Ch 7 – Gear Up And Move Out, SeeD!!
Zell looked at the three girls as they trudged before him, their silence amazing him. Whilst he didn't expect Emily to have much to say to anybody in particular, Rinoa and Trish had spoken a little when they had walked from Balamb Garden to Galbadia Garden. Now an eerie silence was cast over the group, Julius also not saying anything as he stomped his way through the soft grass next to Squall, their faces almost identical in their unemotional content.
Sheesh…what the hell's happened? Zell thought to himself, looking as Rinoa flapped her wings slightly, the sign one of impatience and annoyance. Everybody was getting along so well…maybe I ought to say something…
Zell cleared his throat. "Hey guys…since we have to be at Trabia by tomorrow, that gives us all night to play with. Why don't we get together and have a bit of a group dinner…you know, let everybody get to know one…another…"
His voice trailed off as Emily snorted and picked up her pace, moving away from the group. Trish shot him a glare filled with venom before shoving her hands in her pockets once more, and Rinoa simply ruffled her feathers again. Julius didn't say anything, his sight clamped firmly on the ground before him, his already white-knuckled grip on Veronica's swag tightening even more.
Zell knew Squall wouldn't say anything. He was very set in his ways.
Sighing and shrugging, Zell shoved his hands into his pockets too, the mission files bundled under his arm being squeezed a little more as he decided to keep his mouth shut.
* * *
When they finally got to Balamb's front gates, Zell scooted forward, stopping everybody from going in. He held up his hands, gesturing for everybody to stop. "Hey, guys, I know this is gonna be a tough mission, and I'm not as dense as I can sometimes look like. If we're going to come out of this alive, we're going to have to work as a team."
Everybody looked at the ground, grumbled a response.
Zell looked from one person to the other, before shaking his head and sighing again. "Well, you can't say I tried. Just read these mission reports, and get some sleep. We're moving out as soon as we get to Trabia." He allowed each of them through, handing a folder to each of them as they passed through the gates, stopping Julius and Trish as they came to walk through. "I need to talk to you two." He muttered, beckoning them to follow him back out into the plains surrounding them.
Trish and Julius glanced at each other, before walking after him.
Zell had walked out a little before twisting to look at them. He gestured for them to sit, and they did, Trish plopping onto the ground unceremoniously, Julius carefully setting Veronica down before settling to the ground in his usual lotus position.
Zell sat down too, crossing his legs and allowing his hands to brush through the soft green grass. "You guys are something special." He said, trying to figure out the right words. "We usually don't allow outsiders this far into SeeD workings, even ex-SeeDs, Jules. You guys were chosen by me because you're the best of the best, and I wont settle for anything less."
He sighed again, before gesturing to the folders they held in their hands. "In those folders you'll be receiving SeeD credentials. It'll include a SeeD ID, SeeD passes, and all the other SeeD crap. In effect, from this moment on, you guys are officially SeeDs."
Trish looked down at the folder in surprise, before opening it, pulling it the tiny plastic baggy containing her photo ID and SeeD diploma. "Wow. 'Trisha Jones, Class A SeeD. Major: Blue Magic. Minor: Duel'."
Julius looked at Zell, his eyes narrowed with anger. "Zell…you didn't say I'd be joining again."
Zell shook his head. "It's only temporary, man. After this mission is over, the identification papers will become null and void. We're not interesting in keeping you guys...no offence."
Julius still looked at the folder in his hands as if it would open up and swallow him whole…but nodded slowly.
"And another thing," Zell continued, "Is that when we go through this, we're going to have to stick together. No lone wolf crap here – we're a team, okay? Everybody is looking out for each other. I'm not going to have it any other way. Anybody who gets any ideas will be stranded, got it?" Trish and Julius nodded, and Zell sat back, his words seeming to be tumbling out of his mouth like feathers in the wind. "I don't know what went on when Squall and I was gone, and I don't wanna know. All I want to do is get this done and get back home, okies?"
"Right." Trish agreed with a nod.
"I understand." Julius muttered.
"Good." Zell said with a nod, springing to his feet. "Well then, I'll see you guys tomorrow." With that, he stood and walked back to Balamb, his hands in his pockets.
* * *
Trish watched Zell walk away, before turning back to hug her legs to her body, her knees touching her chin. Her mind had been sent into a spin by the harshness of Zell's words, her mind replaying the stern look in his eyes as he looked from her to Julius. What the hell was all that about? It's like he doesn't trust us already…She thought, before sensing Julius shifting to his feet, grabbing the big ice block that was his girlfriend and swinging her over to his shoulder once more. She glanced at him, not wanting to look at hi for too long in far that their eyes might lock, and felt depression creep into her mind. I'm sorry, Julius. I know I go too far sometimes…you're a nice guy, and I know that I'd never do anything to hurt you…
He spoke for the first time in the half hour it had taken for them to walk back to Balamb, his voice as cold as it had been when he had batted her hand away. "I'm going to move my stuff out of your room into mine. They must've fixed my stuff by now."
"…Uh-huh…" Trish mumbled, brushing a lock of golden hair from her face.
"I won't be take very long to get my things. We'll meet back up tomorrow, in the Library. That's what the file asked us to do."
"…Okay…"
"…Trish."
She looked up at him, her face burning red as the tears began to form, ashamed at her emotional condition.
He looked down at her with the giant swag crossing his broad shoulders, his own wavy blond ponytail flipping in the breeze as his crystal-blue eyes peered down at her through his spectacles…before he pushed them up the bridge of his nose, the reflection of the setting sun covering the look in his eyes. "Zell does trust us. He meant every single word he said. And there's nothing he wouldn't do to protect us."
"What…what about the thing he said about…about abandoning us if we don't do our job…?"
Julius' chin jutted forward in mild thoughtfulness, and he looked away, his eyes still covered by the reflection of the setting sun. "He's bluffing. The SeeDs may be a band of assassins and money-grubbing mercs – but they don't leave their own behind."
She hugged her knees a little tighter, her bottom lip trembling. "How can you be so sure? Isn't that what happened to your girlfriend?" Once again, her mouth sped faster then her mind, and she mentally kicked herself for saying it…
…Before she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Zell is different. He's got a kind soul."
She looked up at him then, seeing the easy smile that had seemed to have been lost, looking into the big blue eyes that made her feel slightly weak at the knees. "Now, come on. It's beginning to get dark." He said, his voice warm and inviting, much like a father's or an older brothers.
She nodded with determination, springing to her feet and wiping her eyes dry, feeling her sadness melt away. "Okay."
* * *
Julius looked down at her from time to time as they walked to the Dorms, watching as she regained the spring in her step, watching as she began to wave to complete strangers. Amazing at how fast she can recover…will you be like that, Veronica? Will time have stood still for you, or will you have been living in this icy prison, fully aware?
He shook his head sadly. No. Of course not. You're still dead. And I still don't know wether or not I'll be able to revive you…I'm so close. I'm so close I can taste it, I can feel it on the tips of my fingers, and they're brushing against the solution, hon…I'm so close, and I'm afraid of losing it…losing it when I've come this far…
He blinked, looking down at Trish. "Sorry, what?"
"I asked if you really need to go back to your own room. Hyne, were you talking to the fairies or something?"
He smiled softly, looking down at his boots. "No…just myself…"
They stood in the hallway for a second, the silence tangible…before she shrugged at him. "So? Are you sure?"
Julius sighed. "Look, Trish, you're a really nice girl and all, but I'm on…a personal quest, if you will. And if I let anything distract me…then…" He was fumbling with the ball, loosing his way. He didn't know what he was saying.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"What will you do? If you succeed, that is?"
Julius blinked at the forwardness of the question. And to tell the truth, he had never thought of that before. He had only blindly pushed forward, trying as hard as he could to bring her back, by any means necessary. He had never thought of what would happen after. "If I do revive her…I honestly don't know what I'd do."
Trish looked up at him, a sad look creeping into her face…before she turned to unlock the door, the look disappearing to fast for him to say anything.
Walking in a flicking on the lights, Trish stopped suddenly, Julius ramming into her back. "What? What's wrong…" He asked as he heard her horrified cry, looking up…
…to see the room in shambles.
* * *
Zell stood in what looked like a war zone. And he hadn't even been training in his room that day.
All the pictures and hangings on the wall were torn down, his drawers containing clothes ripped out of their slides and emptied. His bed had been slashed and the stuffing pulled out, his pillows also ripped wide open. Moving to his bathroom, he also saw that the bathroom cabinet had been ripped off the wall, exposing the pipes that ran behind it. Nearly every conceivable hiding place that Zell could have used to hide anything had been ransacked – and then the ransacker had did a once-over on the entire room, just to make sure.
He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Well, I wonder what the hell this means? His room was usually a mess – but unless he had gone out with a drink the night before with Irvine, he was pretty sure the room was relatively clean when he had gone out for manoeuvres today.
The door chimed behind him, and he palmed it open – to reveal a very shocked looking Trish and Julius. "Zell! Somebody's gone through our rooms…what the hell?" Trish gasped, walking into Zell's room and surveying all the damage. "You too!?"
Zell shrugged. "I don't get it either."
Julius looked around the room, casting a professional eye on the carnage. "This was very methodical. The person was really looking for something. You're room has had a lot more damage done to it then ours."
Zell nodded, agreeing. "Yeah. Me' thinks something 'aint right in Balamb Garden…"
Squall suddenly poked his head around the corner of the open door. "You too, huh?"
Zell turned, nodding. "Yep. Where's Rinoa?"
"Flying around outside, killing monsters. She was so angry…" He shook his head, before walking in, looking around the room. "We have to tell Headmaster Cid about this, then go to the Security Department to gather the camera and door lock records."
Zell smiled and shook his head. Way ahead of him, as usual. "You're on the ball, Squall. Trish, Jules – go to the Cafeteria and wait there for us to come back. Lets go see Seifer now, Squall. We'll talk to Cid after we've checked the records."
* * *
The elevator opened to allow Zell and Squall out – into complete anarchy.
Seifer stood in the middle of the security compound, the banks of computers and rows of desks surrounding him in flames, the blond haired gunblader screaming orders to Security personnel. "You! Get somebody with Water experience down here! You three, start saving as much data as possible! Raijin, you bastard, get off your lazy ass and get these burn victims up to the Infirmary! Now, dammit, now!!"
A small explosion rocked the foundries of the room, and everybody checked themselves as they regained balance – before Seifer began to scream orders once more. "Taka, find out what the fuck that was and list it with the rest of the shit that's blown up! And find out why the fuck our Fire Hazard system hasn't kicked in yet! Fujin, I want these people out of here as soon as possible, they're not doing shit! You, you and you – panic. The rest of you, follow me!"
With that Seifer dove into the flames, his gunblade out and slashing the flaming parts of computers and desks up into the air – his little posse of SeeDs blasting the parts out of the air with Water or Blizzard magic's.
Zell and Squall dove into the fray a well, Zell taking the initiative to douse a large part of the room with a Water spell whilst Squall made his way to Seifer. "What's happened here?!" He bellowed over the roar of the fire.
Seifer turned his head to look at Squall, the look on his face one signifying that this was the last person he wanted to see. "Everything was going fine until we took off, Commander! Then all of a sudden shit just started blowing up!"
Squall's face was still one of no emotion, the words spilling out of his mouth completely professional, the usual tension between the two gunbladers lost to the flames. "I want a full damage assessment by the end of the night, understood Mr. Amalsy?!"
"Understood, Commander!"
His order given and with Seifer seeming to be taking control of the situation, Squall turned to Zell, who was dusting his hands after quenching about a third of the fire's progression with Water attacks. "Come on, we need to see Cid now."
* * *
"Xu – is Cid in?"
"Yes Squall – what was that explosion?"
"The Security Department has been sabotaged. Make sure nobody else goes into the Training Centre – we'll need the Infirmary open for burn victims."
"The Infirmary is full from the war games today Squall! Completely full!"
Zell scuffed the ground with his sneaker. "Shit!"
Squall looked at the ground…before looking up. "Then get every available White Magic student and SeeD into the Infirmary pronto. And page Rinoa! We'll need her for this!"
"Yes Sir!!" Xu shouted, saluting and dashing for the elevator, which went down as soon as she entered.
Squall and Zell barged straight into the Headmaster's quarters, not even bothering to knock. Cid emerged from the back of the Bridge's platform collum, his suit looking a little ruffled – but no more worse to wear then usual. "What's going on, Squall? Cant I even take a nap in peace without somebody bashing down the door?!"
"I'm sorry Sir," Zell said, out of breathe, his face blackened by the smoke and the heat from the flames in the Security department. "But there's been some major shit going down!"
Cid drew in a deep breath, before walking forward, smoothing out his shirt as he opened the doors to his quarters. "I'd like to remind you to watch your language, Zell. This is a school, after all. And we'd better go find out just how much shit has been going down, shouldn't we?"
* * *
The sun was beginning to break over the wintry plains of Hawkwind in Trabia, the ice-covered lands a stark contrast to the interior of the Garden.
The entire first basement level had been almost gutted thanks to the fire that had eaten away at all things flammable. All equipment and data that hadn't been salvaged at the very last second had been destroyed, the fire not taking prisoners as it had eaten through computers, Desks and files. Not only that, but three students and a SeeD received third-degree burns to at least fifty-five percent of their bodies when they dashed through the flames to block of it's entrance into the Fuel room, underneath the second floor basement.
The corridors surrounding the Infirmary was filled with the wounded, their pitiful wails echoing all throughout the Garden. Dr. Kadowaki was losing pounds and pounds of weight as she dashed from the Infirmary beds containing the students and SeeDs from the war games to the corridors outside, containing the burn victims. Her face sweated heavily as she brushed past a make-shift nurse to check on a charred SeeD, his breaths coming in rapid bursts as Kadowaki cut away what was left of his ruined shirt to reveal the blistered and cracked flesh beneath.
Step aside, Doctor… Rinoa pulsed, her smoking white eyes settling on the man as she placed a gentle hand on the Doctor's shoulder. The older woman allowed Rinoa to crouch/float beside the body, her wings folding behind her as she looked down at him, her hands passing over his body emitting a strong green glow.
"Are…are you…an angel?" the boy asked, his voice dry and croaking.
Rinoa paused, looking down at the boy with sadness in her smoking white eyes. Yes I am. she pulsed to him, unable to think of what else to say…
…But he was already dead.
* * *
"What the fuck do you mean you don't know what happened?!" Zell bellowed, his fist slamming into the broad table that they were sitting at.
They had arrived at Trabia in the nick of time, the Trabia SeeDs forgetting their usual hesitations concerning outsiders to accept the wounded with open arms, their ready team of healers and medics revitalising the fatigued Balamb SeeDs with a sorely needed morale boost. The fire had managed to spread from the Security Division onto the ground floor, wiping out half of the cafeteria and parts of the library before the SeeDs could get it under control..
Now Squall, Zell, Quistis, Irvine Selphie and Rinoa sat around the Trabia boardroom table with Seifer, Cid and Dr. Kadowaki, the nine major players in the Balamb Garden facility all in a major conference. And everybody's nerves were jumping.
"No, I didn't, you little shit! It's like I said, one second everything's going to plan, then next everything starts blowing up!!"
Squall held onto Rinoa's hand, the Sorceress exhausted from being in Sorceress form all night, the longest she had been able to hold it. She had just woken up from fainting from exhaustion, and was sitting quietly in her chair, not offering anything to the conversation. Squall spoke up, however. "Do you know the exact time when it happened, Seifer?"
Zell and Seifer sat back down, their bodies trembling with rage, shooting looks that would tear a normal person to shreds. Both had nothing against the other on this occasion – it was the sheer fact that something like this had happened, had hit them in a very vital point, and they needed to vent the anger.
Seifer sat back in his chair, slamming a palm into the paper before him and lifting it up. He studied it for a second, before slapping it back down onto the table. "I noted the time as 18:47 exactly – I was checking my watch when the shit went down."
Squall sat back in his chair, grasping Rinoa's hand tightly and not saying anything else, his scared brow furrowing in thought.
Cid sat up. "Our wounded are astronomical, and the damage done to the Garden is nigh to irreparable! How could have something like this happen?"
Irvine shrugged. "It could have been one of the other Gardens. They had perfect opportunities all day yesterday to plant bombs and such…though why they would remains a mystery."
Selphie looked at Irvine, warming to the reason. "Or maybe it was some people from within Balamb?! Remember that bastard Jeheyt? Maybe we didn't get all the Galbadian spies!!"
Cid shook his head. "No. Jeheyt was a lone infiltrator, working for the Defector Army. That he got that deep into the SeeD ranks still amazes me – but he was interrogated with extreme prejudice, and he swore on Hyne himself that he was the only one. And besides, what would Galbadia have to gain? President Justice is in our debt! He wouldn't want to kill off Garden."
Quistis looked up, her face tired. She had been in Trabia on some kind of top-secret mission for the last few months, and had been taken up to speed only moments before, yet her mind was already turning gears, her brain working like a well-oiled machine. "Well, the damage to the Garden isn't as large as you think it was, Sir, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to pilot it through the Sorbald Snowfields. Trabia Garden seems to be taking care of the wounded. The best course of action would be to sweep the ship for any more booby-traps and set a course for FH as soon as possible."
Squall looked up at Zell suddenly. "Zell, when did you enter your room when you got back yesterday?"
Zell scratched the back of his neck tiredly. He was beat, same as everybody else, and wanted – desperately – to snuggle to sleep with Angel by his side. He sighed wearily. "I dunno, man… about six thirty, six forty-five maybe…"
His voice trailed off as his tired brain made the connection. "No friggin way…"
"What? What is it?" Selphie asked.
"When we got back from being briefed at Galbadia Garden, I got to my room to find that it had been ransacked. Not only mine, by Squall's, Trish's and Julius' had been too. And we found them all at the exact same time as when the bombs went off."
"You think somebody rigged your doors with detonation devices after doing a once-over of your pad?" Irvine asked, before leaning back in his chair, blowing air out of this mouth through his teeth. "Whew…what do you suppose that means?"
The board was silent. Although the Universal Compression was supposed to be top secret, all the people in the room excluding Rinoa had clearance to the information. And, having been through Time Compression before, Quistis Irvine and Selphie were very interested to it's workings.
"We don't have time to worry about this right now, Zell." Quistis muttered, standing from her seat. "You're supposed to be going through the Arch today, right?"
"Obviously somebody didn't want me to get to Trabia in time…but yeah, we're supposed to go through today."
"I'll get on the comm. with Commander Carpenter, and see if he'll postpone the mission for another day – allow you to gather your strength."
Zell frowned, watching as Quistis walked for the door. "Hey, how do you know Carpenter?"
Quistis paused at the doorway, before turning and winking at Zell. "You're not the only one involved in this mission, Zell."
With that mysterious saying dropped into Zell's lap, she left the room. Seifer stood as well, heaving a sigh. "I'm going to go check on the wounded and re-assess the damage. I'll let you guys sort out this Compression thing by yourselves."
Selphie and Irvine moved to go too. "We need to liase with the Trabian SeeDs, see if they can help us with supplies until we can get the Garden to FH. We'll try and gather as much info as possible." Selphie and Irvine were known for their negotiation skills throughout the Gardens, and had strong ties within the SeeD ranks. If anything was being passed by word of mouth, Selphie and Irvine will hear about it before the end of the day.
Dr, Kadowaki stood also, her tired face looking over the remaining SeeDs. "This meeting was completely pointless. We need rest, all of us – it's too soon to be pointing fingers and figuring out what started all this."
Squall, Zell and Cid watched them all leave – before Cid sat back in his chair, obviously weary himself. "It's been a long night, boys." He muttered, the strength he had displayed all throughout the night suddenly disappearing to reveal the fatigue everybody felt. "Go and get some sleep. We'll figure out what happened later."
The boys nodded tiredly, pushing themselves to their feet and moving for the door, Squall having to rouse Rinoa in order to get her moving.
Cid was fast asleep before they shut the door.
* * *
Zell stumbled back into Balamb Garden, not even bothering to wave goodbye to Squall and Rinoa as they got to their room, instead running on autopilot to come at his door. Palming the door open, he shuffled in – to see anarchy.
Right. Ransacked. Shit.
A quiet knock on his door made him wake up slightly, and he turned to see Angel standing in the doorway, her clothes covered in blood from taking care of the wounded all night long. "Hi, Zell…thought you might like to stay in my room tonight, seeing as your room is a bit of a mess…" she whispered, her voice beginning to crack under the pressure of fatigue and the sudden realisation of what had just transpired all those hours ago.
The destruction of Balamb Garden.Zell moved forward to embrace her, her body collapsing into his as easily as a breeze would, and together they made their way to her room slowly, not even bothering to take off their clothing as they rolled into bed, their silent tears replicated on countless other Balamb SeeDs and students as they tried to take heed of what had just happened the night before.
* * *
Zell opened his eyes, suddenly awake.
Hang on. Calm down. Where are you?He checked his surroundings, seeing the posters stuck on the walls, the neatly arranged wardrobe, the girl in his arms…
Angel's room. Right. Time to assess what the hell went on.
Gently disengaging himself from Angel's embrace, he planted a kiss on her sleeping brow and left the room, needing a bit of time to think things through. He walked out of the Dorm room into the corridor, checking the time on his watch.
14:56. Damn. I've been out all day.
Walking through the corridors, it slowly dawned on him that there was nobody in the corridors. Nobody meeting with friends. Nobody comparing notes. Nobody at all. I guess fighting the fires had taken more out of the students that usual… He thought to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets.
He suddenly came across his room, the door still wide open from when Angel had came across him looking bewildered. He looked into the room from the corridor, seeing the mess it was in, and was about to walk on when something clicked in his mind. The times… He remembered, turning and walking over to the door's frame, running his fingers along the edge of the metal frame that the door slid into.
He found it almost instantaneously, the small metal object no bigger then a one Gil coin. He pulled the device out from the little nook it had been crammed in and turned it over in his fingers, looking over it in amazement. What does it mean? His brain screamed, his eyes scanning the transmitter for any markings. Unsurprisingly there was none, and he placed the device into his pocket, promising himself to give it to Seifer to have a look at.
Walking on, he began to wake up a little more, his brain kicking into gear thanks to the shock of finding the device. If the transmitter did set off the explosives…then the bomber must've been aiming for the records all along. They must've planted the bombs whilst the skeleton crew was on because of the war games, then came into our rooms and poked around for…what? Information?
But that might mean that they were looking for something. Something that we obviously didn't have. Or maybe something we didn't have…until now.
Twisting on his heel, Zell sprinted back to his room, grabbing his mission file from where he had dropped it when the shock of finding his room ransacked had hit him. The contents had spilled out, and he hurriedly shoved them back into the folder, only having skimmed through the folder with Squall when they were being debriefed by Commander Carpenter.
He paused suddenly.
In his left hand was the folder, the blue cardboard-paper containing mismatched and unorganised papers, sticking out of the edges of the closed file. In his right was the picture of the army from the other Universe, only this one was digitally cleared up and focused on the Sorceress on the castle's escarpment, her wings brilliant in the blue sky.
The picture showed the woman as clear as if Zell had taken the picture himself. And that woman was...
Zell took off into a run. He needed to find Squall. Fast.
* * *
Zell burst into the Trabian snow lands, seeming to not mind the biting cold as he bolted for the front entrance to Trabia Garden.
Unlike Galbadia Garden,. Trabia was filled with beautiful colours and happy people. Trees lined the edges of the walkways as Zell ran thought them, the elevator in the middle of the main area going up to the classrooms and Headmaster's quarters flanked by several ice sculptures of some GFs – Shiva mostly, Zell realised absently as he dashed through another corridor. Unlike Galbadia, Zell knew his way around Trabia – Selphie had dragged him along to meet her friends enough times to allow him to know where everything was.
He finally found the room where Squall was supposed to be and brushed down his burnt clothes, trying to look sane as he masked the worry in his face with a bit of effort.
SeeD Research and Development – WARNING – Restricted access!!Zell palmed the lock open, his A-Rank allowing him into most of the more inaccessible areas of Garden, and walked in, shutting the door behind him.
The R&D department was a fascinating place. Much like a science laboratory, it was where the more cerebral SeeDs spent most of their time, researching ways to refine and mix certain Magic's, as well as practise their weapon making skills, finding just what made the perfect gunblade, or making a gun that fired bullets with a little more velocity then the weight of the barrel would allow.
But mostly the R&D department was where SeeDs made new, exciting advancements in warfare technology. The new intercom systems, for example, had been designed and made in the Seed R&D, before being sold to armies worldwide. Zell had been amazed when the comm. system, laughingly called Walkie-Talkies by the SeeD veterans, had taken off in the world, and now there were civilian models being used. And they systems had only been released a few months ago!
Zell spotted Squall talking to Quistis, who had been in Trabia under 'top secret' orders ever since the whole Arch incident started. Zell had an inkling of what she was doing here – most likely Carpenter had asked her to study the Arch, along with a collaboration team of SeeDs. And, like a good soldiers, she had said yes. She was good at keeping a secret, and once she got stuck into something, she didn't let go until she was finished with it, so naturally she was the best suited for the job.
Zell overheard Squall and Quistis talking as he picked his way through the myriad of tubes and devices strewn all over the lab tables and walkways. "Are you telling me that it'll weight nothing at all?" Squall asked.
"That's right. You'll each get one too, and we'll give you your usual bits and pieces…potions, tents, you know…"
"Hey guys." Zell said, walking up behind them. Squall turned his head slightly and nodded, but Quistis turned and looked at him. Zell absently realised that they were clean and properly dressed – he looked like he had just come in from a shelling ground.
"Zell! We couldn't find you after the board meeting. You were suppose to sign in a twelve-hundred hours and report here."
Zell scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry Quis. Kinda slept in…you know how it is…"
"And you haven't changed your clothes, either? Just where did you go?"
Zell scratched the back of his neck harder, seeing the look in Quistis' eyes. She was always playing big sister. "Me and Angel caught up after the meeting, and we went back to her room to sleep. My place is still a bit messy…and I was too tired to clean it up…"
Quistis placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry, Zell. I didn't know." She watched him shrug as if to say 'no biggie, Quis', and smiled at him. "Well, at least you're here. I was just telling everybody what we'll be fitting you with when you go through the Arch."
Zell frowned, all thoughts of the picture suddenly disappearing as he realised that Trish, Julius, Rinoa and Emily were sitting around the table, which was covered in what looked like reflective pieces of metal. "Fitting us? We're getting equipment?"
"Of course! We wouldn't send you into a Universal Compression without being prepared, would we?!"
Zell grinned. "Last time we went through we were still getting over the wounds of battling Adel, Quis. I'm not surprised if they send us through naked!"
Quistis smirked at the joke. "Well, unlike Laguna, I've planned this all out." She said, waving her hand over the metal objects strewn around the table. "Allow me to bring you up to speed. This metal is Orihalcom, the same stuff the men were wearing as armour when they came through the Arch. It's lightweight, can reflect small magic's, and is practically indestructible."
"Really?" Zell asked, walking over and picking up a piece of the fantastic metal. It reflected his face perfectly, and he realised just how dirty he was. He blinked as he watched the edges of the square metal began to bend around. "Uh, Quis, is it supposed to do that?" He asked nervously as it began to meld around his hand.
"Yes. What you picked up was the leg piece of the suit, but any piece can meld to any part of the body. I'd call it magic, but since we can't get even a tiny reading on our meters to suggest any magical properties, I have to assume that the metal is in fact alive."
Zell blinked, watching as the…thing wrapped itself to his hand perfectly, melding to the skin as if it had been tailored to him. In less then six seconds it had completely covered his hand and fingers and most of his upper arm too. "Alive?! So I'm wearing a living thing on my arm right now?!"
"Maybe. Like I said, we're not so sure. It reacts to heat and cold, cooling or warming respectively, and it does have a tendency to require coaxing when it doesn't want to part with somebody it 'likes'…but we still haven't observed any real intelligent forms of communication. It could be some kind of sentient life-form…but we're not even sure of that."
"So what are you sure of?" Julius asked, watching as his own hand became engulfed with the metal.
Quistis moved over to the other side of the table, picking up what looked like a backpack. "We're sure that whatever Orihalcom contains will be secure when it goes through the Arch. One of the men had metal fillings in his mouth – which would have surely been taken away had he passed though without wearing a helmet. So we've managed to whip together some backpacks and webbings for you guys, so you can carry some stuff through the Arch without having to lose it all on the other side."
"Which is good." Trish said, looking at Zell. "I wont lose any of my tools. And we'll be able to take a few other things, like hand-held computers and stuff."
"That'll be good for me." Julius muttered. "I'll be needing some special gear if I wanna do some field-hacking. I'm sure Trish's electronic door-handling skills would be sufficient – but most electronically equipment sings to me if I have the right gear."
Squall looked up from an item sheet he picked up from his folder. "We'll be fitted with all the usual SeeD gear – Walkie-Talkies, Tents, a few Elixirs each, as well as a few Phoenix Downs too. Plus, since the Orihalcom can bend to whatever shape you seem fit, it can be strapped to your back without you having to worry about it being in the way."
Zell blinked, before opening up his file and pulling out the paper that Squall had. "Cool! I'll be able to take my Uber Ehrgiez!!"
"And the best thing is, when the metal is in use, it doesn't weigh a thing." Quistis said, gesturing to Zell's arm. "Go ahead, try it out."
Zell smiled, turning and allowing his hand to fly out, ten lightening-quick punches delivered to an imaginary opponent in the matter of nano-seconds. "You're right! It's doesn't limit my movement at all!!" He cried. "I'm gonna have to get me some of this stuff after we've finished this!"
Quistis smirked. "It's one of the mission parameters to take out another one of those men to gather more of this stuff. So far we've been able to modify and make equipment for you guys out of only one suit – the other one is going through stringent tests to figure out what makes it tick."
Zell smiled. "We'll defiantly be trying to get more of this stuff! It's great!" He began to push at the metal, wanting to take it off. It didn't budge. Moving his fingers to the edge of the metal, he tried to push his fingers under the edge – but all the metal did was flatten out against his skin, making the gesture impossible. "Uh, how do you remove it?" He asked, feeling a slight panic rise in his stomach.
Quistis laughed out loud at his scared tone, before moving forward and taking his hand, turning it so the palm was up. "See this?" she asked, pointing at a small dot about five inches from his wrist. "Press down on it for five seconds."
Zell did what she asked, and the metal amazingly dropped off his hand, flopping limply off his arm and falling to the floor with a metallic flop. When he picked it up, it was like it was a wet towel – it hung limp in his hand. "It'll stay like that for about fifteen seconds, and then reform into the shape it was in last time." Quistis explained as Zell slapped the Orihalcom on the edge of the table, watching it slide off again.
"Cool…" He muttered, picking it up and placing it back on the table in a heap.
Quistis sighed. "Well, that's about it. Your stuff had been individually labelled, and all your respective equipment has been placed in the packs already. Double check it, then prepare yourselves – you'll be leaving as soon as you're ready."
With that said, Quistis walked away, leaving the group to their own devices.
Zell watched her go, before turning to look over the team. The tension that had been evident yesterday had melted away thanks to the fire – everybody smelled of smoke, and it was evident that they al did their part in helping fight the fires and help the wounded. Rinoa and Trish were looking through their packs together, chatting excitedly amongst themselves as they looked at what they would be using. Emily sat next to Squall, her own featureless expression mimicked by Squall's exactly as the both methodically checked their inventory.
Julius moved next to Zell, setting Veronica down next to him and placing two packs down. "Here is yours, Zell." He said, pushing one pack over to the fighter before looking down at his own, talking excitedly. "Can you believe this stuff? They even made me a strap so I could sling Veronica onto my back without having to carry her everywhere. I tell you, it's amazing what the R&D people can do in only a few days, huh?"
"Yeah…" Zell said absently, opening the metal flap and looking through the pack with little enthusiasm. Now that the inherent excitement was gone, Zell suddenly remembered why he had come here, and fingered the photo in his pocket…before looking up at Squall. "I'll be back in a tick, man, I need to jaw with Squall for a sec."
Grabbing Squall's arm and leading him off into a different part of the room, he looked as Squall before giving him the picture. Squall, looking mildly surprised at the rude interruption of his inventory taking, looked down at the picture…before looking at Zell once more, still looking slightly surprised. "Yes?"
"You do know who that is, right?"
"Yes. It's Rinoa."
"And you do see the little caption underneath it with a little arrow pointing to Rinoa?"
"Yes I do, Zell."
"Do you see that it says 'Assassinate' in the little caption?"
Squall rolled his eyes. "What are you getting at, Zell?"
Zell looked at Squall, his face deadpan. "Dude. They're asking us to kill your girlfriend. Don't you feel a little…weird about it?"
Squall sighed, handing the photo back to Zell and crossing his arms. "Zell, unlike you I read the mission file. And I made sure that Rinoa read it too. Believe me, we're fine with it."
Zell shook the photo in front of Squall's face, his confusion and anger evident. "But…this is Rin! Sure, it's a freaky looking Rin, but…it's…it's Rin! Don't you see?!"
Squall shook his head, pushing Zell's hand down gently. "No, it's not. This Rinoa is different from my Rinoa. This Rinoa is evil." He could see that he hadn't convinced the fist-fighter, and gave him a pat on the shoulder in a friendly fashion, flashing one of his rare smiles. "Zell, it's not Rinoa. Okay? We'll do our job, and then take Rinoa home, all right? Now come on, we need to prepare."
Squall walked back to the table, and Zell looked down at the photo in his hand one last time…before sighing and walking back to the table, joining the others.
* * *
Well, I've been throwing monkey wrenches all over the works, haven't I? How will Zell, Squall and Rinoa take having to kill off another Rinoa?! We'll have to wait until the end, huh?
At least now Squall can take his LionHeart gunblade, so he doesn't have to worry about acquiring a weapon. Plus, all the team-members can use their usual gear in order to get the job done! That Orihalcom stuff rules, huh?
And not only that, but Orihalcom will be playing an integral part in the story line, so listen out for it in later chapters, K?
Well, better get started on writing the next chapter! They'll be passing through the Arch in the next one – and the reception they'll receive wont be anything resembling pleasant! Be prepared for the first major battle of FF8 Tournament: Twist In Time – next chapter!!
