Visions Of The Darkness
Chapter 8, The Turning Of Events
'This is creepy…..only rubble is left, oh wait….is that what I think it is…..'
Irvine walked over to his groups old table where he found a thing that made his choke on pure raw emotion Zell's gloves, still marked with a Zell's name written in bombing in blue, red and yellow over the right hand. Malacia seeing Irvine's grief walked over and placed a small delicate hand on his shoulder causing him to turn and give her a look of thanks as the turned back to examine the gloves again.
'Zell never could eat hotdogs well with his gloves on…..I never thought that another one of the gang could of died here…..but maybe we can change this….Ellone taught me you can't control the future or the past to do your bidding but just because she couldn't change the past and the future doesn't mean we can't by doing it differently. Zell I won't let this happen, I promise.'
The rain fell slightly heaver now over the Garden as if it was coming alive….as if it was crying over the death of the students, instructors, Garden staff, the headmaster, the commander and most of all the eventual death of the Garden it self. Not being able to stand around there because of his find, Irvine walked out of the Cafeteria. Lacia after crying a single tear for the departed Zell, dismissed her emotions and finished the search finding nothing else of use in the Cafeteria. After meeting up again outside, they silently walked the desolate hall to the Dorms.
Back with Syke and Quistis as they are checking out the Training Centre
Quistis followed the left hand track to the Secret Area which she searched only finding two packets of photos and a pendant of strange plain smooth metal in a box shape, there appeared to be writing engraved on it but when she went for a closer inspection she found nothing.
'Hmmm I wonder what this is….I'll take it …..You never know what it could be….I'll give it to Irvine….he might like it for a keychain on his Exeter.'
Confused, Q went to find Syke over in the right hand track. About halfway down the right hand track Q bumped into Syke who was heading from that direction causing them both to nearly get a heart attack. After recovering themselves the two walked over past the debris to the parking lot.
Back with Irvine and Malacia, searching through Squall's old room."
"I don't think I can handle this….It's like seeing a memorial to him…I don't want to…to….to think of him like that. He doesn't deserve to spoken about in past terms. He still lives on, his memory does, his spirit and his legend, I won't let people for get that." Malacia said as she bravely stepped into her father's room. Irvine looked solemn as he walked through the broken down door. Lacia just looked at the room for a couple of minutes before getting to work and searching the place. She paused looking at a couple of ornaments on his bedside table. There was a broken statue of Griever, a work diary and three photo frames. In the first one was a was a picture of a young girl with raven black hair dressed in blue standing in a field of flowers, in the second was a picture of Squall and the girl who was Rinoa at their wedding day, the third was of a small baby girl with violet eyes and in the last there was a picture of Squall standing in the old orphanage house near a door Lacia had never noticed before.
"Irvy, do you remember this door from the orphanage house?" said a rather confused Malacia. Malacia then hands Irvine the photo and studies him. "Nah actually, I can't remember this door at all….hmmmm is it just me or doesn't this picture look right?" said an intrigued Irvine. "I totally agree with that…I think we just found our next clue huh. "Well we'd best finish up here quickly if we want to have enough time to look at the orphanage house as well," said Lacia as she took the photos and the work diary. After they had one last look in the room, the two set off for the Parking Lot where they met up with Syke and Quistis.
The four sat down on large pieces of rubble as they discussed what they had found. "Well we found medical files for Squall, Seifer, Rinoa, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie and Zell. Also we found Squall's work diary and 4 photos," said a rather solemn Malacia. "We also found Zell's body dead in the Cafeteria," whispered a rather shaken Irvine. Quistis bowed her head in memorial of Zell while Syke and Lacia exchanged worried glances. "Either way Q got mini disc copies of the whole Balamb Garden Network, the library back up laptop, various year book pictures and various articles, 2 packets unopened photos and a strange pendant made of metal in the shape of a small box," said Syke changing the subject. "By the way everyone I have come up with a plan. We still have a day left so this is what we will do, Irvine and I have discovered a photo of the old orphanage and it doesn't make sense so Syke, Irvine and I are going to check it out. Meanwhile Quistis you will stay behind and analyse all the things we have found for anything useful. Oh and Q you better have a look at that picture too," said Lacia handing Quistis the photo of the unknown door. "Well I must say I don't remember it being there and well the lock on the door looks very similar to the pendant Syke and I found today, see have a look," said Q while the group huddled round her comparing the two items. "Oh Great Hyne! They look almost identical, that must mean that ….it's the key to the door!" said a rather surprised Irvine. "Well it's settled then, we are going to look at the orphanage door tomorrow and will be back by tomorrow night to discuss things because we all know that the day after that I have to meet Melotia. Agreed?" said Malacia. "Agreed" said the rest. "Well then since it's only the afternoon now, Quistis and I will take our findings back to our rooms at the hotel while you guys make the traps for the day after tomorrow alright?" Lacia asked. "Fine then, we'll meet you back at the hotel at sunset" said Syke. Malacia and Quistis nodded than collected all the things they found and headed back through the rubble to the hotel while the guys started sorting out where they were going to stage the traps.
On the way to the hotel the girls were chatting about what the next couple of days will hold when Quistis remember a rather important thing. "Malacia…we haven't checked out the whole Garden. We have only checked out the first floor. Cid's office, the second flour and the basement still are unchecked," said a rather unusually flustered Quistis. "Well then we'd better hope for the best that that isn't where my sister is taking me because we just don't have the time to check it. Hopefully the guys remember to trap it and well if they find anything they will show us tonight," spoke a rather hopeful Malacia. Quistis nodded as the entered the hotel.
Luckily, Irvine and Syke had remembered to check and trap the higher levels, well the second floor classrooms anyway for both the lower levels and Cid's office were locked off in the lift to them. After an hour, they had placed all the traps they thought necessary from a coded magic jammer over the whole garden to a special hidden monster in the Training Centre. After they fitted the last bomb to Parking Lot, Irvine and Syke made their ways to the hotel just a the sun was setting in to the surrounding darkness creating a small gold and violet hue on the slightly lighter clouds at the bottom of the seeming less never ending sky.