~Ellone~

"Squall," I hear myself whisper through chapped lips as I clutch my bed covers tighter underneath my chin. Peeling my eyes open, I notice the soft white puffs of frosty breath floating outwards from my mouth. My forehead creases while I marvel over the details and attempt to explain it to my subconscious, but I can't. The 'where am I?' question is quickly solved when I sit up from what I know is my own bed and glance around my own room. I am in Esthar, where I have been for a few years now. Shrugging the covers off of my shoulders, my hand rests over my heart. To try and stop the initial panic, I walk myself through my surroundings. I am here, in my room, the room Father gave me when I first arrived all those years ago. My gaze crawls over the walls and along the surfaces of dressers, nightstands, couches, mirrors and paintings, all beautifully decorating the entirety of my familiar space.

"I am home," I announce to the air around me which still strangely freezes once it leaves my lips. The hand I hold to my chest now stretches out in front of me and I stare at my palm to see if the bitter cold I feel is external or internal. I frown further when I fail to see any sparkles of snowflakes falling from the ceiling, as if that would make this situation any more pleasing to my senses. An internal freeze? Well, this is new, my consciousness murmurs within my mind. I huff at all of the confusion and whip the blankets back, standing from the bed onto the glistening cherry wood floor boards. Sleep must still be trying to tug me back into its grasp I decide, turning and shuffling off towards the attached bathroom beside me.

"A temporary chill my dear, I assure you," A cold breath whispers against my neck. I jump away from the words, slamming into the back of the bathroom door with a thud. My eyes widen while they scan everything around me in search of the mysterious interruption and come up with nothing.

"He is coming. It is time." Another puff breezes into my ear. My breath hitches as I choke on my own scream, but as quickly as the eerie voice and freezing surroundings appear, they disappear. My hand now clutches the fabric of my nightgown above my heart desperately as I struggle to remember how to breathe. This is all very, very new, and very unwelcome should it continue on without further explanation. After a few minutes to regain composure, I grip my robe off of the end of my bed. Tugging my arm through it, I decide to see if Odine is awake. Leaving the palace in only my robe isn't something I would normally do, but given the hour and my desperation for answers, I decide to take my chances and head for the labs.

Seeing the light on in his lab is a bit reassuring. I can't be sure it's him and not one of his assistants being put to overnight observation duty or Hyne knows what other tasks the tiny man would force upon his subordinates. The hustle and bustle of Dr. Odine's lab rarely cease, unless the man runs out of immediate test subjects which demand his full attention. I shudder when the memories of my brief time as one of those subjects came back to me from all those years ago. The man's genius can't be matched, that is for sure. His methods or, at times his lack of humanity, brought such a darkness on the overall research of the facility it becomes almost impossible to keep the man out of prison or the public's hands when they were reaching for justice. As my thoughts begin to turn to darker times, my eye catches the oversized collar bouncing between a few tables with beakers and microscopes strewn about.

"Dr. Odine," I state after taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves. The tiny man turns from his path to face me, beaming an uneasy smile.

"Oh, good evening Ellone. Or is it morning now?" he questions with a scratch of his head. Glancing around, I notice even in his main labs there are no windows; not just the lockdown caged rooms, I recall with another shudder. I have to speak with him. If anyone would possibly know what is going on with me, it would be him.

"Doctor, you're familiar with the oddities of my abilities, correct?" I jump to the point and cringe internally. His black eyes widen and a flicker of light returns with the excitement of his memories. He nods, bouncing his ponytail atop his head vigorously.

"Has something happened Ellone?" Drool can be seen dripping from the corner of his mouth as his grin widens with possibility, but I shake the image out of my head, blaming it on my imagination. I nod in agreement and accept the doctor's outstretched hand now leading me to some nearby stools at one of the lab tables. "Tell me," he demands after placing me on one of the stools. He grips his hands behind him and begins to pace beside me, awaiting the juicy details.

My gaze, now eye-level with the man, follows his movements for a few moments before I tell him of what happened just before I came to find him. When I finish reciting the details, he continues to pace for a few minutes, drinking in all of my words. Finally, he stands beside me and places a hand on my shoulder, the action meant to comfort but it seems to have the opposite effect on me as I brace myself to keep him from taking me and hiding me away within the vastness of the lab. "Give me some time with this my dear, I need to see what I can find in my previous research notes." He stands me up from the stool and slowly walks me back out into the hallway. "Try and get some rest Ellone, and if I find anything out I will let you know immediately."

His final words offer little comfort since I was counting on more immediate results. I nod my thanks and turn back towards my room, shuffling down the halls and hoping I will be able to sleep once again. Before I turn at the end of the hall, I hear the doctor call my name. I turn to face him, wondering if he might remember something from all those years ago. "Should what happened tonight happen again Ellone, come back here immediately. Come back here and find me, alright?" I nod at the request. Feeling halfway relieved that someone was there for me should it happen again but also partially concerned by his demeanor not really mimicking someone who is interested in helping so much as someone who is interested in learning. I shrug my concern off though, deciding it was the demeanor of any good doctor, right?

~Squall~

I smirk at Zell's last hostile comment and toss him a towel, signaling the end of our training session. He shouldn't need a sign from me considering all the colors of the propagators were destroyed, but in any case I start making my way to the cockpit with the blonde following behind.

"So, tell me already! How many?" He presses his same question once more, after already asking it four times previously. The number he is so desperately seeking is the number of creatures I killed in total. The two of us decided to train here on Ragnarok as we did in the training center at Garden by beginning on our own and meeting each other halfway. This is one of the reasons I prefer training with Zell; he and I both feel it is equally necessary to train as an individual as it is to train as a team. I'd say we were on our own for probably half an hour before meeting up for the final hour. Our only communication was deciding which colors each had during our solo time before we got started. I finish wiping the towel on my face and stare at the blonde as he does the same before he smirks at me.

"Should we, maybe place a wager on the total? Whoever got the highest number wins?" he asks, his analytical eyes boring into mine as he weighs out my reaction to his proposition. I'm caught off guard initially, seeing that I am not the only one who has decided to become bolder as of late. The offer still entices me. I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow.

"And what does the victor win, exactly?" I question him as my mind takes off with the possibilities of his answer. How far is he willing to take it, I wonder? How far am I for that matter? Zell mimics my body language, crossing his arms over his chest and holding his index finger in front of his lips as he ponders on his own.

"Whatever the winner wants. Should we state our terms aloud or leave it as it stands?" His eyes narrow, silently telling me the ball is now in my court. Probably testing out the waters as well, seeing if I am as willing as he is. Am I? Zell and I have been dancing around the possibility for quite a long time now, but only now have gotten to the point of actual vocalized flirtation. Beyond as well, it seems; or am I reading too far into this? The two of us are now stopped in the hallway outside of the cockpit and facing each other, both in our own defensive stance out of nervousness. My eyes find his staring at me intently, causing me to smirk.

"Whatever the winner wants for one hour," I hold up my index finger between us for a moment before returning my arm across my chest. "We write our answers down so neither of us can cheat and up our number after the first states theirs, agreed?" I ask, reaching out my hand. Zell's smirk widens as he grips it in his own and firmly shakes it, our wager sealed.

"Hey! You guys ready or what?" A squeak of a voice startles the two of us back to reality, Zell instinctively dropping my hand at the intrusion. Quistis eyes the two of us before ducking back into the cockpit to join the others. I glance at the man in front of me, a sheepish smile in place as he rubs the back of his head and lets out a chuckle.

"Oops. Got a little distracted there," he mumbled, dropping his eyes down to his shoes. I turn towards the conference room and nod, noticing something out of the corner of my eye. Tucked in Zell's jacket, a Weapon's Monthly magazine was rolled up with only the corner sticking out when the blonde rests his hands on top of his head in his typical stance. My brow furrows as I reach into my own jacket pocket and retrieve a pen, holding it up in front of Zell's eyes. While the blonde's face contorts in confusion, I slide my hand inside his jacket lining and tug out the magazine. Zell's eyelids open more at my brash move, but decides to just see what I am up to instead of asking, knowing I wouldn't answer his questions anyway.

His fingers pinch the pen out of my grasp, freeing my other hand up to flip through the magazine until I find a page near the back for commentary. I raise my brow once more and tip the magazine to his eyes, asking if this page is meaningful for any reason. The blonde catches onto my idea, shaking his head and biting the cap of my pen to open it. I smirk and tear the page out of the magazine before rolling it up and placing it back where I found it, albeit a bit more bluntly this time.

"Here," Zell states as he holds a folded piece of the magazine in front of me with the pen, already jotting his number of kills down. I quirk a brow at him.

"You didn't boost that number at all in hopes to outdo mine, did you?" I question with falsely placed concern as I take the items from him. I know he wouldn't do something like that. He's too sure of himself to find that a necessary move, which is making this wager all the more enticing. What if he does beat me? What will he have me do for an hour? What will I have him do should I win?

"Come on guys! Let's go!" Quistis squawks from the doorway, frowning at us both as we continue to procrastinate in her eyes. I scribble my number down and fold the piece of paper before turning to Quistis and nodding. My hand slides into Zell's behind his back, placing the piece of paper in his fist before shooing the girl out of the doorway for us to enter.

"Alright everyone," I address the room, Zell scooting in behind me and seating himself in the nearest chair in front of where I am standing. The cockpit has seats for all of us lining either side of the window-lined room, but Selphie sits in the cockpit chair as she continues to fly us to Esthar. All eyes are on me now, awaiting my explanation of what we are doing. I try to focus, get back into the headspace of their leader and figuring out what to do with these new dreams or 'dream world' experiences, but I get distracted by Zell slouching slightly in his seat and resting his arms on his knees. Slowly, without Irvine next to him seeing, he unfolds the piece of paper I handed him and reads the number. Too much silence has passed, I have to focus.

"As you know, we're headed to Esthar." I make a point to glance between Quistis and Selphie before returning my attention to Zell. The blonde sits up, staring at me as blankly as the others. I can't read his face to see if I won or lost, as his eyes reveal nothing. "The reason for this is because we need to speak with Sis, Ellone." Zell frowns, same as the others, wondering what reason I have to go see her again. Yes, Ellone is my sister. She was our sister when we were in the orphanage, but Laguna adopted her making her family for me. I was closer to her back when we all were at the orphanage than the others, but since our time together fighting the sorceresses and learning about Laguna, she and I haven't really seen each other. We speak on the phone fairly regularly, but not in person, because of Laguna. Everyone knows I avoid that man, even when he attempts to visit Balamb Garden. I dodge all his requests by claiming we are on a mission or otherwise unattainable, but this is different. I fold my hands behind my back, getting more focused since Zell gave me no sign of the winner.

"Considering you all were equally shocked when I said we were going to Esthar, I can only assume I am alone in this latest quest. That quest being a new bout in dream world," I use air quotes to enunciate. The room begins to stir.

"What do you mean, new bout in dream world?" and "You were Laguna again?" These are asked simultaneously by the girls, while Irvine and Zell simply wait for me to continue. I hold my hands up to ease the girls a bit.

"I will debrief with you all, but first I wanted to let you know why we were going to Esthar. Once we arrive, I hope to seek out President Loire and Ellone to speak about this matter, and hopefully shed some light on why it is happening. Until then, that is all the ideas I have. Selphie, how long until we land?"

The brunette shakes her head, "Probably another couple hours."

Selphie and Irvine begin plotting and planning what to see and do while in Esthar, Quistis occasionally throwing a suggestion in to keep the two in line. Now is my chance, I decide, as I notice Zell's eyes on me. His expression is still blank as I reach into my pocket and pull out the piece of paper. Keeping my eyes on the blonde, I unfold it and hold it in the palm of my hand, watching Zell's face but he holds firm. I finally drop my eyes down to my hand and see his number.

"Dismissed," I state although the room is already lost to the couple in front. I say it out of habit before dropping my head down to Zell's, the number still in my hand. He raises his own hand and holds out my number before sighing. I won. I tilt my head, my lips an inch away from his ear.

"Meet me in my quarters in five minutes," I instruct the blonde as I fold the number up once again and stick it in my pocket. Zell stands from his seat as I stand back up, both eyeing each other. He nods, his eyes brighter than ever before stalking out of the cockpit. I know just what I want him to do, I decide with a smirk before following the blonde out into the hallway.