Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.
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V. Ma Dincht
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"Hold it still!"
"I am, you hyperactive geek! You're just moving around too much. You hold still!"
The Zell on the TV pouted, and Emily Dincht allowed herself a giggle; that was her kiddo, all right.
"That's not very nice to say, Irvine. What a biased judgment, just because you're Galbadian and I'm raised Balambian."
"Don't even get me started, beach boy."
Zell laughed, and rubbed at his eyes with his gloves. "Okay, okay. Let's get started; the others still gotta do theirs."
"Zell, you're the only one of us with any relatives. Who would the others make theirs to?"
The martial artist shrugged. "Dunno. I just know that they wanna make theirs. Who they're to is none of my business. So c'mon, and let's get this show on the road." The blonde's eyes focused now on Emily; or, at least, the camera lens. "Hi, Ma. I haven't seen you in a while, I know. It's been kind of...hectic. I know you never believe me when I tell you we have outdoor class, so I'm not even going to try."
"Good! What a lame excuse, Zell. Really, I thought you had better."
Zell shook his fist to someone off camera. "Shut up, Irvine! You butt out!" Zell cleared his throat, and returned his attention to his mother. "As I was saying, I'm not gonna lie to you this time. Ma, the reason I've been gone so long and haven't been able to visit is because I'm on a kind of 'special ops' mission from SeeD. You remember Sorceress Edea? Yeah, Edea was Matron, and that's all covered now. Matron was actually possessed by an evil sorceress from the future, named Ultimecia. We got Matron un-possessed and stuff, and, well, let's just say everything went downhill from there. Rinoa's got sorceress powers now, and she's kinda possessed by Ultimecia, but not really. Remember Sorceress Adel? She was the one ruling over Esthar a while back? You should remember; it wasn't that long ago."
Yes, Emily remembered. She remembered all too well.
"Well...Squall and Irvine took Rinoa into outer space to see if they could get rid of Ultimecia using Sis, and...well, Rinoa got all possessed on him and set Adel free. So all that red stuff you saw the other day falling from the moon, well...let's say that I was in the middle of it, and it was not fun being rained on by vicious, bloodthirsty monsters."
Emily clapped her hands over her mouth, stifling a scream. Her baby was inside of that hellish nightmare?! Oh, when he got home, she would kill him for being so casual with near death - again!
"So we went to the Esthar capital and talked it out with Laguna –the President- and we came up with a plan. I dunno if you'll be too happy with it..." Zell trailed off, and then gestured for Irvine to move the camera to the left. The view changed from Zell standing before a set of bulkheads to a picture out of a window, with a red sky and landscape. In the middle of the window was an enormous, floating, vaguely rectangular-shaped box that hovered over a circular fortress of some sort. "That," came Zell's voice from somewhere behind the camera, "is Lunatic Pandora, Adel's flying fortress. Someone has to stop her, Ma, someone has to do something..."
Emily stayed silent.
The camera swiveled again to focus on her adopted son, who was looking uncharacteristically solemn. "Ma, there's..." He shifted his weight, appearing extremely uncomfortable, and tried again. "Ma, there is a very, very good chance that I won't come back from this alive. And if you're watching this, then that means that...life and cure magic couldn't cut it this time. Before you freak, Ma, please hear me out." He averted his eyes, and his hands twisted the hem of his jacket uncomfortably. "I-I know that this is really dangerous, and that I'm probably going to be killed and maimed many, many times. And I know that I'm probably going to die for good. And...and I know that you would hate to see anything like that happen to me." He returned beautiful sky blue eyes to her 'face;' they pleaded with her. "But Ma, there's no one besides us who can do this. And...and I've been –everyone has, really, been given a chance to back out, and they wouldn't be thought any less of. But I can't stand by and watch people I've known since before I can remember, kids I grew up with, being murdered, knowing that I could help." He hiccupped, on the verge of tears.
"Zell...you wanna take a break and finish later?" Irvine's voice was soft and understanding.
Zell shook his head feverishly, shoulders shuddering as he forced himself to suck in air. "No, I gotta get it out now, or I never will." He gave a weak laugh. "I really suck at goodbyes, you know?"
"...I know. Go ahead, Zell."
"Anyways...Ma, um...I just wanted to say goodbye, and...and I hope to Hyne that I make it outta here." His breath hitched, and the hands twisting his jacket balled into fists, straining against the material. "Because I really would like to see you again, Ma, 'cause I miss you a lot. But there's not enough time...if we wait so that I can visit you and tell you this in person, Adel might've struck first by then. I'm having Laguna keep this for me, and he promised that if stuff got too hairy in there, he'd deliver it once word got back about...us. But Ma –and I know this is asking way, way too much- don't feel sorry about me, or feel too bad for me. B-because I'll have died knowing that I was doing something really important, not just all those crackpot missions they hand out in SeeD. I'm doing something to make an actual difference, and I can't tell you how good that makes me feel, Ma. It makes it seem that...maybe, I dunno. Someday, the kids at the Garden'll read books about this, and our names'll be in there." Zell gritted his teeth as he hiccupped again, and tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "And even though I won't be there to see it...Ma, I hate to tell you, of all people, but if it came down me dying and all this ending, I'd take the knife and do it myself. I'm doing this for everyone in Gaia, and especially for you, Ma. And the kids in Balamb, everyone in Balamb. I don't wanna see anyone suffer because I couldn't do something I've been trained for five years to do...so please, Ma. Just...if you get my body back, which probably won't happen, give me a nice, quiet funeral. Not too many people there...just you and you know who else. Any of the Orphanage gang, if they're still around...'cept Seifer. He wouldn't wanna go anyways, and he's sure as hell not welcome, brainwashed or not." The tears began to roll down Zell's tanned cheeks, and he choked back a full sob. "And bury me with my old stuffed bear from the orphanage, and with Grandpa's guns and his picture, and my first pair of gloves. Don't cry too much for me, Ma. I love you, Ma, and even though you never gave birth to me, you'll still always be my only mother, okay?"
Zell's eyes pierced Emily's, even through the camera, and the woman froze, shocked by the intensity of his eyes. There was something so otherworldly about her son at that moment...something more than human, better than human.
"I love you more than anything ever, and nothing could ever change that..." Zell whispered, and drew a deep trembling breath, which was broken at the end by a weak sob. "I love you Ma...I love you. Please forgive me." Zell's hands flew up to cover his face as he began to weep.
"Zell..." The camera was set gently on the floor, and Emily watched through her own blurred vision as someone in brown shoes and tan pants walked over to her son, stood close, and then it appeared as if the two embraced. Quiet shushing sounds could be heard, and then there was silence. The figures did not move.
Emily sat silently still, allowing tears to roll copiously over her cheeks, dampening the collar of her dress. "My poor, poor boy..."
"Ma, I'm home!" A door slammed. "Geez, it's friggin hot outside...I almost died just walking to the grocery store! I don't think Squall wants me on leave, I think he's trust trying to off me by baking me alive." Sneakers squeaked on the tile floor of the Dinchts' kitchen. "You wanted just chicken legs, right? I wasn't sure if you wanted the whole ensemble or not, so I got a package of the other stuff too. That's cool, right?"
Emily did not answer her son.
"Yo, Ma, you in here?" Zell poked his blonde head, for once minus his ridiculous style, into the living room, searching for his mother. He caught sight of her and smiled a smile full of white teeth. "Here you are. Are you watching one of your trashy daytime shows aga-" Zell froze as he recognized the shoes on the tape, and instantly raced over to the television, punching the button to eject the VidDisc and switching the TV off in one fluid motion.
Emily remained silent, watching her son's back as he crouched in front of the television, not moving, his shoulders shaking with –rage? Humiliation? Emily couldn't be sure.
"You weren't supposed to see that, Ma." Zell's voice was low.
"How dare you." Emily's voice, though choked with tears, was dangerous. "How dare you even think to keep this from me. I thank Hyne that Laguna is a father, so he could understand why I'd want to see this no matter what."
"I didn't want you to worry over nothing. If I got back alive, I just wanted everything to be normal and happy again. I didn't want you to be sad, all right?" Zell stood, his back still to his mother, the VidDisc in his hand.
"Zell, I was worried anyways! I didn't know what you were doing- do you realize how hurtful it is to hear what danger your only child was in from other people?!"
"It doesn't matter now anyways! It's all over, and there's no reason to cry, so stop crying!" Zell spun around to face his mother, but his expression was not the one of anger she had expected. What she saw instead was sorrow and pain. "I didn't want to you know about this...because I didn't want you to think of me as anything other than your goofy little hyperactive kid without a care in the world. I was trying to protect you, Ma. Why can't you see that?"
"Oh, Zell," Emily whispered, and she stepped towards her son, who was still shorter than her, despite the fact that he was now twenty years old. She took her son into her arms and gently stroked his golden locks. "I've always known you were something more than my 'goofy little hyperactive kid.' I've always known that since...well, since that day you saved me when you were thirteen."
"When was that?" Zell asked, his voice muffled against her shoulder as his powerful arms gingerly snaked around her ample waist, returning the hug.
"After you'd learned how to draw...and I was standing on that balcony in the hotel down the road."
"Oh...yeah, I remember."
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"Zell, come look at this view!"
The teenager sighed, resigning to a laugh and approached his mother, who was leaning precariously over the railing of the balcony to catch a good look at the sun sparkling on the blue ocean before them. "I see, Ma. You're right, it is real pretty."
"Isn't it, though?" Emily gushed, and at that moment, a powerful breeze ripped her sun hat from her head, tossing it to the wind. "Oh!" Emily cried, reaching for it- her fingers closed around the brim- and she found that her center of balance was now over the edge of the railing. With a startled cry, the plump woman spun, attempting to regain her balance, but all the same toppled over the edge.
Emily watched as time slowed down, and could see her son's terrified face watching her, heard him scream, and prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid.
Zell set one foot atop the railing and pushed off after her.
If Emily had any control over her motor functions, she would have shouted in frustration. Her child was now the dumbest on the planet. Now instead of just her dying, her teenage son, so full of promise, would perish with her. If they both weren't about to die, she'd kill him.
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt, however, when Zell, whose face was streamed with tears, shouted a single word that did not register, his hand inches from her own. As his small but surprisingly strong fingers clasped around her wrist, two brilliantly white, translucent wings burst from his back and flapped. With his golden locks whipping around his face, and the sun above them illuminating his every feature, it would have been extremely difficult for Emily not to associate her son with something else. "An angel..." she whispered, watching as the wings faded and noticing, startled, that she was upright, her feet upon firm ground, and a crowd of gawking Balamb citizens circled around her and her son.
"Whew," Zell sighed as he settled slowly to his feet, then plopped down onto his backside on the cobblestones. "They didn't say that it'd make you so tired."
"Z-Zell?" Emily asked uncertainly. "Wh-what happened just now?"
"You fell off the balcony, Ma, and I used a Float spell to grab you." Zell scrubbed the sweat from his brow with his T-shirt, panting. "I got it yesterday at class, with one of their non-aggressive GFs. They wanted to start us off on the gentle stuff."
Emily's mouth opened, but closed with an audible click.
"That was awesome, Zell!" one of the neighborhood kids, Aaron, laughed and danced over to the blonde. "You looked like a superhero or something!"
"That's what I'm workin' on doing!" Zell boasted, and, placing a hand palm down to steady himself, pushed himself up to his feet. "You just wait...I bet when I'm older, I'll be so cool and strong that everyone will know me!"
Emily could say nothing as the crowd around her congratulated her son, laughing and clapping him on the back for his daring rescue. Zell soaked up all the attention, until he spotted his mother gaping at him, and immediately, the smile dropped from his face. "Uh, thanks a lot, but I think I'd better get Ma home, okay?" Zell bid his farewell to the multitude, then took his mother's arm and slowly led her home.
Shutting the door behind himself, Zell turned to see his mother staring at him with something akin to awe. "Ma? Are you okay?"
"Zell...you said you...used a spell?" Emily slowly approached her child.
"Uh, yeah Ma. Are you in shock or somethin'?" Zell allowed his mother to embrace him tightly as she leaned over slightly to bury her nose into his hair.
"I'm fine, sweetheart. Just a little...shaky, is all." Emily nuzzled the young teenagers hair, squeezing him tightly to herself. "I want you to promise not to leave me, all right?"
"Sure, Ma. You know I wouldn't leave you," Zell assured her, somewhat surprised with her insecurity. "I'm only an hour's drive away, Ma, it's just school. Besides, I'm not supposed to move into a dorm until I'm fifteen, so you still got me almost 24/7 for a couple more, right?"
"No, Zell...I mean...don't leave me alone."
"Oh." The child fell silent, then piped up hopefully. "Well, y'know Ma, I'd never do something like that without telling you first. I mean, going to a whole new place by myself would be kind of a big deal."
Emily had to laugh then, convinced that while her son may be something special, a genius he was not. "Thank you, Zell. I would like for you to tell me before it happens, okay kiddo?" She ruffled his messy blonde hair and released him.
He glared at the nickname, but soon his animosity melted beneath her loving grin. "Okay Ma. I promise."
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"I was just living up to the promise, Ma," Zell told her quietly, and let go of his mother to return to the kitchen. "You know I'd never do something I didn't know if I could handle without telling you first, right?"
"I know, dearest. And I'm glad you were planning on telling me...but you specifically told Laguna not to give that to me unless he already knew you were dead. That wouldn't be telling me before it happened, you know." Her voice was stern again, and Zell knew he was in for a lecture.
"Ma, I told you, I was trying to protect you," he replied irritably, knowing that tone would only make matters worse, but wasn't inclined to care. He shoved a package of raw chicken breasts into the freezer with more force than might have been necessary. He turned to face her as she stood tall and defiant in the doorway.
"I don't need protection from this, Zell." Emily's voice was cold, but immediately she followed with a softer statement. "I want to know everything about my child, not just his happy and strong moments. I want to see everything about you. You are very precious to me, baby, and I can't let a single moment slip by."
"Ma..." Zell blushed deeply at this praise and folded his arms, turning his gaze down to the tile.
"You grew up a lot during that...'special ops mission.' I didn't get to see it."
"I don't think I would have grown up at all if I hadn't done it," Zell answered honestly, scuffing a sneaker on the floor. "I think I'd still be the same I was four years ago."
"You are much quieter and calmer than you used to be," Emily admitted.
Zell laughed, and turned back to the counter, rummaging through the cabinets for the proper cookware to being the feast his mother was planning. "I think fighting Ultimecia took most of the energy I have for the next ten years."
There was a knock on the front door, shortly before it creaked open. "Zell? You said it was okay if I just walked in, right?"
The man jerked, then grinned widely at his mother, bouncing from the room with all the energy he possessed at seventeen. "Quis! I didn't know you were dropping by!"
There was the tinkle of a light female laugh, and she answered him, her voice muffled through the wall. "Well, Squall was getting bored without you there, and you know how he is when he's bored. Even more grumpy than usual. Besides," her voice took on a seductive lilt, "I thought it would be in both our best interests to see each other again. I was lonely."
"Quistis, my Ma's here!" Zell squeaked nervously, and poked his head into the kitchen, Quistis giggling behind him, a profound blush gracing his cheeks. "Ma, is it all right if I take Quistis to the docks before dinner?"
"You don't have to ask me, you're a grown boy," Ma told him with a smile. 'Not that much calmer.'
"Thanks, Ma." Zell's red face disappeared, and Emily heard the whisper of footfalls towards the front door.
"Shouldn't we stay and help her make dinner?"
"Nah, we'd just get in the way." The door handle rattled as Zell opened it for his girlfriend. "Besides, she'd probably kick us out after a while. She likes being in the kitchen, I think she fancies it her territory. You should see her stalk it during get-togethers and parties."
"Like Irvine and the female students?" There was laughter, and the door shut.
Emily smiled, and rustled around in the utensil drawer for a serrated knife. "I'm happy for you, angel," she whispered.
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