Disclaimer: All of the Orphanage Gang and co. are property of Squaresoft, and I'm sure there's a copyright or trademark on them. I'm getting absolutely no monetary income from this story, only wish that I were. Gella belongs to Harper, which reminds me; Happy Birthday, hon.



Zell sat up, lunging forward suddenly.

"Squall?" he asked, uncertainly. Zell's voice trembled with skittish unease, and he realized the foolish nature of his question. The sounds that had woken him up had been hushed voices, the patter of bare feet on stone. There was no way they could have been caused by Squall. Zell stayed frozen in the darkness, listening. There it was- a muffled laugh, distinct against the otherwise unbroken silence. A sudden, terrifying thought occurred to Zell- could the noises be the creatures that Seifer has told him about? They'd been called something. . .ah yes, midgekins. Tiny little Centran creatures that stole children away in the night; Zell remembered the conversation all too well.

i

"Hey, Zell- Wanna know somethin'?" Seifer had pulled him aside.

"Uh. . . guess so. . ." Zell had responded.

"Don't go outside too early or late or the midgekins are gonna get yoo." Seifer had warned.

"Midgekins?"

"Yoo know, the little people- with the little blue caps and da pointy faces and the weird laugh. They get your scent and then they gonna come look for you."
/i

At the time, Zell had thought that Seifer was just being mean and trying to scare him, but now, hearing laughter in the dark, he had no choice but to believe that the blonde had been telling the truth. He thought frantically- Seifer had never told him what to do if the midgekins came to get him. He desperately wished that Gella were there; she always had the answer.

"Zelly," She'd say, "Turn on light. Mebbe they're 'lergic to it."

Zell smiled- that was a good idea. He could just picture the midgekins' wrinkled little faces cringing in the bright light of the lamp. Another muffled thump came from the direction of the stairs, followed by stifled giggles, and for the first time, Zell could understand what the voices were saying.

"Ow!" Came a girl's voice, causing a boy's voice to laugh.

"Sefie- yoo hafta watch were you're goin'!" Zell frowned, he could have sworn that the girl's voice belonged to Selphie, and the boy's voice sounded remarkably like-

"Irvine?" Zell asked aloud. No answer, but the giggles came from the top of the stairway this time. Zell's fear and anxiety took a sudden drop-off as he realized that they weren't midgekins, just Selphie and Irvine. Zell wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by, so after sliding out of bed and pulling his favorite pair of shorts on, he crept up the steps and through the door. He opened the door slowly, as not to hit the night stand that stood perilously close, and found that the room was not as dark as he would have thought; light from the lighthouse streamed in the three stone-edged windows. Zell followed the sounds of the voices, crossing the room and almost tripping over the step to the doorway. He crossed through the small hallway quickly, the space was creepy at night, with the light-house throwing streaks of light into the hallway that made shadows seem to circle around and around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four figures by the door. "Seifer? Yoo sure Matwon won't mind?" Selphie asked. So that was Irvine, Selphie, and Seifer then. Who was the fourth?

"I told yoo, she won't care, 'sides Quisty and me are ultravising," Seifer answered, impatiently.

"Supervising," Quistis corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The door shut behind them then, and Zell stopped, wondering if it was a good idea to follow them outside. Eventually, the desire to be involved outweighed his concern, and he slipped through the door into the warm outdoor air. The dark was still frightening, even outside, but it was frightening in a beautiful way. The sky was much farther above Zell than a confining ceiling could ever be, and instead of rough stone, the sky was patterned with swirls and speckles of light against a milky black background. As the beam of light from the light-house spun towards him, Zell squinted, and saw the four figures down at the beach below. The waves lapped dangerously close to where they stood, roaring, and reminding Zell of something else Seifer had told him about. Half-men half-fish creatures that inhabited the ocean at night, and leapt out of the waves, dragging anyone who got close enough into the inky depths of the water. Zell was almost positive that they were purely a creation of Seifer's imagination, but nagging at him was a hint of doubt. What if they really were real? What if he was dragged into the waves? Not being able to get away, not being able to swim, he would sink slowly to the bottom. . . and if by some lucky chance, the fish-men didn't get him, the real fish or the Fastitocalons might. Zell shook himself from his thoughts, this wasn't the time to terrify himself with 'what if's. The four figures had something lit now, were they lighting- fireworks? Zell ran for the stone steps leading down to the beach.

"Yoooooo!!!" he shouted, causing the four to look up with a start. Seeing that it was only Zell, they ignored him. "Kids aren't suppose'ta play with fireworks!" The children weren't listening, Selphie was concentrating on holding the lit match, while the others watched, fire-light illuminating their expectant filled faces. Zell's hands clenched into frustrated fists, they always ignored him unless they were picking on him. "I'm tell-ing!!! I'm gonna tell on yoo!!!" This got their attention.

"Cry-Ba-by-Ze-ll!" Seifer jeered, blowing out the match and glaring at him.

"Go back to bed!" Quistis added, and Selphie and Irvine took this as their cue to join in. The night's silence was filled with shouts and taunts that became louder and louder, until a furious Edea burst through the door and stalked down the steps, past Zell to the beach.

"What do you think you're doing out here at this hour?" She demanded. Her voice, deathly quiet, commanded immediate attention. She turned to Seifer.

"We were. . . uhhmm. . ." For the first time, Seifer was completely at a loss for an explanation.

"You were. . .?" Edea pressed, her voice containing no trace of her normal kindly tone. No one made a move to answer her. "Making enough noise to raise Hyne? Lighting fireworks? Playing near the beach at night with absolutely no supervision?" Her voice's volume escalated until the last phrase could be plainly heard all along the beach, then fell back to the harsh whisper that was more dangerous than a shout. "Inside, now."

"Bu-but. . ." Zell protested.

"No buts. Inside." Edea commanded, in a voice that left no room for debate. Zell looked downwards, and meekly followed the somber group back up to the house. Zell went to bed for the second time that night, noting that Squall was still sleeping undisturbed in the bed on the left.

The only sound during breakfast was that of the rain tapping it's cadence on the roof outdoors. Normally, there would have been plans being made; to run around outside in the rain getting soaked, and then come back inside to be greeted with hot chocolate and fluffy towels, but since last night, Edea had strictly prohibited Seifer, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Zell from going outside.

Aside from that, had Ellone been there, Squall would have been positively glowing at the prospect of have all of Sis's attention, but currently he was eating in silence like the rest of the children. After finishing, Squall silently slid from his place, and proceeded outdoors. Zell followed, the best he could, stopping at the window under Edea's watchful gaze. Squall stood between the stone pillars, an orange haze standing against a backdrop of sheeting water. He just stood there, staring into the rain, as if it held all of the answers, as if it could bring back Sis.

Zell wasn't sure how long he spent peering out the window, watching Squall, but it seemed like an eternity had passed. Zell had a sudden though- Squall was going to make himself sick if he stood out in the rain any longer. Despite Matron's orders, Zell slipped through the door, and outside.

"C'mon Squall, you're gonna get sick out here. . ."

"I gotta wait for Sis," Squall answered stubbornly.

"Yoo can wait by the window, kay?" Squall turned to look at the window, then turned back to Zell. He frowned reluctantly, but gave in.

"Okay."

Edea saw Zell outside, directly disobeying her orders. But as she watched, Zell pointed towards the house, then led Squall back inside. Edea said nothing. True, Zell had done the exact opposite of what she'd told him to, but it had been for Squall's benefit, not his own. And besides, a moment longer and Edea would have gone out there herself.