Chapter 10

"Quistis is WHAT!" Squall stood up from his seat slamming his hands on the desk. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He stared down at Zell and Selphie sitting opposite of him, shaken, searching their faces.

"K-kidnapped, Squall…" stammered Selphie.

"Seifer took her, we saw him!" Zell explained.

"Are you sure it was Seifer you saw?" Squall fixed his attention to Zell.

Zell nodded confidently, "He's pretty hard to miss, Squall, it definitely was him! And his outfit and demeanor fit the old man's description and what I could recall of him perfectly! It definitely was him!"

Squall let out a sigh. This is too much for him to handle alone. Before, at least, he could rely on Quistis' help, but now that she's gone, everything is crushing down right in front of his face. The Estharian soldiers, who are still recovering from the attacks of the Lunar Cry, are hardly strong enough to defend themselves and their people, and now that they're being constantly attacked in the middle of the night by unknown attackers, it is even more difficult for them to send out forces to help other towns and cities. Last night, Squall had received a phone call from Laguna informing him of the fact that his fleets had been attacked by unrecognizable water vehicles while sailing to Timber. Galbadia Garden now also refuse to leave Deiling city as the city is in threat of being attacked, being the only city beside Balamb that hasn't been attacked. Cid had also decided against mobilizing the Garden away form Balamb, and the only mean of transport available to SEEDs missionaries are the water vehicles and the Ragnarok, which is currently being used to transfer seriously injured people from small towns and cities into Deiling. And as of current, the SEEDs appear to only ones available to the people around the world, as the Estharian soldiers' only mean of transport is their ships, which kept being attacked all the time, and their Ragnaroks are being used to guard their own people and facilities. The GEF (Galbadian Elite Forces) are also only able to supply 300 men outside of their own perimeter, as they do not want to risk having Deiling under attack unprepared for.

"Squall, we're going after Quisty!" Selphie stated firmly, looking up to her commander and friend.

Squall sighed and shook his head slowly. "I can't go, Selphie, I have other stuff to take care of, and now with Quistis gone, I also have to take over her affairs too."

"But you can't just leave her with Seifer! He'll kill her!" Selphie countered.

"Yeah, Squall! We HAVE to get Quistis back!" Zell added.

"I KNOW! Do you think I'd leave her out their on her own?" Squall shouted, slightly frustrated and disappointed in them to think that he'd not help his friend. And Quistis was more than a friend to him, they of all people should know, she's his advisor, his second-in-command, his teacher, and most of all, his sister. "Listen, Zell, Selphie, since Irvine and Rinoa are off to Deiling at the moment, and I myself have business to attend to, it is left to only you two to bring Quistis back."

"Yeah! Leave it to us!" Zell and Selphie jumped excitedly.

"As soon as I've got everything under control, I'll be on the case myself, too." Squall explained. "Now listen carefully, I will now tell you what we have available to you at the time, first of all, Selphie, I am sorry to disappoint you but the Ragnarok is unavailable. Garden itself cannot leave Balamb, so we couldn't drop you off. Now, you said that Seifer and his companions left on a water vehicle, is that right?" Zell and Selphie nodded affirmatively. "We've practically searched through all of the coast in the mainland with all our mobilization, so I doubt that the enemies are based on the mainland, which means that…"

"What we're looking for is an Island, is that right?" Selphie chimed in.

"That's right." Squall confirmed. "But to be searching for an unknown Island, using a water vehicle would be too slow and inefficient, and besides, we don't have enough water vehicles to lend out to you for a private mission such as this one." Selphie whined at this.

"Oh man," Zell complained.

"However, there is another type of vehicle we could lend to you, as this vehicle would only take a maximum of four people with it, and therefore, isn't of much use for us at the moment, since most of our transporting are of injured people, soldiers and supplies." Explained Squall.

"And that vehicle is?" Selphie asked excitedly.

"It's an aircraft, sort of." Came Squall's answer.

"What do you mean, sort of?" asked Zell, who was utterly confused.

"It's an aircraft that functions in the air and on the water surface as well as under the water." Squall, seeing that Zell and Selphie are still confused sighed, before giving it one last try, "It's an aircraft/boat/submarine."

Zell and Selphie was silent for a while before, "Wow."

"And how exactly are we going to drive that thing?" Zell asked.

"Leave it to me!" grinned Selphie.

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As Squall led Zell and Selphie to their craft, he couldn't help thinking about Quistis.

'He was POSSESSED!' she'd said, protecting him.

'He is an annoying pain in the ass! But no matter how much of a pain he is, he, just like SOMEBODY who is ALSO a pain in the ass at times, is not a blood-thirsty man!'

"Quistis, now do you realize how very wrong you are about him?" He thought quietly to himself, hoping that she'd hear him, wherever she is. Seifer. The name poisoned him like a snake. He remembered vividly what Seifer had done to Rinoa, what he had done to him and his friends, as well as many other people around the world. 'How could Quistis ever believed in you?'

"AND HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER AFTER ALL SHE'S DONE FOR YOU!" He didn't mean to shout out his thoughts, but he couldn't control his anger and hatred towards the man.

Zell reached out to touch his shoulder. "Squall, you alright, man?"

Squall, finally waken from his thoughts, realized that Zell and Selphie are looking at him worriedly. He nodded in response to Zell's question before continue walking without saying another word.

As they finally reached their destination, Zell and Selphie gasped at the sight before them. The craft, although small, was amazing. It was nothing like they've ever seen before.

"It is equipped with four short-ranged missiles as well as a machinegun. Now, that, however, is hardly enough to defend you if you are attacked by a large group, so be careful. Try to stay undercover as much as you can. And keep in contact at all time, your line will be directed to my office right away. I will join you as soon as I could sort everything out. Safe trip." After he finished briefing them off, he turned to leave.

"Don't worry, Squall, we all love her. We won't let anything happen to her. AND, what's more, I'm bringing her back before the Garden Festival!" Selphie called out. Squall nodded before continuing to head back to his office.

"Alright! Let's go!" Zell practically hopped onto his seat and buckled up as Selphie joined him. "Uhhh… how do we start this thing up?"

Selphie folded her arm, tapping her temple lightly. "Hmmm…" She looked around at the buttons. Red, Green Yellow, White, Blue. "Ahhh, whatever!" She said before jamming every single buttons she could find, with Zell screaming next to her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"How did you think I managed the Ragnarok?" Selphie winked before continuing to press the buttons. Suddenly, the engine roared into life as Selphie shouted, "Woo Hoo! Quisty! Here I come!" and Zell screamed.

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A/N: another chapter down! How did you like it? I know it's short -.-'they all are… I didn't know what to call the craft, seriously, no idea… so I just adopted calling it just – "the craft"… heheh… and some of you might be wondering where the hell is Rinoa and Irvine, well, I've decided not to include them in this fic, giving them major parts because I just want to use as much as I need… so that the characters being used could be viewed as individuals (or pairs) rather than just – "part of the group", I might include them near the ending, though, anyways… please review! It's an inspiration… seriously…