A/N: Erm, yeah Friday is an extremely long day! But shock horror, next chapter will be Saturday!! Thanks for the reviews guys, it means a lot to hear your comments, especially since this is a different kind of fic from what I've been writing recently. :)
'Joining forces'
FRIDAY 17:00
Zell's doorbell rang but he was already standing next to it, waiting. All afternoon he had been waiting for the visitor he had felt he was going to be welcoming. Moments before the bell rang he had wandered out into the hallway to wait. Opening the door slowly, he saw Quistis standing outside expectantly and another girl behind her with dark hair. The girl he hadn't met before looked nervous. Her arms were folded against more than the cold wind and there was a glow of sadness about her.
"Hello, I hope this isn't a bad time. I was hoping I could speak to you again," Quistis said politely. She was desperate that Zell not turn her away. "This is Rinoa," she added turning to the girl behind her.
Zell's eyes darted past her to Rinoa. She looked uneasy, but that wasn't all. There was something wrong with her aura. It wasn't complete and he didn't know what to do about that. He'd only ever seen one other person like that before and it hadn't ended well.
"Hi," she said with a small smile.
"You'd best come in then," Zell said pushing the door wide open and leading the way into the living room.
The room had already been set up for visitors, which made Quistis hesitate at the doorway. He was clearly waiting for someone, so maybe now hadn't been a good time to stop by.
"Come on, take a seat. I've been waiting for you," Zell said, welcoming them as best he could. He took a seat at the dining table, leaving the sofa free for his guests.
They sat next to one another awkwardly looking around the room. Rinoa shot Quistis a concerned look. Quistis had not told her much about Zell, only that he would be able to tell her more about what she had seen. She knew that Quistis was interested in her story and wanted to know more also. She had told Rinoa all about the book she was writing, about investigating the paranormal.
She felt as if she had fallen into another world, where rather than being told to shut up about her fairy stories, she was being encouraged. The last time anything of this kind had been talked of was when her mother had been alive, and then she had only considered it to be works of the imagination.
"Our conversation ended rather abruptly last time," Quistis said whilst looking through her bag. "But I gave what you said some thought, you know, about the Bleaks, and er…" She switched on her Dictaphone and clicked her pen into action. "I believe I've now met someone who knows about their existence too."
Rinoa waited for something more, until she realised that Quistis was talking about her. Bleaks. Yes, that's what Quistis had called them in the café. Shadowy creatures that slinked through the night. She hadn't elaborated much, but had assured Rinoa that Zell, the magician, would know more.
Zell didn't look like a magician to her. Or at least, not what she imagined a magician to look like. He was a similar age as her, with gelled hair and dressed in baggy cut off jeans, skate shoes and a short-sleeved black shirt. If she'd passed him in the street she wouldn't have taken notice, just marking him as an average teen. Yet, she felt he really did know something.
"Yes, um, last night I met these three people," Rinoa said self consciously. "Two blokes and a girl."
Zell nodded but said nothing.
"The two guys had guns, at first I thought they were trying to shoot me… but now that I think back… there was something else there. A presence. It was all around me. As if, I dunno… it was making me ill or something. But the bullets hit it, and it shattered like glass."
She paused. Zell was listening very intently and Quistis was making notes.
"It was dark, like a puddle of ink by my feet. Then the girl appeared out of nowhere, directly in front of me. Like magic!" Rinoa said waving her hand in front of her to show how far away the girl had been. "They were angry about that. They told me to go home and before I knew it they had hold of me and there was this weird feeling and I was home!"
"I didn't go out looking for trouble, I was just walking home, and then they run towards me. Honest, I'm not making this up," Rinoa insisted.
"Did they speak their names?" Zell asked.
Rinoa thought, then nodded. She remembered, but hadn't given it much thought, more concerned about the stuff that happened.
"Yes, they called each other, Seifer and Squall."
From the shade of white that Zell turned she thought he might have died. She watched him slowly coming back to life and could see him thinking.
No, it couldn't be true, Zell thought. He stood and began pacing.
"No, I can't be…" he mumbled, a distressed look on his face. "No, no… can't…can't…"
"What? What's wrong?" Quistis asked intrigued.
Zell stared at her for a moment as if she was mad, and then continued to walk.
"The avengers, the ones that were summoned," he said still pacing. "A long time ago, hundreds of years ago, a group of magicians summoned two warriors from another dimension, to hunt the Bleaks and the ones that made them. But they didn't realise the scale of that quest and the warriors were forced to stay in this dimension until the quest was completed."
"Warriors," Rinoa repeated in a dazed voice. "From another dimension?"
"Are you sure you heard their names correctly?" Zell demanded suddenly.
"Yes," Rinoa replied indignantly. It might be a far-fetched story, but she knew what she'd seen and heard.
"I thought it was legend," Zell whispered. "Just stories. But why would you know about it?" he asked Rinoa.
She shrugged.
"They're a big deal then?" Quistis asked.
"A big deal? They are the deal! Seriously, didn't I just say they were legends? They cannot return home you know, not until every Bleak is eradicated from the Earth. Pretty tall order right? They are trapped here. Never growing old, never changing. Doomed to hunt Bleaks eternally until their quest ends."
"Sounds wonderful. I'd be pretty pissed," Rinoa said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I imagine they are pretty pissed off," Zell agreed ignoring the sarcasm.
"It's unlikely that they'll kill all the Bleaks then?" Quistis asked thoughtfully. From what Zell was saying, it sounded like there was an unending supply of the little blighters. Bleaks were clearly always on the production line.
"OK," Rinoa said shaking her head. "You're telling me that those guys were from another dimension? You know, just to clarify and get my story straight for when I'm in the loony bin."
Zell sat back down, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Something big must be on the move if the legendary warriors were in town. He had felt things were not right for some time and now he was certain. It was a bad time to be on the magical radar and to be noticeable enough to be a target. To stand a chance against what could come at them, they needed to stick together.
"I need you to help me find them," he said decidedly.
"What? No. I do have a life you know, I can't go tracking people down. Besides, these ain't normal people," Rinoa said scooting to the edge of the sofa in case she needed to make a quick getaway. "And I want to know more about these Bleaks."
Zell looked frustrated for a moment, and then sat down. Ordinary non-magical folk were always so difficult to reason with; never seeing the dangers that he could see.
"What's your full name?" he asked Rinoa. "Why should you have seen what you did? What makes you special?"
She frowned.
"Rinoa Heartilly," she answered ignoring his impertinence. Once again he looked surprised.
"Heartilly," he repeated as if slotting a piece of a puzzle together. "Interesting."
"Why?"
"You wanted to know more about the Bleaks, well I can't tell you much, but I'll tell you what I know," Zell said, changing to subject to something he hoped Rinoa wouldn't be able to resist, even for the mystery of her name. "They hunt the weak spirited, the sad and lonely, or those that have not lifted their magical shields. Suffering is a powerful human trait and the Bleaks love anything powerful. They'll suck the life from a person without them knowing. The only thing that can kill them is silver."
"Why?" Rinoa asked.
"I don't know," Zell confessed. "But if you want to find out, help me find Seifer and Squall."
"Why do you want to find them?" Rinoa asked sceptical.
"Because I hunt Bleaks also and I reckon we could make a pretty good team… All of us."
There was a confused pause until Quistis spoke.
"Wait a minute, all of us?" she asked. "What do you mean, all of us?"
Rinoa looked at Zell with an eyebrow raised. She had thought the guy was pretty ordinary to begin with, now she thought he was nuts. But nothing could answer why she believed him. Why did everything make sense? It was mad, all of it. Completely mad and yet she felt she was simply hearing things that deep down she already knew.
"How could I help?" Rinoa asked.
"Well first of all you can learn how to raise your shields. You're like a walking magnet for every Bleak in a five-mile radius. Seriously, a witch shouldn't be so bloody careless," he told Rinoa. "And you," he said rounding on Quistis, "Need to tell the world a darned good story, and this is it."
"I suppose you'll be wanting a share of the profits," she qipped with a slight smile.
"Of course, this show doesn't fund it's self you know," Zell said rubbing his hands together.
Rinoa looked at Quistis and saw that she had the same, 'oh what the hell' expression. Nothing exciting ever happened, they'd be stupid to turn an adventure down, even if it was with a mad man. They smiled in agreement then turned to Zell.
"Seventy forty," Quistis offered.
"Deal," Zell said shaking her hand. "And you?"
"Alright, sure, I'm in," Rinoa said as casually as she could manage, even though her heart was thumping. This was the start of something big; she could feel it. "And, who are you calling a witch?"
