Chapter 4

The Blonde and the Elf

Irvine Kinneas kicked a cola can hard into the stream in front of him in frustration. When the major jokebringer of Balamb had failed to come to his normal sense of humor, it meant that something was just not right. And this appeared to be just the very case. The good news was, the gang, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Quistis, had defected from Balamb Garden safe and sound, meaning that the useless days spent on doing other people's odd jobs had come to a temporary end, and they could focus on their self-assigned task to look for Squall and Rinoa. The bad news was that they didn't even know where to begin. And that led to the ugly news, that mission was prone to fail. Squall Leonhart was nowhere to be found all over the world, let alone Rinoa. And right now the search team had gotten itself in an anonymous locality just some twenty miles away from Deling City, having a rest under a particular shade beside an anonymous stream so as to avoid the sultry sun. Frustration was now at its very peak.

"Could you please stop making noises?" the rattling and splash of the empty cola can falling into water had apparently bothered an already disturbed Quistis "I am trying to concentrate here"

"Damn thing" Irvine snapped "Next time if he goes somewhere I would vote bugging his equipment so that he wouldn't get out of range like this"

"Can't agree better" Zell nodded, looking bored to death, then suddenly changed topic "Galbadian hot dogs surely sucks. I can't just feed on it forever!"

"But hey, Quisty" Selphie ignored Zell's ranting and pinched Quistis until she had to turn back, and asked "What made you think that Squall might have come here? Hadn't the Galbadian Army confirmed to Garden that Rinoa was nowhere to be found on this continent?"

"One word, Sefie. Distrust" Quistis answered abruptly, taking a sip of water from her canteen

"Eh? I don't get it!" Selphie opened her eyes wide in astonishment

"Squall has never before trusted any Galbadians except maybe Rinoa" explained Quistis "That includes General Caraway, too. He just, well, didn't believe in the official result from the Galbadian search, perhaps"

"But to tell the truth, Rinny could just be anywhere! Well, maybe except Garden"

"Not really. You know how hard the Esthan effort to look for poor Rinny in their territory was carried out? It was probably the greatest search effort that Esthar had ever seen since Laguna's inauguration. It is even rumored that they had even left no stone unturned over in Trabia as well"

"Ah, can't help it" Zell raised his eyebrows "The President was doing his best to save his daughter-in-law-to-be"

"So Esthar is now out of our list" Quistis nodded, making a note to herself "And furthermore, a sorceress cannot go anywhere without being spotted telepathically by another. We still got no news from Matron, didn't we? If Rinoa were anywhere around the southern continent, she would have known, wouldn't she?"

"Meaning that only Galbadia is left for searching?"

"In my opinion, sadly yes" Quistis leaned against a sideway boulder tiredly

"Wait, wait, wait, my head is going all dizzy!" Zell shook his head in disbelief "So who ARE we searching for now? Squall or Rinoa?"

"It is highly trustworthy that if we find one of them, we will get the other soon…" Quistis pushed herself up a bit "You see, they are so… inseparable"

"But then anyway, it might be possible that Squall had not found Rinoa yet, right?" Selphie remarked skeptically "Still it's not his fault if he hadn't!"

"Well, you mean we have been searching all along at a wrong place, was it so, Sefie?" Irvine drew his gun playfully and aimed up the sky "you know, I would have suggested going to see Ellone for a dream therapy if we got the chance to"

"No way, Irvy" Selphie snapped almost at once "Sir Laguna must have done all he could already… Elle included, of course" She immediately stopped in horror, and started stuttering "Hey, guys… do you think that Squall and Rinny have… have…"

"Stop being pessimistic!" Quistis brushed Selphie off totally, but her voice showed as much pessimism as her friend "They have both survived Ultimecia. What on earth could kill them?"

"Whatever" Zell said, throwing his backpack over his shoulder, and, turning back to everyone, clapped his hands "We still have to go, right? So c'mon now, we have to start going quickly"

Zell stood up right after that, spitting out a mouthful of Galbadian hot dogs. They definitely were not worth eating, even if he was desperate for some to calm his mood.

"Damn hot dogs" he said, growling "Yo, Rinoa's dad should do humanity a favor and execute all those mud headed chefs for making these hot dogs"

"Forget about eating, Hotdog Crunching Boy!" Irvine teased him, and then suddenly turned serious "I wonder where Squall is now. Got any idea where we are going next, Instructor Trepe?"

Quistis said no more. She picked up her life-supporting paperback book on global monster zoology from the ground, and laid it over her head. The blonde then discarded her empty canteen down the stream with a loud splash, throwing water all over the grassy bank, and walked off briskly, obviously aimlessly into the open space ahead. Everyone else knew that, but that didn't seem to matter. They were lost too, and needed a leader to follow, even if that leader herself did not have any idea where to go yet. All of them couldn't just believe that Squall or Rinoa was dead, but yet couldn't help thinking that way. Self-deceit was necessary when the situation was extremely appalling, it seemed

Back at Castle Agoura, the blissful castle the seemingly omniscient Heroes Master had chosen as Squall's temporary hideout. In a small, but obviously first-class apartment up high in the Central Tower of Castle Agoura sat at the table a lone figure dressed in a black jacket and white T-shirt, digging his forehead into his palm. In the last few months, strictly since Rinoa's disappearance, he had been doing that every time he thought of her. And now, upon hearing from the Grand Lord that he was entitled to whatsoever he needed, provided that the castle could afford it, he decided that he should do something to ease his pain: Drawing. The Heroes Master had implied that he had a very important job to do, and he HAD TO go on as a matter of duty. There must be something he had better do to at least take his mind off his unfortunate girlfriend. But that didn't seem to have worked out though, for every time he started to think about drawing the beautiful scenic beauty outside his window- Castle Agoura had been erected at a marvelous geographical location with magnificent sunsets and sunrises- he would end up drawing a portrait of Rinoa Heartilly instead. Strangely, Squall was never an artist before. He used to even detest drawing pictures and making poems. And this time, his portraits of Rinoa were so perfect, so vivid and lively that one could hardly believe it had been the work of an amateur. It was now one week since his arrival, and portraits of Rinoa had been filling up his desk drawers already.

At first, Worce Castle wondered what on earth the new guest could probably ask from him, and frowned at the thought of a troublesome, demanding guest. He was wrong. His only request was no disturbance, and a few sheets of paper and some brushes. Observing the "SeeD Commander", Worce found out that all what Squall did in town was staying there alone in his room, having meals as regularly and routinely as a machine, sitting and/or lying down on his bed all the time, hand not leaving his forehead, and then, all of a sudden, springing up and scribbling madly at the pile of paper left conveniently on his table by Worce's Halfling servants. Upon seeing that strange behavior of someone in Squall's age, Worce was more than troubled and confused. "Hey, man" he thought "That guy was barely four years older than me! And he was like, living like an old man!" Out of curiosity, he asked his best Halfling spy to sneak into the Commander's room and find out what was he doing in there. The Halfling returned half an hour later, with a broken nose and bleeding cheek, the visible result of a point-blank range bash on the face. This added even more to Worce's curiosity, but he decided to abandon the mission for fear of indirectly injuring another of his servants.

It seemed that Squall Leonhart's attitude was contagious- in no time the whole crew reserved for attending to Squall's every need found themselves both jobless- Squall had no requests but to be left alone- and depressed. Even Worce was losing his interest. He had really expected his guest to be a brave, ironclad, greatsword-wielding swordsman who was extremely boastful and proud of his earlier exploits against the Kreegans and Necromancers- the standard Erathian knight figure. Instead, he was given this I-care-about-nothing antisocial keeper of an abnormal looking sword as his guest of honor. And what's worse, while he was in such a stream of thought, he got yet some more not-so good news. The Ranger, Ivor, stepped into his throne room and bowed solemnly- something not quite usual of the extremely arrogant AvLee elf

"My lord" he said, still bowing on his knees "I must ask you for a favor right now"

"What is it, Ivor?" Worce asked anxiously

"I am asking for a leave, sir"

"A leave?" Worce was shocked "Why now?"

"I have just received this letter" Ivor said, producing a sealed paper. Worce knew this seal all to well. It belonged to the new elven kingdom of Aranorn, which was enjoying the fair and just reign of King Elwin and Queen Shaera. This was also the place every AvLee elf surviving the Reckoning called home "And it seemed that my homeland is right now under attack by some extremely ferocious beasts. I have to go back right now to defend it against the invaders, whoever they are."

"Oh well" Worce sighed in dismay "So when do you have to go by the order of the great King Elwin?"

"As soon as possible, your lordship" Ivor replied almost at once "The King insisted that because I am the greatest archer to have survived the Reckoning, I should come back to service immediately"

"Beginning his boasting already" Worce thought, looking at the absolutely proud elf "Guess I must let him go anyway"

"Alright then Ivor, you have my permission. You are dismissed" Worce announced in a Worce-ish pseudo-political voice to the waiting Ranger "Remember to return to Agoura as soon as it is done"

"Yes, your lordship" the elf bowed again "I must excuse myself now, my lord"

And with that, the elf quickly strolled out of the room, at Worce's dismay. "That's it, man" the Grand Lord shook his head in fatigue "Now with Ivor gone that freak Squall Leonhart would haunt this castle even more. Damn thing he couldn't pull himself together a bit or just go out and play"

Back to Quistis' search team. After that not-so-pleasant midday rest, the group continued their sweaty and aimless trail in the vain hope of accidentally run into Squall in due time. It was quite illogical, but it was the only thing they could do then.

Two hour, three T-Rexaurs and six Jelleyes later, Quistis and her friends found themselves in the middle of yet another unknown forest. Their steps soon took them to a river crossing that had to be braved, but alas, instead of a bridge or a shallow to walk on, there were just a couple of stone steps connecting the two banks. And the current was quite threatening, throwing large spouts of water all over the bank. It was somewhat a scenic beauty for those just observing, but not quite a pretty sight for those who had to cross it.

"How are we going to get past?" Selphie asked, looking nervously at the rapid. It was not that she couldn't swim, but such a current could oust the best of swimmers

"Just jump across, Messenger Gal" Zell smirked "Afraid yet, Selph?"

Saying so, Zell leaped across the river, landing perfectly on the steps one by one, until he reached the other side. Upon doing so, a proud-faced Zell looked back at his peers, with a stylish thumb-up, probably ushered them to go on.

Next came Irvine and Quistis, whose skills were all too good to just move across that river. Finally, the shivering Selphie found herself at the edge of the water, shaking harder. Was she going to cross it? The answer was yes, for after just a bit of hesitation. So she took a deep breath, treaded back a few steps and then leaped for the nearest stone. She landed quite successfully, and took a second jump. But then, disaster struck just when she was least aware of it.

"Hey, this stone is so slippery…AAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Quistis and the whole gang turned back to the direction of the scream. To their horror, the place where just one second ago Selphie Tilmitt was standing had completely vanished; all what was left was the echo of her scream.

"SEFIE!!!" Irvine cried out, and then dived back into the river in the hope of recovering Selphie. He quickly swam to the point where his girl was last seen alive and well, but again, upon reaching a certain point in the river, Irvine's tall and muscular figure also vanished completely, without leaving a trace.

Quistis and Zell stood there on the other side of the river speechless. The current was still strong, sweeping off whatever in its path, and there was no signal from the two missing people. Not even a cry for help was heard.

"Damn!" Zell got furious, took off his t-shirt and leaped down the river for the other two. Unfortunately, he also vanished in quite the same way the others have upon reaching the middle of the river, and barely five seconds later, no more of Zell could be heard or seen…

"… Selphie? Irvine? Zell?" Quistis approached the river bank, bent down on her knees "Are you guys there?"

There was no answer, but for the echoing noise of water off granite made by the ominous river. It seemed for one second that the current had even gotten stronger after each SeeD vanished, as if it was gaining strength from consuming its unfortunate victims. And by the time Zell disappeared, the current seemed so strong that it could sweep even a huge boulder away without leaving the smallest trace.

"no… not now, you guys… this can't be true…" Quistis dropped herself on her knees heavily, and started to weep "Don't leave me alone…"

And the nightmare was yet to end. From right behind Quistis, three huge bloodthirsty Grendels had made their abrupt non-ceremonious appearance. Those beasts, although considered a species of lesser dragon, were actually much more dangerous than they may seem. Their whole bodies were extremely deadly, not by means of poison or flames, but their horrifying brutish strength itself. One adult would be more than capable of knocking down a ten-storey building it half an hour. What was more, they enjoyed tearing humans to bits and consuming their victims piece by piece. Also, their extreme agility would also deprive the unfortunate victim of any chance of getting away safely. Facing one of these alone would mean certain death. And now in front of Quistis Trepe stood three such creatures, ever ready to kill and eat her up.

As a matter of instinct, Quistis screamed, and was about to run away when the Grendels started to form their own formation. One, obviously older and more experienced, blocked her back. The other younger and obviously more bloodthirsty two then moved slowly towards her, devouring her hope of escape with each step they moved. Nervously, Quistis reached for her chain whip, looking forward to a losing battle and a horrible death.

Death? Right then she was afraid of death no more. All her friends… all those she cherished… her means of finding this world still livable… have vanished. All of them. Thinking so, Quistis felt no more fear. She stretched her chain whip, gave a loud crack, and pulled off the most defiant look she could afford. She then took the first move, rushing in and whipped as hard as she could at the elder Grendel. It was a useless strike. A Grendel's skin was so thick that they could well challenge a cannonball, let alone just a tiny whip like Instructor Trepe's. The three beasts then countered, and in a matter of seconds, Quistis was lying squarely on the ground covered in wounds, and was hardly breathing. They were simply too powerful to fight against alone.

Quistis lay there hopelessly. There, the three killers were approaching. Those gory eyes of theirs showed a great thirst for human blood. And the beautiful blonde named Quistis Trepe would be a perfect meal for the three great evils. The elder Grendel appeared first, licking her face. It was giving out a stench so intense that the poor girl was going sick. She would have very well vomited had she not realized that she needed to die a clean death… The beast was very, very close now. It opened its large, ugly jaws and was ever ready to take a bite. Quistis closed her eyes, waiting for a way too painful death sentence to be delivered

WHOOSH!!

Quistis could only hear the whizzing sound of an arrow, followed by the killer beast's loud growl of agony. It twisted and turned, bashing its sharp sword-like tail all around, until it hit a nearby tree, slashed halfway through it and was embedded in it. Quistis also turned over and looked at the foul beast's suffering, or in fact, its last moments. It took the lesser dragon two and a half minutes to die off completely. Was she saved? It seemed so. Looking up, the young instructor could see a long, well fletched arrow still sticking out of the beast's eyehole. "It is strange" she thought "that anyone would use a bow that well". For now, the blonde was saved from the elder Grendel's jaws.

But danger was far from over, as the two younger Grendels were still there, and was more than willing to kill to avenge their senior's death. They raced towards the place from which the arrow appeared, and to Quistis' surprise, one was killed off at the very moment it opened its savage jaws by an arrow piercing through its mouth to the back of its head. The other, realizing that they had met a very formidable opponent, backed off and was about to run away, but was not tolerated either. Another release of the bowstring, and another arrow struck right through the back of its neck, finishing the creature off completely.

"What was that?" Quistis thought with amazement "Three powerful dragons… dead in half a minute? How did the archer do it?"

She didn't have to wonder for too long, for there, out of the bush leaped out a figure dressed in a green robe with a dark green overhead hood, holding a beautifully crafted and furnished golden longbow. He was not walking. Instead, he was riding firmly on a zebra steed, well tamed and willing to obey his every command. Riding out of the bush, her savior holstered his bow, got off the horse, and came towards each of the slain beasts, and quickly recovered his arrows. He then mounted the zebra again with a proud smile- something reminding Quistis of Seifer whenever he had just given Squall a real pain in the ass. Remembering this, she decided there was barely a hope for him to come and help her up, so she just lay down and faked death.

But the man riding the zebra saw right through her. He quietly dismounted, moved towards the poor girl, and pulled her up. Sooner than enough, Quistis found herself lying on the rider's lap. As a natural reaction, her face turned cherry red, and she tried to turn away from him, only to realize she was then too weak to do so. The zebra rider smiled, and looked her as if "See you moron, you cannot just pretend in front of me" was in his mind.

"You blushed?" He asked her "Meaning that you are alive and well. As a matter of fact, dead people don't blush"

"Grr…" Quistis growled "Get off me! Right-NOW!"

"Are you sure?" The rider gave her another of that Seifer Almasy-trademarked sarcastic smile "There will be more funny beasts in this forest. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

And he stood up, posing as if he was about to sling Quistis on the ground again. Again, as a natural reaction, she clutched the man even firmer, blushing harder in the meantime. The rider shook his head teasingly, and then carried her in his arms to his trusted steed. He laid her across the horse's back, and patted on her shoulder

"Just kidding" He said, turning away from her and mounted the zebra "I am not that kind of a pervert rogue who would take advantage of damsels in distress"

Quistis said nothing. Her cheeks were still burning, as much as she didn't know why she had fallen into such an awkward situation with this complete stranger. But then, when she had calmed down, she found that there was no reason for her to actually rejoice. Her friends were dead… And she couldn't even try to recover their dead bodies. For a second tears were filling up Quistis' eyes. However, she was all too determined not to let this arrogant man know she was actually crying. She knew all too well the response of a Seifer-esque person should she know she was weeping. She just lay there on horseback, weeping quietly. Luckily, it seemed that her savior didn't realize her secret tears.

"Oh well, just leave her there, Legolas" the hooded archer spoke, patting the zebra on the head "We have much more to do"

Saying so, he turned back at the girl, who quickly and stealthily wiped away her tears, inspected her face, and then turned back to the zebra

"Come on, Legolas" he spoke to the zebra again "Aranorn awaits"

Then, he pressed the stirrups hard, yanking the steed onwards, and, to Quistis' horror, lunged straight towards the midstream of the river that had drowned her three best friends! For one second, Quistis thought that she was finished, as the waves of cruel water around her closed in on… But just as the water tapped at her face, Quistis found herself like in a whirlwind instead of drowning. Her head was filled with strange beeps, her brains tumbled up and down for several times, her blood circulation virtually stopped for some seconds, during which she had thought was as horrible as hell reincarnated.