Ch 4 – Checking The Goods

Trisha walked out of Selphie's room wearing a skimpy black top and a grey pair of short shorts, her equipment stuffed into her tiny leather bag she was carrying at the time of her…'employment'. She still wore the black boots she wore, the dark leather going halfway up her shin. She pivoted on the spot in front of Zell, looking up at him and batting her eyelids. "What do you think, Mr. Dincht?" She asked seductively. "Is it me?"

Zell looked at her, his face deadpan. "…Yes." He agreed reluctantly, much to her delight. "I'm amazed Selphie has clothing like…that."

"Yeah…she was amazed too."

Zell rolled is eyes and gestured for her to follow him. "Well, its about nine-thirty now…we can get something to eat, or I can show you to your room, or we can go see Squall – he's the guy in charge – or we can…"

Trish interrupted, sighing audibly. "What do you SeeDs do for fun around here?"

Zell shook his head. Her attitude was – to say the least – nigh to unbearable. "WE have a quad, where people meet up and where most functions are held…there's the cafeteria, where they hold movies every second night…the library has some good books and magazines…" He looked at her as she looked at him with her own deadpan stare. He shrugged. "Then, of course, there's the Training Centre."

"What's that?"

Zell couldn't help but smile as he took the nearest corridor out of the dorms.

*          *            *

Trish walked through the lush greenery of the Training Centre in awe. She had never seen such plant life within such a huge enclosed area before. "This is…amazing!!" She breathed, kneeling and brushing her fingers lightly over a small bush. "It feels completely real!"

"Of course it's real!" Zell muttered. "The only thing artificial are the monsters – and they are more real then any plant."

Trish blinked, before standing slowly. "Monsters? What kind of monsters?"

Zell grinned. "Grats are the most common, and there are a few T-Rexaurs stomping around…I've also fought a Granaldo and a few Armadodos, but they are really rare…" He saw the look on the girls face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said a little too quickly. "I…just don't like monsters. That's all."

Zell snorted. "From what I've heard, you can hold your own in a battle. I even hear you can use Blue magic…is that true?"

"Some…" she said mysteriously…before someone cried out.

"What the hell?" Zell muttered as he ran for where the sound came from.

*          *            *

Bursting through some ferns, followed closely by Trish, Zell found three students – facing a T-Rexaur. One of the students, her staff lying beside her as she slumped to the floor, was unconscious. One of the others ran over to her, crouching down quickly to see if she was still breathing, tossing his sword aside as he felt for a pulse.

The remaining student gulped, stealing a glance behind him as the T-Rexaur advanced slowly. "Uh, guys? A little help?" he cried, looking up into the massive maw of the dinosaur…

…before the head was smashed to the side powerfully, Instructor Dincht suddenly appearing to the left of the dinosaur's head, his boot burying itself into the skull – before the massive monster was sent skidding away to crash into the bushes along the outskirts of the clearing.

Zell turned to the students, throwing a hand out to wave them away. "Go! Now! We'll handle this!!"

Trish ran up beside him and took her stance, cricking her head to the left to loosen her neck muscles, an audible crack emitting from the manoeuvre.

The student nodded stupidly, sheathing his sword before running to his comrade and helping the wounded up, running for it.

Zell stole a glance at Trish, a huge smile suddenly on his face. "You wanna show me what you got?"

"Piss off!! I'm a lover, not a fighter!" She snorted – but held her stance all the same.

"Fine…I can handle that…"

Suddenly grasping her by the shoulder, he held her fast, not letting her go. "Hey, what's the big idea?!" She screamed as she fought desperately against his iron grip, his fingers digging into her shoulder painfully. "Hey! Let go, Dincht! That hurts!!"

"I'm sorry…" Zell said, a tinge of sadness mixed with seriousness in his voice. "But you need to be tested. I've tested your agility – now we have to see wether or not you can use it in battle." He looked down at her. "Come on. You're stronger then you let on, I can tell, believe me."

"Let me go, you friggin nutbag!! Only idiots take on T-Reaxurs by themselves!! You're completely insane!!"

Zell smirked. "Probably…" Looking up, he watched as the T-Rexaur staggered out of the woods sluggishly, shaking it's massive head and trying to take it's bearings. "Now's the time. Go do your thing."

Shoving her forward suddenly, she fell forward, the ground coming up fast – before she threw her hands out, catching the ground and flipping over, landing on the balls of her feet expertly – to look up at the T-Reaxur's reptilian eye as it lowered it's huge head to study her.

She froze insanely, her legs simply not wanting to move. She looked down at them cautiously, her eyes pleading for the feet to beat. C'mon! You've run faster from tougher scrapes then this! Move it, Trish!!

The T-Rexaur roared suddenly, the blast of dinosaur breath blowing her blond hair back, and Trish finally found her land legs, spinning and running desperately in the opposite direction – to be caught by Zell, his hand slamming straight into her face and flinging her back into the direction of the monster.

Suddenly forgetting her position she was up on her feet and in his face in less then a second. "What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?!"

Zell's eyes were filled with confusion. "What are you talking about, Trisha? I wont let the thing kill you."

She blinked suddenly. "That's right…you need me for this mission thing, right?" Smiling mischievously, she took a step back, crossing her arms. "Fine then. Save me, hero."

Zell looked up at the massive dinosaur as it pounded it's way forward. "Trish…" he said seriously.

"No. I'm not gonna fight, and you can't make me. So we'll just both stand here until it goes away, or until one of us dies. And since you're the one with the most experience, I'd say us dying is rather slim, doncha think?"

Her arrogance amazed him, and he shook his head, taking a step back as the dinosaur advanced closer. "Trish…I'd say I wouldn't let it kill you…I'm fully stocked with Full Lifes…but I'm partial to maiming if it gets you to show me your fighting prowess."

Trish's eyes suddenly widened, her attempt to call his bluff backfiring. "Oh shit…" was all she could mutter as she spun…

…to be swallowed whole.

*          *            *

"Trish!!" Zell screamed as he watched Trish get snapped up by the T-Rexaur's gaping mouth, the teeth closing near the ground where her feet had been, before it lifted it's head and allowed her to move down it gullet in one smooth go.

Stepping forward, Zell unleashed a Punch Rush, the three-hit combo slamming straight into the dinosaurs stomach, creating three neat dents within the monster's armour – but not enough to make the high level dinosaur to cough up it's latest meal.

Recovering from the attack almost as quickly as it had swallowed Trish, the T-Rexaur turned on it's taloned feet, it's tail whipping out to slam into Zell's side, knocking the shocked fighter off his feet and sailing straight through the air, slamming straight through several trees to lay still.

Blinking groggily, Zell lifted his head and shook it to clear the chocobos dancing across his vision – before he saw the giant maw of the dinosaur flying straight for him.

Quickly flipping up and off his hand, Zell back flipped through the trees as the dinosaur continued to chase him, the fighter having to rebound and ricochet through the foliage before finally coming to a clearing.

Landing on the balls of his feet, he quickly scanned the area – to see another person close by, this one fighting a Grat. Not having any time to register who it was, Zell turned to see the T-Rexaur with the dented face slam through the ferns and into the clearing, opening it's tooth-filled mouth ad roaring for all it was worth.

Skipping back three steps, Zell held his arms up and out as his Shell formed around him, the T-Rexaur's Quake suddenly disrupting the ground around him and the other fighter, causing the two warriors to struggle for balance – but nothing else.

The magical attack over, Zell flicked his eyes over – to see a very shaken up and dazed Grat retrieve it's footing. "Sorry, buddy…" Zell muttered to the person who had been training, walking over and grabbing the Grat's tentacles in one hand. "But I need to borrow this."

Gripping the bemused Grat's tentacles with both hands, Zell began to swing the monster around and around throughout the air, the momentum picking up until it was a blur in his hands. The T-Rexaur advanced, it's teeth bared – to be smashed across the head with another monster, the dinosaur reeling with the attack.

Still spinning the Grat over his head, Zell stepped forward, slamming the Grat into the great reptile's head once more, a sickening crack signifying something decent breaking, the dinosaur's roar also signifying that. It's head lolling to the side limply, the magnificent beast fell with a mighty boom, the head flopping to the side awkwardly – it's neck was broken.

Flinging the Grat away like a hammer – where it squished into the roof harmlessly – Zell ran forward, laying a hand on the fallen monster's belly.

"What happened?" The other person asked, and Zell turned to see Julius, his body severely bruised and his nose bleeding – but not seeming any worse for wear.

"You've been in here for two whole days?" Zell asked incredulously – before waving it off. "Never mind. Trish was swallowed by this big bastard – but I don't know how to open him up without cutting him in two."

Julius stepped forward, placing a hand on the stomach – before balling his left hand, the fist suddenly becoming covered in sharp iciles. "I cut, you draw." Julius muttered, leaning in and slamming the ice into a soft part between the scales.

Zell leapt up onto the top of the beast and pulled up on the monster's skin as Julius cut a jagged line down the beast's stomach, blood spilling out all over him as he sawed away. Finally finished cutting, Julius allowed the ice to fall from his hand and looked up at Zell. "Give me a hand – it's been a while since I did anatomy on a T-Rexaur."

Jumping down off the beast, Zell and Julius slammed their arms shoulder-deep within the cavity, the seconds of breathing time Trish had left ticking away as they pushed away organs and vital components, their bodies becoming covered in sticky red dinosaur blood as they finally pulled out the stomach.

Taking hold of the muscular bag, Zell ripped it open with a massive pull – to be greeted by a soup of foul-smelling gunk, bones and unidentifiable objects spilling out of the bag as it began to empty all over the grass.

Zell rammed his hands into the mixture, fishing around for Trish – but finding nothing. Frowning in confusion, he stood slowly and looked up at Julius, who looked at him, equally dumbfounded. "I…I swear the thing ate her…"

"You sure you saw her get swallowed?"

"Don't look at me like that! I swear, I saw her body go down the things gullet!!"

Something suddenly kicked Zell in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to his knees. Falling forward with the attack, he threw his hands out and into the mush covering the grass, gripping the ground for extra purchase – before kicking out with both feet, causing the attacker to skid back. Jumping to his feet, Zell turned…

…to see an equally dirty – and very enraged – Trish advance, her hands swinging out to be blocked expertly by Zell. "How did you do that?" He muttered, half to himself as he suddenly slamming her hands away and span her around, hooking his arms around her chest and hauling her up off the ground.

"Damn you, Zell!!" Trish screamed, wriggling her legs around in order to escape his grasp. "Let me go!!"

"Not until you tell me how you got out when I had a really good view of it's mouth!"

She growled in his arms, continuing to struggle desperately – before suddenly vanishing from his arms in a puff of smoke.

Zell's arms enclosed on himself, and he stood up straight suddenly, blinking in amazement. "What the…I mean, how the…I mean…okay, what the fuck is going on here?!"

"It's my Blue that you said I had." Trish growled, her voice coming from above. Zell and Julius twisted to see Trish sitting on top of one of the palm trees. She sat with almost a serene calm – her hands were balled tightly into fists as they rested on her bare legs, but her over-all demeanour was calm as she took in a deep breath. "It's a combination of Haste and Float. I can move my body to another place instantaneously."

"Teleportation?" Julius muttered, scratching his head. "I've never heard of such a technique."

"If you can teleport, then how come you didn't use it to escape when I had you in the vault? Or any other time on the ride here?" Zell asked suspiciously.

"Believe me, if I could have, I would have." Trish muttered, standing and jumping off the tree, landing on her feet with a 'thump'. "But I need to rest in between uses. It gets too hard to do if I do it too many times in a short period of time."

Zell frowned…before nodding his head slowly, his mind full of thought. "I see. That's how you got to the roof. Killer."

Trish rolled her eyes and sighed, looking down at her body, running a finger down her chest, the goo piling up under her finger. "I suppose you'll be showing me to my room now, huh?"

Zell nodded absently, still thinking of something. "Yeah, alright…just one question. Why didn't you just leave when we got here?"

Trish shrugged absently, picking a piece of dinosaur guts off her shirt. "To tell the truth…saving the world sounds like a good change to robbing people blind."

Julius snorted with a smile. "You appealed to her good nature too, huh Zell?" He said with a small smile, before walking over and holding out his hand, still dripping with goo from the T-Rexaur guts. "Julius Garner. I'll be your hacker in this little road trip."

Trish looked down at the hand, coloured purple and not the tanned golden his skin usually had – before reaching out and accepting the hand, their palms pressing together with a small squelch. "Trisha Jones. Professional Cat Burglar. I have no idea what I'm doing here."

She smiled up at the blond haired, bespectacled computer hacker, batting her eyelashes expertly. Julius smiled politely back down, but withdrew his hand, Trish finding she had to let go reluctantly.

Zell smiled happily, his teeth beaming out brightly from beneath the dino-goo. "Well, it's good to see that you guys will be getting along okay. I'll show you to your rooms now, huh?"

*          *            *

Zell's door slid open, and he walked into his dorm, his footsteps clumping heavily on the floor as he meandered to his bed, not bothering to turn on the lights. Pulling his black jacket off and tossing it into a corner, he span on a heel and collapsed onto the bed limply.

He landed on someone who yelped painfully.

He was on his feet instantly, dashing to the light switch, the light flashing on brightly.

Angel sat up from where she had been lying in his bed, rubbing her tummy painfully. "Watch where you're landing, Zell, you big…" She paused suddenly as she saw the state he was in, covered in quickly drying blood and dinosaur goo. "My gods!! Are you alright?"

Zell smiled. She always fell asleep waiting for him. "Yeah. I'm fine. Had a bit of a run in with a T-Rexaur that got a little too…close and personal, if you know what I mean." He remembered that he had supposed to go out with her, Squall and Rinoa to the pictures in Deling that night. What with having to show Trish around and the…messy dinosaur incident, he had forgotten all about it. "Sorry about tonight, hon, but I was really busy. I feel beat."

"You look it." Angel said with a good-natured smile, flinging the bed sheets off her body and jumping to her feet. She still wore her student clothes under the covers, Zell absently realising he had forgotten to check wether she had put her shoes in the shoe rack beside the door. He always checked to see if they were there. It was a sure-fire sign that she wasn't very far away.

She walked up to him and took him by the arm, leading him to the bathroom and sitting him down on the toilet. "Shirt off." She commanded, and he obliged her, pulling the damp article off – once red, now a reddish-brown – and handing it to her tiredly. "So what's sucked all your stamina out?" She asked, opening the dirty clothes chute and tossing the shirt down, where they would mysteriously reappear later completely clean. Nobody asked how their cloths got clean – they just took it for granted in SeeD. "Pants too."

He rolled his eyes and undid his boots, pulling them off and throwing them out the bathroom door. "I've been showing the new recruit around."

Angel smiled as he took off his pants, which he returned tiredly. "Oh? How does he seem?"

"He is a she, actually…and she's not all she's cracked up to be."

Angel cocked an eyebrow. "Really? My my, Zell Dincht, I never thought of you as a sexist!"

Zell threw the pants at her with a snort, her reflexes saving her from a messy face. "Please…she's good at acrobatics – as well as some good Blue we can defiantly use – but her attitude just pisses me off sometimes! It's just so…ignorant, so inverted…it's like she thinks the whole world revolves around her, or something."

Angel shook her head with a smirk, rifling through his pockets to make sure she had everything out of them before chucking them down the chute. "Well, you've chosen her for a reason, and as long as she does her job, everything ought to be alright…" Her voice trailed off as she frowned, placing her hand in a pocket once more.

"That's the thing! She's so up herself, she hardly ever listens to me! I mean, what good will she be if she doesn't follow my orders when the going gets tough!!" He looked up at her, suddenly noticing the confused look on her face. "Baby? What's wrong?"

"Okay, lets see…" Angel muttered, pulling out the items from Zell's pockets. "Your key-card, Garden Car keys, home keys, ball of string, pocket knife, yo-yo, little wooden chocobo…Hyne, Zell, you have so much crap in your pockets…chocolate bar, pack of cards, a potion…" She frowned. "Zell, do you remember where you put your wallet?"

Zell's confused look turned to one of annoyed anger. "Trish, I'm going to wring your neck…"

He remembered when she had done when he had finished showing her around the dorm room.

"Good night, hero." She had said, patting him on the butt as he walked out the door.

*          *            *

Trish smirked as she lounged on the bed in her room. Sure, it wasn't the Galbadian Hotel – but it was better then the flea infested roach hotels within the Thieves Guild. Plus, free food, free entertainment – she could watched Zell's cute buns walk around all night long – and all she needed to do was help them with this Universal Compression thingy.

She still wasn't so sure about what it was, exactly. All she knew was that Zell had a sour look on his tattooed face whenever he mentioned it. He obviously didn't want to do it.

"He has the power to not do it. So why will he?" She whispered to herself. "And why does he need people from the outside? Doesn't he have people in SeeD that's as good at the stuff me and the other guy does?"

And that was the other thing. The other guy. What was his name? Julius Gardner, or something? He looked like a keeper too. Trish could do some damage between Zell and him.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. She rolled over to flip her legs over the edge of the bed. He took his time. I was wondering when he would figure it out… she thought to herself, grabbing the wallet from the bedside table and walking over to the door.

Opening the door, she thrust the wallet out with a cute "I'm sorry." …to see Julius standing there, his blue eyes hiding behind his spectacles full of confusion as he looked down at the wallet being presented to him.

"For what?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Uh…nothing!!" Trish said, quickly pushing the wallet into her pocket.

Julius's deadpan expression was one she had seen many times before, but it was the state he was in that got Trish's attention. She had already washed off, but he wass still covered in dirt and sweat and dinosaur guts and stuff. His shirt, originally white, was now a purple-green. "Um…can I help you with anything?" she asked him, looking him up and down in disgust. He doesn't smell all that great either…

He nodded. "Yeah. Could I borrow your shower and some of your toiletries? It seems that the SeeDs have misplaced all of mine, and my shower doesn't work."

Trish blinked. You'd reckon with all this technology and stuff they'd be able to fix a broken shower pretty quick... "Sure…come in."

He walked into the room, moving with the grace that was typical for a fighter. She looked him up and down again. Aside from the long blond hair and spectacles – which made him look pretty cute – he looked more like a surfie then a hacker, his skin tanned golden, his body as lean as prime meat. "Shower's in there." She said, pointing at the bathroom door.

"Thankyou…I'll try not to be too long." He said, giving her a small smile as he walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"Take your time." She called. Leaning against the door with her arms crossed, she listened as the shower turned on, the sound of water crashing onto the tiles echoing within the bathroom. "Hey, can we talk?"

"…Go for it..." Was the muffled reply from within.

"Its just that…well, you don't seem like a hacker. You look more then a surfie."

A small chuckle echoed from behind the door. "…Just because I'm good at computers doesn't mean I have to have pale skin and be wand thin, does it?"

"Well, you don't seem to fit the quota. You look more like a fighter then a typer."

"…I do know some martial arts…" Was the hesitant reply.

"And it seems like these guys need fighters more then they need a hacker."

There was a paused. The crash of water killed the silence. "…Maybe they need people with many different skills…" Julius finally said.

Trish nodded, shifting her weight as she leaned against the door. "But I was thinking…they've already got people with these kinds of skills in SeeD, don't they? I mean, why would they need us? What have we got that they don't?"

In her musing, she failed to hear the shower turn off, and was surprised as Julius opened the door. She fell in slightly, and he caught her, his powerful hands grasping her shoulders and pushing her back onto balance with a gentle shove. She turned to see him holding his clothes in one hand, a towel wrapped around his waist.

His body was, to say the least, a mixture of tones muscle and scars. Long ropey ones, short stubby ones, wide ones, little rounds ones like bullet holes – she had seen these kinds of scars before.

"You were one of them, weren't you?" She asked wearily, managing to tear her eyes from his mangled body.

His spectacles were off, making his eyes look fiercer, not hindered by the thin shards of glass. They blinked down at her, the look within them unreadable – except for a hint of sadness. "That's right…I was…" He muttered, his voice low. "But not anymore."

"Hyne…you must've done something really bad for them to kick you out."

"They didn't. I left." He began to walk towards the door. "Thank you for the use of the shower. I'll return the towel tomorrow." His hand reached for the door-stub before she blocked him off, her body materialising before him in a puff of smoke. He looked down at her, not amused. "What?"

She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes, rubbing the floor with her left foot shyly as she grasped her hands behind her back. "Since…since you kinda know your way around…and I'm new here…do you reckon I could stick around you for a while? You know, just until I settle in?"

He wasn't amused, seeing straight through the facade. "Don't get any ideas. I've got a girlfriend, who I love very much."

"Where is she?"

She watched as he paused in his reply. "She's incapacitated right now…but she'll be coming back soon…I know it."

His reply confused her slightly – but she smiled slightly. Sounds like someone was jilted. Rebound time!! "Oh, that's too bad…" She said in mock sadness, tracing a finger down his muscled chest.

He grabbed her hand softly yet firmly and pushed it away. "I repeat – don't get any ideas."

Trish pouted slightly, frowning up at him. "Who do you think I am? Some kind of hussy?" She poked him in the chest. "You're just a pervert!"

"You think that'll get you in my good graces?" He said with a snort, a small smile playing on his lips. "Very subtle."

Trish frowned. "Fine. You want me to come right out with it? I think you're hot, okay? Apart from the whole scar thing…some girls like that, but it think it's a bit offish to tell the truth, but I'm able to look past that, see, and I think we could make a really good couple if we just try to make it work, and you know what they say, you need friends to get places, right? What do you say?"

He looked down at her for second…before brushing her aside gently. "You talk too much."

Surprised that he could see through her so quickly, she tried another tactic. As his hand reached for the door-stub, she ran and threw her arms around his other one, clenching to it tightly. "Please stay with me! I'm scared here! It's all new and I don't know anybody!! You're girlfriend would understand, right? Pleeeease? Think of it as payback for the shower!! Come on!!"

Julius found himself rolling his eyes in annoyance. What will it take for her to leave me alone? He shook his head and sighed. "Fine. I'll stay here tonight if it'll make you feel better. Just let me go get my gear from my room, okay?"

"Thank you so much!!" Trish squealed, jumping up and pecking him on the cheek, giggling as he blushed hotly. "Hurry back, okay?"

He nodded dumbly, still in slight shock from the kiss – he hadn't had any affection thrown his way in years – and turned to press the door stub. As his hand hovered over it the door slid open, and Zell, still covered in dirt and dinosaur stuff, stood in the hallway.

His look of anger suddenly turned to one of confusion.

"Julius?!"

"Dincht?!"

"What are you doing here!?" They said in unison.

Angel poked her head around the side of the doorway. "Egads, what's been going on in here?" She asked with a giggle, before Zell shoved her head back around with a nudge of the elbow.

"Yeah, Trish, what has been going on here?" Zell echoed, looking at her with lasers in his eyes.

Trish walked forward, placing a hand on Julius' shoulder. "Julius said he's look after me whilst we're in Garden…if that's okay with you?"

Zell seemed to be thinking, looking from the confused and pained expression on Julius' face to the mildly triumphant one on Trish's. He finally shrugged. "Meh. As long as you two stay out of trouble, I don't give a rats ass what you do together."

"Cool!!" Trish bubbled, before giving Julius a small pat on the behind. "Go grab your stuff, okay?"

"Uh, yeah…sorry about this, ma'am…" He muttered as he stumbled past Zell, nodding politely to Angel as he tottered to his room with a bizarre look on his face.

Trish looked at Angel with a smirk. "So who's this? Contestant number three?"

Zell shook his head. "Nope. This is my girlfriend, Angel. Angel, this is Trisha Jones, the world best cat burgler."

Angel's smile seemed authentic enough. "Wow! I've never met a real cat burgler before!!" She said as she reahed her hand out.

Trish looked down at the hand before receiving it coldly. "Nice to meet you." She said, her voice laced with ice. Shit! He never said he had a girlfriend! And she's gorgeous too!!

Zell frowned at the cold reception, but Angel didn't seem to notice, smiling happily at the blond haired temptress. "I hope you like it here. I'm pretty sure you wont have much trouble hanging around Zell. He's a big softy when it comes down to it."

Trish raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on his lips. "Is he really?"

Zell decided that it was a good time to intervene. "Trish, you know why we're here."

The blond burglar rolled her eyes. "Fine." She muttered, handing the wallet to him. She watched as he opened it and rifled through its contents, before returning it to it's pocket with a satisfied nod. "Happy now?"

"Satisfied is more like it." Zell mumbled, before placing his arm around Angel's shoulders. "Don't stay up too late. We have a big day tomorrow. You'll be meeting your final team-mate tomorrow."

Trish smirked, crossing her arms. "Who will it be? A mime? Or maybe an elephant trainer? I reckon we'll be needing them in this three-ring circus you have going around here."

Zell's wink wiped Trish's smirk off as he smiled mysteriously. "No, not those…but she is good with magic." With that, he nodded to Trish and walked off, pulling Angel close to him as they walked away.

*          *            *

Hey there people!! Sorry I haven't updated in AGES – my social and business life has been all hell!! (I'm a hard worker – hey, gotta get money rolling in so I can buy better Final Fantasy games, right?)

What's that, you say? No excuses? Well, you're the ones wanting this kind of quality writing, so I'd shut up and keep reading if I was you!!

Be expecting a lot more chapters to be following this one soon, as I've got a bit of free time now.

 I've been working on an original Final Fantasy project with some other people too – which is why I haven't been updating so much. If you wish to check out the quality of this project, e-mail me! I'll send you a chapter regarding one of the characters – I think you'll like.

A quick word before I go – someone has been giving me crap for having given Squall too little limelight in Tournament and Chronicles. First off, these fics are Zell based fics – you want a dose of Squall, go read a Squall fic!! And secondly, I gave you a Squall chapter in Chronicles!! What more do you want?! Chronicles is supposed to be a small story regarding one day in the life of the FF8 characters, and is a bitch to write as well!! So get off my back, okies?!

…But, seeing as I need to polish up on my sword-fight writing skills, expect Squall to feature in this fic a lot more then in Tournament. Okay!? Alright?! Geez, the lengths I go to for you people…

…but we all know I love doing it. Just remember – Zell based fic. Not Squall based fic. Please do not get confused.

Well, Semper Fi, and remember, keep reading!!

Michael Kenny