I. Investigation
Lights flickered off, then red lights dimly illuminated the halls. Some students gaped and whispered curiously. Many students hadn't even taken warning from it because they lay unaware of the phenomenon as they lay asleep in their dorm rooms.
Quistis followed Zell from the Teacher's Lounge, a flashlight in her hand as a source of secondary lighting.
"This is so odd. Do you think that maybe Cid knows about this?"
"Unlikely," Zell murmured.
"You do need to stop blaming everything on Raiun. Why would he go as to such an extent to get you all back?"
"He's knocking us off guard," Zell told her. "He's doing this to confuse us, and also because we won't be able to see very well. He's scheming something whilst we wander in the darkness, unaware of his presence because we can't see him."
"Well, how could he have shut off the lights any ways?" Quistis asked smartly. "The power source is beyond my Homeroom, and you need a secret password to open the door."
They arrived at that door, and, with no surprise to Zell, it was open. Zell grinned. "Now you believe me?"
She glared at him. "No, I do not. Only Cid knows the password to this lock, and I'm sure he's down there working on something."
"But you said he was such a nice kid."
"You suddenly agree?"
"No, but since you and Cid found him so nice, couldn't he have been talking with Cid and obtained the password from him?"
Quistis remained silent for a moment. "I doubt Cid would just hand it over to him, Zell."
"Exactly," Zell paced, "and since Cid wouldn't tell him, he'd do something drastic." He looked back to Quistis. "I want you to go check on him."
Quistis scoffed. "Puh-lease, Zell. He'll be in his office looking into this matter. He'll have the other instructors gathered and explaining why the situation would have happened."
Zell frowned. "Will you just go?"
Quistis rolled her eyes, and turned about. She began walking away and toward the elevator. "Okay, but everything is going to be in order."
Zell took the handle of the 6-inch thick steel door and forcibly pulled it back further. He stepped through, peering into the darkness. Blue lights lit these halls instead. "We'll see about that," and he descended the rusted stairs toward the basement of the Garden.
II. Quistis's Meeting
Quistis continued down the hall toward the elevator. Her steps gradually became slower.
"This is so stupid," she said to herself in a loud whisper. "Zell has to assume everything for the worst. Cid's probably napping upstairs, and not aware of this whole mess. Surely, he could get away and inform someone if something was wrong."
She stepped into the dark elevator. The doors slid shut, and she listened intently to the silence. It sounded like she kept hearing something, but it was probably just the students in an unnecessary panic.
She pushed the button for the third floor. She waited. Nothing. She pressed it again, and still, nothing. On the third try, the elevator shifted, hesitated, and then dropped to the basement. She stood from the floor, shaken from the impact as it hit the bottom. She left the elevator, and the doors shut after her. As if it were possessed, it traveled back up to the second floor.
"Quistis?"
The voice was familiar. In the dim, red lighting, she could see Xu, Matron, Rylida, and a few others. Xu and Matron were instructors, and Rylida was an emotional librarian. The others were confused former SeeDs. They bothered not to speak.
"Xu," Quistis said, "What's happening?"
"I'm not sure myself," Xu informed her, "but I believe someone has messed around with the elevator and that's why we're here."
"Have you heard from Cid?" Asked Matron concerned.
"Can't say I have," Quistis told her. "I was actually going to see him in his office, and that's when the elevator dropped."
"Same here," replied Xu, "because I thought maybe he would know something about the power being out."
"I hope he's alright," Matron whispered.
III. Shut In
Zell continued down the rusted stairs, cursing each one when he felt as though he would trip because of the lack of light. He also cursed each step as it squeaked from rust. Each step was not connected to a wall. Instead, all the steps were connected in a spiraling set. He felt as though if he forced too much weight upon them that they would all fall hundreds of feet to his death.
His hand clung to the railing, and he let out a sigh of relief when he reached the bottom. Then came the ladder. He groaned, feeling more uneasy than before. He descended the ladder downward, then hugged the wall and climbed into a cubbyhole.
He came once again to the room of the wheel. He clasped his hands onto it, and turned with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. Now he wished he had brought Squall with him.
He looked downward from the wheel, and noticed a ventilation shaft. It seemed risky, but he was willing to take that chance. He popped open the lid, and climbed through, but he didn't see the drop off, and fell downward almost immediately after entering the shaft. He fell a ways, the only thought in his head being how many bones he would break when he hit the ground.
He landed on some musty, damp cloth at the bottom of the shaft. The lighting was even worse here, and he constantly tripped over the cloth when he tried untangling his feet from it. He stood, and found an old machine, covered with another cloth. He pulled off the cloth, revealing the machine with many knobs and switches.
He pushed and pulled knobs and switches, but it was probably so old, that no power ran through it anymore.
He moved away from the machine, and heard the "fwoosh" of a weapon. He followed the sound, and came to another shaft that led to the Training Room. He figured that Squall was probably in there, still training. The Training Room was lit all the time by a backup generator, so he probably hadn't even noticed the lights going out.
Then it hit him: If Squall doesn't know about the lights going out, then he won't know about Raiun moving about! I rhymed
Zell pulled at the lid of the shaft, but it was clamped down tightly with screws. He had to get through it and warn Squall that Rinoa or himself could be in grave danger.
(I feel special that I rhymed. I want all my cookies back '.'!)