"Zell how did you…?" Rinoa and Irvine asked in unison.
"Limit breaks-lots and lots of limit breaks." Zell panted, His upper body being supported by his hands on his knees. "That's the fourth time I've fought that thing in the past half-hour. It wouldn't die!" he kicked its torso "Anyway, thanks for distracting him long enough for me to meteor-barret it"
He fell flat on his butt after finishing his sentence. His eyes were in the back of his head. And he was gasping for air. Rinoa quickly cast another curaga. And Zell's body began to writhe as his strength returned. While he recuperated, Irvine and Zell filled Rinoa in on what had been going on in the garden as she slept. At about 2 in the morning an alarm began to blare out. The sabers that replaced the guards loyal to norg started to report electrical failure. Suddenly the first t-rexaur burst through the training center door way. Naturally the sabers went fleeing into the hills. Zell was already out of his dorms making a late night hot dog run as usual. He heard all the commotion and started to shout at the top of his lungs. "MONSTERS! EVERYONE WAKE UP! THE MONSTERS ARE FREE!" That's when Squall came charging through the doorway followed by Irvine. Irvine scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Yea sorry we didn't stay to talk, we just heard screams and ran." Then Zell added, "after that I went into the dorms making as much noise as I could to wake everyone up. I roused the off duty sabers and got the rest of the seeds to their positions. Nida came on the P.A. but before he could say anything his line was cut completely, and was replaced by static. That's all I know" Zell said. Irvine and Rinoa nodded. Then she asked "Are you ok?" Zell nodded. He stood up and stretched, you would have never known he'd been fighting a beast from a by-gone era not but a little while ago. "Zell, where's Squall?" Rinoa asked hurriedly.
"He's in the deepest part of the training center. The SABERS did one hell of a job sealing up the garden. We were planning to evacuate, but Squall left Seifer in charge and well, you know what that means." He made a bullet to the head motion, "Anyway, he and Quistis managed to clear out the monsters from the infirmary up to the dorms." He traced a line in the air with his finger along the way. "So now everyone's just bringing people in for kadowaki to look at." "That T-rexaur was the last of the monsters on this side of the garden, Squall went into the training center about 15 minutes ago. Said something about 'their leader being there' don't know what he was talking about really"
Irvine seemed relieved. But suddenly he gripped Zell's shoulders. "How are Selphie and Xu?" "They're fine. No monsters made it upstairs. We've got them holed up in the caf. Go see them if you want"
And with that the cowboy took off towards the cafeteria and his Selphie.
Before Rinoa could object, the fluttering coattails of Irvine's jacket were a distant memory.
"Zell, are all the monsters gone?" Rinoa asked.
"Yea, like I said this one" he kicked the t-rexaur "was the last one"
"Great, can you give me an escort to the training center"
"I guess. Sure. But are you sure that's a good idea?" Zell asked, scratching his head.
"Squall's there I have to go." She pleaded. "Don't worry about it. We're going if that's what you want to do"
"Thanks so much, Zell. Really thank-" before she could finish, Zell pulled her close and whispered,
"Like I said, don't worry about it" and smirked. Rinoa hugged him back. And they turned and headed towards the training center.
They walked together, keeping close lest a rogue monster come charging at them. Although it didn't look like any would. The garden was as quiet as a graveyard, a graveyard full of monstrous corpses. Zell and Rinoa made small talk along the way, trying to distract themselves from the odors and sounds of dead monsters all around them. "Where did you get that outfit?" Zell asked genuinely. I didn't know they made ice prince for her! "Edea made it for me. She's really such a nice woman. I wish I could have known her better. I wish I could've known the Matron you all knew." She said with a reflective smile. Zell looked down at his shoes and said.
"Yea, even though those weren't the best times, you wouldn't have been able to guess it. With Matron, every day was a blessing and we felt safe. But that was long ago. And now we can keep Matron, our Matron, safe." and patted her shoulder.
The violent hiss of a dying grat made them jump. "Oh Hyne. One of those was in my closet!" Rinoa squeaked with complete revulsion "If Irvine hadn't come to get me…" she trailed off and hugged herself They quickened their pace and avoided anything that might have posed a threat. Grendels were the most plentiful creature, so much so they had been piled on top of each other about 10 feet in the air. There were charred bomb husks or just ashes where the bomb creatures once were. There were about 2 other T-rexaur corpses visible from a distance. Rinoa turned to Zell, but before she could pose her question he quickly said, "Wasn't me." And she left it at that.
As they passed the garage, zell stomped on a large coal black bomb husk, its body crumbling and sticking to his sneakers. He kicked the residue off, muttering.
"Those bastards gave us so much trouble. They kept getting way too close to the fuel pumps. Nida actually had to block an explosion with his own body. -He's fine though!" Zell added, hurriedly when Rinoa's continence changed from relaxed to horrified, both her hands flying up to her mouth.
"Yeah Nida is just fine. We managed to get to him before any serious damage was done. I think he's actually on the flight deck as we speak. But Hyne, it was hell!" A thought occurred to Rinoa. "Zell? When we fought norg, there were injured people everywhere. Where are they"
Zell's expression was that of a mother watching her only child swim into the mouth of a great white.
"The training center!" He bellowed. And began to sprint head on towards the training center. Rinoa followed after. On the way Zell explained his behavior. "During the first moments of fighting there were obviously a lot of injuries. There were these sabers whose job it was to ferry the injured to kadowaki. They were supposed to go counter-clockwise so they could avoid the training center. Normally the sabers, as you know, are clean cut and tidy. These were strange; their hair was long and knotted and a foul odor clung to them, I just assumed it was because of the fighting and being drenched in monster blood; also they all had these strange marks on them, like burns. Because of the situation at hand I really couldn't pay attention to it, but after what you guys said about 'nox' or whatever, I'm really suspicious now. I'm suspicious because the Sabers took them to the infirmary in the wrong direction. I think those sabers must've… brought the injured to the training center to feed the monsters!" Rinoa gulped hard in her throat, and a sudden surge of adrenaline caused her to run past Zell, positively charging towards the training center. As she rounded the corner a steady series of beeps signaled trouble, big trouble. They increased in speed, and the doorway exploded. As the rubble began to fall, Rinoa pushed herself to the limit and dove through the threshold. Effectively trapping her in the darkness of the training center's hallway behind a wall of broken concrete. Alone.
He fell flat on his butt after finishing his sentence. His eyes were in the back of his head. And he was gasping for air. Rinoa quickly cast another curaga. And Zell's body began to writhe as his strength returned. While he recuperated, Irvine and Zell filled Rinoa in on what had been going on in the garden as she slept. At about 2 in the morning an alarm began to blare out. The sabers that replaced the guards loyal to norg started to report electrical failure. Suddenly the first t-rexaur burst through the training center door way. Naturally the sabers went fleeing into the hills. Zell was already out of his dorms making a late night hot dog run as usual. He heard all the commotion and started to shout at the top of his lungs. "MONSTERS! EVERYONE WAKE UP! THE MONSTERS ARE FREE!" That's when Squall came charging through the doorway followed by Irvine. Irvine scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Yea sorry we didn't stay to talk, we just heard screams and ran." Then Zell added, "after that I went into the dorms making as much noise as I could to wake everyone up. I roused the off duty sabers and got the rest of the seeds to their positions. Nida came on the P.A. but before he could say anything his line was cut completely, and was replaced by static. That's all I know" Zell said. Irvine and Rinoa nodded. Then she asked "Are you ok?" Zell nodded. He stood up and stretched, you would have never known he'd been fighting a beast from a by-gone era not but a little while ago. "Zell, where's Squall?" Rinoa asked hurriedly.
"He's in the deepest part of the training center. The SABERS did one hell of a job sealing up the garden. We were planning to evacuate, but Squall left Seifer in charge and well, you know what that means." He made a bullet to the head motion, "Anyway, he and Quistis managed to clear out the monsters from the infirmary up to the dorms." He traced a line in the air with his finger along the way. "So now everyone's just bringing people in for kadowaki to look at." "That T-rexaur was the last of the monsters on this side of the garden, Squall went into the training center about 15 minutes ago. Said something about 'their leader being there' don't know what he was talking about really"
Irvine seemed relieved. But suddenly he gripped Zell's shoulders. "How are Selphie and Xu?" "They're fine. No monsters made it upstairs. We've got them holed up in the caf. Go see them if you want"
And with that the cowboy took off towards the cafeteria and his Selphie.
Before Rinoa could object, the fluttering coattails of Irvine's jacket were a distant memory.
"Zell, are all the monsters gone?" Rinoa asked.
"Yea, like I said this one" he kicked the t-rexaur "was the last one"
"Great, can you give me an escort to the training center"
"I guess. Sure. But are you sure that's a good idea?" Zell asked, scratching his head.
"Squall's there I have to go." She pleaded. "Don't worry about it. We're going if that's what you want to do"
"Thanks so much, Zell. Really thank-" before she could finish, Zell pulled her close and whispered,
"Like I said, don't worry about it" and smirked. Rinoa hugged him back. And they turned and headed towards the training center.
They walked together, keeping close lest a rogue monster come charging at them. Although it didn't look like any would. The garden was as quiet as a graveyard, a graveyard full of monstrous corpses. Zell and Rinoa made small talk along the way, trying to distract themselves from the odors and sounds of dead monsters all around them. "Where did you get that outfit?" Zell asked genuinely. I didn't know they made ice prince for her! "Edea made it for me. She's really such a nice woman. I wish I could have known her better. I wish I could've known the Matron you all knew." She said with a reflective smile. Zell looked down at his shoes and said.
"Yea, even though those weren't the best times, you wouldn't have been able to guess it. With Matron, every day was a blessing and we felt safe. But that was long ago. And now we can keep Matron, our Matron, safe." and patted her shoulder.
The violent hiss of a dying grat made them jump. "Oh Hyne. One of those was in my closet!" Rinoa squeaked with complete revulsion "If Irvine hadn't come to get me…" she trailed off and hugged herself They quickened their pace and avoided anything that might have posed a threat. Grendels were the most plentiful creature, so much so they had been piled on top of each other about 10 feet in the air. There were charred bomb husks or just ashes where the bomb creatures once were. There were about 2 other T-rexaur corpses visible from a distance. Rinoa turned to Zell, but before she could pose her question he quickly said, "Wasn't me." And she left it at that.
As they passed the garage, zell stomped on a large coal black bomb husk, its body crumbling and sticking to his sneakers. He kicked the residue off, muttering.
"Those bastards gave us so much trouble. They kept getting way too close to the fuel pumps. Nida actually had to block an explosion with his own body. -He's fine though!" Zell added, hurriedly when Rinoa's continence changed from relaxed to horrified, both her hands flying up to her mouth.
"Yeah Nida is just fine. We managed to get to him before any serious damage was done. I think he's actually on the flight deck as we speak. But Hyne, it was hell!" A thought occurred to Rinoa. "Zell? When we fought norg, there were injured people everywhere. Where are they"
Zell's expression was that of a mother watching her only child swim into the mouth of a great white.
"The training center!" He bellowed. And began to sprint head on towards the training center. Rinoa followed after. On the way Zell explained his behavior. "During the first moments of fighting there were obviously a lot of injuries. There were these sabers whose job it was to ferry the injured to kadowaki. They were supposed to go counter-clockwise so they could avoid the training center. Normally the sabers, as you know, are clean cut and tidy. These were strange; their hair was long and knotted and a foul odor clung to them, I just assumed it was because of the fighting and being drenched in monster blood; also they all had these strange marks on them, like burns. Because of the situation at hand I really couldn't pay attention to it, but after what you guys said about 'nox' or whatever, I'm really suspicious now. I'm suspicious because the Sabers took them to the infirmary in the wrong direction. I think those sabers must've… brought the injured to the training center to feed the monsters!" Rinoa gulped hard in her throat, and a sudden surge of adrenaline caused her to run past Zell, positively charging towards the training center. As she rounded the corner a steady series of beeps signaled trouble, big trouble. They increased in speed, and the doorway exploded. As the rubble began to fall, Rinoa pushed herself to the limit and dove through the threshold. Effectively trapping her in the darkness of the training center's hallway behind a wall of broken concrete. Alone.