Disclaimer: I do not own anything that relates to FFVIII.
- Chapter five: Into The Research Area -
Zell looked at him.
"Squall…I-…this morning…"
"Don't start, Zell. Don't start."
"I will. I mean…I know you loved her…it doesn't make sense…why would you do it?"
Squall snapped around. "Will you just stop it? I didn't do it! Yes, I loved her! So why…tell me! Why would I kill her!"
"I…I don't know."
Again an awkward silence surrounded them. Zell didn't speak until they had reached the door. He remembered what O'kara had said the day before.
'This is a door you have no right to open.'
"No right to open…" he muttered.
'It leads to my research area. All I want is a constant guard at this door.'
"Research area…"
He lifted his head, taking his eyes off the ground.
"Squall…maybe we shouldn't…he's a scientist…who knows what's behind this door."
Squall let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen Zell, there's no way out of this house. Someone's dead. O'kara's missing. Do you really think I care about some jerk's research?"
Zell hesitated. Was this door really the only way out?
"…Is this really our only option? Have you tried to…I don't know, smash a window? Aren't there any phones?"
No Zell, there's nothing. No phones, no means of communication whatsoever. The windows have been made unbreakable with some sort of laser technique. There's no other way out!"
"Guys…guys, relax. Let's not freak out here. If there's one thing we need to do it's to stay calm." Irvine said.
Squall stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't you start. I know what you're doing behind Selphie's back."
Now Irvine went on a rampage. "You're judging me? That's rich! You did just the bloody same! And next thing you killed her!"
"I did not-"
"SHUT UP!" Zell screamed. "JUST SHUT UP! SHUT UP."
He looked at the others breathing heavily.
"Both of you…just…"
He pushed past them and opened the door.
"There. It's open. Let's get this over with.
He walked inside, ignoring the protesting Irvine.
The room ahead was white and dark. It was also empty. No table or chair. Not even a light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Zell said nothing. He just focussed his eyes on the door on the other side of the room. He didn't feel hesitation anymore. He felt as if there was something important, something he needed to know somewhere behind that door.
He felt reassured when Irvine laid his hand on his shoulder. It was his way of saying sorry, he knew.
Zell took a deep breath.
'Here we go.' He thought.
Slowly he turned the door knob. But behind this door was no big revelation.
"Well…this wasn't what I expected." Squall stated slowly.
"No…me neither."
Ahead was a dark labyrinth of corridors No doors, just rocky walls.
"This looks like some super hero's secret hide-out." Irvine whispered.
"So…what do we do? Which route do we take?" Zell whispered back. "There are three ways to go."
Squall didn't answer but walked right passed them. He just took the corridor on the right.
"Should we follow him?" Zell asked. "Because maybe it's better if we split up."
But Irvine shook his head. "No. No one should go alone. I still don't trust-"
Zell walked off after Squall before Irvine could finish his sentence. Why did everyone insist on arguing. Why did everyone try to provoke someone. Why couldn't they all just shut up.
He found Squall staring down a deep hole.
"It's not that deep." Squall said quietly. "You can hear a rock hit the bottom. I tried."
Zell laid a hand on his shoulder. He didn't want to feel sorry for him, but he did. He understood how Squall felt.
"Don't…don't think about doing that. A stone is a whole lot different from- Think of Rinoa."
"I can't! I can't think of Rinoa, not when she's on my mind. How do you think I feel?"
"I know how you feel. I loved her too."
Squall stared at him. "…You did…? Oh…I-I'm sorry, I-"
"It's alright. It doesn't matter. But you can't…do that. It wouldn't be fair. Not on Rinoa…not on any of us."
Zell stared out in front of him, not wanting to see Squall's face. He turned around and walked away. That hole was calling him. He could see the bottom. The further away he was of that hole, the better.
He knew Squall followed him, and he knew that this was a good thing. He knew what had been playing on Squall's mind back there. It also played on his own.
He found himself back at the triple jump.
"Where do you think Irvine went?" he whispered to Squall.
But Squall was saved an answer.
"Guys! Over here!"
They ran into the long middle corridor and found Irvine standing with his back to them. The corridor ahead had collapsed, but Irvine was investigating something on the floor.
"I found this."
He showed them a small wooden crate.
"This corridor was blown up. It must've been destroyed on purpose."
Zell looked at the crate. Dynamite. Only a few bars left.
"You think that this used to be a way out?"
"Probably. Closed up against intruders…this place is like a fortress."
Irvine looked at them. "How about the right corridor. Any luck?"
Zell shook his head. "No, just a corridor that leads to a deep hole."
"Well," Irvine said almost cheerfully. "That leaves one corridor. Let's go."
The final corridor lead to another door in a stone wall. No hesitations this time before they opened it.
The were greeted by a bright light. It was a small room, filled with only a bookcase, a desk, a file cabinet and a spotlight. In the left corner, a large machine lurked in the darkness.
"What is that…" Squall stepped closer to examine it.
"Careful." Zell whispered hoarsely.
He decided to examine the desk. But he couldn't find any papers. It had been wiped clean.
"What the…" he heard Irvine whisper. "Look at this!"
Irvine tossed him and Squall book from the bookcase.
"Look!"
Zell opened his book. All the pages had been burnt, it was completely unreadable.
"They're all like it."
Zell raised an eyebrow. Who would burn these books? And why? What had they been about?
He looked at Squall. "Hey, what's with the machine thing…any idea?"
Squall shook his head. "None whatsoever. If we could just find something…check the file cabinet."
Zell obeyed this order and opened the file cabinet. A foul stench rose from inside. Inside he saw ashes.
"It's all been burnt! It smells like…like someone dumped acid in there!" he reported back.
Irvine looked around. "So all there's here is a strange machine and some burnt old books and files ? That's not much use."
"Let's go back." Zell suggested.
He didn't really fancy staying here much longer. He didn't really notice walking back through the corridors, through the white room or through the house. Next thing he knew he was sitting in the living room alone. Squall and Irvine had disappeared.
He sat down on the couch and soon Rinoa and Selphie joined them.
"What did you find?" Rinoa asked.
"Not much." Squall suddenly said as he entered the room with Irvine. "A corridor that might've been the only way out, but it's been blown up. Then there was a corridor that lead to a deep hole, deep enough to break your neck and everything else in your body... And a strange room with a machine and some burnt books and files. That's it. Squall answered.
"Burnt books?" Selphie wondered out loud. "Why would anyone burn his books?"
"If that someone didn't want us to read them…" Zell said slowly. "Maybe O'kara went of his own free will…and burnt all the research he did…because…he didn't want us to see…"
"Who was the last one in there anyway." Rinoa demanded. "None of us, right?"
"No. O'kara was the last one to go in there."
"And…what have you done with Quistis…" Rinoa suddenly asked in a small voice, making sure she wasn't looking at Squall.
Zell looked up. What had happened to her? He looked at Irvine and Squall.
"We blew up a part of the corridor, hoping it might open up a way out. But that didn't work, so we used the rubble to…to burry her under them. I wouldn't go there to see…if I were you."
Selphie had gone pale again. Zell understood. An image of Quistis under a pile of rocks danced in his mind too.
"I'm going to bed." He said. "Goodnight."
---
Rinoa was sitting at the kitchen table alone. Zell hesitated about joining her, but when she saw him, he didn't have a choice.
"Hey Zell. Sleep well?"
He nodded. He had slept well…except for waking up every two hours.
"I didn't." She continued. "I kept waking up. I didn't feel safe at all. Squall said he'd go and get himself a cup of coffee in the middle of the night and he never came back. Irvine keeps attacking Squall, blaming him for Quistis'…And I'm scared."
Zell quietly stirred his coffee.
"…And how about you Zell? You must feel terrible…you loved her."
"I- I…yes I feel terrible…if you don't mind I'd rather not talk about it."
"Okay…"
Selphie and Irvine soon joined them in the kitchen. They were arguing.
"But you could've at least told me." Irvine said. "I was worried."
"I don't have to tell you everything."
"But I was worried! There's a murderer here and you're taking a night time stroll on your own!"
"I just needed some time on my own, okay?"
She sat down next to Zell and poured herself a coffee. Rinoa stared at her intently.
"Have you seen Squall?" she asked.
Selphie shook her head. "No…Wait…I saw him last night. On my walk. I ran into him when I was on my way back."
"…back from what…"
Selphie hesitated. She was pale. "I-I…"
"She went to see Quistis." Irvine finished for her.
"So maybe Squall did the same…" Rinoa said to herself.
She got up from her chair. "I'll go look for him."
She wanted to go alone, but Irvine stopped her. "You're not going alone. I'll come with you."
"Who'd want to hurt Rinoa?" Zell tried to stop them. "She's like an angel."
But they ignored him and Zell watched them leave.
"…I saw her…" Selphie whispered. "Hyne…it was…"
She shuddered. Zell studied her face. There was something in her eyes he couldn't define. Sadness? Fright?
"Zell…" she said as she averted her eyes and stared at the door. "I can tell you everything…can't I?"
"Of course you can." He replied, putting his hand on hers.
"I'm- I'm scared Zell, everything is changing around us. I don't want it to change. I want everything to stay as it is."
"But Selphie, that's not for us to decide. I know what you mean. Everything is changing. For all of us."
"But I don't want it to change!"
Zell looked at her. This was not the Selphie he knew.
"Selphie…"
Suddenly she started to cry. "I'm just so scared…"
He pulled her into a hug. "It's alright Selphie…it's alright."
Her sobs slowly stopped.
"I'm sorry…" she wiped her tears away. "Thanks Zell, I'm so glad I can talk to you. I can tell you everything…and you tell me everything, right?"
He hesitated.
"Like we always did…tell each other everything?" she urged.
"…Yes. Yes I tell you everything."
She smiled and hugged him again. "Oh thanks Zell, That makes me feel so much better!"
She stood on tiptoe and pecked him on his cheek. He watched her skip down the hall. He sat down again to drink his coffee, wondering where Rinoa would be. Would she be looking for Squall? Or would she have found a quiet little room for her and Irvine to kiss.
Quickly he finished the last of his coffee and left the kitchen. He had to talk to them. How much longer would he have to lie to Selphie? It was just wrong.
He could hear them argue.
"No! I don't want you to talk about him like that! How can you say those things!" Rinoa's voice sounded shrilly.
"Well, how can I not? He loved her. Maybe she wanted to call it a day and he didn't want her to leave."
"Stop it! Stop it! Squall's a sweet and tender person. He's an angel! He wouldn't do that!"
"Sweet as an angel huh? You sound as if you love him more than me. Is that it?" Irvine demanded.
Zell could hear Rinoa's voice tightened. "No…no I- I don't…of course I don't…I-"
"Maybe you're right." Irvine said. "Maybe Squall didn't kill her. Because maybe you did."
"What!"
"Yeah! You can't have been happy knowing Squall had a little sweetheart on the side."
"I didn't know!"
"Because you still love him, don't you."
"I don't!"
"You're so sure he didn't do it. How can you be so sure if you don't know the truth? You probably wanted to get rid of her so you could have him all to yourself."
"Irvy, I don't- I didn't- I love you, not him. I'm telling the truth!"
Zell couldn't stand it anymore. He burst through the door and looked at them menacingly.
"Will you two shut it? Your screams can be heard through the entire house! Do you want Selphie to find out like that?"
They stared at their feet, not wanting to face Zell.
"Talking about her…when are you going to tell her? Because I have to lie to her because of you. And I loathe it. It makes me feel disgusted."
They silently waited for him to finish…he knew. They weren't really impressed by his preaching. He snapped around and left them.
'Let them clear up their own mess.' He thought angrily.
He didn't know where to go. But he remembered what Selphie had said in that morning. She had been to see Quistis one last time. And so had Squall.
Suddenly Zell felt the need to do the same. Maybe it would clear his mind a bit. He checked behind him to see if nobody was following him, but he was alone.
He pushed through the door and strode straight through the white room, not nearly as careful as he had done the day before. He hesitated when he came to the triple jump.
What way should he go, he didn't remember. Everything in his head was a mess, nothing was clear anymore. He let out a loud cry as he sank through his knees.
He sat there for a while, silently crying. What was he supposed to do?
'Crying like this isn't going to me any good.'
And he was on his way to see Quistis for a last time. He forced himself to choose a route. He stepped into the corridor on his right and walked for a while.
Suddenly he recognised it.
'Wait…this isn't the right way…'
This was the one with the deep hole at the end. He wanted to turn around, but his feet didn't listen to him. He kept walking until he had reached the end.
That deep darkness. He felt it cal to him, just like the day before. It called him to jump in, but it wasn't strong enough anymore.
He stepped closed and stared over the edge. He went rigid.
There was something down there.
WOW! Yay! I got reviews for chapter nr. 4!!!! W00T!!!!! I'm so glad, because I had given up hope. I thought no one was reading this :D
JadeAlmasy: thank you so much for your sweet review. It made me feel so much better! It really cheered me up :) yeah you got it right. Squall loves Quistis, Irvine loves Rinoa, and Rinoa….she hasn't made up her mind just yet. She loves 'em both. I'm not going to say anything more, because I don't want to spoil anything. You'll see who the murderer is in due time :D
DreamCherry66 (Yunie-star-Tidus-cutie): haha, your reviews make me laugh. They're always so funny. And I'm really glad you like my story this much. And yeah, I always make my chapters long. I don't like reading short posts myself, so that's why I make sure they're always a proper length. I'm on your top-ten? WOW I feel so honoured! Thank you sooooooo much :D :D really! I am really happy. Because this means you like my work a lot :D
Elle Leonhart: I've paired Quisty and Zell up before, but that was my first fic, so it's a bit hard to read - bad lay-out. And to be quite honest…I never said anything about pairing Zell up with anyone else in this fic :D…but who knows :D all will be revealed. Thank you for the review!!!!
Billie The Kid: your review really made me feel good! I read it just before school started and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. 'more twists than a maze' thank you so much!!!!! I'm glad you like it.