The Inspection
Kiros' appearance had changed much since they last encountered him in their dreams. From the tall, slim Galbadian officer who wore a rather strange bodysuit when they were off duty to the still tall Estharian official who now put on a beard and even stranger clothes, he surely had changed. He looked older, yet wiser—more rugged, yet a notch more dignified. When Laguna was chosen as Esthar's new leader, Kiros' became his right hand in handling the Silent Country, yet somehow, Kiros' believed that the President himself could not handle the responsibility of handling Esthar alone. Although a stroke of luck would catapult some really brilliant plan that bore much good fruit, Laguna's wild side could not keep Esthar's brilliance at bay. Thus, he needed someone who wouldn't make careless decisions—and that job immediately was given to Kiros.
"Kiros, where is my fa...Laguna?" Squall asked absent mindedly as he sat on one of the reclining chairs in the Ragnarok's passenger room.
Kiros bent over on his seat and clasped his hands together. "Laguna is in Esthar handling the Odine case. But let me ask you something Squall," he asked his friend's son.
"What?" Squall asked as he placed both his palms under his head in a relaxed position.
"May I know why you hate him so much?" Kiros inquired sensibly.
Squall narrowed his eyes, turned to the Galbadian, and answered, "Because he wasn't there for me." He stood up and marched towards the door. "He was there for everyone else—for Ellone, for Esthar, for you guys, for that Moomba in the Lunatic Pandora laboratory, but he wasn't there for me and my mother!" he screamed angrily. To Kiros' relief, all the doors in the Ragnarok were automatic sliding doors, as an angry Squall was at the moment looking for something to vent his anger on. Unable to wreak havoc on any solid, he just stormed out of the room.
Kiros followed after him and called out, "Squall! I...I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked you about that." The old man's legs were still as agile as they were during his youth, so he was able to follow Balamb's commander to the air room. "Squall...please forgive me for asking."
Squall was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. His hands were buried in his face, and silent tears slowly fell from his eyes. "Did he know?"
Kiros sat down beside Squall and asked, "Did he know what Squall?"
Squall refused to face him and asked through clenched teeth, "Did he know that I was alive? Did he know that he had a son?"
Kiros looked blankly at the wall and sighed. "He was...somehow hinted that Raine gave birth to a child. Ellone told him."
Squall mustered the courage to look at him with his tears still streaming down from his face. "So why didn't he come looking for me?"
Kiros looked down at the floor and silently told Squall, "Perhaps it would be better if you ask him yourself." Squall didn't say anything so Kiros continued, "But if you should know, he loves you dearly. He regretted leaving you, and now he desperately wants to spend time with you—so much more than fixing the Lunatic Pandora disaster in Esthar. Why, he told me the other day that he felt devastated about you not wanting to talk to him."
Squall abruptly turned to the aide and asked, "He what? If he feels so devastated about leaving me, tell him to ask Ellone to send him back to the past and change it!" He wiped his tears with the sleeve of his jacket and stood up. "If he was such a caring father, he should have begun looking for me ages ago!"
Kiros was at a loss for words and decided that it wouldn't do him good to mediate between their family problems. Squall immediately ran out of the room back to the cockpit and left Kiros in the air room.
"But Squall...he thought you had died when Raine was assassinated..." Kiros silently whispered as he watched the young man running towards the cockpit.
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"Squall?" Rinoa asked as a puffy-eyed Squall emerged from the cockpit elevator. "Honey, what's the matter?" She moved close to Squall and caressed the side of his face with her hand.
Squall kissed her hand and sat down on one of the benches in the cockpit. "Nothing...nothing you should worry about my love."
Rinoa sat down beside him and put her arms around him in a comforting embrace. "Squall, you know you can tell me anything. I don't want to see you like this. Please Squall, talk to me."
Squall faced Rinoa and answered, "I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just focus on the Esthar case, kay?"
Rinoa sighed, knowing very well that this had something to do with Laguna. "Okay Squall, but I'm all ears, so don't hesitate to talk to me about this." She kissed his eyes and bent over to rest her head on his lap, her body in a lying position. Squall played with her hair and caressed her cheek with his other hand.
"Rinoa."
"Yes Squall?"
"I love you."
Rinoa felt like melting as Squall brought his face close to hers and engaged his lips with hers in a deep, passionate kiss. And that made him forget everything about Laguna, about his past, about being unloved, about being abandoned. Right now, he was with the love of his life—the one who had helped him discover a reason to live and to continue living. With Rinoa by his side, Squall felt like he could conquer the world and live through the night to see another sunrise. That was most probably why he had decided to marry her, so that no one in this world—this person be a much better lover than he ever could be—could have her. And he had sworn to protect her, as a knight, as a future husband, and as her best friend. Tacit as he was, no words could express the love he felt for her. And a kiss, a smile, and an appreciative response, was probably enough to show that kind of special emotion.
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A little boy was running on Esthar's fiberglass highway, chasing his pet dog around as he caught it and hugged the little animal. Licking him back, the puppy cuddled into the boy's lap as the boy ruffled his fine fur. Behind him, his mother laughed as he continued playing with his precious pet. Suddenly, the three of them (the dog included) looked up as a silhouette of a dragon shadowed the brilliant blue of the fiberglass streets. It was the Ragnarok, Esthar's flagship whose design was patterned after the dragon of Centran legends. The aircraft had begun its descent over Esthar's Air Station, the dragon spaceship forming billowing clouds of white smoke as it made an impressive nose-dive on the sleek runway designed by Esthar's most dexterous engineers. Once the state-of-the-art machine had finally set foot upon the technological marvel of Esthar, a group of people descended from the entrance of the vehicle, a tall, dark man leading their way as they emerged from the Air Station's entrance.
"Once again, welcome to Esthar," Kiros said as he led the group towards a sleek, high tech limousine whose doors immediately opened when they approached it. "Unfortunately, this won't be a pleasure trip so please don't bring your wallets out."
Some of the people in the group laughed at what seemed to be a joke, while others just stared at their hyena companions what the fuss was about. "What happened to those transport thingies that take us around Esthar?" Selphie asked Kiros.
"Oh, they've been fixed, updated with our latest technology, and buffered up with new accessories. Today, however, we are traveling in style," Kiros told them as he led them to the limo.
One by one, they entered the spacious, luxurious vehicle, and when it was finally Squall's turn to enter, Kiros put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Squall, forgive me for that thing in the Ragnarok. I didn't know you were still adusting to the idea of having Laguna as your...erm relative."
Squall just chuckled and said, "No Kiros, I think I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Truce?" He offered the dark man a hand and Kiros gladly shook it.
"Truce. By the way Squall, I will give all of you the mission briefing once we're all in the car so please do step inside the vehicle," he told the young commander.
Squall nodded and went in, and Kiros went around the car and entered the vehicle in his usual spot beside the driver. He turned around to face the group and brought out a little palm pilot, courtesy of Esthar technologies please and thank you, and began giving them their orders.
"As you might already know, Esthar's own Dr. Odine was almost killed a few days earlier when an assassin attempted to burn down his lab. Fortunately, the good doctor is safe and under the care of Esthar's best doctors. His laboratory in the city, however, is in very bad shape. What I want you to do now is to enter the complex and find anything suspicious—something that might link the murders to this Black Eagle character we're looking for. Understood?" Kiros asked them.
They all nodded and Kiros continued, "Now, Esthar soldiers will surround the place to ensure your security. If you need anything at all, please contact me with this mobile phone. And who might I ask is the leader of this operation?" Kiros looked around while attempting to pass the phone to one of the teenagers when they all pointed to Squall. Squall's eyes widened like melons as he accepted the phone from Kiros.
"Me? Why not Ouragan?" he asked bewildered as he looked at the marvelous looking machine on his hand.
Ouragan bent over from the back seat and said, "Because Squall, Balamb Garden was chosen for this mission. Besides, I think you can handle this operation rather well. Don't worry, I'll watch your back."
Everyone laughed and Seifer began to tease Squall. "Aw, is poor wittle Squally afwaid that an evil imp will scwatch his back? Hah! Squall, I can't believe you're chickening now! Did Ultimecia really pound you to a pulp?"
Squall threw him one of his dirtiest look and said, "Watch your mouth Seifer or you'll be looking at a fishing pole and a bucketful of fish for the rest of your life." His face was absolutely red right now, and he suddenly stirred when he felt Rinoa touching his arms.
"Squall, you're so cute when you're mad. But please don't mind Seifer. I bet you he will also scream and run around even more if an imp gropes his leg," she said. Everyone roared in laughter and it was Seifer who turned maroon this time around.
"Hey! I'm supposed to be the bully here!" he reminded Rinoa.
"Yeah, and I'm the one with enough power to silence you Seifer," she winked at him.
Seifer turned pale and shook his hands, "Hey! Easy there! Alright I'm sorry!" He leaned over his seat and muttered, "Hummph! Just because she has some powers doesn't mean she can go around silencing people like that. At least Ultimecia didn't shut me up."
Rinoa narrowed her eyes and said, "What did you say Seifer? Did I just hear something about you comparing me with Ultimecia?" She knew he was joking, so she decided to play along in her own Angel Wing way.
Seifer smirked and said, "And what are you going to do? Turn me into a frog?" Rinoa'e eyes turned wide and she had the most sinister grin on her face. "Uh no! Wait! Forget that I said that!" Seifer said but it was too late. Seconds later, a frog appeared where Seifer was sitting only moments ago.
Everyone was laughing at the jade-green eyed frog who had its forearms crossed over its amphibian chest. "You know, as a frog, Seifer is still very arrogant," Selphie said as she pointed at the amphibian Almasy.
Quistis looked at the frog and said, "Oh Rinoa, you didn't have to do that. So how's he suppose to turn back into human Seifer?"
Rinoa grinned mischievously at the blonde instructor and said, "Well Quisty, if you read your fairytales everyday when you were little, you might have stumbled upon a little story where a frog prince turns back into a handsome young man after a princess planted a kiss on his lips."
Quistis raised an eyebrow, somehow knowing where this was going, and said, "And what do you want me to do Rinoa? Give that thing..." She pointed to the arrogant frog and continued, "...a kiss? Ewww! Gross! I'd kiss Seifer if he was human but as a frog? No way!"
Rinoa pouted, picked up the frog, and gently placed it on her lap. "Too bad. I guess we'll have to rent out Seifer's room and adopt this pet to someone who likes frogs. I can't set him free on the plains either. Who know? Some crazy chef might suddenly crave for frog's legs."
Quistis looked at the frog and the frog looked at her. She pitied the Seifer-creature and finally gave in. "Oh alright! I'll kiss him but you owe me one Rinoa Heartilly!" Rinoa just smiled innocently as if nothing happened and handed Quistis the frog.
"You sure do feel slimy Seifer," Quistis muttered as she stared at the green creature. "Well, here goes..." she said as she kissed the frog on its shiny amphibian lips. On one corner of her eye, she saw Rinoa snapping her fingers as the frog turned back into Seifer, who was kissing her passionately right now.
"Mmmph!" she said as she violently pulled away from the other blonde. "Rinoa you tricked me! I saw you flicking your fingers when I kissed Seifer! You're so...so..."
"Sneaky?" Rinoa smirked. "I know. So how did you like it?"
Quistis stuttered, "I...I...How should I know? I didn't expect Seifer to turn back into his usual old self after I locked lips with his!"
Seifer put his arm around her and said, "But I could tell that you liked it. All chicks dig the Almasy kiss, for your information."
Quistis scoffed at him and removed his arm from her shoulders. "For your information, I didn't have any plans to kiss you until you turned into a frog!"
Seifer stared into her eyes and said, "But you liked it, didn't you?"
Quistis closed her eyes and shook her head. "Some people are so thick!" She moved closer to Ouragan and blatantly locked arms with him.
Ouragan let go of her and said, "Hey Quisty, I think you should be doing this with the guy you just smooched."
"Oh Ouragan, you too?!? Is everyone out of their minds in this car????" she asked loudly.
Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Kiros all turned to them and shook their heads. They said, "Hey, we weren't saying anything so don't go around calling us crazy okay?"
Quistis clapped her hand over her forehead in typical Squall fashion and shook her head. "Some people can be so immature."
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Ten minutes after their arrival at the Air Station, the limousine finally arrived at the Odine laboratory. Although the façade still looked fine, hints of black showed that some areas of the building were charred by black smoke and flame. The acrid smell of burnt metal was still detectable in the air as Squall came out and sniffed the fumes coming from the complex.
"Smells freshly burnt," he said as the others came out of the vehicle.
"Do you want some gas masks?" Kiros offered as he smelled the air too.
"Sure Kiros," Squall replied. "Can we have some suits too?"
Kiros pointed towards the back compartment of the limo and said, "All the equipment, suits, and masks are in there."
Squall nodded and opened the back compartment, finding suits and masks in a gamut of sizes specifically fitted for them along with a set of analyzing equipment.
'Better let Zell handle this stuff,' thought Squall as he brought out a case of the machines. After sorting out the things, he gave all of them their respective suits and put his on.
Kiros stepped inside the car and opened his window. "Good luck to all of you. I have some business to attend to at the palace so if you don't mind." He waved them goodbye and left.
Squall asked all of them to huddle in one place and said, "Okay Zell, since you are the technology geek here, I'll ask you to handle the equipment."
Zell took the bag from Squall and saluted him. "Right on Squall! I ! I'll get the job done for you in a few!"
Squall turned to Seifer, Quistis, and Ouragan. "You guys ought to check the ground floor area. You might find something in there."
They nodded and Squall was now facing Selphie and Irvine. "You guys check the upper floors. Contact me with this walkie talkie if you find something okay?"
Selphie and Irvine gave an affirmative "mmph!" and Squall turned to Rinoa. "We are going down to the basement. That's where all the commotion started so I guess we'll take a look there. Zell, you're coming with us."
"Alright man!" Zell said as he swung the bag over his shoulder.
"Zell! Be careful with that!" Squall snapped as he saw Zell swinging the delicate equipment.
Zell put it down and said, "Oh, sorry man!"
Squall shook his head and said, "Okay everyone, search the assigned areas." Everyone split up and went to the places Squall had specified for them earlier.
When Squall, Rinoa, and Zell took the elevator to the basement, it opened to reveal a most astoundingly horrible disaster zone.
"Man! Something big must have happened here!" Zell exclaimed as he gingerly set down the bag of equipment on the floor.
Squall began walking around the lab looking at the scorched, leveled machinery surrounding him. He felt the metal that lay twisted on the ground, avoiding the pieces of shrapnel that could have grazed his skin. Rinoa also did some inspecting of her own and tweaked her gas mask slightly so that she could still recognize the odors yet avoid getting infected by them.
She found a section of the lab that seemed to glow an effervescent green and approached the area with caution. Smelling it, she found that the scent rang a familiar tune in her senses. "Squall, can you come over here for a sec? Zell, please bring your equipment along with you."
Squall and Zell came in no time and she took the bag of equipment from Zell's hands. After finding something that looked like an photographic analyzing device, she gave it to Zell and said, "Will you please use that thing on this stain here?"
Zell nodded and set the machine down on the floor. Bringing a scanning device over the green mark, the machine began beeping and soon gave out an analysis of the substance.
Zell, with all his experience in technology, couldn't even identify the readings. "Man! I know how to read computer language but this is just bogus!" he exclaimed. He gave it to Squall who also looked at the paper with disdain.
"Like I can even read this!" he said as he passed it to Rinoa.
She stared at the results and said, "Just as I suspected."
Zell and Squall, baffled by the fact that Rinoa can even read the stuff, asked, "What?"
"This smell—it's the smell of magic. You see, when you cast an extremely powerful spell in a confined space, what happens is the energy particles of the spell leave some trace of this substance on the walls. This seems to be the remains of an Ultima spell," she said as if she was an expert at magical science. "What?" she asked as the boys' mouths hung wide open.
"Where did you learn all that?" Squall asked, bewildered at the wealth of knowledge Rinoa had gained over the past weeks as a sorceress.
"I, am a sorceress," she said nonchalantly. "Okay, let's continue looking around the place for clues."
The men nodded and continued searching the place for anything suspicious. Squall was inspecting a piece shrapnel when Rinoa called him again.
"Squall! I think I found something!" she said aloud as she tried digging out some heavy pieces of metal from the floor.
Squall walked to Rinoa's side and helped her remove the heavy sheets of metal from the pile. 'Good thing these suits are heavy duty,' Squall told himself. When the pile of metal was cleared, both of them just stared at Rinoa's find.
"Rinoa, this isn't the Black Eagle," he said as he pointed to an image etched on the floor. "It's..."
"I know," Rinoa added, shocked at her own find. "It's Griever."
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Yay! 25th chapter! Please read and review this chapter. Tell me your thoughts! Flame me, praise me, I don't care what it is you have to say. I just have to know what's on your mind. So please do read and review as usual. Anonymous reviewers and other members of the site are welcome to submit their thoughts. Next Chapter: Shock.
Kiros' appearance had changed much since they last encountered him in their dreams. From the tall, slim Galbadian officer who wore a rather strange bodysuit when they were off duty to the still tall Estharian official who now put on a beard and even stranger clothes, he surely had changed. He looked older, yet wiser—more rugged, yet a notch more dignified. When Laguna was chosen as Esthar's new leader, Kiros' became his right hand in handling the Silent Country, yet somehow, Kiros' believed that the President himself could not handle the responsibility of handling Esthar alone. Although a stroke of luck would catapult some really brilliant plan that bore much good fruit, Laguna's wild side could not keep Esthar's brilliance at bay. Thus, he needed someone who wouldn't make careless decisions—and that job immediately was given to Kiros.
"Kiros, where is my fa...Laguna?" Squall asked absent mindedly as he sat on one of the reclining chairs in the Ragnarok's passenger room.
Kiros bent over on his seat and clasped his hands together. "Laguna is in Esthar handling the Odine case. But let me ask you something Squall," he asked his friend's son.
"What?" Squall asked as he placed both his palms under his head in a relaxed position.
"May I know why you hate him so much?" Kiros inquired sensibly.
Squall narrowed his eyes, turned to the Galbadian, and answered, "Because he wasn't there for me." He stood up and marched towards the door. "He was there for everyone else—for Ellone, for Esthar, for you guys, for that Moomba in the Lunatic Pandora laboratory, but he wasn't there for me and my mother!" he screamed angrily. To Kiros' relief, all the doors in the Ragnarok were automatic sliding doors, as an angry Squall was at the moment looking for something to vent his anger on. Unable to wreak havoc on any solid, he just stormed out of the room.
Kiros followed after him and called out, "Squall! I...I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked you about that." The old man's legs were still as agile as they were during his youth, so he was able to follow Balamb's commander to the air room. "Squall...please forgive me for asking."
Squall was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. His hands were buried in his face, and silent tears slowly fell from his eyes. "Did he know?"
Kiros sat down beside Squall and asked, "Did he know what Squall?"
Squall refused to face him and asked through clenched teeth, "Did he know that I was alive? Did he know that he had a son?"
Kiros looked blankly at the wall and sighed. "He was...somehow hinted that Raine gave birth to a child. Ellone told him."
Squall mustered the courage to look at him with his tears still streaming down from his face. "So why didn't he come looking for me?"
Kiros looked down at the floor and silently told Squall, "Perhaps it would be better if you ask him yourself." Squall didn't say anything so Kiros continued, "But if you should know, he loves you dearly. He regretted leaving you, and now he desperately wants to spend time with you—so much more than fixing the Lunatic Pandora disaster in Esthar. Why, he told me the other day that he felt devastated about you not wanting to talk to him."
Squall abruptly turned to the aide and asked, "He what? If he feels so devastated about leaving me, tell him to ask Ellone to send him back to the past and change it!" He wiped his tears with the sleeve of his jacket and stood up. "If he was such a caring father, he should have begun looking for me ages ago!"
Kiros was at a loss for words and decided that it wouldn't do him good to mediate between their family problems. Squall immediately ran out of the room back to the cockpit and left Kiros in the air room.
"But Squall...he thought you had died when Raine was assassinated..." Kiros silently whispered as he watched the young man running towards the cockpit.
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"Squall?" Rinoa asked as a puffy-eyed Squall emerged from the cockpit elevator. "Honey, what's the matter?" She moved close to Squall and caressed the side of his face with her hand.
Squall kissed her hand and sat down on one of the benches in the cockpit. "Nothing...nothing you should worry about my love."
Rinoa sat down beside him and put her arms around him in a comforting embrace. "Squall, you know you can tell me anything. I don't want to see you like this. Please Squall, talk to me."
Squall faced Rinoa and answered, "I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just focus on the Esthar case, kay?"
Rinoa sighed, knowing very well that this had something to do with Laguna. "Okay Squall, but I'm all ears, so don't hesitate to talk to me about this." She kissed his eyes and bent over to rest her head on his lap, her body in a lying position. Squall played with her hair and caressed her cheek with his other hand.
"Rinoa."
"Yes Squall?"
"I love you."
Rinoa felt like melting as Squall brought his face close to hers and engaged his lips with hers in a deep, passionate kiss. And that made him forget everything about Laguna, about his past, about being unloved, about being abandoned. Right now, he was with the love of his life—the one who had helped him discover a reason to live and to continue living. With Rinoa by his side, Squall felt like he could conquer the world and live through the night to see another sunrise. That was most probably why he had decided to marry her, so that no one in this world—this person be a much better lover than he ever could be—could have her. And he had sworn to protect her, as a knight, as a future husband, and as her best friend. Tacit as he was, no words could express the love he felt for her. And a kiss, a smile, and an appreciative response, was probably enough to show that kind of special emotion.
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A little boy was running on Esthar's fiberglass highway, chasing his pet dog around as he caught it and hugged the little animal. Licking him back, the puppy cuddled into the boy's lap as the boy ruffled his fine fur. Behind him, his mother laughed as he continued playing with his precious pet. Suddenly, the three of them (the dog included) looked up as a silhouette of a dragon shadowed the brilliant blue of the fiberglass streets. It was the Ragnarok, Esthar's flagship whose design was patterned after the dragon of Centran legends. The aircraft had begun its descent over Esthar's Air Station, the dragon spaceship forming billowing clouds of white smoke as it made an impressive nose-dive on the sleek runway designed by Esthar's most dexterous engineers. Once the state-of-the-art machine had finally set foot upon the technological marvel of Esthar, a group of people descended from the entrance of the vehicle, a tall, dark man leading their way as they emerged from the Air Station's entrance.
"Once again, welcome to Esthar," Kiros said as he led the group towards a sleek, high tech limousine whose doors immediately opened when they approached it. "Unfortunately, this won't be a pleasure trip so please don't bring your wallets out."
Some of the people in the group laughed at what seemed to be a joke, while others just stared at their hyena companions what the fuss was about. "What happened to those transport thingies that take us around Esthar?" Selphie asked Kiros.
"Oh, they've been fixed, updated with our latest technology, and buffered up with new accessories. Today, however, we are traveling in style," Kiros told them as he led them to the limo.
One by one, they entered the spacious, luxurious vehicle, and when it was finally Squall's turn to enter, Kiros put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Squall, forgive me for that thing in the Ragnarok. I didn't know you were still adusting to the idea of having Laguna as your...erm relative."
Squall just chuckled and said, "No Kiros, I think I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Truce?" He offered the dark man a hand and Kiros gladly shook it.
"Truce. By the way Squall, I will give all of you the mission briefing once we're all in the car so please do step inside the vehicle," he told the young commander.
Squall nodded and went in, and Kiros went around the car and entered the vehicle in his usual spot beside the driver. He turned around to face the group and brought out a little palm pilot, courtesy of Esthar technologies please and thank you, and began giving them their orders.
"As you might already know, Esthar's own Dr. Odine was almost killed a few days earlier when an assassin attempted to burn down his lab. Fortunately, the good doctor is safe and under the care of Esthar's best doctors. His laboratory in the city, however, is in very bad shape. What I want you to do now is to enter the complex and find anything suspicious—something that might link the murders to this Black Eagle character we're looking for. Understood?" Kiros asked them.
They all nodded and Kiros continued, "Now, Esthar soldiers will surround the place to ensure your security. If you need anything at all, please contact me with this mobile phone. And who might I ask is the leader of this operation?" Kiros looked around while attempting to pass the phone to one of the teenagers when they all pointed to Squall. Squall's eyes widened like melons as he accepted the phone from Kiros.
"Me? Why not Ouragan?" he asked bewildered as he looked at the marvelous looking machine on his hand.
Ouragan bent over from the back seat and said, "Because Squall, Balamb Garden was chosen for this mission. Besides, I think you can handle this operation rather well. Don't worry, I'll watch your back."
Everyone laughed and Seifer began to tease Squall. "Aw, is poor wittle Squally afwaid that an evil imp will scwatch his back? Hah! Squall, I can't believe you're chickening now! Did Ultimecia really pound you to a pulp?"
Squall threw him one of his dirtiest look and said, "Watch your mouth Seifer or you'll be looking at a fishing pole and a bucketful of fish for the rest of your life." His face was absolutely red right now, and he suddenly stirred when he felt Rinoa touching his arms.
"Squall, you're so cute when you're mad. But please don't mind Seifer. I bet you he will also scream and run around even more if an imp gropes his leg," she said. Everyone roared in laughter and it was Seifer who turned maroon this time around.
"Hey! I'm supposed to be the bully here!" he reminded Rinoa.
"Yeah, and I'm the one with enough power to silence you Seifer," she winked at him.
Seifer turned pale and shook his hands, "Hey! Easy there! Alright I'm sorry!" He leaned over his seat and muttered, "Hummph! Just because she has some powers doesn't mean she can go around silencing people like that. At least Ultimecia didn't shut me up."
Rinoa narrowed her eyes and said, "What did you say Seifer? Did I just hear something about you comparing me with Ultimecia?" She knew he was joking, so she decided to play along in her own Angel Wing way.
Seifer smirked and said, "And what are you going to do? Turn me into a frog?" Rinoa'e eyes turned wide and she had the most sinister grin on her face. "Uh no! Wait! Forget that I said that!" Seifer said but it was too late. Seconds later, a frog appeared where Seifer was sitting only moments ago.
Everyone was laughing at the jade-green eyed frog who had its forearms crossed over its amphibian chest. "You know, as a frog, Seifer is still very arrogant," Selphie said as she pointed at the amphibian Almasy.
Quistis looked at the frog and said, "Oh Rinoa, you didn't have to do that. So how's he suppose to turn back into human Seifer?"
Rinoa grinned mischievously at the blonde instructor and said, "Well Quisty, if you read your fairytales everyday when you were little, you might have stumbled upon a little story where a frog prince turns back into a handsome young man after a princess planted a kiss on his lips."
Quistis raised an eyebrow, somehow knowing where this was going, and said, "And what do you want me to do Rinoa? Give that thing..." She pointed to the arrogant frog and continued, "...a kiss? Ewww! Gross! I'd kiss Seifer if he was human but as a frog? No way!"
Rinoa pouted, picked up the frog, and gently placed it on her lap. "Too bad. I guess we'll have to rent out Seifer's room and adopt this pet to someone who likes frogs. I can't set him free on the plains either. Who know? Some crazy chef might suddenly crave for frog's legs."
Quistis looked at the frog and the frog looked at her. She pitied the Seifer-creature and finally gave in. "Oh alright! I'll kiss him but you owe me one Rinoa Heartilly!" Rinoa just smiled innocently as if nothing happened and handed Quistis the frog.
"You sure do feel slimy Seifer," Quistis muttered as she stared at the green creature. "Well, here goes..." she said as she kissed the frog on its shiny amphibian lips. On one corner of her eye, she saw Rinoa snapping her fingers as the frog turned back into Seifer, who was kissing her passionately right now.
"Mmmph!" she said as she violently pulled away from the other blonde. "Rinoa you tricked me! I saw you flicking your fingers when I kissed Seifer! You're so...so..."
"Sneaky?" Rinoa smirked. "I know. So how did you like it?"
Quistis stuttered, "I...I...How should I know? I didn't expect Seifer to turn back into his usual old self after I locked lips with his!"
Seifer put his arm around her and said, "But I could tell that you liked it. All chicks dig the Almasy kiss, for your information."
Quistis scoffed at him and removed his arm from her shoulders. "For your information, I didn't have any plans to kiss you until you turned into a frog!"
Seifer stared into her eyes and said, "But you liked it, didn't you?"
Quistis closed her eyes and shook her head. "Some people are so thick!" She moved closer to Ouragan and blatantly locked arms with him.
Ouragan let go of her and said, "Hey Quisty, I think you should be doing this with the guy you just smooched."
"Oh Ouragan, you too?!? Is everyone out of their minds in this car????" she asked loudly.
Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Kiros all turned to them and shook their heads. They said, "Hey, we weren't saying anything so don't go around calling us crazy okay?"
Quistis clapped her hand over her forehead in typical Squall fashion and shook her head. "Some people can be so immature."
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Ten minutes after their arrival at the Air Station, the limousine finally arrived at the Odine laboratory. Although the façade still looked fine, hints of black showed that some areas of the building were charred by black smoke and flame. The acrid smell of burnt metal was still detectable in the air as Squall came out and sniffed the fumes coming from the complex.
"Smells freshly burnt," he said as the others came out of the vehicle.
"Do you want some gas masks?" Kiros offered as he smelled the air too.
"Sure Kiros," Squall replied. "Can we have some suits too?"
Kiros pointed towards the back compartment of the limo and said, "All the equipment, suits, and masks are in there."
Squall nodded and opened the back compartment, finding suits and masks in a gamut of sizes specifically fitted for them along with a set of analyzing equipment.
'Better let Zell handle this stuff,' thought Squall as he brought out a case of the machines. After sorting out the things, he gave all of them their respective suits and put his on.
Kiros stepped inside the car and opened his window. "Good luck to all of you. I have some business to attend to at the palace so if you don't mind." He waved them goodbye and left.
Squall asked all of them to huddle in one place and said, "Okay Zell, since you are the technology geek here, I'll ask you to handle the equipment."
Zell took the bag from Squall and saluted him. "Right on Squall! I ! I'll get the job done for you in a few!"
Squall turned to Seifer, Quistis, and Ouragan. "You guys ought to check the ground floor area. You might find something in there."
They nodded and Squall was now facing Selphie and Irvine. "You guys check the upper floors. Contact me with this walkie talkie if you find something okay?"
Selphie and Irvine gave an affirmative "mmph!" and Squall turned to Rinoa. "We are going down to the basement. That's where all the commotion started so I guess we'll take a look there. Zell, you're coming with us."
"Alright man!" Zell said as he swung the bag over his shoulder.
"Zell! Be careful with that!" Squall snapped as he saw Zell swinging the delicate equipment.
Zell put it down and said, "Oh, sorry man!"
Squall shook his head and said, "Okay everyone, search the assigned areas." Everyone split up and went to the places Squall had specified for them earlier.
When Squall, Rinoa, and Zell took the elevator to the basement, it opened to reveal a most astoundingly horrible disaster zone.
"Man! Something big must have happened here!" Zell exclaimed as he gingerly set down the bag of equipment on the floor.
Squall began walking around the lab looking at the scorched, leveled machinery surrounding him. He felt the metal that lay twisted on the ground, avoiding the pieces of shrapnel that could have grazed his skin. Rinoa also did some inspecting of her own and tweaked her gas mask slightly so that she could still recognize the odors yet avoid getting infected by them.
She found a section of the lab that seemed to glow an effervescent green and approached the area with caution. Smelling it, she found that the scent rang a familiar tune in her senses. "Squall, can you come over here for a sec? Zell, please bring your equipment along with you."
Squall and Zell came in no time and she took the bag of equipment from Zell's hands. After finding something that looked like an photographic analyzing device, she gave it to Zell and said, "Will you please use that thing on this stain here?"
Zell nodded and set the machine down on the floor. Bringing a scanning device over the green mark, the machine began beeping and soon gave out an analysis of the substance.
Zell, with all his experience in technology, couldn't even identify the readings. "Man! I know how to read computer language but this is just bogus!" he exclaimed. He gave it to Squall who also looked at the paper with disdain.
"Like I can even read this!" he said as he passed it to Rinoa.
She stared at the results and said, "Just as I suspected."
Zell and Squall, baffled by the fact that Rinoa can even read the stuff, asked, "What?"
"This smell—it's the smell of magic. You see, when you cast an extremely powerful spell in a confined space, what happens is the energy particles of the spell leave some trace of this substance on the walls. This seems to be the remains of an Ultima spell," she said as if she was an expert at magical science. "What?" she asked as the boys' mouths hung wide open.
"Where did you learn all that?" Squall asked, bewildered at the wealth of knowledge Rinoa had gained over the past weeks as a sorceress.
"I, am a sorceress," she said nonchalantly. "Okay, let's continue looking around the place for clues."
The men nodded and continued searching the place for anything suspicious. Squall was inspecting a piece shrapnel when Rinoa called him again.
"Squall! I think I found something!" she said aloud as she tried digging out some heavy pieces of metal from the floor.
Squall walked to Rinoa's side and helped her remove the heavy sheets of metal from the pile. 'Good thing these suits are heavy duty,' Squall told himself. When the pile of metal was cleared, both of them just stared at Rinoa's find.
"Rinoa, this isn't the Black Eagle," he said as he pointed to an image etched on the floor. "It's..."
"I know," Rinoa added, shocked at her own find. "It's Griever."
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Yay! 25th chapter! Please read and review this chapter. Tell me your thoughts! Flame me, praise me, I don't care what it is you have to say. I just have to know what's on your mind. So please do read and review as usual. Anonymous reviewers and other members of the site are welcome to submit their thoughts. Next Chapter: Shock.