Hello! I'm going to start typing now. Only 4.5 days left of school for me! Whoo-hoo! I'm so excited!
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything associated with Square or Final Fantasy. Do you have any idea how boring this gets saying it over and over and over and over and over and over and…
Chapter Thirty
To Dream or Not To Dream
Selphie couldn't eat. First of all, she wasn't hungry and second, she had this sick feeling in the lower part of her stomach. Something didn't feel right to her. She had this bad feeling that the others were in trouble, big trouble.
"Hey, Selphie. What's up?" Irvine asked, sitting next to her at the table with a massive mound of spaghetti. They were currently in Laguna's humongous kitchen. He had such a nice area to eat all by himself, and he insisted that they eat there instead of the other alternatives in the palace. Selphie shook her head as Zell joined them as well, sitting opposite of her with a plate full of, what else, hotdogs.
"Think you got enough there, Zell?" Irvine asked. Zell shrugged and started stuffing his face, much to the disgust of Selphie. Apparently, Zell's table manners weren't that hot. She pushed her own unfinished plate away and turned to Irvine.
"Do you think it's odd that the others haven't reported back yet? Don't you think that Squall would keep us informed on their progress?" She asked. Irvine thought about this. Normally, that's something Squall would do, but then there's Laguna in the picture.
"Why? Do you think that something's wrong? It's possible, but maybe they're just staying undercover or haven't come across anything yet. Don't worry about them," Irvine tried to find a way to make her less worried. Selphie smiled at his attempt but couldn't shake that horrible sensation. What if something really was wrong? Zell swallowed his mouthful of hotdogs and also tried to help.
"Selphie, think of it this way: If something were to happen, then just be thankful they have a sorceress, a Commander, and an Instructor!" He laughed, but Selphie tilted her head, and Irvine had a look of confusion on his face.
"Zell, that made no sense at all. Would you mind speaking in a language that we can all understand?" Irvine asked, putting Zell down again. He shot the cowboy with one of his "looks" that really didn't have any back to them.
"Just be happy they have two SeeDs and a Witch!" He exclaimed loudly. Selphie shushed him while Irvine kicked him.
"Ouch! Hey! What was that for?" He rubbed his sore knee.
"Keep your voice down! You know how these people feel about sorceresses!" Selphie warned him, looking around to see if anyone heard. She didn't see anyone. "And Rinny is NOT a witch!" She hissed back at Zell, tempted to knock the living crud out of him.
"Okay! Okay! Sorry. But do you get my point?" He whimpered in pain. A large knot was now forming on his poor knee. Selphie rolled her eyes, and Irvine nodded just to shut him up about it.
"I was just trying to think of something good. Gosh." Zell muttered. Selphie attempted a small smile in his direction, but Irvine scoffed.
"Believe me, you failed," he said coldly. He dug back into his spaghetti, making more of a mess than Zell, and that is saying something. Zell burst out laughing as sauce dripped down Irvine's chin. Selphie stood and left the grand dining room. Maybe Laguna would be able to help or even Ellone! Ellone would definitely understand better, and Selphie made her way down to Ellone's room in the lower section of the palace.
I hope she's here, Selphie thought as she approached the door. Ellone's room was in an area where most of the rooms were unused. Ellone liked it that way. She liked a place where it was quiet. Right before she could even get the chance to knock, the door swung open.
"Selphie!" Ellone exclaimed, hugging the surprised brunette. Selphie hugged her back as they both laughed. "I was just thinking about you!" She led her inside. Ellone had been thinking about what had happened to her the previous night. She had come to the conclusion that there was something most certainly not right. "So, what can I help you with? Or have you just come to hang out?" Ellone asked, sitting down on her bed and offering Selphie a seat.
"Well, a little bit of both," she replied, slowly taking a seat. "But first, I have something that I would like to talk about. You see, I have this bad feeling that Quistis, Squall, and Rinny are in trouble and that something has happened to them. I don't know. Maybe I'm just paranoid."
Ellone nodded. At least she wasn't the only one.
"Selphie, I know exactly how you feel. Last night, I woke up in a cold sweat. I had a dream that Ultimecia had captured Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis. But right before I woke, someone was opening the door to where they were." Ellone told Selphie about her scary night. Well, everything but the occurrence at the window. No, she would never tell anyone about that.
"Really?" Selphie's eyes bulged. "Do you know where they are? Did you see?"
"Selphie, it was a dream. I don't think they're really in that position. I believe I'm just worried. Sometimes when I'm nervous or worried, I get strange dreams about my friends or family in trouble. But it did seem so real," Ellone bit her lower lip.
"Elle, are you sure you didn't send your consciousness back into the past and see where they were?" Selphie asked.
"Selphie! It was a dream! At least… I think." Ellone was starting to have doubts about whether it really was a dream. Selphie jumped off the bed and pulled Ellone with her.
"C'mon Elle! Let's go find Laguna! Maybe he knows something! Maybe Squall has been reporting to him!" She ran out the door, dragging Ellone helplessly behind her. They ran all the way up to Laguna's Quarters several floors above, and when they arrived, they were both very much out of breath.
"Laguna! Laguna! Laguna!" Selphie shrieked, running into the President's Quarters. Lucky for her, he was in there by himself. Otherwise, that might have been uncomfortable. He was sitting at his desk, staring out the window, overlooking the great city.
"What can I help you with?" His voice sounded tired, and he could barely keep his eyes open. It was early evening, but still, he had never really been this exhausted before.
"Sir Laguna. Do you know anything about Squall, Quistis, and Rinny?" Selphie asked. Laguna suddenly felt more alert.
"No, have you? Have you heard anything?" Laguna now sounded anxious. Selphie shook her head.
"That's why I was asking you," she shrugged.
"I told him to report to me if he came across anything. Surely they would have come across something by now. It's been three days! I think Squall is trying to worry me to death." Laguna sighed. Ellone walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sure he's not trying to do anything like that," she tried to brighten him up a bit.
"Elle, tell him about your dream. Maybe he can make something out of it," Selphie exclaimed, and this suggestion caused Ellone to sigh.
"Selphie, I told you. It doesn't mean anything." Ellone's face was starting to turn red. Laguna looked from Selphie to Ellone, a little lost.
"What dream? Did you have a dream about Squall?" Ellone nodded. "Well, let's hear it! Maybe it can help tell us where they are!" Laguna was all excited now, but Ellone just rolled her eyes. Will they ever get the message?
"It's just a dream! It doesn't mean anything!" She was starting to become annoyed.
Laguna's forehead creased slightly as he fought off a frown. He took Ellone's hand in his. "Elle, I don't care if this dream of yours means nothing at all, but if it has any truth to it or information that we can get out of it, I'd like to know." He paused and looked out at the city again. The sun produced a peaceful glow over it. "I finally know what's like to be a parent. I'm terribly worried about… my son." His voice trailed off like he was going to cry.
"Okay." Ellone said softly and tried to smile. "Uncle Laguna, last night I had a horrible dream about Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa. They were captured by Ultimecia and put in the cold, dark, damp place. There was no way out and they were starting to get on each other's nerves. Actually, it was just Squall and Quistis who were fighting and Rinoa got into it, and they were all yelling at each other when someone opened the door and spoke." She stopped. Laguna studied her face. Selphie was squirming with excitement, and Ellone suddenly felt very uncomfortable. There was more, but she wasn't sure if she should tell them or not. Well, she had come this far. Taking a gulp and a deep breath, she continued. "One more thing. The person," she paused again, hesitating, "was Seifer."
Laguna stared at Ellone in disbelief. What was Seifer doing? What was he up to? Was she kidding?
"Elle, are you absolutely positive you saw Seifer?" he asked. Maybe somehow she had seen someone that looked like Seifer. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't be!
"I'm positive, but remember it was just a dream." She was still denying that it might not have been. There was just no way it could have been real. Right?
"Elle, it couldn't have been a dream! It just couldn't have! If it was, I wouldn't have the same feeling!" Selphie exclaimed as Laguna nodded.
"I agree with Selphie. There's no way it was a dream. Selphie has experience in this level of crazy supernatural things that make no sense." Laguna actually chuckled. Selphie tilted her head.
"Sir Laguna, I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or hit you." She turned to Ellone. "Elle, do you remember where they were? Like, could you describe what they were in? Did it look familiar?"
Ellone sighed. They just don't get it! It was not real! she thought irritably.
"You two are hopeless! How many times must I tell you before you understand that it was only a dream? No more, no less!" she yelled. Laguna gripped her hand tighter.
"Elle, just think of it from my point of view. Imagine that you have a son or a daughter in the military that is on a mission. You haven't heard from them and neither has anyone else. You don't know anything, and the only information you might have of where they are comes from an extremely realistic dream. Now how would you feel?" He moved his hands to his face to hide his tears. Ellone suddenly felt awful. He wanted to know as much as he could from this dream because he was worried about Squall.
Selphie tenderly placed a hand on Laguna's arm. He quickly wiped away his tears and turned back around. His eyes were pink.
"Uncle Laguna, I'm sorry. I forgot about…" She cut herself off as she was at an abrupt loss for words and looked away. Laguna smiled weakly.
"Elle, can you please try to think about where they were?" Selphie begged.
"Selphie…" Laguna frowned.
"No, it's okay, Uncle Laguna. I'll try." She smiled even though she thought this was useless.
"Thank you," Laguna whispered softly.
Ellone nodded and walked to the center of the room. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she had seen in her dream. Suddenly, she felt her mind being thrown forward and immediately knew that she was back in that cold room. It was chilling but she could see things more clearly this time. The floor and walls were stone and that single torch was there in the corner like before. There was the thick wooden door that looked too tough to break down, yet the only escape. Now she looked around but couldn't see Squall, Quistis, or Rinoa anywhere. Did that mean that they had escaped somehow?
Ellone opened her eyes in terror. Laguna had knelt down beside her, looking into her face. She was lying on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Selphie was shocked. One second, Ellone was on her feet, the next she was on the ground. She seemed to have fallen in slow motion, too. It was scary.
Ellone nodded and tried to sit up. All her energy had been drained in that small instant, and she felt weak.
"Are you sure you're all right? Do you need a doctor or anything?" Laguna gently helped the weakened girl to her feet. She put all her weight on Laguna as he helped her. She shook her head and flopped down into a chair in front of Laguna's desk.
"I saw it. The place. It was a dungeon," Ellone said. The room had suddenly become dizzy to her.
"A dungeon? Are you saying that they may be locked up?" Laguna asked, all of a sudden turning deathly pale. Ellone shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but most likely. That's what it looked like," she replied. Selphie gasped.
"What do we do?" she cried.
"Well, we're not entirely sure if that's where they are. Remember, Ellone had seen this in a dream…" Laguna's voice trailed off and Ellone nodded.
Suddenly the door swung open and there stood Irvine and Zell, breathing just as hard as Selphie and Ellone had when they had come.
"Laguna! Someone's just spotted the Ragnarok at the Sorceress' Memorial," Irvine said between gasps for air.
"Yeah, but the thing is, the memorial's trashed and there are signs of struggle. We have reason to believe that someone attacked them," Zell added. He stood, bended over with exhaustion. Laguna dropped down into his chair, and Selphie and Ellone both moaned.
"It wasn't a dream!" Ellone groaned, breaking down into tears. Selphie nodded sadly. Laguna's shoulders were shaking and his hands covered his face again.
"Laguna, what do we do? If Ultimecia has captured the others, shouldn't we go help them?" Zell exclaimed, noticing how upset everyone had gotten.
Laguna looked up. His face was dry like he hadn't even cried. "There's nothing really we can do. We don't know where Ultimecia has taken them. Plus, we have reason to believe that they may be headed this way very soon." Laguna attempted a smile at Ellone but it came out more as a demented grin.
Can we really trust Seifer? After what he did in the past, can we trust him? Ellone thought, wiping tears away.
"What do you mean? Has Squall or Quistis reported to you?" Zell asked, a bit on the confused side. Laguna sadly shook his head.
"No, but Elle had a dream about Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa," he replied, but he didn't include the part about Seifer. He didn't want anyone to go crazy.
"A dream? Like where they are?" Irvine question, and Ellone nodded. "Where are they? Did you see? Hey! We can go get them!" He rushed those last words all together. Shyly, Ellone nodded. "Well, where are they? Is it somewhere we know? Did you recognize it?" He seemed excited, but Laguna frowned slightly as did Selphie.
Sighing, Ellone answered him. "Yes, I saw it. It was a dungeon, but I don't know where. It was nothing I recognized," she replied a bit like Squall when he was tired of repeating things over and over. Irvine nodded, a little embarrassed, not to mention disappointed.
"Don't be so down. Like Laguna said, they should be headed this way soon," Selphie tried her best to cheer up the cowboy. It didn't work too well.
"How do you know that they'll be heading this way?" Zell inquired.
"No, Zell! We think they may be headed this way. We're not entirely sure," Selphie corrected him.
"But how?" He asked again with a little less patience this time.
"From Sis's dream, you dimwit!" Irvine exclaimed, causing the blond man to jump.
Zell rounded on Irvine, glaring at him. "I'm not a dimwit!" he growled.
"Well, stop acting like one!" Irvine retorted. Zell clenched his fists, shaking madly.
"Guys! Guys! Stop! Don't you start that again!" Selphie screamed. Zell pointed to Irvine.
"He started it! He always does!" he yelled.
"Well, if you would stop acting like such an idiot and start listening once in a while, maybe I wouldn't. You know, listening to the conversation might help instead of asking such stupid questions!" Irvine yelled back.
"I do listen! It's just that I get confused!" Zell muttered defensively. Irvine snorted.
"Zell, you were born confused. I thought kids grew out of that stage, but no, you just had to remain a child! Because that's all you are! Zell, you're hopeless!" Irvine shook his head and turned away from the martial artist.
"I'm not always confused, and I'm not always hopeless. It's just sometimes, that's all," Zell mumbled, pouting.
A/N: Well, here's this one. The next ten or so chapters will be updated almost regularly because I'm back to my original storyline and I have all that written down. Thanx for reviewing. I really don't have that much to say. Later Days.
E/N: Jer-ry! Jer-ry! -ahem-