A/N - Okay, I really wanted to do another chapter for this story, sooo...here ya go! This chapter marks the beginning of the events of disc 2 of the original game. You'll find some interesting things happen in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
I'd say more, but I've been dealing with a lot of crap in my personal life lately, which is why I haven't updated anything in a few days. x.x I've been trying to unwind with Persona 5 Royal, but I keep having to deal with so much crap that I can barely play the damn game and enjoy myself! It's frustrating as hell. So yeah...anyways, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 10 - Unusual Circumstances
"Huh? Where am I? What the heck's going on here?" Naruto wondered aloud. It felt like he was floating, and yet, at the same time, he knew he was on the ground. Last thing I remember, I was struck by Edea's magic. Where am I now?
After looking around for a bit, he realized he was in someone's house. This was unusual, because he fully expected to either be dead or locked up in a prison somewhere after his failed attempt on Edea's life. It was at this point that a young girl rushed into the room, getting his attention.
"Uncle Laguna! There's someone here to see yoo." the girl said, immediately getting Naruto's attention.
"Laguna?! I'm...okay, this is not making ANY damn sense! Isn't it normally Squall and the others that have these freaky ass dreams?!" Naruto asked aloud.
Naruto felt himself moving and realized that he was truly experiencing Laguna's actions and speech. "Huh? Me? What's this person look like?" he asked. The experience of living someone else's life was unsettling and it left Naruto feeling incredibly awkward.
"Okay, think Naruto. Why the hell would you be experiencing such a vivid dream? What's your connection to this Laguna fellow? You thought this was unique to just Squall and the others, but obviously that's not the case now. You aren't originally a part of this world. You only came here about a year ago. So why are you experiencing this dream now? You can solve this mystery!" Naruto thought aloud. After some time, however, he came to the realization that he really had no fucking clue what was going on! I feel like a damn idiot.
The little girl's voice caught his attention again, so he listened to what she had to say. "He was wearin' funny clothes. He's tawking to Raine right now."
Laguna folded his arms and thought to himself for a moment. After a short pause, he asked, "Hmm? Is he at the pub?"
"Yup. That's why I came over to get yoo, Uncle Laguna! Am I a good girl?" the young girl asked.
Naruto found himself smiling and said, "Yes, you are. Such a sweet young thing."
"No, you're not!" Laguna exclaimed, catching Naruto off guard.
"The fuck?! She's a little sweetheart and you're snapping at her?!"
Laguna continued to speak at this point, obviously unaware of Naruto's thoughts. "It's dangerous to be out there by yourself. What if a monster comes and attacks you?"
"Ah, so that's why. Still, you could afford to be a little nicer to the girl. She was only trying to get your attention." Naruto said quietly to himself as he continued to watch the proceedings taking place.
The girl seemed a little upset and said, "It's only next door. It's okay."
"It's still dangerous!" Laguna exclaimed, obviously worried for the girl's safety. "And since you're such a cute little girl, the monsters will especially be after you! They'll catch you and then they'll suck all your blood out! If anything like that should happen, Uncle Laguna's gonna cry…"
Naruto felt his brow twitching as he folded his arms across his chest and said, "Yeah, that's right Laguna, scare the hell out of the poor girl why don'tcha? I know what you're trying to do, but there's better ways to go about it."
"I'll be okay. I'll just call yoo, Uncle Laguna! You'll come rescue me, right!?" And with that, the young girl rushed off, leaving Laguna to reach out for her in vain.
"H-Hey! Ellone! Wait!" Laguna exclaimed, finally giving Naruto a name to match the girl's face.
"Have to admit, that's one gutsy little girl." Naruto muttered to himself as he felt himself/Laguna moving down the stairs in pursuit of the youngling.
Once downstairs, they found Ellone waiting for Laguna. "I waited! Am I a good girl?" she questioned.
Laguna knelt down and rubbed the top of her head. "Yes, you've been a good girl." he said before standing again and walking around the table to look at some pictures on a dresser nearby. "Dear Ellone's father and mother, Ellone's been a good girl today. Right?" he said as he turned to look at Ellone again.
"Yup!" she exclaimed joyfully before turning and running off with Laguna chasing after her.
Once they were outside, Naruto saw a number of Galbadian soldiers out and about in this small village. He wasn't going to question their presence, as Laguna had obviously been a Galbadian soldier himself, alongside his friends, Kiros and Ward.
Laguna approached the Galbadian soldier standing in the center of town and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Turning to face him, the soldier asked, "You think the Esthar soldiers are really coming?"
Laguna shrugged his shoulders and said, "That was 2 years ago, right? They would've been here by now."
The soldier shook his head and said, "But… You never know what a country ruled by a sorceress could be up to…"
Hmm, so there was a sorceress back in his time as well, huh? I wonder if it's the same one we fought? Maybe, maybe not. Naruto thought with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
Laguna approached the two soldiers that seemed to be standing guard in front of a rather large building. The soldier to his left asked Laguna if he'd return to the army, considering he seemed to have fully healed by this point. As he approached the soldier on his right, Laguna said, "C'mon guys, you could kill some monsters, too…"
The soldier scoffed at this and said, "We're only on watch for Esthar soldiers. Screw the monsters."
Naruto scowled at this and said, "Man, you guys are a bunch of lazy assholes, aren't you?! Think about the people here! It's your duty to protect them and keep this place safe! Do your fucking jobs!"
Laguna sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Give me a break, guys…"
At this point, Laguna began making his way towards the soldier by the stairs leading down to a boat dock. It was at this point that Naruto realized there were, indeed monsters roaming the streets as Laguna had to kill a number of them without any freaking help from the lazy ass soldiers!
When Laguna reached the soldier, the soldier looked at him and complained. "I've been here 2 years, and boy is it boring."
Laguna chuckled a bit before saying, "It's a heckuva lot better than what Esthar soldiers do. They kidnap little girls, you know?"
The soldier nodded and said, "I think they're looking for a successor to Sorceress Adel, the ruler of Esthar. If they come back here again, I'm sure it'll be for Ellone this time."
Laguna scoffed and said boisterously, "Hah! They'll have to go through me first!" And with that, Laguna made his way to the pub before looking towards Ellone. "Ellone! Now's your chance!" he exclaimed, motioning for her to hurry to his side.
Ellone cheered before she hurried over and rushed into the pub. Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Such a bundle of energy. I sincerely hope nothing bad happens to her."
Laguna entered the pub shortly after and stumbled upon Raine giving Ellone a lecture. "You understand, Ellone?" Raine asked. "Now go to your room and play."
Ellone turned to face Laguna and whispered, "I got in twouble."
Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "Such a cutie. I wish I could just squeeze those cute little cheeks. Seems like a good kid."
Laguna whispered back to her, "That's 'cause you broke your promise. Too baaaad…"
Raine interrupted their little conversation by shouting at them. "Laguna! Use proper English when speaking to Ellone!"
Laguna smirked at Ellone and whispered, "I got 'n trouble."
Ellone giggled a bit before whispering back, "Toooo baaaddd!"
Raine sighed as the two of them began to giggle, clearly enjoying each other's company.
After a moment, a familiar face walked up to the counter. At least, it was familiar to Laguna. Naruto on the other hand, "Huh, I wonder which one he is. Kiros or Ward? From the descriptions Selphie gave me, I'm guessing this one is Kiros."
"It's been a while, Laguna." the man said with a small smile on his face.
"Kiros!" Laguna exclaimed, obviously happy to see his friend again.
"Well, that answers that question. He looks kinda cool." Naruto said with a small grin on his face.
Laguna walked forwards a little ways with Ellone before kneeling down next to her and said, "He's Uncle Laguna's friend. He dresses kinda funny, but he's not a bad guy."
Ellone nodded in understanding before she turned to face Kiros. "Yoo dress funny, but yoo're a good guy, right!?"
Going to check on Raine to see how she was doing, Laguna wasn't exactly surprised when she asked him what he was doing and if he was going to talk to his friend. So Laguna did just that and walked up to Kiros to see what he had to say.
"You seem well." Kiros said with that same small smile on his face.
"Yeah… You, too." Laguna said. Placing a hand to his chin, he asked, "Hey, how long has it been? You know, since our grand escape from Centra?"
Kiros smirked a bit as he rubbed his chin lightly. "That was… Well, one would usually call that being chased out…"
Raine giggled a bit and said, "I thought so…"
"Well, I would say it's been about a year or so." Kiros said.
Laguna turned to face his friend and shook his head. "I was bedridden for over 6 months. It seemed like every bone in my body was in pieces."
Raine smiled at Kiros and said, "I nursed him back to health."
"Thank you for taking good care of Laguna." Kiros said politely in gratitude. Turning to his long-time friend, Kiros said, "I was able to recover in about a month or so. Ever since then...I've been searching for you."
Laguna frowned in confusion at this before asking, "Why?"
Naruto sighed and facepalmed at Laguna's cluelessness. "Why do you think Numbnuts?! He's your friend, obviously. And he cares about you! What kind of friend would he be if he didn't look for you to make sure you were alive and well?"
Kiros sighed and said, "After leaving the army… Well, just killing time I guess. Life's pretty boring without you as entertainment, my man."
Naruto sweatdropped and said, "I swear, I'm an oddball when it comes to being a man. So many of my fellow men have such a hard time being honest with people about their feelings."
"That's a harsh thing to say. I've been living a productive life here." Laguna replied with an expression of mock hurt on his face.
"I think I understand what you mean, though." Raine said.
"So, what do you want to know?" Kiros asked.
Laguna frowned and said, "Let's see… How's Ward doing?" he asked, genuinely curious about how his other friend was doing.
"Ward quit the army, too." Kiros said. "Luckily, he found a job, and he's working pretty hard."
"What's he doing?" Laguna asked.
"He's a janitor down at the D-District Prison." Kiros replied.
"Wow… I can't picture him moppin' floors, but I'm glad he's doing well."
Kiros frowned and said, "Oh. He never got his voice back. You can basically tell what he wants from his facial expressions. So, what else do you want to know?"
"Let's see… How's Julia doing?" Laguna asked, hoping dearly that she was doing alright.
Kiros shook his head and said, "I don't know…"
Raine piped up at this point, saying, "You mean Julia, the singer?"
Kiros nodded. "That's right. Laguna really admired her and always frequented the night club."
Laguna blushed in embarrassment and yelled, "Shut up! So what if I did?!"
"Julia used to sing at a night club?" Raine asked curiously.
Kiros shook his head and said, "No, she didn't sing. She just played the piano."
Raine nodded once in understanding before she asked, "Then the first song she released wsa 'Eyes On Me'?"
"H-How does the song go?" Laguna asked, genuinely curious.
"You don't know?" Raine questioned, clearly a bit skeptical.
Laguna exclaimed, "Well, you never let me hear it!"
"I didn't think you listened to music. The song's about being in love...I really like it." she explained.
"I heard she recently got married." Kiros said.
"Oh yeah! She got married to some army general, right? General Caraway or something?" Raine asked.
"I'm not too sure." Kiros stated.
Raine shook her head sadly and said, "I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back. General Caraway comforted her while she was feeling down. That's how they got to know each other."
Kiros frowned as he folded his arms across his chest. "...So, she didn't wait for the soldier to come back…?"
Laguna scoffed at this and exclaimed, "So what?! Who cares!? As long as she's happy, right? That's all that matters!"
Naruto sighed at this point and thought, Laguna, you idiot. You were her true love. Poor woman must've felt crushed when you didn't come back to her. I have a feeling that 'Eyes On Me' was written for you. And General Caraway, huh? So that's how Rinoa's parents met each other. Can't imagine how he must have felt, knowing her heart belonged to another before him. I wonder if she ever got over Laguna?
Laguna turned and knelt down, looking at the cute little girl, Ellone. "Ain't that right, Elle?"
Ellone giggled a bit and nodded enthusiastically. "Right! Besides, Uncle Laguna and Raine are…"
Laguna let out a scream at this point and waved his hands in front of himself. "N-No! None of that now!" Standing again, he turned to face Raine again with a healthy blush on his face. "Okay, enough talk about this!"
Kiros smirked for a moment before asking, "So, what else do you want to know?"
"Let's see…"
"So, where exactly am I anyways?" Naruto questioned aloud. "I don't recognize this place at all."
Laguna frowned and said, "..I think the faeries are here."
Kiros turned to look at his friend for a moment before saying, "...Faeries?" Taking a moment to think on it, he nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I guess so…"
"Then our work today should be a cinch." Laguna said with a grin.
Naruto frowned and thought to himself, Wait, can Laguna and his friends actually hear us when we talk?! The fuck is going on here?!
"I'm looking forward to the battles." Kiros said with a small smile on his face. "So, what else would you like to know, my friend?"
"Let's see here…" Taking a moment to think on it, Laguna shook his head and said, "Let's talk more later. It's time to do some work."
"...Okay" Kiros replied simply.
"So, what's your plan? You're gonna stick around here for a bit, right?" Laguna questioned his long-time friend.
"Would that be okay?"
Raine nodded and said, "You work for what you eat. If that's fine with you, you're more than welcome to stay."
Laguna and Kiros nodded before the two of them left the pub. Approaching the bridge, Kiros paused and looked at Laguna with a slight frown. "Laguna...I have a simple question… What exactly do you do here?"
Laguna shrugged and said, "It's like this. All the working men in this town were sent off to war. The only ones still left in town are old people, children, chocobos, dogs, and cats. And I'm pretty sure you've noticed, but the monsters have made their way into town. This here town took real good care of me. So basically, I want to return the kindness they've shown me. You're lookin' at the Monster Hunter of Winhill! So, as of today, you'll be my assistant. We're to patrol the town up to the town entrance! If we see anyone in need along the way, we help them. That's our basic duty!"
Kiros simply nodded in understanding as he resumed following Laguna. As they walked, Naruto couldn't help but think to himself. So, we're in a village called Winhill, huh? I've never heard of it. Then again, there's still a lot about this world I don't know about. And now that I think on it, who among my friends is currently dreaming as Kiros? Guess I'll just have to find out later when I actually wake the hell up.
As they proceeded down the road, exterminating any monsters that got in their way, they soon came across a building that was quite obviously a flower shop. Entering, Laguna and Kiros approached the elderly lady. Seeing them, the old woman said, "It's been quite some time now since you've recovered from your injuries."
Laguna grinned and exclaimed, "It's thanks to everyone in town!"
The kind old woman said, "This here town must be quite dull for a young lad like yourself. Perhaps it's time you returned to Deling City?"
Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "I dunno. I kinda like the atmosphere here. If Laguna chose to stay here, I wouldn't blame him. Seems nice."
With that, Laguna and his friend left the flower shop to continue with their patrol of the town. It didn't take long for them to reach the entrance of town where a bunch of buildings stood tall before them.
Upon reaching the item store, Laguna grinned and exclaimed, "Alright! Our first patrol is complete!" Turning to face Kiros, he grinned and said, "We're to report to the commander and assistant commander."
Kiros quirked a brow and asked, "Commander… Do you mean that woman at the pub?"
"Seriously, why's he calling them commanders? Weird." Naruto muttered to himself.
"Her name's Raine. Raine, okay!? She saved my life. And the assistant commander is Ellone." Laguna explained.
"She seems like a really nice person. Buuut, she's easily taken in by a hotshot." Kiros said with a sly smile on his face.
"...A hotshot?" Laguna wondered aloud before he nodded to himself and said, "Okay, let's step up our patrol a notch. Assistant Kiros, let's come up with a plan after we get back to the base."
Naruto sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Now I see why Squall calls him an idiot.
Entering the nearby item shop, it became quickly apparent that the item shop owner didn't like Laguna one tiny bit. "...The hell!? So you've recovered. Good. Now get outta here!"
Laguna sighed and exclaimed that Raine asked him to do some shopping. So, reluctantly, the item shop owner allowed the ex-Galbadian soldier to do some shopping. Afterwards, Laguna decided to at least try to strike up a conversation with the grumpy store owner. "I just wanna chat, man."
After a few brief moments, the owner asked, "...How's Raine?"
Laguna raised a brow in curiosity before saying, "Uhh, she's doing fine."
"That's good. Still, it'd be even better if you left!" the owner exclaimed angrily.
Naruto sighed and shook his head in exasperation. It's pretty damn obvious this guy's jealous of how close Laguna has become with that Raine lady. Grumpy ass bastard.
Leaving the item store, the duo began making their way back towards the pub. However, after reaching a triangular sign, Kiros stopped Laguna and said, "Hey, Laguna… Are you doing this patrol thing every day?"
Laguna turned around in a huff and exclaimed, "'Thing'!? What're you callin' 'THING'!?"
Naruto facepalmed himself and shook his head again. Yep, Laguna's an idiot alright.
Kiros sighed and asked, "Weren't you aiming to become a world-traveling journalist? You've heard of 'Timber Maniacs', right? I had a talk with the chief editor. He said he's interested in any article related to world travel."
Laguna grinned and exclaimed, "That's great!"
Kiros nodded and said, "We should go talk to him sometime."
Laguna turned away and muttered, "Y-Yeah…"
Naruto sighed and shook his head once again. Kiros, I understand what you're trying to do here, but Laguna's kinda crazy about that Raine lady. I don't think he wants to leave...if he can help it.
With that said, the duo continued making their way back towards the pub, fighting a bunch of Caterchipillars and Bite Bugs along the way. They stopped again, however, in front of the flower shop. Turning to face Kiros, Laguna asked, "Um, it'd be okay if we stayed here a bit longer, right?"
Kiros frowned in thought and asked, "Do you need more time to gather more material? This seems like a really nice town. You're gonna write about this place first, aren't you?"
Naruto deadpanned and asked aloud, "You're just pretending to be that dense...right Kiros? 'Cause if not, you're an even bigger idiot than Laguna here."
"No way. I can't make this place famous. Too much publicity and you get all those tourists and stuff." Laguna said, shaking his head.
Kiros smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "You're afraid someone might come and take Raine away, aren't you? Laguna, you've changed, man."
"Yep. I fucking called it. Kiros, you're a bastard. Hope you know that." Naruto muttered.
Laguna quickly turned away and shouted out, "Hey! I see a monster!" before quickly rushing off across the bridge. Kiros simply chuckled a bit and hurried after his friend.
Upon reaching the pub again, they entered, but didn't see Raine or Ellone anywhere. Hearing noise upstairs, they quietly snuck up the stairs and saw Raine and Ellone talking with each other. Laguna quickly turned to his friend and shook his head before whispering, "Girl talk… Let's come back later." When Kiros simply shook his head, Laguna began to panic a bit. "Come on!" he whispered harshly.
Kiros shook his head again and said, "Something inside me tells me to listen."
Before they could say anymore, Ellone spoke up. "Raine… Aren't yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?"
Raine scoffed and said, "A guy like that? He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him…" At this point, Raine began to list off all the things that were wrong with Laguna, which caused Naruto to wince in sympathy for the ex-Galbadian soldier.
"Damn, man. That's kinda harsh. But it's pretty obvious that she likes him too." he said to himself.
Ellone shook her head and exclaimed, "But he's really nice! I really, really like him! Raine, Uncle Laguna, and Elle should all be together!"
Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Seriously, Elle is one nice kid."
Raine sighed and walked over to the window, looking out of it. "...But you know...I think what he really wants to do is travel all over the world. I don't think he has it in him to live in a quiet country town like this one. Some people are like that… Oooh, it makes me so mad."
Ellone watched Raine pace around the room for a little while before asking, "...Yoo don't like him?"
Raine sighed and turned to look at Ellone. "...I feel the same as you, Ellone." It was at this point that she glanced towards the stairs and exclaimed, "Oh!?"
"Oooh, busted! Got caught listening in on their private conversation, did you Laguna? This should be amusing."
Laguna panicked as he rushed up the stairs into the room proper. Before he could say anything, Ellone hopped off the couch and smiled at him. "Yay! Yoo're back!"
Laguna pretended to be breathing heavily, acting as if he had just come in. "I came back in a hurry!" he exclaimed somewhat nervously.
"Yeah, like Raine's gonna buy that. Nice try man." Naruto said, chuckling again.
Walking up to Raine, Laguna exclaimed, "Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination! Including Buchubuchus and Bunbuns that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates...I've exterminated 15 monsters!"
Raine nodded in appreciation and said, "Alright! Thank you. Shall we eat before you get started with the next patrol? I'll call you when it's ready, so just wait in your room. You seem pretty tired. You should take a quick nap."
Naruto smirked to himself and thought, Heh, so she's letting you off the hook, huh? Lucky you.
Laguna approached Ellone at this point and smiled when she exclaimed, "Let's eat, let's eat! Let's all eat together! Yoo're joining us too, right Mr. Kiros!?"
Kiros simply chuckled a bit and nodded his head, bowing slightly to the young lass. She seemed happy about his response and said, "We have me and Raine and Uncle Laguna and Mr. Kiros!"
Laguna and his friend couldn't help but smile at the young girl before leaving the room. Making their way out of the pub and into the house next door, Laguna let out a yawn and stretched a bit before saying, "Time for a little break…" Turning to look at his friend, he asked, "Well now, shall we rest up a bit?"
Kiros frowned as he looked at his friend. "Hm? What's the matter?"
Laguna folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "I get scared sometimes. Scared of waking up somewhere else… Scared of not seeing Ellone…"
"Scared of not seeing Raine?" Kiros wondered aloud.
Laguna sighed and looked his friend in the eyes. "What happened to me? I feel… What is this I'm feeling? Oh, please let it be this room when I wake up! Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up!"
"Laguna, you've changed." Kiros said.
It was at this point that everything started going dark. "Now what the hell's going on?!" Naruto wondered as everything went black.
D-District Prison
Where am I? A certain tattooed young man wondered as he slowly came to in his prison cell.
"Ahh, welcome back, Zell. The 'dream world' again?" Quistis questioned him.
Zell nodded and massaged his temples for a moment. "Uh huh."
Selphie, who was still worried sick about her boyfriend, decided to try and take her mind off of things by asking, "How's Laguna doin'?"
Zell shook his head and said, "Dunno...I didn't see him. It's not like I know everything about Ward, but…" Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head for a moment before saying, "Well, you know Laguna and company went to that Centra place and got into a real fix, right? Well, after that, Ward's been all alone. He's working in some sort of prison-like place. And he's bored outta his mind! All he wants is to be fightin' alongside Laguna."
Quistis frowned as she looked down at her lap. "So, what is this that we're experiencing?"
Zell was a bit frustrated as he exclaimed, "How the hell should I know!?"
Zell decided to chat with his friends to see what exactly was going on since he had been in the dream world. Approaching Selphie first, he sat down beside her and listened as she asked, "Well… Since we're prisoners and all… Shouldn't we be trying to break out of here!?"
The spiky-haired blonde shrugged and approached Quistis next. "I wonder what happened to Naruto and the others… Did they bring them here, too…?" Quistis frowned at this point and said, "Please let Naruto be okay…"
Zell honestly didn't know what to say in reply, so he walked over to Ino and Hinata and asked, "How are you two holding up?"
Ino scowled and clenched her fists atop her lap. "I'm pissed! That's how I'm doing! That damn sorceress nearly killed Naruto-kun! Yes, he's been through worse, but...but…" Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head. "Naruto-kun has already been through so much. Why is he being put through more like this?"
Hinata placed a supportive hand on Ino's shoulder before looking into Zell's eyes and saying, "We're alright. We're just worried for Naruto-kun, that's all."
Nodding in understanding, Zell soon approached Rinoa and listened as she asked, "Um, didn't you say that Ward was working in some sort of prison?"
Not quite sure where she was going with this line of thought, he asked, "Yeah, so?"
"And wasn't he from Galbadia?"
Zell nodded and said, "Sure, he's a soldier there."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be Ward in that 'dream world'?" Rinoa questioned.
Zell nodded again. "Just now I was."
"Does this room look familiar?"
Zell scoffed and thought, Of all he stupid questi… Hey? Whoa? Wait a sec… Standing up abruptly, he exclaimed, "I know this place! Everyone listen up! This is the prison that Ward works at! He's a janitor here! There's so many rooms just like this! It's got to be here!"
Rinoa nodded and said, "There's a prison for political activists in Galbadia… This must be the place where Ward works. Right here, right where we are! I'm sure of it!"
Quistis rubbed her forehead for a moment before saying, "It's no surprise we're in jail. We did attack the sorceress…"
Rinoa sighed and said, "We went up against the president. We'll all be sentenced to death…"
"That president is no longer in charge." Quistis stated.
Rinoa hung her head and said, "Now that Galbadia's in the hands of the soreceress… What's going to happen to us?"
Selphie frowned and said, "Things don't look so good for us…" Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes as tears started forming in them again. "I'm more worried about Naruto, though. He, Squall, and Irvine were all taken somewhere else in the prison. Naruto...he…"
Ino and Hinata, who had been silently listening as the others conversed amongst themselves, couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sure Naruto-kun is fine. He's strong and he's got the Kyuubi with him too. More importantly though, what the heck are you guys talking about? What's this 'dream world' thing you keep mentioning?" Ino questioned, tired of being left out of the loop.
Quistis frowned as she thought it over and shook her head. "We're not entirely sure ourselves. But there are moments where some of us will suddenly fall unconscious and begin to dream that we're these people known as Laguna, Kiros, and Ward. I think that we're seeing the past through their eyes and experiencing the things they've experienced. They've been to real locations in the world and done some interesting things. They've been through a lot, actually. Still, we don't know why we're seeing the events in this dream world. It's all so confusing, but…"
Selphie nodded and said, "It's pretty interesting! Kinda weird that us girls are experiencing things through the eyes of Kiros and Ward, though. Oh well! Anyways…" Looking into Ino's and Hinata's eyes, she asked, "Are you sure Naru is going to be alright?"
Hinata offered her a reassuring smile and said, "Of course he will be. We need to believe in him and trust that he'll be just fine. He's strong, and he's been through worse than that before...sadly. I'm not sure if he's shown any of you his scars yet, but…"
Ino scowled and said, "Sasuke literally tried to murder him at the Valley of the End. Plunged a Chidori or two through his chest, damn near killing him. I'm still amazed that Naruto-kun survived such a thing."
Selphie and Quistis both scowled and said, "Please tell me that asshole is dead?"
Ino nodded and said, "Very. It was quite some time ago, like 5 or so years ago, I think? But yes, Sasuke is dead. He got exactly what he deserved."
"Good." Quistis said, ending the conversation there.
It was at this point that Zell slumped against the wall and sighed. What's gonna happen to us? And where the hell is that guy, Irvine? And what about Squall? And Naruto? Dammit, Naruto, you'd better be fine!
Squall
Squall sighed as he looked around his cell. It was obvious that he was in solitary confinement and it was kinda pissing him off. Naruto… Dammit, I hope you're okay. Why did you have to take my place like that? You were our best hope of killing that sorceress!
Sighing again, he laid back on his bed and shook his head. "I sincerely hope everyone is okay. If I could just break out of here, I would. I want to make sure that everyone's fine and nobody's been killed yet."
Staring at the ceiling, he thought back to when he and the others were captured and dragged off to this blasted prison. Those assholes tossed Naruto around like a ragdoll. They weren't gentle with him at all. It'll be a miracle if his wounds have healed already, especially considering what they did to him after seeing him wound their precious sorceress. I swear, the next time we fight, I'll make sure to destroy you, Edea.
It was at this point that he recalled something else. Seifer. Even after defeating you, you still looked down on us like we were nothing. You're a cocky son-of-a-bitch for getting yoru ass handed to you.
Naruto
Naruto let out a groan as he gradually regained consciousness. He immediately felt some phantom pains from Edea's magic and proceeded to massage his chest a bit where he had been stabbed by the ice. Ugh. Where the hell am I? He wondered as he looked around the cell he was in. Peachy. I'm in a damn prison cell, aren't I?
It was at this point that he felt his prison cell begin to shift and move around. Using his chakra to maintain his balance, he looked around and asked, "Okay, what the hell is going on?!"
Naruto was reminded of his time trying to earn Gamabunta's respect back when he first summoned the large toad. If this thing doesn't stop shaking and moving around soon, I'm gonna get really pissed! I wonder if I can break out of here?
Zell & Company
Hearing the loud noise of one of the cells being shifted around, unaware that it held Naruto captive inside, Selphie looked around and exclaimed, "What the…!? What the heck's going on?! What was that loud noise?"
It was at this point that three of the prison guards entered their cell. Seeing them, Zell practically snarled as he thought to himself, I don't like this…
One of the guards smirked sinisterly and said, "It's the sound of your friend being tortured."
Zell, immediately thinking the worst, took a step forward and glared at them as he said, "What!? What the hell do you mean by that?!"
The guards aimed their weapons at him and one of them shouted, "Shut up! Don't screw around with me! Don't you understand who's in charge here!?" The guard walked up to Zell and grabbed him by the throat tightly. "I'm asking you a question!"
At this point, the guards began to beat on Zell for a time before Ino and Hinata had enough of it. Using their clan techniques, they killed the three guards before Hinata walked over to Zell and knelt down beside him. She began to heal him while asking, "Are you alright, Zell?"
Zell let out a pained groan and nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I'm just peachy. More importantly, they mentioned someone's being tortured. I swear, if they're hurting Naruto more, I'll kill 'em!"
Quistis shook her head and said, "Naruto can handle himself, Zell. You know that as well as I do. Even in his wounded state, he's more than a match for anything these people can throw at him."
The blonde thought it over for a time before nodding his head. "True. Still, I can't help but worry about him. Same with Squall and Irvine. I want to make sure they're alright."
Squall
Squall groaned as his cell came to a stop. He had heard another cell being moved before his own cell began to move as well. It caught him off guard and he had ended up falling on the floor, unable to hold his balance any longer. Now here he was, his cell door opening, allowing one Seifer Almasy entrance into his cell.
"Squall, you're pitiful." he mocked as Squall slowly rose to his feet.
Squall wanted to strike back at his rival/nemesis, but he was still too dizzy to stay on his feet properly. This left him open for an attack by Seifer, who proceeded to throw him into the wall of his cell before shouting, "Take him away!"
A short while later, Squall was suspended from a wall, looking like he was crucified. Rather than say anything, he simply stared down at Seifer who, once again, appeared to be mocking him. "I'm sure you can imagine what happens now."
Squall struggled for a bit against his bindings, but couldn't break free. So, rather than waste his energy in a futile struggle, he asked, "...What do you want?"
Seifer pointed his gunblade at his rival and demanded, "Tell me what SeeD is. Edea demands to know."
The brunette frowned in confusion at this and mumbled, "SeeD…" Taking a moment, he began to think on it. ...A code name for Balamb Garden's elite mercenary force… SeeD… Combat specialists…?
After a moment, he asked, "...Don't you already know?"
Seifer propped his gunblade up on his shoulder and shook his head. "I'm not a SeeD. There must be some kind of secret you're given when you become a SeeD!"
Squall shook his head and said, "There's nothing. Even if there was, do you really think I'd tell you?"
Seifer scoffed and said, "You're on my 'tough-nut-to-crack' list. I didn't think you'd talk that easily."
Squall chuckled a bit and said, "Gee, I'm honored."
Glancing over at the nearby prison guard, he said, "So here's a little somethin' for ya." Snapping his fingers, he watched as the guard threw a switch.
At first, Squall wasn't entirely sure what was supposed to happen. Then electricity sparked and began to electrocute him painfully. The scarred teen screamed out in agony as he felt all the volts shooting throughout his body and his nervous system. It was pure agony for him and he wished desperately that it would stop soon.
After a few, brief moments, the guard flipped the switch again and gave Squall the break he desperately needed. Seifer simply smirked at Squall and said, "Even if you don't talk, others will. There's the instructor, the little messenger girl, Chicken-wuss, those two hotties, maybe even your best friend, Naruto."
Squall smirked down at Seifer and said, "Naruto? Heh, if you really think he'll talk, go right ahead and try it. Then again, he's more likely to break free and kill you before he'll ever talk to you. Heh, I'd love to see you try and break him. You're a pathetic weakling when compared to him, Seifer. You know it as well as I do."
Seifer scowled and said, "After what he's been through, I doubt he's in any shape to resist me. I'll get the truth out of him in no time."
Before Seifer could walk off to attempt just that, Squall began to laugh uproariously. "Oh, that's a good laugh. Naruto's probably healed already from what was done to him. That precious sorceress of yours could never kill him or keep him down for long. I bet you that right now, Naruto's working on a way to break out of his cell. He's going to kill you all and leave you with nothing. You know it too, don't you Seifer?"
Seifer clenched his fist and shook angrily. "Shut up! That shit-for-brains could never compare to me! You're both nothing but weaklings! I'll make him talk! But first, I wanted to give you a chance to spill your guts. Tell me, Squall, how did I look in my moment of triumph? I've finally fulfilled my dream! I've become the sorceress' knight!"
Sorceress' knight… Was that his 'romantic dream'...? But Seifer… Now you're just… Sighing softly, Squall shook his head and said, "Nothing but a torturer."
Seifer glared at Squall and asked angrily, "What did you just say!?" When his rival didn't reply, Seifer scoffed and said, "Passed out cold, eh? This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The tale of the evil mercenary vs. the sorceress' knight… The fun's just started, Squall. Don't disappoint me now!"
When the guard went to flip the switch again, he suddenly found a kunai pierce clean through his eye into his brain. As the guard collapsed to the ground, deceased, Seifer turned and looked on in horror as Naruto walked into the light of the room with a kunai spinning around his finger. "Your ego could use a little reality boost. You know, I heard what you were saying there. You've completely lost your mind, haven't you? Such a shame." Shaking his head, Naruto tsk'ed and said, "Shame, shame, shame. You do realize I'll have to kill you now, don't you Seifer-chan?"
"Don't call me that, Naruto!" Seifer exclaimed angrily as he pointed his gunblade at his foe. "I'll kill you here and now! That'll prove who's on the side of justice and who's the monster!"
Grinning sadistically at Seifer, Naruto stopped spinning the kunai around his finger and clutched it tight in his hand. "Oh, this'll be fun."
When Seifer rushed him, attempting to attack with his gunblade, Naruto slipped around to his side, avoiding the blast that Seifer tried to nail him with, and cut deep into Seifer's side with his kunai. "Come on Seifer! You can do better than that, can't you?! Or has becoming Miss Bitchy's 'knight' weakened you somehow?!" he taunted with a grin on his face.
Scowling as he turned to look at his foe, the sorceress' knight, as he proclaimed himself to be, swung at him again, only for the Naruto in front of him to vanish in a cloud of smoke. Realizing that an attack was coming that he had no way to block, Seifer braced himself for what was to come.
Naruto sighed in disappointment as he used one of his seals to disable Seifer, causing him to feel as if gravity had increased around him. Collapsing to the floor after a brief couple of moments, Seifer struggled desperately against the unseen weight.
"Don't bother, Seifer-chan. That seal is designed to increase the effects of gravity around you, increasing little by little until you're crushed under its weight. I'm giving you this one chance to surrender. Give up, Seifer." Naruto said, glaring down at the young man.
Seifer scowled and spat out, "Screw. You. Shit-for-brains."
Naruto sighed, but before he could say anything, another guard walked in, saying, "Sir Seifer, the missiles targeted for the Garden are ready to launch." Upon noticing what was going on, the guard panicked and reached for his baton, only for Naruto's kunai to pierce his hand before he could.
As the guard screamed out in pain, Naruto scowled at him before looking down at Seifer. "Seems it's your lucky day, Seifer. You get to live!" he said before reaching down and ripping the seal off of his unworthy opponent. "Go. I've got more important matters to deal with, it seems. You're just not enough to register on my radar, little man."
Seifer scowled as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. Glaring at Naruto, he said, "Balamb Garden is to be destroyed for raising SeeDs to oppose the sorceress. It's a pity, really. I grew up there, too… Buuut, orders are orders, and Edea wants it destroyed."
Naruto scowled and gripped Seifer by the throat, lifting him off of the ground. "Seifer-chan, I'm giving you a chance to leave and keep your life. Are you really sure you want to waste it by trying to taunt me and piss me off?"
Seifer didn't say anything at first before Naruto threw him to the ground. Coughing, he slowly pushed himself back to his feet and glared at the blonde. "Y-You'll pay for this…" he said before turning and fleeing the room with the prison guard who still had the kunai embedded in his hand.
Once they were gone, Naruto sighed and shook his head in aggravation. Walking over to his friend, Naruto helped Squall down and looked calmly into his eyes. "You okay, man?"
Squall nodded slowly and said, "Y-Yeah, I'll be fine. Just had a few hundred volts of electricity pumping throughout my body, but I'm good."
Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Good. I'll give you a moment to rest, but then we need to get moving. We need to find Irvine and the others."
"Right. Don't worry, I'll be good to go in a bit. Not sure how much I can help though, considering I'm without my weapon." Squall replied.
"Meh, don't worry about that. We'll find our stuff in no time, I guarantee it." Naruto said with a thumbs up and a grin.
Zell & Co.
Zell, Ino, and Hinata peeked out of the cell and looked around. As they were the only ones that could really fight right now without their weapons on hand, it was up to the three of them to find the team's weapons and return them to their rightful owners.
When they stepped out into the open, they looked around curiously for a moment. "This is one dark and gloomy place." Ino said.
"What did you expect? It's a prison. Not exactly meant to be cozy." Zell said carelessly.
Ino scowled at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, she and her friends/teammates went off in search of their weapons. They weren't entirely sure just where they should look for their weapons, but something told them it would be best to head up. So up the stairs they went.
Upon reaching the 8th floor and realizing that their cell was on the 7th floor, they turned around to see a couple of Galbadian soldiers looking at the team's weapons that was haphazardly strewn about the floor. Approaching them, they listened in as the soldiers talked to each other.
One of the soldiers was currently holding Squall's gunblade, while the other was admiring Naruto's twin pistols. "Look at this...SeeD weapons…"
The other soldier took a closer look at the gunblade the other one was holding and asked, "Hmm, is this what they call a gunblade?"
The first soldier kneeled down and placed the gunblade on the floor before looking at the other weapons. "Check these out. A whip, nunchaku, it's kind of amazing."
The group of three sighed softly and shook their heads. Ino, deciding to just get it over with, used one of her clan techniques to control the soldiers, forcing him to kill his friend before killing himself. Once it was over, they retrieved their weapons and stared disappointedly at the soldiers. "That's what you get for being careless and letting down your guard." she said before they made their way back down to the 7th floor cell that their comrades were waiting in.
Upon entering, Zell waved at the three women and said, "Yo! Sorry to keep ya waitin'!"
Quistis looked into his eyes and asked, "Zell, the weapons?"
Zell and the kunoichi produced the weapons and smiled at the three of them. "Voila!" Zell exclaimed with a grin.
"Whoo-hoo! Alright! Good job you three!" Selphie exclaimed joyfully as she eagerly took her weapon in hand where it belonged. She was still concerned for Naruto, but she had a strange feeling that he was perfectly alright.
Zell grinned and pumped his fist into the air. "Time to go kick some ass!"
Quistis smirked and said, "Yes!"
"Right on!" Selphie exclaimed with a grin of her own. "We're coming to find you, Naruto."
A moment later, they heard someone outside asking, "Is this the cell with the uncooperative prisoners?"
Another man's voice could be heard saying, "Yes, this is it. Please give 'em something to really complain about."
"Should we be picking on prisoners so soon after gettin' transferred here?" another man could be heard asking.
"Just be quiet and let me handle this!" the first man exclaimed.
Soon the door opened and three men stepped inside, two of which were rather familiar to Zell and Selphie. "T-These are the prisoners, Lieutenant Biggs, Private Wedge."
Biggs? Wedge? Zell thought as he looked at the two men. Upon realizing exactly who they were dealing with, Zell, Selphie, Biggs, and Wedge each let out a scream before Biggs exclaimed, "S-So we meet again! Now we'll teach you the lesson we should have taught you earlier! I know it might seem cowardly to fight unarmed prisoners…"
Everyone on the team grinned as they brandished their weapons. Biggs continued saying, "...But I hope you appreciate our position. Hey, it's a dog eat do…" Realizing at this point that they did, in fact, have their weapons, he began to sweat nervously.
Wedge, deciding to state the obvious, looked at his commander and said, "Uh, they're fully armed, sir…"
Biggs stared at the team of heroes with wide eyes as the realization finally, truly dawned on him. "W-WHAT!? H-Ho-How…? Ahh, to hell with it! Let's go, Wedge!"
As the fight began, Biggs couldn't help but yell at them, complaining about being demoted because of them and how it was time for him to get his revenge. Sadly, for the duo, at least, they didn't really stand a chance and were soundly defeated after the party stocked up on what magic they needed.
Instead of killing them, Zell and his teammates left the cell, leaving Biggs and Wedge alone in the cell. Almost as soon as they vacated the room, Biggs pushed himself up onto his knees and said, "D-Don't think you can just walk out… Ugh."
Outside of the cell, Zell looked at the others and said, "Okay, Squall and Naruto should be around here somewhere. Not sure about that Irvine guy. Any idea where they might be?" Nobody answered so he slumped over a bit and said, "I guess not. Oh well, here's the plan: We find Squall and Naruto and then make our way outta here. Got it?"
It was at this point that an alarm began blaring, causing them to wince at the sudden noise. "What the…!?" Zell exclaimed in shock.
"Warning! Escapee alert! Monsters will be set loose on each floor. If the escapees refuse to surrender, you have permission to kill. The anti-magic field will be lifted." a voice could be heard saying over the intercom system.
"Tch! The security alarm!" Zell exclaimed as he glared at the door to the cell they had just left. "That bastard probably triggered the alarm after we left the cell."
Quistis stretched for a moment before saying, "This actually works out well for us. With the anti-magic field lifted, we can make use of our magic again. They might think we're at a disadvantage now, but they're highly underestimating us."
Ino grinned at this point and said, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I bet Naruto-kun's having a blast too."
Selphie smiled at this and nodded her head in agreement. "I think he probably is! But...do you think he's fully healed by now? And what about Squall? Don't they need their weapons?"
Zell looked at Selphie with a smirk. "Naruto? Needing weapons? Heh, you've still got plenty to learn about him, don't you Selphie? Naruto's whole body is a weapon. Besides, he's got those seal thingies and some of that ninjutsu stuff he's talked about. He'll be just fine. I guarantee it!"
Selphie pouted and said, "Well, it's not my fault! I'm still new to this, you know? I'm actually kind of envious of you guys, getting to be with Naruto for so long and knowing all that you do about him."
Rinoa spoke up at this point and said, "Um, I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but shouldn't we get moving? I'd rather not get caught and thrown back in another cell."
"She has a point. We need to get a move on and try to find those three. I'm pretty sure they're fine, but it would be a good idea to return their weapons to them as soon as possible to help make things easier on them." Hinata said.
And with that, Zell's team began to make their move while Naruto and Squall proceeded to make their move on their end. It was time for a good old fashioned prison break, and they were all about to have some fun!
A/N - And that's the chapter! I certainly hope you enjoyed it.
As you can see, Naruto was the one to experience the dream this time instead of Squall. I bet you're wondering why that is. Welllll...I'm not telling! lol.
Anyways, not much I can really say. Like I said above, I'm trying to unwind with Persona 5 Royal as much as possible. I'm tired of having to deal with all the shit I keep having to put up with on a daily basis, so I need some time to just relax and unwind, y'know?
I don't know what I'll work on next. Not even sure when I'll update anything next. Sooo...yeah. Hope you're looking forward to whatever comes out next!