A/N - Okey dokey, felt it was about time to add another chapter to this story. So yay!

Wanted to thank whoever it was that pointed out some inconsistencies. I went back to chapters 7 & 8 and fixed those. Just as Ino (or was it Hinata? Can't remember) said in the previous chapter, Sasuke is dead. Very dead. Not going to be alive anymore dead. lol. So that's been fixed.

Anyways, this chapter focuses on the prison break. Period. That's it. lol. Sooo...read on and enjoy!

Chapter 11 – Prison Break

Naruto chuckled as he listened to the alarm blaring throughout the D-District Prison. "Well, not sure if that's because of us or if the others did something. Either way, this is kind of awesome! A real life prison break and we're part of it! Woohoo!" he exclaimed joyfully as he killed yet another enemy. Just as the announcement had said, the anti-magic field had been lifted and monsters had been set loose throughout the prison.

Squall smirked at him as he focused on drawing and casting magic as needed to back Naruto up. "You seem to be enjoying yourself. Was this some kind of dream of yours or something?"

The blonde shrugged before taking apart a GIM47N piece by piece. "Not really. It just seemed like it might be kind of fun is all. Yeah, not having our weapons right now kinda sucks, but can you really complain when we're having such a fun time? Come on, let's head down a few floors and see if we can't find the others."

The scarred teen shrugged and followed his friend down the nearby stairs. They were now on the 10th floor. So far, Naruto had stopped to challenge a few people to a card game, only to find out that they wanted to charge a sum of gil per game. So Naruto refused to play Triple Triad with them. But on this floor, Naruto had a feeling that somebody had something good to give them. So, going into a nearby cell, he approached a lone man and sat down in front of him. "Gonna ask you this once. Do you want to play a game of Triple Triad?"

The man smirked at Naruto and looked him over appraisingly. "You're a pro at the game, aren't you? Very well. 300 gil up front and I'll play a game with you. If you win, I'll even give you something nice. We got a deal?"

Before Naruto could agree, Squall spoke up, voicing a question that was on his mind. "Is now really the time to be playing a card game? Shouldn't we be trying to meet up with the others so we can get out of here?"

The spiky-haired teen shrugged and said, "Something tells me this guy's got something good to give us. Just give me a moment and we'll be good to go, I promise." Squall sighed and nodded his head as he went and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes upon doing so.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Naruto to claim a victory over the prisoner. "Woot! Okay Mr. Dude, it's time to hand over that prize you promised me!"

The man simply chuckled and said, "Let me see your Battle Meter. I've got a little upgrade I can give ya." Naruto simply nodded and allowed the man to make a few adjustments. "Alright, that should do 'er. I installed a little program called Character Report. Using that, you can keep track of how everyone in your party's doing. It'll show you who's doing the best in combat and who could use some improvement. It gives accurate statistics on a bunch of things, such as who's been doing the most damage, who's the most adept at casting magic, small things like that. Should help you determine how to go about training yourselves for combat. Can't let your skills in any one area stagnate, after all."

Naruto grinned and shook the man's hand. "Well thanks! That might actually come in pretty handy. It was great playing with you." Standing up after a moment, the whiskered teen looked at his friend and motioned for him to follow. "Told you I had a good feeling about that guy. This should definitely provide some help for us."

Squall shrugged and said, "You were right. Now come on, we need to catch up with the others and get our weapons back. I feel naked without my blade."

Naruto chuckled and said, "I know what you mean. I'm so used to being with my weapons by now that it feels really strange without them. Oh well. We'll get them back soon enough, I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure we will. Now come, let's get going."

Zell's Party

"Sooo, which way do we go? Up or down?" Selphie asked as she looked at the stairwells.

Quistis frowned and said, "Well, we have no way of knowing whether our friends are above us or below us. Zell, I'll leave the decision up to you."

The spiky-haired teen looked at the stairwell and said, "We should start clearing the floors one by one, checking cells and keeping our ears open for anything that might help. We'll head down first and, upon reaching the bottom floor, we'll start performing a sweep of every floor as we make our way up. Or we could go with option number two. We split up. One party goes up, the other goes down. I'll let you girls decide."

Ino and Hinata looked at one another before returning their attention to Zell. "You, Quistis, Rinoa, and Selphie, should start making your way up. Hina-chan and I will sweep the lower floors and see what we can find. We'll be able to move faster than you and the others, so it won't take us as long to catch up to all of you. Sound good?" Ino suggested.

Zell nodded and said, "Sounds like a good idea to me. Alright team, we leave the floors below us to these two. The rest of us, we'll start by sweeping this floor and then ascending the stairs to the next floor and repeating the process. Hopefully we'll run into Squall and the other guys so we can give them their weapons back."

Everyone nodded before watching as Ino and Hinata hopped over the edge and proceeded down to the first floor. Shrugging his shoulders, Zell said, "Reminder to self: Ino and Hinata are ninjas. They can do crazy things like that."

Rinoa giggled before she started walking away. "Come on guys, we need to search this floor and then make our way up! I want to see them again!"

Zell and the others nodded and began to perform a systematic sweep of the floor they were on. Squall, Naruto, Irvine, I hope you three are okay. I really do.

Ino & Hinata

As they proceeded to make their sweep of the floors, Ino and Hinata began on the first floor after jumping down to it. Entering the various cells, they soon found a magazine called Combat King 001, which would prove useful for Zell. It went into detail about how to use an attack called Dolphin Blow. That was all there was to see on the first floor, however.

Moving up to the second floor, they entered a couple of cells and collected a couple of items from boxes: a Str Up, which would boost someone's strength, naturally, and a Pet Nametag, which could be used to change the name of a GF, if anyone felt like doing such a thing. The third floor had a cell that contained an item known as a Pet House, which could be used to heal the party's GFs. The fourth floor had a box in a cell that contained a Tent.

They hadn't bothered to stop and chat with any of the prisoners they came across, as they were focused on finding Naruto and collecting anything they might need. The fifth floor was mostly bare except for a man who wanted to charge 500 gil to play a game of Triple Triad. Having no interest in such a thing, they proceeded back up to the sixth floor and then from there they continued making their way upwards.

When they caught up to Zell's party on the ninth floor, they were a bit surprised to see them surrounded by a bunch of those little orange creatures known as Moombas. Oddly enough, they weren't violent. Instead they seemed as if they only wanted to provide help to the good guys. Approaching them, Hinata asked, "Any luck finding them yet?"

Zell shook his head and said, "Not yet. We've been fighting a bunch of those damn monsters, stocking up on what magic we can in the process. It's been a slow-going process. Then we kind of ran into these guys. I'm not really sure what they want."

Ino walked up to the nearest Moomba and smiled sweetly at it. "Hi there. Nice to meet you little guy. Or are you a girl? Either way, did you want to help us somehow?"

The orange creature simply nodded before it pointed to the stairs leading up. Getting the picture, they walked with the Moombas up the stairs. When they saw Squall and Naruto fighting a bunch of guards and monsters without their weapons, they rushed in to help. With their combined efforts, the enemies went down easily enough.

Before a word could be uttered, Selphie glomped onto Naruto and hugged him tight as she sobbed into his chest. "I thought you were going to die. I…I didn't know what to do. I was so worried about you!"

Naruto simply smiled apologetically at her and held her close, rubbing his hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture. "It's okay, Selphie-chan. I'm alive and well. I'm fully healed up too, see?" he said, taking her hand and placing it over his heart.

"You are. I'm so glad, Naruto. I don't know what I would have done without you. What…what if you had died? Did you even think about that possibility?!" Selphie questioned, though the entire time she couldn't help but feel him up a bit.

Chuckling softly as he took her hands in his, he leaned in and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "I'm not leaving you or the others, Selphie-chan. I promise."

Smiling happily as she leaned into him, she held him tight and refused to let go. "You're mine. Now and forever, Naruto. Don't you forget it."

"Yes ma'am." he said as he began to gently stroke her hair.

After a moment, Ino, Hinata, and Quistis walked up to Naruto and looked him over carefully from head to toe. "You're sure you're alright to be out here fighting again so soon after what happened?" Ino questioned unsurely.

The spiky-haired blonde nodded and said, "I'm fine. A little tender in some places, but overall, I'm in perfect shape. Do you happen to have our weapons, by any chance?"

Quistis nodded and pulled out Naruto's weapons. Handing them over to him, she smiled sweetly at him and said, "I'm glad you're alright, Naruto. I…I know you probably won't accept anything I say at face value right now. But…" turning Naruto's head to face her, she kissed him passionately on the lips before stepping back with a deep blush on her face. "I've decided that you aren't just some rebound guy. We're close friends, aren't we? I've spent all this time with you…and I never paid attention to how you felt. I don't want to lose you because of my insecurities. So if you'll have me…I'll join this relationship of yours and try to make it work. If…if you decide you don't want me, I'll understand."

Naruto sighed and said, "Right now really isn't the best time to be talking about all of this. Give me some time to think on it, okay Quistis-chan? Once we have some time to sit down and really discuss everything…I'll give you my answer then. Right here and now, in this place, is a really bad time to discuss all of our feelings."

The blonde woman nodded and said, "You're absolutely right. We need to get out of here and get someplace safe before we can really talk about this. Do you have some kind of plan?"

"Off the top of my head? Not really. Squall and I were just heading down, trying to find all of you. We saw a couple of these cute little orange creatures, but not much else." Naruto explained.

Meanwhile, Zell looked at Squall and asked, "You came here as Laguna in the dream world, right Squall?"

Squall shook his head and said, "I didn't enter the dream world this time. I was just alone in my cell for a long time."

Zell raised an eyebrow in curiosity before a thought struck him. "Wait!" Looking towards Naruto, he asked, "Naruto? Did you dream of Laguna?"

Hearing the question caused all eyes to turn to Naruto. Nodding his head once, he said, "I dreamt I was Laguna, yes. I don't know why I had a dream like that instead of you guys though. And before you ask, no, Laguna wasn't here. He and Kiros were somewhere else, in a town called Winhill. I can see why you called Laguna an idiot, Squall." Sighing, he shook his head and said, "I honestly know nothing about this prison. So I can't provide any good ideas on how to go about breaking out of here."

Squall frowned deeply as he asked, "I figured we were connected in some way. Those of us having the dreams, I mean. If we are connected…how do you factor in? You're from a completely different world. None of this makes any sense."

"Tell me about it. I'm just as confused as you all are." Naruto said. "Anyways, we need some kind of a plan to get out of here. What were the lower floors like?"

"Each floor looked like more of the same. We didn't see anything that looked like an exit." Zell explained before he looked at Ino and Hinata. "How about you two? Was there anything that looked like an exit on the floors you went to?"

Ino shook her head and said, "No, nothing. We didn't see a way out."

Quistis frowned and said, "It would be a pain to systematically check each floor over and over again in search of an exit. On top of that, the alarm has alerted everyone in the prison and monsters are loose everywhere. We can't afford to go blindly searching for an exit."

Zell, as if just now realizing something, asked, "By the way guys, how the hell did they carry you and Naruto all the way up here? I assume you were on the top floor?" Squall looked upwards and pointed to what appeared to be an elevator of sorts. Seeing it, Zell exclaimed, "Whoa! What the hell is this!?"

Squall shrugged and said, "It's like a crane that can carry a detachable cell from downstairs."

Selphie peered over the edge and said, "This big hole really does go all the way to the bottom then. Neat-o! Sooo, if we jumped alllll the way down there, do you think we might find an exit somewhere? I know you said you didn't see one, but wouldn't it be worth a look-see?"

Ino and Hinata frowned and shook their heads. "Maybe. We were more focused on trying to find anything useful and/or find Naruto-kun than we were trying to find an exit."

After a moment, Zell suddenly exclaimed, "Oh yeah! I remember now! We can move this arm by using the panel above and the control room. I remember Ward doing this. Unfortunately, we need to operate them both at the same time. Someone needs to stay upstairs and control the panel…"

Smirking to themselves, Ino and Hinata walked up to Zell and patted him on his shoulders. "We have our volunteer everybody!" Ino exclaimed, giggling at Zell's stupefied look.

"Wait…me?" Zell questioned. When they simply nodded at him, he slumped over and said, "F-Fine…" Sighing softly, he motioned for them to get inside. "I'll give you instructions from upstairs. Everyone should get inside now."

Naruto placed a hand on Zell's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep you company, buddy. Everyone, get inside." Zell smiled thankfully at his friend before the two of them rushed off to take their positions. Meanwhile, Squall and the others went inside the arm control room.

Looking around, Quistis said, "Huh, so this is the arm control room. Interesting." After a moment, she frowned and shook her head. "Just get reunited and he's already splitting apart from us again."

Hinata placed a gentle hand upon the blonde woman's shoulder. "I know how you feel. However, Naruto's right. We can't just leave Zell on his own. The risk of being captured by guards and/or monsters is just too high if he's by himself."

Before Quistis could reply, they suddenly heard Zell's voice. "Yo, can you guys hear me?"

Selphie bounced in place and pumped her fist into the air. "Hiya Zell! Hiya Naruto! We hear you loud and clear!"

Squall glanced around at the various controls and asked, "So, what do we do?"

Zell said, "Press the red button on the main panel." Once Squall did so, Zell could be heard saying, "I'll take care of the rest. Just hold on…" After a moment, the room they were in lurched violently before they began to descend.

Once they hit the very bottom and hopped off, Selphie looked around and asked, "Sooo, what are we going to do now?"

Squall shrugged and pointed towards a door. "Well, there's a door over there. Might be worth a try. Let's check it out."

Walking towards the door, they found themselves in a rather narrow hallway. Pausing for a moment, the scarred teen looked at Selphie. "Can we get out?" she questioned.

Squall frowned and shook his head unsurely. "I don't know. We'll see."

Walking up to Quistis at this point, he listened as she said, "If only we could get out of here…"

Squall looked at Ino, Hinata, and Rinoa before shrugging and approaching the door. The moment he touched it, the door burst open and sand came pouring in, blocking their way out. "What the hell? Sand…?"

Quistis frowned deeply and asked, "Buried under the sand? You mean we're underground?" Sighing, she shook her head before saying, "Well, in any case, it looks like we can't get out from here…"

It was at this point that they began to hear gunfire and the sounds of combat. Turning around quickly, they looked back down the narrow hallway in the direction they had come from. "What was that?" Selphie asked, sounding just a tad nervous.

"Gunfire? Is someone fighting out there?" Quistis asked.

Squall frowned and said, "It sounds pretty bad…"

It was at this point that everyone remembered something very important. "Shit! Naruto and Zell!" Ino exclaimed in worry.

"We need to get back there! Fast!" Hinata exclaimed.

Elsewhere in the Prison

"There they are! Over there! Seize the escapees, dead or alive!" guards could be heard shouting as the sound of combat grew louder.

"Tch." Zell spat out as he hurried away with Naruto. Too damn many of 'em. Time for us to get the hell outta here!

Naruto scowled as he dodged more gunfire before withdrawing a kunai. Throwing it at the guards, he called out, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!" When the kunai multiplied and became a veritable rain of death, he watched for a moment as it struck down each of the guards that were chasing them. Quickly retrieving his kunai, he ran after Zell, the two of them running around the floor and down the stairs. "How the hell are there so many of them?!" Naruto questioned as he sensed even more closing in on their position.

Running around this floor, they chanced a glance behind them, only for Zell to suddenly get knocked down by one of the wardens. "Ugh…" Zell groaned.

The warden simply glared down at Zell and said, "You bastard… DIE!" before aiming to kill Zell with a gunshot to the head. The moment he tried though, a kunai pierced his hand before Naruto appeared, snapping the man's neck with a spin kick. Quickly grabbing the gun the warden was using, Naruto grinned and said, "I'm totally keeping this."

Zell chuckled and said, "Thanks for the save, Naruto."

"No problem buddy." Naruto said before Squall and the others arrived on the scene. "You all okay?"

Squall nodded and said, "Of course we are. We came as soon as we heard the gunfire. Are you two alright?"

"Oh, just peachy." Zell said as he stood up. "Could always go for a nice hotdog though."

Squall chuckled for a moment as the girls rushed up to them. Selphie and Quistis immediately began checking Naruto for any wounds, though he assured them he was fine. Ino and Hinata checked on Zell. "Are you okay? Were you hit anywhere?" Hinata questioned.

Zell shook his head and smiled thankfully at them. "No, I'm fine. Just a bit sore from being hit in the chest like that. Ow."

Hinata smiled at him and proceeded to use her medical ninjutsu to heal him before she looked at the others. "How's everybody holding up?"

"We're all good." Selphie said. "Question is: how the heck do we get out of here? Can't get out down below, so do we go up?"

Zell frowned and asked, "What do you mean we can't get out from below?"

Quistis looked at Zell and said, "The exit is blocked off by sand. I think we're underground."

"Oh, that's just greaaat. Looks like our only option is to head up and hope we can find a way out up there." Zell said.

It was at this point that the wardens and guards down below began firing upon the group, forcing them to duck down lest they receive a bullet through their skulls. Selphie and Quistis screamed in fright as a bullet narrowly missed hitting the latter in the face. Naruto, on the other hand, winced as he was forced to dig into his new wound and rip out the bullet that had hit him. Once it was out, he rested against the wall and clutched at his bleeding arm. "Shit that hurts."

Hinata was by his side in an instant, quickly healing him. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun? How are you holding up?"

Naruto smiled thankfully at Hinata before saying, "I'll be fine. Thank you. I'm really starting to hate this prison though. There's got to be a way out of here that doesn't involve getting turned into swiss cheese."

Zell, clearly starting to panic, cowered behind cover and screamed out, "There's no way we can get outta here!"

"Not if you give up, there's not!" Ino exclaimed as she smacked him in the back of the head. "Now chin up. We'll get out of this somehow."

Then suddenly, the sounds of gunfire stopped and their attackers screamed out in pain as they died. Naruto and the other two trained ninja frowned and said, "Two gunshots. Significantly different when compared to the gunfire we've heard so far. Best guess? I'd say it's Irvine." Naruto said with a grin.

Looking towards the stairs leading up, they watched as Irvine casually strolled down the steps, a smirk on his face and his hat tipped down. Seeing this, Naruto sighed and walked up to him, slapping him in the back of the head. "Stop trying to act all cool. We appreciate the help, truly we do, but lose the act."

Irvine rubbed the back of his head where he had been smacked. "Damn that smarts. Didja have to hit me so hard?" Seeing Naruto nod, Irvine sighed before he looked straight at Rinoa. "Your father pulled some strings with the military's top brass. We were supposed to get you, and only you, out of here. When I heard about the prison break, I knew you'd all be involved in it somehow. So now, here I am. You all doin' okay?"

Ino deadpanned at him and said, "You were going to just take Rinoa and go, weren't you Irvine? You never expected for this to happen at all."

The cowboy chuckled nervously at that. "Maybe. But then again, who wants to take on a whole prison full of guards and monsters by themselves? I mean, c'mon, that's just straight up suicide!"

Rinoa pouted at Irvine at this point and said, "But that's not right! There's no way I'd leave on my own like that! I'd have made you help me break them out. Simple as that."

Irvine sighed and said, "I kind of figured as much. Still, I'm glad all of you are alright."

Naruto smirked at Irvine and patted him on the back. "Thanks man. Much appreciated."

Irvine chuckled before he looked around at everyone. "Anyhow, now's our chance."

Squall shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, the basement door is buried in sand. We can't get out that way."

The brown-haired cowboy shrugged and said, "Of course it is. This place is buried underground."

"Buried?" Squall asked curiously.

"That's right. This prison is…" Irvine started to say, only to be interrupted by a warden shouting, "There they are! It's the escapees!"

Irvine scowled when they were fired upon again. Quickly turning around, he began firing round after round at the enemy with his gun. "Squall! Choose your party members and head on up. I'll hold'em here."

"Not alone you're not." Naruto said sternly. "Sorry Squall, but I'm staying here with Irvine. He's going to need the help."

Squall nodded in understanding before he looked at Irvine and asked, "Up?"

Irvine fired off a few more shots and shouted, "Don't have the time to explain it now! The exit's up there, trust me."

The gunblade wielder nodded and said, "Ok. See you outside. Hinata, Quistis, I want you to remain with these two and do what you can to fight them off AND get the hell out of here. The rest of you, you're with me. We're heading up top." Everyone nodded with the orders before Squall's party rushed up the stairs, making sure to avoid getting shot to death in the process.

Once they were gone, Irvine smirked as he slipped behind cover. "Our turn to boogie now."

Naruto grinned and said, "I like the sound of that. Hina-chan, Quistis-chan, Irvine, let's do this!"

Squall's Party

As they ran along, battling monsters and guards alike, Selphie couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. "Will…will they be alright? Will Naru be alright?"

Ino nodded and said, "They'll be just fine, I'm sure of it. Right now we need to focus on killing anything in our way and get the hell out of here!"

Selphie nodded as she fought a Thrustaevis that had gotten in her way. I know he'll be okay, but I still worry…

As they ran along, they continued hearing the sounds of gunfire and combat below them. No matter how high they went, it still reverberated and echoed off of the walls. They were worried, but they continued to focus on their objective: escaping the D-District Prison.

Naruto's Party

"Oh man, this is endless!" Irvine exclaimed as he fired a few more times on the enemies before slipping behind cover again.

Quistis frowned and asked, "What do we do?" Irvine hummed in thought as he tried to think of a plan. Before he could, however, Quistis exclaimed, "I've got an idea! Can't we go up again with the arm?"

Irvine grinned and said, "Now that's a good idea."

Naruto frowned and shook his head as he ducked behind cover once again, narrowly avoiding a bullet as it grazed the metal behind him. "Unfortunately it's not that easy. They'll have to operate it from the control room upstairs."

Irvine looked at Naruto and said, "You just leave that to me. Alright people! Let's head to the floor where the arm's stopped."

Hinata and Naruto looked at him curiously for a moment before they shrugged. "Alright, sounds like a plan to me. Let's get going! The arm's below us, so I guess we're going down. Hurry!" Naruto exclaimed before he and his team began heading downwards, fighting more and more monsters and guards every step of the way.

After a while, they finally arrived at the blasted crane arm. "Hey! Hop on!" Irvine exclaimed.

"I swear, he better know what he's doing." Naruto mumbled to himself as he and the others hopped on board.

Squall's Team

As soon as they reached the floor where Squall had been tortured, they saw a Moomba waiting for them. Talking to it, Squall was soon handed a Cottage, which he knew would come in very handy someday. Thanking the creature, he turned and continued leading the team further up.

As they proceeded upwards into the control room, Ino frowned and looked behind her towards the large hole. "Do you think they're okay? Are they still under attack, or did they get away?" she wondered aloud.

Zell smiled at her and said, "They'll be fine, I'm sure of it. All we can do right now is keep going up until we get the hell out of here."

Rinoa frowned at this and looked back as well. "I don't know. I'm still worried about all of them…"

Squall stopped and sighed as he looked back at them. "We can stand here dwelling on this for a while, worrying for them and wishing we could go back, but that won't get us anywhere. We need to keep moving. So as much as it hurts, I need you all to toughen up and follow me. We're getting the hell out of here."

Rinoa scowled at him and was about to shout something at him, but Ino placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "While I don't quite agree with how he said it, Squall's right. We need to keep moving."

The blue-clad girl frowned sadly and said, "But…"

"No, Rinoa. No buts. Now come on." Ino said before she followed after Squall and the others.

Once they could see the light of day again, Zell stopped and pumped his fists into the air. "OHHHH YEAHHH! We're finally out, baby!"

Unfortunately, an alarm blared and an announcement came over the intercom stating that prisoners were not allowed beyond this point. Immediately afterwards, they came under attack by an Elite Soldier and two GIM52As. Frowning at this, Squall drew his Shear Trigger and prepared for battle.

It quickly became apparent to them that the Elite Soldier had to die first. At first they had targeted the machines, prepared to destroy them right away. This proved to be rather difficult, however, as the Elite Soldier cast Protect, Shell, and Regen on the GIM52As. No matter how much damage they did to those things, it wouldn't be enough because that damn soldier would just continue to heal them. So, deciding to take the fight right to him, Squall charged forward, passed the machines, and swung at the Elite Soldier.

When the enemy attempted to dodge, Squall smirked wickedly and pulled the trigger, causing a powerful blast to go off and send the Elite Soldier to his knees. The teen entered into a fierce duel with the Elite Soldier, leaving the others to battle the machines.

Ino frowned as she blocked yet another attack and did her best to dodge all the Micro Missiles sent her way. "If these things had minds, I could use my family jutsu on them. But nooo, they have to be robots. This sucks!" she exclaimed before she leapt at the nearest one and removed its left arm. When it attempted to throw her off, she poured lightning-natured chakra into a kunai and began to stab the GIM52A repeatedly until it short-circuited. Leaping away from it, she watched as it exploded. Thankfully nobody was near it when it did.

Glancing towards Squall, the mind-walker smiled when she saw him kill the Elite Soldier finally. Afterwards, they all turned their attention on the remaining enemy, the second of the two GIM52As. It didn't last much longer against their combined assault.

Once the enemies had been defeated, they were ready to continue on. However, they heard Irvine's voice. "Hey Squall, can you hear me?" Turning around, they proceeded back inside to the large control room where they heard the cowboy call out again. "Hey! Hey, you guys!" Shrugging, Squall walked over to where the voice was coming from, standing in front of part of the control panel.

"Is this what you were talking about?" Quistis could be heard questioning. "What if Squall and the others have already gone ahead?"

"Some great plan." Naruto could be heard grumbling.

Sighing to himself, Squall pressed a button and said, "I can hear you."

Irvine said, "See!? I told you we'd be alright. Squall, go ahead and operate the arm."

Squall frowned as he looked at the various buttons, levers, etc. on the control panel. "How?"

Zell grinned and said, "Yo, leave that one to me." Afterwards, he walked up beside Squall and pressed a few buttons before saying, "And voila!"

Irvine cheered. "Alrighty! We'll be there in like a second. Wait right there."

Quistis asked, "Sure takes a while, doesn't it?"

"So what? What's the rush?" Irvine asked.

Rinoa giggled to herself and said, "It seems like they'll be just fine. I'm glad."

Ino nodded in agreement. "Same. I was really worried that…that something might happen again. I don't want to lose them."

Selphie nodded too and said, "I hear ya. I can't wait to be out of here so I can cuddle with my Naru-Naru!"

Ino and Rinoa giggled at that before they each decided to head out onto the bridge and have a little look-see. When they reached the middle of the bridge, they looked at their surroundings and saw nothing but earth and desert everywhere they looked. On top of that, the prison they were in was actually three separate towers with a drill-like design sticking out of the ground. With how high up they were now, they were a little taken aback at what they were seeing.

"W-W-What the hell is this!?" Zell exclaimed in something of a panic. "We still can't go anywhere."

Rinoa fell to her knees as she looked out over the horizon. "This can't be possible. How are we ever going to get out of here?"

Before anyone could say anything more, Squall turned towards the structure at the far end of the bridge. It looked like just another part of the prison, but he figured it was better than simply standing around here on the bridge. "For now, let's just head for that structure over there."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they began to cross the bridge. However, as they were crossing, the drill-like structures began to spin, digging into the earth. Groaning, Squall muttered, "It really is exactly as it looked. Wonderful."

As everyone hurried to the other side, Squall was forced to retreat backwards and hang over the edge, slowly making his way across to rejoin his comrades. He was starting to become a little nervous, however, as the ground was very quickly approaching. When he made it across, he joined his friends and waited for the drilling to stop.

When it finally did and everyone was together again, Naruto's group included, they sat down and began to talk. Right now they were inside what appeared to be a garage of sorts with a couple of vehicles. "That was way too dangerous, wasn't it…?" Rinoa questioned, giggling nervously.

"Yeah." Squall said as he brushed his hair back out of his face. "I never want to do that again."

Irvine frowned and said, "I thought the arms were movin' kinda slowly. They had the submerge system on."

Squall sighed and said, "Let's just get going."

Selphie grinned as she looked at the two vehicles. "I wanna ride the yellow one!" she exclaimed before looking at Naruto and winking at him.

Getting the unspoken message, Naruto blushed deeply and said, "I-I see. Maybe I should ride it with you, then?" The perky brunette grinned saucily at him as she took his hand and led him inside the yellow vehicle.

Sighing softly as she understood exactly what Selphie was referencing, Quistis shook her head and said, "I'll take that one, too." Somebody has to keep Selphie from 'riding' him in the car.

Rinoa looked between the two vehicles before saying, "Okay, me too then."

As the girls climbed aboard the yellow car, Irvine's eyes widened and he shouted, "Hey, hey, hey! Ladies?"

Ino and Hinata sighed before they looked at Irvine. "We're not all going to ride with Naruto-kun. Even if it would be fun. We'll join you three on the green one. I'd love to be with Naruto-kun, but we can't all fit in one car, now can we?" Ino said as she hopped aboard the green vehicle with Hinata.

Seeing this, Irvine felt like crying tears of joy. "Yay! We get cute girls along for the ride!"

Zell chuckled a bit before patting Irvine on the shoulder. "Let's get going. You coming Squall?"

Squall simply nodded and climbed aboard the green vehicle. Together with Naruto's car, they drove off down the road until they hit a crossroads. Stopping their cars, they all climbed out and had a look around. Naruto grinned and said, "You know, with a crossroads like this, it's awfully tempting to try and call forth a crossroads demon."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zell questioned, staring quizzically at his best friend.

"Oh nothing. Just decided to break the fourth wall for a moment. Now, what's our next course of action going to be?" Naruto asked with a grin.

It was at this point that Irvine explained the situation they were all now in. Hearing the truth from him, Squall asked, "What? What are you talking about?!"

Quistis panicked slightly and asked, "The sorceress is about to launch missiles at Garden!?"

Naruto scowled and clenched his fists tight. "Dammit! We have to warn Garden! And we need to stop the missiles too. We're going to have to split up again, aren't we?"

Squall frowned and said, "The only thing we can really do now is go back to Garden as soon as possible and warn the students. Alright, let's get in the cars and go."

Selphie frowned deeply and shook her head. "They're targeting both Balamb and Trabia Gardens! We have to interfere with the launch! We have to stop the missiles!"

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Definitely. I know how much you love Trabia Garden, Selphie-chan. I'm not going to rest until those missiles have been stopped and everyone's safe. I just hope we aren't too late to stop them. The question now is, who goes with who? Some of us will need to head to the Galbadia Missile Base and the others will need to go to Balamb Garden and warn everyone. They need to be prepared to evacuate if they need to."

Squall decided to go around and get some opinions from his teammates. Walking up to Zell first, he asked, "What do you think, Zell?"

The spiky-haired teen shrugged and said, "I'll do whatever you and Naruto decide Squall. You won't hear any questions from me."

Nodding in understanding, he then approached Irvine. "So, like…I understand how Selphie feels, but…"

Squall frowned and shook his head. "It's not just about how she feels. We all feel the same pressure, the same fear, that she's feeling right now."

Irvine simply nodded in understanding and tipped his cowboy hat down to cover his eyes. "This whole situation is messed up."

Simply nodding in response, Squall approached Quistis. "Thoughts, Quistis?"

The blonde woman frowned for a moment before giving her opinion. "Unfortunately, this isn't just about one person. Whatever you decide, it will affect the lives of all those around you and all those you care for. You've got a tough decision ahead of you."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of." Squall said with a sigh. Approaching Rinoa, he asked, "What do you think, Rinoa?"

"I don't know. I think you should probably talk to Naruto and Selphie about the missile base plan. I wouldn't be of much help planning things out like that." Rinoa said with a shrug.

"I see." Sighing softly, Squall walked over to Ino and Hinata and asked, "I know you probably don't feel any love for Balamb or Trabia Gardens, as you know nothing about them yet, but I'd like to get your thoughts on this as well."

Hinata frowned and said, "I'm with Naruto-kun and Selphie-chan on this one. I'd rather not see such a massive loss of life because of one woman's madness. So much life, wasted on the whims of a single sorceress. We can't let that happen."

Ino nodded in agreement. "While I agree, the decision comes down to you and what you decide in the end, Squall. No matter what you decide, we'll follow your orders."

Squall nodded in understanding before he walked off to talk with Selphie and Naruto. "I just transferred from Trabia Garden darn it! I can't just sit around knowing that Trabia Garden is in danger! So Squall, please! Decide who's gonna go to the Galbadia Missile Base, before it's too late!"

Squall frowned for a moment as he thought to himself. It's easier said than done… What if something happens to the party members I choose…? Splitting up like this is far too dangerous…

Naruto sighed and patted his friend on his back. "Chin up, Squall. You're worrying way too much about the what if's and all that other stuff. I'll follow your orders, but you and I are going to be on different teams. One of us will go to the missile base, the other will go to warn Balamb Garden. We've both been assigned to lead this team, so it's only right that we each take a team and get going. In the end, it's all up to you, Squall."

Before Squall could say anything, Rinoa piped up, saying, "Alright, let's take a vote! As usual, Squall will decide on the parties. Squall will return to Balamb because he's the leader. Naruto will lead the other team in an assault on the Galbadia Missile Base. Anyone against this plan, lease raise your right hand!" Looking at Squall when nobody argued with her, she said, "I don't mind which team you put me on."

Squall frowned for a moment as he thought, But you're not one of us. Why risk your life like this?

Quistis looked sternly into Squall's eyes and said, "You're the leader, Squall. What are the teams?"

Leader? But I never asked to be the leader. It was just a role that was assigned to me. Naruto's much better suited to such a position than I am. He's confident, knows what he wants, and he knows how to get things done. Me? I don't know…

It was at this point that a number of missiles were fired off from the nearby missile base. Eyes widening in horror, Selphie listened as Irvine said, "I…heard they were hitting Trabia first, and then Balamb." Hearing this, the brunette fell to her knees and began to cry.

Kneeling down beside his girlfriend, Naruto hugged her tight against him and said, "I'm so sorry Selphie-chan. I…I don't know what to say. Nothing I do or say can make this any easier for you. I can't make it better…just…" Making her look him in the eyes, Naruto kissed her before simply holding her against him. "Don't give up hope Selphie-chan. Maybe…maybe they'll be okay? I know the chances aren't good, but…but we can't give up hope, right? I'm so sorry. I wish I knew what to say…"

Selphie just hugged her boyfriend tight and sobbed into his chest. The entire time, the whiskered teen just hugged her close and whispered soothing words into her ear. Damn you Edea. One way or another, I'll make you pay for hurting Selphie-chan like this. Just you wait…

"Trabia…I'm so, so sorry…I couldn't stop it. Please let everyone be alright. Please…" Looking into her boyfriend's eyes, she asked, "T-That was a miss…right…?"

"I don't know sweetheart. All we can do is believe that everything will be okay. If they hit…I swear to you I'll help you make that sorceress pay. No matter what it takes." Naruto promised.

Selphie nodded before she stood up and looked Squall in the eyes. "Decide, Squall. We have to report to Balamb. Who are you taking?"

Zell looked at his friend and said, "C'mon, Squall! Choose already!"

"You have to decide NOW, Squall!" Quistis exclaimed.

"Squall, think carefully now!" Rinoa said.

Squall sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. I've honestly had it up to here with this leader thing… Fine, fine…I'll choose.

Looking around at everyone, Squall soon sighed and said, "As stated, I'll lead a team back to Balamb Garden. My team will consist of Rinoa, Quistis, and Hinata. The missile base assault party will be led by Naruto and will consist of Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Ino."

Everyone nodded in understanding before Selphie cheered and said, "Damn right I'm on the infiltration team! I have to be! They launched missiles at MY Trabia!"

Squall looked over everyone and thought, Okay, my team will head to Balamb now. The rest…go to the missile base. Should I go through with this party setup…? Taking a moment to really think on it, Squall nodded.

Stepping up beside his team members, Squall looked around at everyone and said, "This mission is unlike any other. It's not an order or a request from anyone…" Looking into Selphie's eyes and then at Naruto's, he asked, "Do either of you have some kind of plan?"

Selphie nodded and motioned to the cars. "I think if we take one of these Galbadian army vehicles, we should be able to make it inside the base. Buuut…that's about it. I'll have to think about the rest once we're inside. Do you think that'd be ok?"

Naruto nodded and said, "That's perfectly fine, sweetheart. Once we're inside, leave the talking up to me. I can get us through without a fight. If we absolutely have to fight though, we'll figure things out then. I think there's bound to be a control panel of some kind that controls the error ratio of their targeting system. Screw with that and we might just have a chance. But security is bound to be tight. We'll need to handle it all carefully. Then, once we're ready, we'll set the base to self-destruct. That way they won't be able to fire off anymore of those damn missiles."

Nodding once in agreement, Selphie turned to Squall and said, "There's not much time left! You'd better hurry to Balamb Garden!"

Squall smiled and said, "See you at Balamb Garden. All of you." And with that, everyone began to board their chosen cars. Squall's group took the green car while Naruto's took the yellow. After they bid each other farewell, Squall drove their car off down the road to the nearby train station. Skidding to a stop, the scarred teen stepped out with his comrades and said, "Let's take that train."

Nodding as one, they slipped past the Galbadian Soldiers and hopped aboard the train. As it took off, they couldn't help but notice a soldier chasing after them, somehow keeping up with the train for a while as he shouted at them to stop. Chuckling at this, Hinata wished she had rocks she could throw at the guy, just for giggles.

As they took off, Squall couldn't help but look out towards the Galbadia Missile Base. All of you, please be careful. I'm placing my trust in you to get this done.

Hinata glanced in that direction as well and placed her hands over her heart. Please be safe Naruto-kun. I can't bear to see you hurt again…

Quistis simply frowned sadly and thought to herself, At this rate, we'll probably never get to talk about us and our relationship. But I can't think about that right now. We need to concentrate on our mission. Just…please be safe, Naruto. I watched you almost die once, I don't want to see it happen again. Because…because… Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Quistis quickly reached up and wiped them away. Dammit. I love you too, Naruto! Don't you dare die on me! And with that, the party of four stepped inside the train to await their stop.

Naruto

Selphie was barely able to sit still while Naruto drove them towards the Galbadia Missile Base. "Make this thing go faster, Naruto! We've gotta get there and stop them!"

Naruto sighed and said, "Sweetheart, I'm going as fast as this thing will move. Just sit still and be patient. It's bound to take a little while before they can prep more missiles to fire upon Balamb Garden. We'll get there in time to put a stop to them. I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right, Naruto. I…I want to make them pay for attacking Trabia Garden. And I don't want them to hurt Balamb Garden either. After all, it's where I met you. I don't want to lose my home away from home." Selphie said.

"I know. We'll put a stop to them, I promise. We'll be there real soon, and then we can do what needs to be done. Just remember to be careful." Naruto said. As he drove along, he thought, I swear I'll make you pay, Edea. Nobody threatens my home and gets away with it. You've already hurt Selphie-chan twice. Watching me almost die hurt her in a way I never wanted. Then firing upon Trabia Garden? You'll pay. I guarantee it…

A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you all enjoyed it and are happy to see how things have progressed. I think it turned out to be a pretty interesting chapter, overall.

Also, I'd reply to reviews and whatnot for my various stories, but once again, we cannot read the new reviews that have been posted. So it might be a while before I can reply to reviews again. Unfortunately. x.x

Anywho, I need to at least try to get some sleep. Got things to do today. I'd rather not bother with it, buuut...I have to deal with assholes. So what can ya do? x.x

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!