Disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy characters, worlds, etc.. The only thing that I own are the characters that I have worked very hard to create and the marvelous twisted plot that I have come up with. Do not use any of the stuff that is mine without my permission.

Chapter XXV

Blackout

If this world becomes any more confused than it is now, don't be surprised to see monkeys tossing peanuts to people. --Anonymous

XxXxX

He laid there, in a sleep he may not wake up from. Dr. Kadowaki looked over at him from her seat and sighed. "Seifer, what happened to you?" She didn't expect him to answer, but it would have been nice. It was amazing something like this could happen to Seifer Almasy, of all people. She may not have known exactly what was going on, but she knew it was nothing good.

Looking at the clock, she saw that they had been gone for a while. It was now eight-thirty at night. Hadn't Squall and Yuna left sometime around four that afternoon? And the others left sometime after that… She hoped they were all right; they didn't need anymore of Garden's best students in the infirmary. At a time like this, that was the last thing they needed.

"Dr. Kadowaki!" A little boy of nine years entered the room. "Someone's hurt in the parking lot!"

"Lead the way!" She stood and followed the boy, the door closing behind them.

The light in the infirmary began to dim, flickering some as Peritus stepped out from the shadows. He stood beside the bed that held Seifer Almasy, his eyes looking at him. Carefully, he picked the man up and threw him over his shoulder. It became completely dark in the room, lightning outside lit up the room, showing that the two men were no longer there. Thunder boomed throughout Garden, showing all that It was back.

XxXxX

Everything happened so fast--before they knew it, the skies cleared back up, the previous storm completely disappearing in a matter of seconds, if that. Celcius began moving again, like nothing had ever happened. The people inside that airship were confused, but Brother steered Celcius toward Esthar, anyway.

"And there's the hospital," Quistis pointed at one of the tall buildings within Esthar. The city looked…very normal. Power was on, as far as they could tell, and nothing seemed to be wrong. Landing at the Airship Station, there being enough room to hold both Ragnarok and Celcius, only Rikku, Quistis, and Zell exited.

As they stepped out of the Station, they hoped to see what the problem was (if there had ever been one) when they entered the actual city; there was no problem, though. Everything seemed so…normal.

"Yo, talk about creepy," Zell muttered from behind the two girls.

"Didn't that Headmaster guy say he couldn't get in touch with them? I don't see why he wouldn't be able to. I mean, look at this place! Everything's fine!"

Quistis nodded. "Yes, that's how it appears on the surface… Maybe they are just having…technical issues."

XxXxX

The power flickered on, stopping the three in their tracks. They looked around cautiously, expecting something to go wrong, but nothing happening. "What the--" Leonhart was interrupted--not by Yuna, Nooj, or even a monster, but by someone walking out from around the corner up ahead. Suddenly the entire area filled with people--patients in the rooms, walking around, nurses and doctors everywhere, everything was back to normal. It all hit like a flood, Squall and them as confused as ever.

"Umm……" Yuna began, not really knowing what to say. "So what now?"

"We get the hell out of this place."

Squall nodded, agreeing with Nooj. "He's right; it's best to leave before the hospital decides to overrun with monsters, again." With the power back on and everything seeming normal, it didn't take nearly as long to find the exit as it did before. Seeing that the storm was gone and it was dark out as they left the very creepy hospital, three very familiar people came into view.

"Squall!" Zell ran up to them, Rikku and Quistis right behind him. "What happened, buddy, and who's the girl?" He hadn't had asked about Nooj because he knew who he was from being at Djose Temple when the Al Bhed had given them his description.

Squall figured he was speaking of the girl on his back. "This is the girl that was found with Nooj," he looked sideways at Nooj, then back at Zell. "None of us know her name."

"And no one really knows what happened, either. One minute we were trying to stay alive, the next there are people walking around!" Yuna finished explaining to them.

"Wow… That's as creepy as what happened to us," Zell scratched his head. "Talk about strange…"

XxXxX

Balamb Garden was very hard to see from the airship because it appeared to have no power. So they landed, fearing the worse. It was raining, thundering, and occasionally the sky was lit up by lightning, all of which made it harder to see the Garden at night. But the team exited Celcius and cautiously entered Garden. When they stepped inside, they saw that the power was, indeed, out. The only light they saw was from a flashlight--and the beam of light was aimed directly at their eyes.

"Oh--sorry!"

Squall squinted his eyes to see Xu. "What happened?"

"The current storm knocked the power out. Even the back-up won't work," she explained, shining the light on the group, but making sure it didn't blind them. "Who's the girl, Squall?"

"None of your concern. Do you have an extra flashlight?"

"No, sorry, but I can be your guide. Where do you need to go?"

"The infirmary," he answered, wore out from carrying the coma girl. "Where's Dr. Kadowaki?"

"She's tending to someone in the parking lot. Follow me and keep close," Xu lead the way, Squall, Yuna, Nooj and Zell being the only ones that followed, the rest staying behind at the entrance.

It wasn't hard to find the infirmary with the flashlight and Squall was first to enter. But he froze in his tracks when he heard Quistis, Xu, and even Zell gasp. "What?" he quickly asked, looking around the infirmary expecting to see some monster or something.

"He's--he's gone!" it was Quistis who had answered.

"Who's gone?" Leonhart was tired of all the surprises.

"Seifer, he was right there, in that bed! And he couldn't have left because he was in a coma!"

"What!" So very tired of the surprises. "What the hell happened here!"

Quistis took a seat, hand to her head, Xu shining the light on the group. "Before Seifer had fallen into a coma, Rinoa and Edea had sensed her, Squall, and we believe she has something to do with Seifer's coma."

Oh yeah, Squall knew who 'her' was. Ultimecia. From the shock, he lost his grip on the girl, but Zell caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoooaa, close call," he carried her to the closest bed, carefully put her on it.

"Ultimecia…" Squall thought all this was just one terrible nightmare. How could this be true? Hadn't they ended Ultimecia?

"Squall… We should probably report to Cid," Quistis stood, looking at him.

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea." A lot had obviously happened.

XxXxX

"Ah, you're back safe and sound," Cid greeted them at the door, Xu offering everyone light from the flashlight. Though Cid himself had a flashlight of his own, the combined light was very much appreciated.

"Sir," Squall saluted, thinking of a good place to begin. "When Yuna and I arrived at the Esthar hospital, we visited a friend of Paine's that some Estharian soldiers had found earlier. It turned out to be Nooj, but he was not alone. A girl, possibly around eight or nine years old, had been found with him. No one, even Nooj, knows the girl's name. It was during this time that Nooj had woken up and was telling us what he last remembered when…" he hesitated, remembering what had happened perfectly. "when we all heard this laughter echo throughout the hospital, and then the power went out."

Headmaster Cid was taking this all in, listening very closely. "And where is the girl?"

"She's in the infirmary, in a coma."

"Not another one… Continue," he said with a sigh.

"Shortly after, we had been attacked by monsters. I don't know how much time passed by, but eventually the power kicked back on and everything was back to normal."

"Hmmm… Strange. What took you so long to get to them, Quistis?"

"A storm, sir; it had…stopped us in our tracks by…holding us down." Even though she knew it was true, saying it out loud made her think she was going crazy.

Everyone looked at her, probably wondering, as well, if she'd lost it.

"It's true!" Yuna spoke up. "Something very similar happened to us on Spira. Except it had pulled us down into the ocean."

Cid had a hard time believing this, even if he knew they would never lie about such a thing. "What you're saying is…that the storm has a mind of its own?"

The girls didn't speak for a second, both trying to make sure they weren't actually losing it, but nodded, saying, "Yes."

The older man sighed, immediately going to his seat and sitting. "But…that's not all, sir," he heard Quistis say. "What else could have possibly--" Quistis interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

"Seifer's missing."

"What? I thought he was in a coma?"

"We did too, but he's missing and no one saw him exit the infirmary. So… I don't know what's happened to him," Quistis seemed like she was still trying to grasp all that has happened.

"You said the girl was in the infirmary?" Cid asked Leonhart.

"Yes."

"Put extra security inside and outside that infirmary. I don't want anyone except you, Dr. Kadowaki, and SeeD's going into that room, understood?"

Squall nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Squall, keep a close eye on our new coma girl, and Xu, please make sure Nooj has a room to stay in."

"Yes, sir!" Xu saluted, quickly leaving, half of their light going with her.

"Dismissed."

XxXxX

Sitting there, in that chair beside the bed, his eyes couldn't stop looking at the non-human girl. On the outside, she looked so innocent, so human, but he knew better than that; if what Nooj had told him was true, this girl was not human. Innocent, though? He wasn't so sure about that. But what could she be, then? A monster in disguise? He wasn't so sure of anything, anymore.

A SeeD--one of their best--sneezed, breaking Squall's train of thought. They had placed four SeeD's in the room, three outside, and yet, Squall had a feeling that wasn't enough. Something in the back of his mind said that is was his doing--the man that kidnapped Paine was somehow involved. He could have easily been the one who had taken Seifer, considering he can teleport.

And that's just what we need, isn't it? An enemy that can come and go as he pleases, Leonhart leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. Why was all of this happening? Why couldn't they, just once, live in peace? He had to be honest with himself--things were never going to be peaceful around here; there would always be something bad, something evil like Ultimecia. Never would peace truly come and stay.

This world was changing daily; its population growing rapidly. Everyday, there were new places showing up, being left behind by the storm, the storm that caused so much trouble for them. It couldn't be just a storm, but if it wasn't, then what was it?

The door opened, and Quistis entered the room. "How is she?"

"Still in the coma," he answered, straightening back up in his chair to look over at Trepe.

She walked over to the bed, placing her left hand on the end of the bed. "We'll find her, you know; we'll get her back."

Silence. Then he spoke, "…I know." Part of him still blamed himself for the kidnapping of Paine. Had he just followed her sooner…

"Hey," Quistis, obviously knowing what he was thinking about, placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. No one knew that they were even after her. You can't blame yourself for this. It's not like you can predict the future, Squall."

"But I could have at least done my job and watched her more closely."

She kept silent after his response, but then looked at him with sad eyes. "Go get some sleep; you need it." Before he could even speak, she added, "I'll watch her, so don't worry."

XxXxX

She sat in her dorm, on the bed, legs curled under her.

"So, there I was--hey! Are you listenin' to me?"

Eyes focusing on the bright-eyed girl on the floor before her, Rinoa said, "Oh, sorry! I guess I got lost in my thoughts!"

Selphie jumped up to her feet and plopped down on the bed beside her. "Squall's rubbing off on you. So what were you thinkin' 'bout?"

"Just…stuff," she glanced around the dim room, the candles not putting out quite enough light.

"Ooooo, just stuff? I wanna know!"

Rinoa giggled, folding her hands on her lap. "Well, I was just thinking about everything, that's all. So much has happened that's it's hard to believe it's real. Part of me is amazed and excited about the new places being discovered. Who would have ever thought there was another world out there!" She could barely contain her excitement. And then her eyes lowered, voice growing softer. "But then when I think about the bad side to all of this, I feel scared and worried for everyone at the same time. And the more I think about it, the more I worry for Paine. She's stuck in the middle of all this, and now she could be with Ultimecia!" Heartilly couldn't help but feel angry at Ultimecia and allow a tear to roll down her cheek.

"Oh, sweetie," Selphie put an arm around her, a smile on her face. "Don't think those bad thoughts. Paine's all right. She's probably already escaped and is on her way back. That witch can't keep someone like Paine locked up for long!"

Chuckling, she agreed. "Paine does seem like a hand-full, doesn't she? She may not talk much, but she's got attitude."

"Yup, she sure does!"

Rather quickly, Rinoa changed the subject. "Do you think Seifer will be all right?"

Selphie nodded. "Yup, he's resting in the infirmary. Squall went there to put a little girl in there, so I'm sure he's okay."

"Oh? What's wrong with the girl?" asked Rinoa, curiously.

"I think he said she was in a coma too, like Seifer."

"…Ultimecia related?"

Tilmitt's eyes widened. "Oh, well, I don't know. They never said. I just assumed they found her in the hospital and a monster threatened her life or somethin'."

"Let's go ask!" Rinoa jumped to her feet, suddenly very curious about this little girl. She grabbed a flashlight out of the desk draw (she may have liked the candles more, but flashlights gave them more light and they didn't want to bump into anyone!), and checked to make sure it still worked, which it did, and off they went.

They didn't stumble into anyone or anything, thanks to the flashlight, but soon after Rinoa thought there wouldn't be anyone roaming about, they almost bumped into Yuna.

"Oh, Yuna! Hi!" Rinoa smiled, the light showing a friendly smile on Yuna's face.

"Hello, Rinoa and…"

"Selphie!"

"Selphie," the newcomer laughed, lowering her own flashlight which was lent by one of the students here. "I'm sorry if I surprised you. This place is still kind of new and strange in the dark."

'That's okay! We were actually looking for someone to ask questions to. Would you happen to know anything about the girl Squall sent to the infirmary?"

"Um… Not much, but…um…you may want to talk to Nooj or Squall about her."

"…Nooj?" Rinoa didn't recognize the name.

"Nooj. What a funny name," said Selphie in the background with a giggle.

"Yes, Nooj. It's kinda hard to miss him. He's got really long hair and has a machina leg and arm. But I don't know where he is. We went out separate ways after we left the infirmary. Oh! Except for Squall, he stayed."

"Oh, okay! Thank you! We'll go speak to him, then!" Yuna said "you're welcome" and Selphie and Rinoa headed toward the infirmary to go speak with Squall.

XxXxX

Someone opened the door, causing Quistis Trepe to look up from her place at Kadowaki's desk and at the door. The SeeD's let Rinoa and Selphie in, and Quistis greeted them, not moving from her seat.

"Hello. If you're looking for Squall, I sent him to go rest about thirty minutes ago."

"Bummer…" said Tilmitt, sighing.

"Oh well. We can try again later--" Rinoa happened to look over at the resting unknown girl. "That's her? Hey--where's Seifer!"

Quistis honestly didn't want to tell her since she knew the young woman still cared for him. "He's missing, Rinoa. We don't know how or even why, just that he's missing."

Rinoa was silent, jaw slightly down. "He's missing!" Selphie spoke for her. "No way! Who would even dare take him? I mean, it's SEIFER, for crying out loud!"

"I know." Quistis looked at the worried face of Heartilly.

"Boy are they stupid with a capital 'S'!"

"Um…I think I need to, um, lie down," and with that said, Rinoa left the room, leaving Selphie behind, flashlight-less.

Selphie and Quistis just stared after her, the candle light making shadows dance on the wall.

"Let her process it all, Selphie," Quistis said when Tilmitt took a step toward the door.

Slowly, she nodded her head. "Okay."

XxXxX

She knew she shouldn't worry, that it wouldn't help any of them, but she just couldn't help it; she feared for their safety--both Paine's and Seifer's, now. With her knees up by her chest, she sat, back against one of the bookcases in the far back of the library. It was as quiet as usual, dark, though; the flashlight barely put out enough light, the battery almost dead.

That's just what she needed. To be sitting in the library, in the dark, all alone, a perfect time for something bad to happen.

Sighing, she closed her eyes to think. What was she going to do? What could she do? She felt helpless; but then again, Squall probably felt the same way. He couldn't do anything to save Paine, and now Seifer--of all people--has been taken, as well! The two may have not liked each other, but they dealt with one another. After what happened, she wouldn't be surprised if Squall was just lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling like it's the best thing in the world. She felt like doing that right now, but instead, she just sat there, thinking to herself in the barely lit up corner of the library where she was.

That's when she opened her eyes and saw nothing.

The flashlight had died.

Oh, this is just great, she thought to herself, feeling for the flashlight and trying to click it on when she did manage to find it. A book hit the floor, Rinoa jumping, completely startled. "H-hello?" she called out, hoping for someone to answer, but at the same time, afraid they would. "Hello?" she called out once more, voice stronger and a little louder this time. "Anyone there?"

A/N: Yes, it was supposed to end like that. I thank all my reviewers for reading as far as they have. More twisted, evil plot twists ahead!