Author's note: Dum dum dum... Slowly but surely, I am gonna finish this story... :)
to Hikari Heijin: Thanks, glad that you like it :)
to Iskander: Thanks, and do check the site out :) There's a link on my bio page.. I dunno 'bout the reward, 200 just felt like such a... milestone.
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-Squall's POV-
Whoa. The moon. I look around amazed. It's just the moon base, but still. I'm pretty fucking far from home now. We're not in Balamb anymore, Choco.
"What's so funny?"
I suppress my chuckle and turn to Seifer. "Nothing."
He raises an eyebrow, but lets it be.
"So, where is Adel going?" Quistis asks from a member of the moon personnel.
"We're afraid she might attempt to enter the Pandora," the man replies.
"The Pandora? Why?"
"She.. she might be teamed with Sorceress Ultimecia and..."
"What?" Selphie shrieks. "That's like really really bad, right?"
The man supresses a smile and nodds. "Yes, it's really really bad. Their powers put together could..."
"Destroy the world?" Seifer says.
The man spreads his arms. "Something like that, yeah."
"So what can we do to stop this?" Zell asks.
"You can enter the Pandora, find Adel and.."
"Whack her?"
"Zell," Quistis says quietly.
"No, ms Trepe, the boy is right. You must ugh.. whack her. Eliminate her."
"Right on!" Zell says and punches the air.
"How do we carry out this plan?" Quistis asks.
"We have Esthar's special spaceships here," the man says. "They're called the Ragnaroks and they're extremely handy. We will take you to one of them and you will fly back down to the Pandora. The thing is..." He looks at us, one by one. "One of you must know how to control it."
"I can!"
Everybody turns to look at Selphie. How could she possibly....
"What?" she asks. "I learn quickly."
"Very well then," the man says. "I will take you there, and give the little miss a crash course on how to handle the ship, alright?"
"Little?"
The man looks confused. "Well.. ugh..."
Selphie crosses her arms and looks stubborn. "I may be little, but I'm still smart and an excellent fighter. Please apologize immediately."
The man glances helplessly at Quistis, who shrugs. Then the man turns back to Selphie.
"I... I'm sorry, miss."
"Apology accepted!"
"Ugh... Can we go now?"
---
The moon looks so beautiful from up close....
"Is that it?" Quistis asks.
We all look at the direction she's pointing at. What we see is a huge, red, dragon-shaped vehicle. Oh man, that's cool... I bet it's fast too. Wonder if we really should let Selphie in charge of that thing...?
"Hm, wouldn't mind flying one of those myself," Seifer mumbles to me.
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Alright, SeeDs. Ready to board the Ragnarok?" the man asks.
---
"This thing is huge!!" Selphie shouts as we stand in the hall. Or the hangar. Whatever it's called.
"Yes, so it is," the man mutters and turns to Quistis. "Ms Trepe, may I see you in private for a second?"
They walk away from us and enter a door.
"You think we can go check out the cockpit now?" Selphie asks me.
I shrug.
"I'm gonna go try and find it! Zell, will you come with me?"
"Can I come too?" Irvine asks.
So the three of them leave. As soon as they're out the door, Seifer turns to me.
"We haven't had a moment alone in a while," he says and runs his fingers thru my hair.
"I know... Maybe after this..."
"After what? This has already gotten out of hand, this was supposed to be a simple mission of assassinating the Sorceress, but since Deling City, nothing has gone as planned."
"Yeah... But---"
"Hyne knows it could be months before we get back to Garden and have a moment of rest."
"I think it's the best thing to do, take care of everything at once."
"Yeah, maybe it is but still..." He wraps his arms around me. "I miss you."
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-Quistis's POV-
"What is it?" I ask the man as we've left the children in the other room.
"It's just that...." He scratches his head. "Are you sure they're capable of handling this?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"I mean.. they're just children."
I smile. "Listen, mister....."
"Oh you can call me Chak."
"Alright, Chak. They might be young, but they are well trained and all very talented fighters."
"That doesn't solve everything, ms Trepe."
I smile and shake my head. "I know it doesn't. But they are smart, and they can handle themselves really well."
"I guess I'll have to trust you. But I have to say, ms Trepe, that I still have my doubts."
"Don't worry about them. And please, do call me Quistis."
He smiles. "Alright, Quistis then. May I ask you one more question?"
"Of course."
He takes a step closer to me. "I would like to know if... if you're seeing anyone."
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