Three cheers for me, I just beat Omega Weapon for the first time. Yay me!
On another note, the trivia question has been answered! Kudos to jasmine32 for getting it right. You cross Laguna Beach, California with the Loire River in France and what do you get? Laguna Loire of course.
Speaking of Laguna, a thought crossed my head. It's gonna be a while before we see him again, and in the words of WWE Smackdown! Superstar, Carlito Caribbean Cool; Das not cool! So I pondered it, and I have a surprise for you. However, you're gonna have to wait a while.
Griever Weapon: Yep, Laguna sure does love Raine and Ellone.
JadeAlmasy: Gots to love positive reinforcement.
jasmine32: So, do you have a particular story you want me to check out?QueenAdreena: I know that feeling. BTW, why did you need to answer the question? T.C.A.N. has my support already anyway.
Now, for those that didn't get the question right, fear not! I got something for you to figure out. Here are the rules.
1: Yes or No questions only.
2: One question per review.
The best advice I can give you is to narrow it down. Try the continents first, then the country, and so on.
Q. Where do I live?Now that that's out of the way, start reading!
CHAPTER 21: BEHIND BARS
The young man sat from his nap and saw three others staring at him, wondering where he was as he sat up. He could hear three people, obviously female, speaking.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you like that back in Deling City, Rinoa." He heard, it was Quistis speaking.
"It's Ok, You had a job to do." Rinoa replied.
"Hey, look who's up?" Said the third: Selphie. Rinoa and Quistis turned their eyes in the young mans direction.
"Welcome back, Zell." Quistis said. "The dream world again?"
"Uh-huh." Zell replied.
"How's Laguna doin?" Selphie asked.
"Dunno, I didn't see him." Zell said. "It's not like I know everything about Ward, but, Well, You know Laguna and company went to that Centra place and get into a real fix, right?"
Quistis and Selphie nodded.
"Since then, Ward's been all alone." Zell said. "He's working in some sort of prison-like place, and he's bored out of his mind. All he wants is to be fightin' along side Laguna."
"So what is this we're experiencing?" Quistis asked.
"How the hell should I know?" Zell replied.
"Didn't you say Ward was working in some sort of prison?" Rinoa asked.
"Yeah, so?" Zell said.
"And isn't he from Galbadia?" Rinoa asked again.
"Sure, he's a soldier there." Zell replied.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be Ward in that dream world?"
"Just now I was."
"Does this room look familiar?" Rinoa asked.
"Of all the stupid questions," Zell thought as he looked around. Then he realized that this room DID look familiar.
"I know this place!" Zell said, "This is the prison where Ward works! There's so many rooms just like this, this has gotta be it!
"It's no surprise we're in Jail," Quistis said. "We DID attack the sorceress."
"We went up against the president," Rinoa said, "We'll all be sentenced to death."
"That president is no longer in charge." Quistis said. "Sorceress Edea is now the ruler of Galbadia."
"What's going to happen to us?" Selphie asked.
"Where's that guy, Irvine?" Zell thought. "And where's Squall, did the sorceress...?"
"Where am I?" Squall thought to himself as he woke up from his trip to Laguna's mind, with millions of other thoughts running through his head.
"I...challenged Edea." Squall thought, suddenly remembering the spear of ice that Edea threw into his shoulder. Squall quickly looked down and saw that the ice spear was gone without a trace. No blood, no scab, not even so much as a scar, as if it never even happened.
"No wound...how?" He thought. "The Galbadian soldiers...we were surrounded. He was there...Seifer...leering down at me."
"Damn you, Seifer!" Squall said aloud. He stood up, but couldn't keep his balance as he felt his cell moving! He could feel the cell being pulled out of the wall, turned 180 degrees, and start going up, like an elevator. Little did he realize that his comrades, locked up somewhere else, heard the cell being lifted.
"What was that noise?" Selphie asked. Her question was answered as three guards entered their cell.
"It's the sound of your friend being tortured!" The lead guard said in a tone that could only be described as mean.
"Whaddya mean!" Zell said as he stood up defiantly to approach the guard. Within seconds, the other two cocked their rifles and pointed them at Zell, which made him stop in his tracks.
"Shut up!" The guard said, "You understand who's in charge here?" He raised his nightstick up to Zell's face, and spoke up again when the SeeD remained silent.
"I'm asking you a question!" Still, Zell didn't say a word, which gave the guard, in his eyes, the authority to strike Zell with the stick, taking him down to one knee. Zell struggled to get up, but one of the other guards came in closer with his rifle. Without warning, the two of them started kicking Zell, repeatedly and violently, to the point where Zell was coughing, and drooling like an idiot.
"Stop it!" Rinoa pleaded.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" The guard said. He reached down and grabbed Zell by the hair. "Hey man, is there a Rinoa with you?"
"I'm Rinoa." She said.
"Oh, all right. Come over here." The guard said.
"Whaddya doin' to Rinoa, you bastard?" Zell said, causing the guard to kick him again.
"Stop it already!" Quistis said, trying hard, but failing, to keep the sternness out of her voice.
"Stop, I'll go." Rinoa said.
"Rinoa, will you be OK?" Quistis asked.
"You forget who my father is," Rinoa said, "I'll be fine. Let's go."
Squall couldn't keep his footing as his Cell came to a stop. He heard the doors hiss open and found himself staring at a pair of feet.
"Squall, you're pitiful!" The man said. Squall could feel this person grab him by the hair and lift him to his feet.
"I figured it'd be you." Squall said as he stared into the face of Seifer. It was then that Squall realized that he didn't have his Gunblade with him, while Seifer held his like a proud warrior. Seifer flung Squall into the wall without a second thought.
"Take him away!" Seifer commanded as a pair of Moomba's ran in. Moomba's stood no more than 3 feet tall, and had orange fiery hair. The Moombas picked Squall up and took him into the next room, where Seifer tied him to a metal wall with chains.
"I'm sure you can imagine what happens now." Seifer said.
"What do you want?" Squall asked.
"Tell me what SeeD is." Seifer said. "Edea demands to know."
"Don't you already know?" Squall asked.
"I'm not a SeeD." Seifer reminded him. "There must be some kind of secret you're given when you become a SeeD."
"There's nothing." Squall said. "And even if there was, you really think I'd tell you?"
"You're on my tough-nut-to-crack list." Seifer said. "I didn't expect you to talk so easily."
"Gee, I'm honored." Squall said sarcastically.
"So here's a little somethin' for ya." Seifer said. He snapped his fingers to the guard, who flipped a switch. Immediately, hundreds of volts of electricity shot through Squall's body, he couldn't believe the pain! Before long, the guard shut it off, allowing Squall to catch his breath.
"Even if you don't talk, others will." Seifer said. "The Instructor, the little messenger girl, that cowboy who followed you, or that chicken-wuss. He wouldn't last three seconds!" Squall knew who he was talking about. Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Zell, respectively. What he couldn't figure out is why there was no mention of Rinoa.
"They're...all here?" Squall asked.
"Oh, you bet." Seifer said. "But since I like you so much, I thought you should go first. I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So, how'd I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream fulfilled. I have become the Sorceress' Knight!"
"Knight? You just a torturer." Squall said before passing out, there was just too much pain.
"Passed out cold, eh?" Seifer said as he raised Squall's face. "This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me. The evil mercenary vs. the sorceress' knight. Don't disappoint me now."
"Cure!" Selphie shouted as she directed a cure spell at Zell's bruise. However, the spell wasn't working.
"It's no use. They must have an anti magic field here." Quistis said. The doors hissed open, revealing a Moomba bringing in a plate of food to the SeeDs. However, the small creature tripped, knocking the plate and the food to the ground.
"What was that noise?" The mean guard said as he entered the cell, spotting the clumsy moomba trying to get back to his feet.
"You again!" He said, as he gave an almighty kick to the moomba. That was all Zell could take.
"Yo, who the hell do you think you are?" Zell shouted as he stood up.
"Yeah, you big meanie! Stop that!" Selphie added. The guard went to strike Zell with his nightstick, though he was ready for it, as he caught the guard's wrist in midair. The Guard tried to fee himself, but with Zell being so muscular and having 7 GF's junctioned, the guard just couldn't get free. Zell grabbed the nightstick, and snapped it in two over his knee as he continued to stare down the guard.
"Y-You'll be sorry!" The guard said as he left.
"You OK?" Selphie asked to the moomba. "Doesn't work so well, but...cure!" Selphie tried another cure spell on the moomba, but to no avail.
"Well now Squall, I'll ask you again." Seifer said. "What is SeeD and why do they oppose the sorceress?" Squall couldn't give an answer as another guard entered the room.
"Sir Seifer," He said, giving a salute. With Deling gone, the Sorceress in charge of all of Galbadia, and Seifer as her knight, that made Seifer second-in-command. "The missiles targeted for Garden are ready for launch."
"Excellent!" Seifer said through his smiling teeth. Squall brought his head up that the sound of this.
"Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the Sorceress!" Seifer said.
"What!" Squall practically screamed.
"It's a shame, really." Seifer said. "I grew up there. But, orders are orders, and Edea wants it destroyed."
"No." Squall breathed.
"After the Garden's gone, the SeeD hunt will begin." Seifer said. "I'll be Edea's bloodhound and hunt down every one of your kind. It'll be fun, Squall, Don't die on me yet." Seifer looked at the other guard in the room.
"Continue with the interrogation!" Seifer told him as he took his leave.
"Ready to talk?" The guard asked to Squall.
"I...don't understand...the question." Squall said.
"Don't mess with me!" The guard shouted. "Edea says you know something, now spit it out!" Squall remained silent. "Talk, what is SeeD all about!" The guard flipped the switch, sending the electricity through Squalls body again. After about 10 seconds, the guard shut it off again. As he tried to catch his breath, Squall let out a groan as he coughed up a bit of blood.
"What did you say?" The guard asked as he looked into Squall's eyes.
"I said..." Squall began.
"What?" The guard asked.
"I said...that your breath stinks!" Squall said with a look of anger on his face.
"Punk! You asked for it!" The guard said as he flipped the switch again, and left it on for a long time.
"How do you like me now!" The guard screamed as Squall passed out again.
"We can't just sit here," Quistis said. "We need to find a way to escape."
"Anyone got a plan?" Zell asked.
"Well..." Selphie began as she stared down the moomba that was still in the cell, "We could skin this little guy and wear him as a disguise." This caused the moomba to get up and run to the far corner of the cell. "I'm just kidding!" Selphie said.
"Well, we can't rely on magic here, so we'll have to go with weapons." Quistis said. "We have to somehow get them back." Zell looked down at his hands, and noticed that his fighting gloves had not been taken with the others weapons. Zell was a martial arts master, and all he needed was a way to get out of the cell.
"I'll get the weapons back!" Zell said as he began to think.
"Yeah!" Selphie said, "You worked here as Ward, so you know the place."
"Not really," Zell thought, "All Ward did was mop the floors." Zell stopped thinking and began to speak up. "I have a plan, you two lie on your stomachs." Zell said. Selphie and Quistis did so as Zell approached the door.
"Guard! Guard!" Zell began yelling in a very serious tone. "We need some help in here! Open the door!"
"What's the problem?" The guard asked.
"The women are unconscious!" Zell yelled, "I think a snake bit' em!" The guard opened the door and walked in headed towards the two ladies, with Zell following behind him.
"They look fi..." The guard couldn't finish his sentence, as Zell punched his lights out the second he turned around, swiping his keys in the process.
"Well, I'm off!" Zell declared as he and the Moomba left the cell.
