few of them before and they were not nice, but this one hurt more than usual- because she wasn't actually the victim of it, but her lover was. A few more seconds passed, until she saw Seifer grinning evilly again, then experienced an unusual pain- like her whole body was being crushed. Squall's body was in the process of vomiting when Rinoa felt herself fade out of it, and found herself waking up back in her own body, in Ellone's lounge. She slowly stood up, feeling a little nauseous, and looked over to where Zell was sat.
"Well?" He asked, impatiently. "Did you find out where they were?" Rinoa nodded.
"It's bad," she answered, going over and tending to Ellone, who was a little weary after sending Rinoa into Squall's body.
"I'm fine," Ellone said. Zell stood up, repeating his last question.
"WELL?" He asked, impatiently, "Where are they?" Rinoa hung her head- it was not news she had wanted to hear.
"They're being kept," she started, "in the D-District prison in Galbaldia desert. You remember the place, don't you?" Zell nodded- he remembered being the one who'd had to bust all the others out.
"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, gesturing for Rinoa to hurry up.
"Right!" Rinoa replied, enthusiastically. Before going, however, she turned and addressed Ellone.
"Thank you," she simply said, a more than humble tone to her voice. Ellone shook her head.
"You should go- he needs you," she said to her two younger friends. Rinoa shook Ellone's hand, and then they briefly hugged each other.
"Always be there for him," Ellone whispered in Rinoa's ear.
"I will," Rinoa whispered back.
"Geez!" Zell shouted. "Enough already! Squall needs our help!" Rinoa decided to appease her impatient friend this time, and left. Ellone waved to them as they walked out the door. Please, Hyne, she thought, let them get there on time…
Back in the torture chamber, Squall was once again attached to the rack, and was close to giving out. Seifer had had him up there for nearly six hours, and he was weary, bruised, battered and bloody, not to mention singed from all the electric shocks he'd received. And yet Seifer still wanted more. Squall watched as Seifer picked up Quistis' chain whip, the weapon she put to good use during the Ultimecia incident.
"This is a remarkable weapon," Seifer commented. Squall chose not to respond- every time he responded, Seifer only tortured him more.
"Of course," he continued, "I'm not as good as the instructor is with it, but I think I can guess how it works." He demonstrated this by cracking the whip across Squall's face. Squall winced as a line of red pain traced its way from his hairline to his chin, going over his left eyelid in the process. Had his eyes not been shut, Seifer would have taken his left eyeball clean out. Seifer swung it a second time, slashing open Squall's shirt, and his chest at the same time. Squall hung his head in a combination of pain, despair, and shame at what he was about to do- I can't take this any more, he thought, a beaten man.
"I-" he began, wearily.
"You what, Squall?" Seifer asked him. Finally! Seifer thought. I've beaten him!
"I-" Squall repeated, but before he could continue, a siren went off. Seifer rushed over to his control console.
"NO!" He shouted...
In the cells, Irvine was holding Selphie in his muscular arms, as she slept off the effects of the poison and the truth serum. He was mad at Seifer- mad that he could do something like that to someone who'd never done anything to him, and mad that he didn't even show any remorse for it. However, they had a plan, and it was about to be implemented.
"Psst!" Quistis shouted from her look-out spot near the door, "now's the time!" Quistis hadn't got away without some questioning at the hands of Seifer herself, only he had given up when he realised she didn't possess any information which was new to him. She had been returned to the cell, a bit roughed up, but in generally better condition than either Irvine or Selphie were. As Quistis stood ready, holding her "whip", which was in fact just Irvine's shirt ripped up (he had been none too happy about it, mind) and tied together at the ends, Irvine himself set Selphie down and gently woke her up.
"Hey, Sefie," he said, gently, as the petite girl slowly came to.
"Irvy?" She asked, still hung over from the effects of the poison/truth serum. "What happened to your shirt?" Irvine smiled- she was going to be all right, he just knew it. He handed her the homemade Shinobou he and Quistis had fashioned from a strut of the sole bed they had, and tied the two broken pieces together with the leftovers from Irvine's shirt.
"This is a yucky weapon," she complained, standing upright, and trying it to see how it works. "Although," she admitted, "it's not THAT bad..." Quistis suddenly beckoned her over to the left-hand side of the door, while Quistis herself stood on the right-hand side. Selphie immediately knew what they were planning, and nodded at Quistis to let her know. Quistis nodded back, and suddenly, the door opened. There were three cloaked guards, who were staring straight at the shirtless Irvine, confused.
"Hi," Irvine said to the guards, who simply looked at each other before simultaneously shrugging. Before they could act, however, two of them were knocked out cold, one by Quistis' shirt whip cracking of the back of his neck, one by Selphie bringing her bed strut shinobou crashing down on the guard's head. The third one, seeing all this, charged straight at Irvine. Irvine managed to sidestep the guard, and used his own momentum against him, sending him crashing into a wall. The guard was knocked cold immediately. The SeeDs quickly changed into the guards' uniforms, and escaped out the door.
In the torture chamber, Seifer was livid.
"The Ragnarok!" He shouted. "How did they find me?" Squall smiled, and started to chuckle- he didn't care how they found them, he was just glad that they did.
"You're screwed now, Seifer," Squall laughed in Seifer's face. Seifer boiled over with rage, and once again, punched Squall hard in his package. Squall vomited, again, but didn't care- soon enough, he'd be free of this nightmare. And, as if to make the moment even better, Quistis, Irvine and Selphie all came bounding through the door, taking Seifer completely by surprise and knocking him out cold. They were subdued, however, by the state of their friend, who was hanging on the wall.
"What took you all so long?" Squall asked, as wearily as when he nearly asked Seifer to- No, Squall thought to himself, don't think about it, man. Relieved to find he was, for the best part, alright, they helped Squall off the wall, and when Selphie had figured out how to disable the magic barrier, treated him with several Esuna and Curaga spells. Squall, although bloodied and still very, very sore from the torture, got his second wind from the magic, and was quickly on his feet, returning the weapons Seifer had stolen to their rightful owners. Selphie in particular was glad to have her weapon back, discarding her bed strut shinobou with a disgusted look on her face. As they were all about to leave, Irvine raised a point no one else had noticed.
"Wait a minute," he started, "what about him?" He was referring, of course, to Seifer, who, despite the fact that he was hit hard, was already starting to stir. Squall answered his question.
"I know just the thing..." he said, grabbing Seifer under an arm and motioning for Irvine to do the same.
Seifer awoke a few minutes later to find himself in an unfamiliar position- Where am I? He thought, to punctuate the point. He didn't stay confused for long, however. I'm attached to the torture rack, he realised, and I'm not in pain. That means Squall and the others didn't stick around to torture me. He shook his head, smirking.
"Wimps," he said out loud, before saying something towards his wrist. "Attention, all servants of the Almasy empire," he commanded, sounding official, "the prisoners are loose. Initiate maximum security measures."
The SeeDs were about to exit the building when they heard the announcement.
"Damn!" Squall shouted. "We gotta hurry!" They ran to the door where they exited last time, only to find it sealed. Squall tried to activate a control panel slightly further back from the door, only to be stunned when a door slid down from the roof, separating him from Irvine, Selphie and Quistis, who were as stunned as he was. Squall heard footsteps descending the stairs, and saw Seifer, gunblade in hand, discard a remote over the side of the stairs.