Ch 22 – Why Cant I Come?!

It was a little later in the afternoon when the Valkyres began to do their martial arts exercises, the girls getting together in a big group in the centre of the field before lining up and performing kicks and punches, their forms perfect, their synchronicity flawless. A few of the more advanced students still worked out from the main group, and Zell watched them too. Zell watched from the sidelines for an hour first, to gauge the women's strengths, weaknesses, and their varying techniques. Almost all the girls were quick on their feet, their acrobatic skills amazing. Back flips and somersaults were plentiful in the Valkyre fighting style, Zell saw.

Not only that, but speed was also essential. Zell watched as a girl, her brown hair tied into a tight bun on the top of her head, attacked a wooden dummy relentlessly, her hands like stabbing knives as they sprang from her body like a snake, the attacks causing the fingers to smash into the wood before the hand retreated instantly for another attack. Zell counted at least fifty attacks in one minute, before the girl stood back and launched a devastating round-house kick, blasting a gigantic chunk from the tenderised wood as if she had planted explosives into it before-hand.

Zell noted the way Lorelei taught her students too, the discipline she commanded from her girls rigid. Zell couldn't say he condoned the actions – in his eye Lorelei needed to loosen up a little – but damn she was a good instructor. Although stern and unforgiving in some aspects, there was fairness in her actions that gathered the respect of her students. If one girl faltered in her movements, Lorelei would single her out and talk to her, showing her the manoeuvres, before asking for them to be shown to her, not letting the girl back into the group until she had done a series of attacks against an invisible opponent. She never raised her voice at a single student, and at times stopped the entire class to show everybody how it was done, in case anybody else didn't understand. And she was always amongst them, doing the routines with them form the front, sweating along with the rest of the girls in the afternoon sun.

It had been almost an hour and a half before Zell spotted Dee standing out by herself, a ways away from the rest of the group, stoically going through a devastating routine of kicks, punches and blocks against an invisible opponent, her body weaving a rolling through the air and on the ground as her hands struck out in the varying attacks of her technique.

Zell watched as Lorelei called for a break, but saw that Dee kept on going. He moved swiftly to Lorelei, watching as she towelled down her face and arms, before tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey Lore – whats with Dee? Why doesn't she get a break?"

Lorelei turned to Zell, wiping her face down before flipping the towel over her shoulder. "Because she never needs one, Zell. I could leave her out there all day and she'd still be doing the same routine, trying again and again to perfect it. She hardly ever tires."

"I thought you said you had trouble getting her to concentrate on one thing at a time."

Lorelei chuckled. "That's when weaponry is concerned, Zell. Dee will perform martial arts whenever and wherever – she loves to do it."

Zell grunted in mild surprise as he turned to watch his daughter continued her routine, still speaking to Lorelei. "So why don't you let her train with the other girls?"

Lorelei's voice became soft. "Because…she's too powerful."

Zell flicked around to looked at Lorelei with wide eyes, seeing a hint of fear within her gold-flecked green eyes. "C-come again?" He whispered.

"Shes too powerful, Zell. The first time I had her in the group she swung out too far and punched a girl fifteen meters into the air. Not only that, but she's already learnt all the techniques I could show her, and she's begun to display techniques I've never seen in my life. It's like she's got some kind of hidden reel of moves in her head which she can tap into unconsciously. But no matter what I try to do, I cannot get her to do them on command. So, for the safety of the other girls, I let her train alone."

Zell turned again, slowly, to watch his daughter perform another roll – and come up in a stance that looked oddly familiar. Coming up with her feet spread wide, she bent her knees back slightly, her left fist bunched and pulled back almost as far as she could take it – before flinging it out as fast as she could, the fist hovering in the air for a split second before she resumed her routine as if nothing had happened. Meteor Barret…how could she know that?! Zell wondered to himself, recognising the practise manouver instantly – he had performed it countless times in the past.

Zell turned back to Lorelei, looking her straight in the eyes. "Look…can I ask you something?"

"You may."

"How much more does Dee have to learn from you?"

Lorelei placed a finger on her bottom lip, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face as she thought about the answer. "Not much, to tell the truth…she was given most of our fighting techniques before she was even born, and her body has developed in such a way that she could withstand almost any attack…why?"

"I want to train with her. As a matter of fact, I want to train her."

Lorelei blinked – before turning to face the SeeD, jabbing a perfectly manicured finger into his chest. "Now look here, you male. That girl may be your biological daughter, but she is still an Immortal and still a Valkyre. I'll say who trains her and who she'll interact with, do I make myself clear?"

Zell blinked, shocked and confused at Lorelei's reaction. He decided to retaliate, pushing the finger jabbed into his chest away as he stepped forward, frowning. "Why do you hate me, Lore? Is it because I'm so different? Is it because guys did this to your world? Because I'm sorry, but I'm not the one you should be blaming, because I did nothing to you or your people to garner such disrespect!"

Lorelei blinked then, stepping back, away from his forceful words – and Zell was shocked to see tears verging in her eyes. "You…you think I hate you?" she whispered meekly.

Zell instantly felt like the biggest loser of the planet. "No, I don't think I hate you…" He said quickly, holding his hands out to comfort her. "It's just that we're so different…"

"True…you're so random in your actions, while I'm always right…"

Zell nodded instantly, willing to please the near-tears girl. "Yeah…hey, wait a minute…"

Lorelei brushed a lick of red hair from her face, turning away from Zell as if dismissing the entire conversation, her eyes dried immediately. "Fine. You can train her." She said, the hurt tone in her voice suddenly gone, replaced with something bordering on jubilance.

Zell blinked, watching as she walked away – before realisation hit him like a Granaldo shot out of a cannon. And to add salt to the wounds, Diablos' words darkened his mind, the sneering tone saying it all as the GF put what he just acknowledged into words.

You were played just then, Dincht. She saw an opportunity to show you who was in control, and you fell for it hook, line and sinker, you weak hearted fool.

Shut up, Diablos… Zell muttered to the Gravity God as he turned away, scuffing the grass with his shoe in annoyance as he walked over to Dee…

*          *          *

Dee was just finishing off the Light Hearted Worm technique and was slowly moving into the Bucking Bronze when she felt a presence beside her. Breaking her concentration for a split-second she looked over – to see Zell standing a little ways away, sitting cross-legged on the ground and watching her intently, his head in his hands.

"Please, continue hon. It's actually rather fascinating."

Dee giggled – before continuing at double-speed, her hands and feet flying at an amazing pace as she began to move from the slow yet soft defensive positioning of the Worm to the quick and powerful Bronze, her hands suddenly thrust out before her as she imagined them slamming into her opponents stomach, retaliating in accordance to the calculated reactions of her invisible assailant by flipping her hands up and into the air. If the attack had connected the receiver would have doubled over before being flung, spinning head over heel, into the air before slamming face-first into the ground. Leaping high, Dee followed through with the attack, her knees digging deep into the grassy ground where the invisible opponent should have been, before rolling back and coming up with a stab –

To be arrested by Zell's hand, Dee's flat palm mere inches from Zell's smiling face.

Dee instantly backed away, retrieving her hand and looking concerned. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry…" she said quietly, retreating away from the SeeD – who stood and walked forward, chuckling.

"Nah, nah, it's all good, hon. In fact, I was hoping that you'd spar with me."

Dee looked up at Zell meekly, brushing a lick of blond hair from her eyes slowly as she processed his words. "S-spar? As in fight you?"

Zell shrugged, pulling off his shirt and tossing it away to reveal his tightly chiselled chest. "If you wanna. I just want to gauge how strong my little girl is, actually. That's all." He smirked as he cricked his neck to the side, before beginning to stretch his legs. "I doubt you'd be any match for me, anyways." He said the words as if issuing a challenge.

Dee suddenly found a small smile playing on her lips, the smile turning into a full-blown grin as she stood upright, placing a hand on her hip. "You're challenging moi?" She asked, her voice full of mock incredulousness. "I'll beat you into the ground, old man!"

Zell paused in his stretches. "Hey! I'll have you know I'm only twenty three, thank you very much!!"

Dee didn't answer – she simply ran forward, her fist sailing through the air to be caught by Zell's hand, his fingers locking around her hand and, pulling back, threw her up and behind him, the Valkyre sailing through the air – to flip mid-flight, landing on the balls of her feet and spinning – to see Zell still stretching. "Hey – I wasn't ready." Zell said with a smirk, now moving from his legs to his arms, pulling his left arm up and over his head to touch his right shoulder-blade.

Dee smirked as well – before approaching the SeeD quickly, a flurry of blows beginning to rain down on him.

Zell, still stretching his arms, ducked and weaved through  the attacks, his mouth an unwavering smile as his daughter continued to relentlessly attack him. Wow…she is good… Zell thought to himself as Dee suddenly dropped to the ground and flicked her leg out, the SeeD having to jump lightly to avoid the trip – but only barely making the jump. Really good…

Dee flipped up to her feet and let loose with another punch, this one sailing through the air – to be arrested by Zell's knee, the SeeD lifting his leg so high it actually stopped the blow from connecting with his body. They stood like that for a second – before Zell cricked his neck again, cracking his knuckles too. "Are you done yet? Or can I retaliate now?" he asked.

Dee was enjoying herself. Even Miss Lorelei couldn't keep up with her attacks – yet Daddy was toying with her. "Be my guest." She said cheekily, pulling her arm away from the block and spinning her body around to release a full-spin kick…

…Which Zell countered at the last second, Dee's foot sailing into his hands, which gripped the ankle and the toes before spinning, the girl twisting through the air to land on the grass with a soft thud, her eyes wide with shock as she turned – to see Zell's smiling face right next to hers. "You'll have to do better then that if you want to train with me." He said in a pleasant voice as his eyes twinkling with delight.

Dee rolled to the side before jumping to her feet, taking her stance instantly as she spoke, her words bubbling with excitement. "You're going to train me?!"

Zell smirked, standing up straight and crossing his arms across his broad chest. "I will if you can land a punch on me. If you cant do that, then you're not worthy."

Dee was in heaven. Her eyes wide with expectation and determination, she changed her stance slowly for a different one, Zell noting that it was one with more aggression – before she advanced, her hands slashing out for the face, head, body, her fists almost a blur as they began to rain down at Zell – who dodged the attacks slightly, his body ducking and weaving through the attacks, his hands slapping away the ones that came too close for comfort – before finally grabbing a straight jab by the wrist and pulled her close, his hand snaking into her defences to slap her lightly in the stomach.

"Keep your guard up." Zell muttered, before letting her go, watching as she stumbled away – and took her stance again.

It was obvious that their fight was going to attract attention, and it wasn't long before the rest of the Valkyres were soon watching them, some even coming up close and sitting a ways away to watch as the two fighters continued to exchange blows and retorts.

Zell let his head fall to one side as a slap flew pas this face so close the wind tickled his nose – before he lifted his knee almost casually to block a low kick before he bent his body back to allow a high kick to sail over his midriff, the smile on his face not wavering one bit as he looked at the world upside down – and saw that they were drawing a bit of a crowd. Cool…Zell thought to himself as he followed through with the bend to go into a full back flip, the motion allowing the sweep Dee launched to sail smoothly across the grass where his legs had just been.

Zell landed on his feet and looked at his daughter with a huge grin on his face, goading her on as he waved her closer. "C'mon. You can so do much better then that."

"You ain't seen nothing yet!!" Dee cried, running forward and launching a flying kick…

Which sailed over Zell's head as he simple stepped to the side, the attack sweeping right past him, causing Dee to fall and roll on the grassy ground, following through with the roll to come up on her feet, her face flushed but her body uninjured.

Zell turned and smiled at her. "Never get angry in a fight. You'll do all kinds of stupid mistakes."

Dee screamed a battle cry as she ran forward, her attacks now wide and swinging, Zell having no trouble dodging or blocking any of them. She was fighting with her emotions now, like you're supposed to – but with all the wrong emotions. Zell could see the frustration and desperation building within her eyes as he continued to evade her attacks by narrow margins, his smile now fading as he realised that she was giving it her all.

Suddenly grabbing her wrists, stopping her desperate attacks, Zell watched in utter surprise as Dee began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably. Zell had no idea why she was getting so worked up about it. "Hey, hey…what's the matter, hon?" Zell asked, the concern evident in his voice as he hugged her close, cradling her weeping face into his shoulder.

She began to hiccup as she spoke tearfully. "Because (hic)…I cant…(hic) hit you…(hic). And now you're…(hic) not going to train me!!"

Zell shook his head and smiled as he began to stroke the girl's hair softly, not really knowing why he did it – but remembering it used to sooth him whenever Ma had done it when he had been feeling sad. She had tried so hard, trying to please her father as much as she could, and it aggravated her that she couldn't live up to his standards. "Aw, c'mon babe – I was still going to train you. I just had to see how much work there was to be done, that's all." Zell said, feeling that he needed to explain himself.

Dee sniffed as she looked up at him. "R-really? You're…you're going to train me anyways?"

Zell smiled as he cuffed her cheek playfully. "Yeah, why not."

Dee giggled then – before reaching up and punching him softly in the chin, her face beginning to glow again as she giggled once more. "I hit you! Now you have to train me!!"

Zell shook his head with laughter, before pushing her in the shoulder playfully. "Yeah, yeah, you got me."

Dee jumped up and down in happiness - much like Selphie, Zell mused – before planting a quick kiss on his cheek. Blushing hotly, Dee backed away from Zell before running to her group of friends, the women swarming the girl as they all squealed in happiness, leaving Zell to stand there with a shocked expression on his face, his hand where Dee had pecked him.

Was that what it was like to have a kid? To console her when she was feeling sad? Zell thought to himself as he lowered his hand to look down at it, still feeling the warmth of her body near his – before smiling and nodding, looking at Dee as she waved to him through the crowd of friends, the SeeD waving back to her slowly. Yeah. Being a father is going to be a piece of cake.

*          *          *

"You want to what?!" Lorelei screeched, making Aries wince.

Dee looked down at her lap meekly, sitting in the chair that sat in front of the Grand Mistresses' desk, and began to want to sink into the carpet. "I said…I want to move in with Daddy."

Lorelei was almost tearing her hair out. "You can't move in with him!! He's a man, God knows what he'll do to you!! And stop calling him that!!"

Dee's voice was quiet but firm as she spoke. "He's my Daddy. He wont harm me."

Lorelei looked like she was about to have a fit, so Aries stepped in, her lilted voice flowing evenly from her full lips. "Have you asked Zell yet?"

Dee squirmed in her seat. "Well…no…but it would be so much better! I wouldn't have to travel all the way across the city to see him, and we'd be able to do our training all the much better, and…"

Aries interrupted softly, a small smile on her face as she spoke. "Maybe you ought to speak with Zell about it, honey, before asking for our permission. But thank you for coming to us first anyways."

Dee nodded, standing and straightening her robes before bowing and moving out of the office quickly, the door sliding shut behind her – and allowing Lorelei to finally laugh. "Oh my god, she was so afraid just then!!"

Aries laughed along with her. It had been their plan all along to let daughter and father spend more time with them – and in the week that Zell and Dee had been training, it had been hard to separate them. "I think maybe you ought to go a little more easy on her next time though, honey. You don't want to make it seem like we actually want the two of them apart."

Lorelei planted her hands on her hips and pouted down at Aries. "Oh, come on! I'm having fun!!"

Aries was smirking as she shook her head. "Yes, I can see that…"

*          *          *

"You want to do what?!" Lorelei screeched, making Aries wince again.

Zell looked down at his lap, stealing a glance at Dee, before answering meekly. "It would only be until I move on…I don't really see the big deal, you guys…"

"Well, I do, Zell!! God knows what you might do to her, with your hormones raging as they are!!"

Zell held up his hand. "Okay, I passed that stage ages ago…"

"Shut up!!"

Zell lowered his hand obediently and decided to study the seam on his pants with extreme intent.

Aries couldn't help but smile slightly. The two of them obviously wanted to spend time together, to get to know one another – Dee with her voracious appetite for knowledge about his world, Zell wanting to know more and more about her and her way of life – that to keep up this charade was beginning to get painful.

It was extraordinarily funny seeing the two strongest people on the planet so thoroughly cowed, however.

Aries spoke up as Lorelei launched into another lecture, her quiet voice silencing Lorelei's. "Okay. I'll arrange for all of Dee's possessions to be moved into Zell's quarters as soon as possible."

Dee stood suddenly – "Really!!" – before realising where she was and whom she was talking to and sat down immediately.

Zell, however, couldn't give a rats ass where and who he was talking to, jumping out of his chair and pulling Dee up with him, hugging her so hard her back cracked audibly. "Hear that, hon?! You're coming to stay with me!" He cried happily.

Dee nodded quickly, her face turning blue as Zell's arms continued to squeeze the air out of her lungs – before he dropped her, letting her gulp in a huge amount of breath as he talked quickly, unable to control his excitement as his hands moved along with his words. "I can make you breakfast in the morning and help you with your homework and tuck you in at night and talk to you about the girls you wanna go out with and we can pig out whenever we want and watch movies together and just hang! It's going to be so fun to hang with my daughter!! Wow! Thanks Aries, you're the best chick a guy could know! And Lore, you're okay in a weird…ex-military kinda way! C'mon hon, lets start moving yer gear now!!"

Zell clamped his arms over her shoulder and excitedly bolted for the door, Dee desperately trying to bow or curtsy or something to the Grand Mistress before they both disappeared out the door – allowing Lorelei and Aries to collapse into each other in uncontrollable laughter.

*          *          *

The time the two of them spent together was fun. Zell's go-get-em attitude paired with Dee's stubborn will made them impressive to watch whilst training, as well as when they lived together. It wasn't long before Dee, used to the mainly vitamin and mineral enriched and enhanced foods of the Immortals began to enjoy Balamb Hotdogs as much as Zell. Not only that, but their nights spent together – mostly boiling down to Dee rattling off endless questions to Zell until the wee hours in the morning – were typical of a father/daughter relationship.

Zell, growing to love the blond girl second by second, seemed to be in awe every time she walked into the room. Dee, respectively, loved her daddy, doting on him as much as possible, sometimes to the point of annoyance on Zell's part, especially when it came to the subject of bathing.

It had been…surprising, when Zell had turned on the shower one morning to turn and see Dee standing behind him, brushing her teeth, clad only in a skimpy tee-shirt and panties, her sleeping clothes. Zell had managed to grab his towel before it fell off his hips in shock and squinted at her, his voice full of incredulity. "What – what are you doing?" He almost screamed.

Dee looked at him with wide eyes, removing her toothbrush before spitting the toothpaste out of her mouth into the sink. "I'm going to wash your back. Is that alright?" She asked, wiping the excess toothpaste from the corners of her lips with two fingers.

"…No it's not alright!!"

"Why not?"

Zell paused for a second, caught by the simple look in her eyes, the innocence openly portrayed. He had, at first, thought something…sexual was going on. "So…the Immortals…they usually shower together?" Zell asked slowly, as if making sure.

"Oh, of course! You don't get clean properly otherwise."

Zell had nodded, before tucking the hem of his towel into itself to stop it from falling and, placing his arm over his daughter's shoulder, talked as he walked her to the bathroom door. "Well hon…in my universe we have this rule…where guys and girls don't shower together. At least, where I am they don't – in Esthar I've heard it's different, but I never tried…the point is, I'd feel…uncomfortable if you washed my back. Do you understand what I'm trying to say, hon?"

Dee had shot him a strange look. "You want to be dirty?"

Zell shook his head. "What? No. I'll still be able to clean myself."

"…Not well…"

"Look, I don't ask much, right? Just…do this little thing for me, okay? I swear, it's not you, it's me. It's where I come from, okay?"

Dee had nodded. "I'll just wait outside until you come out then, is that okay?"

"That's perfect, hon. Just wait outside."

Zell had pushed Dee out the door before closing it gently behind her with a gentle click, and, tossing the towel over to the sink, walked over to the shower recess – to jump in as Dee walked back inside. "Forgot to rinse…" Dee said with a smile, quickly rinsing her mouth out with water from the tap, ridding it of excess toothpaste, before walking back out, closing the door behind her politely.

Zell had turned to his luke-warm shower and jammed his head under the water, trying to wash his embarrassment for him and his daughter away.

Now they were sparring together once more, Zell helping Dee with her punches as they stood out in the training field of the Valkyres, the warrior-women training elsewhere. Zell stood behind Dee, his hands on her back as he showed her the movements of muscles which helped with attacks. "…And then this muscle constricts, tensing your fist as you clench it, before this one allows you arm to spring forward. That's all good, you probably know that, but the thing is you gotta make your Wa move through the muscles and exit out your fist when you connect with your opponant. Now try again."

Zell turned Dee to the wooden dummy standing beside them, walking over to lean on the dummy with his arms crossed. "Let fly."

Dee bit her bottom lip, before taking her stance – and letting her fist flick out, the ball of meat and bone travelling into the wood and reducing it to shattered chips.

Zell brushed the chips off his head and shoulders as the dummy, now sheared completely in half, fell to the floor. "Excellent!"

Dee jumped up and down in excitement. "That's five dummies today!! How am I going?"

The SeeD smiled as he walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're going great, babe. In fact, you're learning about twice as fast as I did when I was your age! Now sit down, and we'll go through some more magic lessons."

Dee sat down obediently, Zell sitting across from her and sighing, closing his eyes as he began to Draw magic from within him to send to Dee. The girl sat in silence for a few seconds, rocking on her haunches impatiently, before speaking up. "Daddy? Will you tell me about your Sorceress adventures again?"

Zell smiled, his eyes stil closed as he spoke up. "You never give up, do you?"

"But I wanna know! And you tell the stories so well…"

"I don't think Lore and Aries will like it if I keep telling you these stories. Remember what happened the first night I told you about it?"

Dee nodded meekly. "I had nightmares…"

"Yeah. So maybe some other time. Or even better, when I go I could come back with some, like, books on it. I think Laguna wrote something about the quest, and I'm pretty sure Selphie has it all recorded somewhere within her Journal Archives…"

Dee nodded slowly, suddenly stopping her continuous movement and falling silent.

Zell opened one of his eyes to see Dee's saddened face. "Why so blue, hon? If you really want me to I'll tell you when we get back to the apartment…"

"It's not that, Daddy…it's just…" Dee suddenly thumped the ground with her hands in anger. "Why do you have to go? I mean, we were having so much fun together, and now you'll have to leave!! Miss Aries told me the other day that the device she's been making for you is ready! You'll be gone soon, going to fight your double…and I'll miss you…"

Zell fully opened his eyes, his concentration fading as he reached out ad grabbed one of Dee's hands. "Don't worry about it, hon. I've learned lots while training with you. I'm sure I'll be able to take care of myself."

Dee looked down at the grass, running her fingers through it depressingly. "But…you'll forget about me. You won't want to come back when you rejoin your friends. You'll be having too much fun without me…"

Zell sighed. "That's…that's the way it has to be, babe. I can't have you getting hurt in battle, especially against these guys. I mean, yeah, you're strong – really strong – but I'm not sure wether or not you're good enough yet."

Dee stood up, roughly taking her hand away from Zell's as she looked down at him with betrayal in her bright blue eyes. "Fine. If that's the way you wanna do it, then that's the way we'll do it. We're going to fight, and if I win, I get to come with you. If you win, I'll stay here. Okay?"

Zell sighed, holding his hand out. "C'mon, Dee, sit back down, we gotta work on your magic…"

Dee didn't answer, and she didn't do as Zell told her. Instead, she reached down and, gripping his hand firmly, picked him up – and threw him up into the air, her small frame betraying her immense strength as Zell tumbled through the air – to land on his feet, a little discombobulated but okay none-the-less. "Okay Dee, now you're making me mad." He said sternly as he rose to full height.

Dee stepped up to her father and let loose with a barrage of punches and kicks, using a variety of Valkrye and Dincht moves as Zell desperately began to block, dodge and counter, Dee's strength a hell of a more advanced then the first day he had sparred with her – but still no match for his. "Dee – stop this!!" Zell shouted forcefully, knocking away a right hook and smashing his fist into her chest, blowing her back to skid across the floor on her back, the girl using her arms and legs to serve mid-flight as Zell dashed forward and rammed his elbow into the ground where she was supposed to be.

Zell looked up – to feel her small fist slash across his face, knocking him back two steps before coughing as she ran up and launched herself at him, her feet smash into his chest and knocking the two of them to the ground, Zell's wind knocked out of him. Hyne…Zell thought as he felt her straddle his chest. Where'd she come from? I'm having trouble reading her attacks…just like…

Dee grabbed him by his shirt-front and shook his body, yelling at him, the excitement and enjoyment usually in her voice now gone. "I beat you, Daddy! I beat…"

Her words were cut short as Zell suddenly slapped his hand up over her ears, making the drums pop and her head to feel like it was about to explode. The girl fell backwards, screaming in pain as Zell picked himself up, shaking the stars from his eyes and rubbing his jaw – before walking over to her and grabbing her by the collar, talking as he hefted her over his head. "You gotta defeat me, Dee – defeat me!!" He screamed, almost like an order – before throwing the girl across the field, the Valkyre warrior slashing through the air to slam into the weaponry section, tumbling into a group of her fellow students as they practised with the staff, Dee knocking them all to their feet as she rolled to a stop.

*          *          *

Zell walked forward, knowing now why people hated him sometimes. He had a stubbornness within him that was dangerous, not only to the people around him but also to him personally – and he saw this stubbornness mirrored within Dee. The girl was going to hurt herself and somebody else in her blind fight to protect her father.

Zell knew that she had seen the recordings of Azel's battle with him, the images of Zell's severed head flying through the air burned into her mind like it was Zell's. The fact that he was going to try and defeat a person like that after only a month of training was absurd to her, and they had argued about it occasionally.

"Daddy, you don't know wether or not you'll be strong enough!!"

"If I don't, then my world is gone, Dee, and who will protect your world then?! I havr to go and do it, it's my job!"

"But why can't someone else do it?!"

Why cant someone else do it… Zell thought for a second, watching as Dee pulled herself from a pile of staves – and picked one up, swinging it around in the air before advancing, charging towards him with the staff raised.

"Dee!!" Zell cried, back flipping as the staff flew where his legs had once been before jumping to the left as it swung up, almost taking his knee out. "Dee, stop! I know what you want to do, and it's impossible!!"

Dee twirled the staff in her hands and advanced, swinging the staff across her body before stabbing it out like a lance, catching Zell by the chest as he twisted out of the way, tearing his shirt and drawing blood. "No! You don't know, Daddy! You'll never know!!" She screamed, swinging the staff high up above her head and down – to clove into the ground where Zell had just been, the SeeD strafing to the side just in time.

Zell kicked out with his boot, catching the stuck staff and knocking it into the air before catching it, twirling it expertly before using it to push Dee back, the end of the pole stabbing out at her torso, forcing her back to slam into another staff-hold, Zell pressing the end of his staff against Dee's heaving chest, locking her against the weapon-rack. "I do know, dammit! I know exactly what it feels like to let someone go, knowing full well that I might never see them again! I'm a mercenary soldier, Dee, a SeeD! I do this daily, I'm paid for it! So don't tell me that I don't know!!"

Dee whipped her hand out suddenly, knocking the staff from her chest and, spinning, ripped another staff off the rack and slammed the end into Zell's, knocking it out of her face before advancing, making the two martial artists lock together, the two of them staring each other dead in the face as their staves blocked each other's advances.

Zell was shocked to see tears in Dee's eyes, the girl barely able to hold them back as she screamed into his face. "Damn you, Daddy, why couldn't you be weaker?! Why can't I beat you?! I want to help you, cant you see?!"

Zell screamed back into Dee's face, hoping to drown out the sound of his tearing heart with his words. "And what about you, huh?! Do you think I'd send my flesh and blood into war?! I'd never do that, no matter what anybody paid me!! I love you too damned much, Dee, too damned much!!"

Dee screamed out then, pushing out with all her might – but, even though she was a warrior of excellent strength, speed and skill, experience always won out at the end of the day, and Zell's male strength was too much for the girl, forcing her back a ways – before Zell stepped back suddenly, making Dee stumble forward – and allow her staff to be knocked out of her grip, the long wooden pole flipping out into the distance as Dee fell to the ground on her belly to be locked there by Zell's staff, which he jammed into her back, making her wriggle like a pinned butterfly – and like a pinned butterfly, unable to get up.

Zell watched her struggle, unable to contain it anymore as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "Do you think I like doing this, Dee? Do you think that if I were good at anything else, I'd do it? I'm a fighter, a warrior, a martial artist, one of the best in the known universes. This is my life – to fight for others, to fight for the people I care about. I can't ask you to come with me, because I care too much about you. It's as simple as that."

Zell suddenly removed the staff, tossing it away as he turned away, Dee scrambling to her feet to defend herself – but watching, dumbfounded, as Zell began to walk away, heading for the city on the horizon.

Dee ran forward screaming, crash-tackling the both of them to the ground. Zell made to rise again, unperturbed by the attack – to see that Dee had locked her arms around his chest, her hands gripping opposite wrists, not letting go. "Let me go, Dee." Zell said quietly, listening to the girl sob – before shouting. "Let me go, Dee!!"

"No!! I'd rather die then let go!!"

Her words drove the final nail into Zell's heart, and he somehow pushed himself to his feet, his face deadly blank. "Then I have no choice." He muttered, raising his hands, purple light flowing around him, whispering the activation word under his breath…

Dee slid off Zell's back, snoring quietly as the Sleep took a hold of her, Zell quickly spinning and catching her to lower her quietly to the ground. She looked like…well, an angel as she slept, her face delightfully blank as Zell tenderly brushed a lick of hair from her sweat-covered face…before standing and walking towards the city slowly.

*          *          *

Aries looked up at her monitor to watch as Zell walked into her office, a look of despair on his face. Walking in slowly, her sat down in the chair before her desk with a heavy thump, as if his body couldn't take his weight anymore.

Aries looked the man up and down, seeing the marks and grass stains on his clothing. "Get carried away training, hmmm?" She asked evenly, watching for his response.

He looked up with wide eyes – before looking down. "You know…of course you know. You always know."

Aries smiled warmly. "It's part of my job to know what is happening on the planet, Zell. The point is, why wont you let her go?"

Zell shook his head, lifting his hands up high and shaking them at the heavens. "Dear Hyne, why wont they get that this is not a game?!"

Aries watched him as he lowered his hands sheepishly – before spinning her monitor around, showing him the screen. "See this?" She asked, pointing at the live feed.

"What…" Zell began to ask – before his voice trailed to a stop.

Dee sat on the ground, revived from the Sleep and surrounded by her friend and comrades – yet crying uncontrollably, the Valkyres around her unable to console her, Lorelei fretting about her like a mother hen as Dee continued to wail. Aries spoke up quietly, watching Zell as his face fell, but unable to look away. "She woke up not five minutes ago. When she realised that you were gone, she immediately assumed the worst – that you don't like her anymore. That, of course, led to the assumption that you never liked her in the first place, before ultimately she accepted that you were most likely gone already and that she would never see you again." Aries pressed the power-switch to the monitor, the device blinking off and releasing Zell from his torment, before the Immortal leant close to him.

"Listen to me, Zell. Dee is a very, very unstable girl. She might have the intelligence and body of an eighteen year old, but sociably she's barely a month old, trying to adapt to emotions and feeling that she has never felt before. She has a massive reputation to live up to in this world – she has a father to love her, as opposed to a lover from our world. And whilst she accepts that you do love her, she has no real way of knowing – and therefore is frightened and confused easily by your emotional tactics. In a situation like this, if she was a fully matured woman, I'm pretty sure she would be hating you right now, even more then Azel. But no – she is simply trying to figure out why her father has abandoned her. And until she finds that out, she'll never be whole again. The person you've come to love will be gone, forever. We might as well have killed her off whilst she was gestating. So think about her proposal before judging why and why not she should go with you."

Zell looked up at her then, his face saddened beyond belief. "You say that – and yet you don't have children. You don't know what it's like to lose a friend, a family member. As soon as we leave this universe, Aries, Dee's chances of dying and never returning rise by a magnitude so big you could never measure it. I'll be fighting opponents who I have trouble defeating – and those are just the usual soldiers! How can you ask me to decide wether or not to take my daughter to almost certain death?"

Aries gestured to the bruise coming up on his cheek and the tear in his shirt. "And I suppose you allowed her to do those to you?"

Zell looked down at his shirt, before raising his hand to his cheek, wincing as he felt the bruise sting – before frowning. "Hey. That doesn't make any difference…"

Aries smiled then, leaning back in her chair. "Did you know, Zell, that in the month you have been training with my Lorelei's Valkyres and Dee, your skill has risen by almost three hundred percent? Not only that, but Dee's skill has risen considerably along with you. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it was about the same level as yours was when you first came here."

Zell bit his bottom lip. "No, I didn't know that."

"Did you also know that, for our Universal device to work, it would need an operator? Now, we could teach you how to operate it, but that would take time, oh, say about a year. With Dee, we could simply upload the information into her mind and send you on your way in…a day or so."

Zell was frowning at Aries. "You're forcing my hand here, Aries. I don't want her to come."

Aries leaned forward then, her pretty face also grim. "Now you listen here, Zell. Dee said so herself – she would rather die then leave you. And you know how stubborn she is – she would make it her life goal to achieve that objective if you leave, even with our Reborn technology. If she goes with you, her chances of survival are massively greater then if you simply left her here like a piece of trash."

Zell looked down at his hands, the knuckles swollen from countless fights, the palms covered in calluses from innumerable battles. He tried to picture those kinds of features on Dee's hands, smooth and supple as they were, but couldn't bring himself to.

He then tried to think of a world without her. The concept made him feel more sick then he felt now.

He looked up slowly, colour rising to his cheeks again as he spoke with a sigh. "Okay…okay, you guys win…I'll take her with me."

Aries sat back in her chair, a broad grin on her face. "Excellent!! You'll leave in three days."

Zell blinked, amazed at her jovial attitude. "It sounds like you want to get rid of her."

Aries laughed out loud. "No, no – it's just that you're going to need all the help you can get, and this is the best way we can help you."

"But…what about the life-style changes of new minds? Wasn't that the whole point of creating Dee?"

Aries shook her head again. "Once again, Zell, you are mistaken." She reached out with a slender finger and pressed it against a button on an intercom system on her chair. "Hale, you may come in now."

The door of the office opened, and a women with cool grey eyes and raven black hair walked in, the silken robes she wore doing her slender body no justice. Aries stood and approached the girl with a broad grin on her face, placing a han don the girl's shoulder as she spoke to Zell. "Zell, I'd like you to meet Hale – the end product of Squall and Rinoa's donations. Rinoa insisted donating some eggs for us to work with – thankfully she was ready to give them at the time of her arrival."

Zell wasn't listening as he sprang to his feet instantly, the shock on his face evident as Hale walked up to him and shook his hand firmly, the smooth coolness of Squall evident in her movements. "Pleased to meet you." She said, her voice quiet and subdued.

"Hale has been with the Immortals for almost as long as Dee – but, where Dee has excelled physically, Hale has excelled in the musical aspect of our life. Her new single will be hitting the shelves in less then a week." Aries said proudly, making Hale blush slightly.

Zell blinked again in amazement. Rinoa's mom, Julia Caraway…she was a songstress back on Gaia…could her talent have been passed through Rinoa to this girl? Not only that, but Rinoa was also a good singer, and with her Sorceress powers… "It's amazing to meet you, Hale. I'm sure that your mom and dad would be proud of your achievements."

Hale nodded politely, before turning and, with a curtsy to Aries, walked out of the room. Aries looked a little embarrassed as she turned to Zell. "I'm sorry for her rudeness – she has trouble revealing her emotions to anybody."

Zell waved the apology away, watching Hale walk away. "It's cool, Aries – I'm more then used to it…"

*          *          *

Zell had his hands in his pockets as the doors of the elevator opened, allowing him to walk out his apartment corridor, nodding politely to the Immortals that passed him on their daily walk. The Immortals in the building had grown accustomed to Zell being there – he had kept to himself, and except for the odd Old One trying to track him down, the Immortals kept to themselves too.

Zell didn't know how to feel. He knew Dee had been sent back home after the incident, her training over for the day, and Lorelei had told him that she had immediately gone to bed, still crying as the Valkyre leader had tucked her in. Lorelei had understood where he had been coming from – "I understand, Zell. I'd rather die then watch any of my girls fight against something like you'll be going up against." – and had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he had walked out of Aries' office to go talk to Dee.

He was now outside his door, his hands still in his pockets. Shaking his head, he pulled his hand out and palmed the door open, walking through and closing the door behind him.

He felt drained, not from the fight, but from the emotional barrage his heart and mind had taken that day, and he pulled his white shirt off, feeling the burn of the scratch Dee had given his chest as he tossed it into the corner of the living room. The entire apartment was generally messy in a Dincht kinda way – Dee was never one for cleaning either, yet the two of them occasionally stopped the place from going to pieces – and as Zell walked through the living room he made a mental note to dispose of the half-eaten T-Burgers he had 'thought' up for him and Dee for breakfast.

Walking down the small hallway to the sleeping quarters, he stopped outside Dee's closed door, his hand hovering just over the palm-pad as he faltered one last time. What if she hates me now? What if she never wants to see me again? What if she wont even acknowledge my existence?

Only one way to find out. Siren's voice suddenly said in his head.

Zell nodded slowly, before opening the door and walking in silently, the room oppressingly dark, Zell realising that Dee had ordered the mechanical blinds closed.

"Hey hon…" Zell said into the darkness quietly, his voice soft. "…You okay?"

There was no sound as Dee lay on the bed, her body covered in the white sheets, her head turned away from the door.

Zell walked in a little further, the door closing behind him, plunging them into darkness. Thankfully a little light slid in from the cracks of the blinds, allowing Zell enough light to manage his way to the bed, where he sat down close to Dee. "I'll understand if you don't wanna talk to me…" Zell said quietly again. Gods, Ma makes this sound so easy…

Dee suddenly moved slightly, not rolling over to face him – but shifting her arms so that one hung out of the sheets, the hand free, to laze across her side. Zell smiled and reached out, grabbing it and giving it a gentle squeeze.

It opened the floodgates, Dee suddenly rolling over and throwing her hands around his neck, crying passionately into his shoulder as she spoke, hiccuping cutely as she did. "Oh Daddy, I thought (hic) you were gone! I thought you (hic) hated me!!"

"Come off it, hon, I could never hate you…"

Dee pulled back, looking inot his eyes within the darkness, the tears running down her cheeks making Zell bite his lip. "Then why wont you let me help you?" She asked meekly.

Zell sighed. "Because, hon…I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"But…I wont get hurt! I've been trained by you and Miss Lorelei! You'll need me when you fight…I know it…"

Zell looked into her eyes, seeing the want to please within the sadness within them. He still thought it was a bad idea. He still wanted her to remain behind. But Aries and Dee had made strong points. It was true, she had advanced tremendously in the month that he had trained her. And he wouldn't be able to shift between universes without her knowledge. He had no choice, his hands were tied, and although a part of his desperately wanted her to remain behind, safe with the Immortals – another part of him wanted to see her in action, the little voice inside his head whispering about the hidden manoeuvres still locked within her mind. If she comes with you, you'll have a better chance to teach these manoeuvres to her – and then she'll become unstoppable. And you know that, don't you Zell.

"Okay, okay…I'll let you come with me." Zell said with a small smile.

*          *          *

Hey there peeps!! It's been a while since I did a chapter this big, so I thought I'd better bet cracking.

As I wrote this and brought more and more of Dee's character into the light, it became apparent that she seemed a little…emotional. And that is true, she is overly emotional – but so is Zell. The two warriors, Father and Daughter, are fuelled by their emotions. It is, to quote the Matrix, 'The simultaneous source of your greatest power and your greatest weakness.' So, all you feminists out there, take heed (you too Aries) – I'm not lumping her in with some scared-of-a-mouse girly character – it's just that she has trouble with her emotions that other people have ease dealing with.

I also hope you enjoyed the little bits of comic relief smattered around all the serious stuff – although I didn't plan it to become so serious and dark, I believed that the funny bits would help even things out a little.

Okies, Semper Fi peeps – gotta get working on the next chapter now!!

Keep reading and reviewing, and don't forget to tell yer friends!!