Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, if I did I would be off in my brand new car on my way to the office… but since I don't I'm sitting on the ground at the university writing this chapter of fanfiction. :)
Authors note: So my teacher decided to give their barrage of school work for June, the last month of the school year, because they barely gave any work on the other two months. So please, bare with me. I've hardly had enough time to actually check this. Please read &review. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: The First Phase
Zell yawned for the hundredth time while walking through Fisherman's Horizon (FH) as Squall had ordered. They had split into two teams. Seifer and Zell were surprised at all the amount of students that had gone out of Garden so early. Walking down towards the mayor's house, Seifer looked at Zell.
"Hey chicken-wuss," He said, getting Zell's attention quickly; Zell glared at him. "…ever since I left, who's been sparring with Squall?" Zell stopped glaring and looked up in a thoughtful manner.
"Well, Squall's been sparrin' with Nida." Zell said, recalling a time he had seen both brunettes blade against blade. "Still, Squall told me that, although Nida is quite strong, there is an obvious difference between his skills and Nida's." Zell added, looking forward again. "He even told he had gotten bored of Nida and asked me to teach him some martial arts move." Zell paused to see the look of surprise on Seifer's face. "I tell ya, he can deliver a painful punch with his right arm and he knows how to create a diversion with it to connect with the left one." Zell said while moving around and showing with his arms what he was saying. Seifer looked up.
"Has he been applying what you have shown him to his gunblade technique?" Seifer asked, thinking of the possibilities of Squall broadening his horizons and improving his almost unbeatable gunblade technique. Zell nodded.
"Somewhat, his movements are faster and he's actually holdin' his gunblade with one hand. I actually saw him plant a heavy fist in a T-Rexaur's face while holdin' his gunblade against its teeth." Zell said with a laugh; even the T-Rexaur had a confused look on its face that day. Zell turned a little serious. "Squall… he's really trying to get stronger, but sometimes… I could almost swear that I hear him cry every night." Zell said looking down. Seifer turned to him.
"Explain." Seifer said. Zell looked up at him and back at the floor; not a word left his mouth. "Zell, I'm not planning to fuck Squall up with what you're saying… I just want to know if there's something I can do for him. He's Rinoa's knight and I was Ultimecia's knight; she was an experienced sorceress and I'm sure that I can help him with the knowledge I received from her." Seifer said; his voice sounding truly sincere.
"Squall's room is right across from mine; I get to mine pretty late and I can almost hear him cryin'." Zell said with a sad expression on his face. "At first, I dismissed it and decided that it came from another dorm, but I kept hearin' it and I was convinced that it came from his dorm." Zell turned to him. "What's worst, the cryin' began shortly after we defeated Ultimecia. Somethin' must've happen to him durin' time compression." Zell added with a concerned look.
"Have you asked him about it?" Seifer asked and Zell shook his head.
"With me bein' the way I am…. I can't ask him; I might make it worst." Zell said with a sad smile. "That's why I do my best everyday to ease his mind. That is my personal mission; to be there when he needs me." He added with a determined look. Seifer nodded.
"That's the kind of loyalty he needs." Seifer said softly. "We need to get our priorities check, Zell." Seifer said, making Zell look at him with a questioning look. Seifer looked back at him. "Galbadia wants something with Rinoa, he is her knight; he can't let that happen. I have the feeling that we will have to make a choice; decide who we follow…" Seifer added and spotted a few students walking out of a café; he pointed in their direction. "There are some students." He said. Zell nodded and they ran to the students. Seifer's words carved themselves on Zell's mind; Seifer was probably unto something.
Somewhere else a man wearing a white cloak with a hood walked through the gray halls of a building. The polished walls and floor reflected the man's figure and his footsteps echoed throughout the air. From his hip hung a thin belt, which held two small round bottles with some red and black liquids on them. A big hammer-like weapon rested against the man's back and only the wicked smirked he wore could be seen on his face.
He opened two huge black doors at the end of the hall to reveal a huge room with red velvet curtains surrounding the walls. At the far end a four posts bed could be seen and the silhouette of two people could be seen through the thin almost see-through curtains hanging from the four posts with the help of the little light a single candle provided. The man in the white robe stood there and waited to be noticed. One of the figures moved out of the bed and walked towards the door, where the robed man was. It was a beautiful young woman with gray hair and a gorgeous body. She walked passed him wearing nothing, but the sheet around her naked body. The figure on the bed was a man. He clapped twice and the room lit up.
The man was in his mid-forties with grayish blonde hair that reached a little lower than his jaw in length. His hazel eyes could pierce through an iceberg and his five o' clock shadow beard made him look mature yet sexy in a mysterious way. He had the well formed body of a younger man in his mid-twenties and the confidence only years of experience could provide. Looking at the robed man, he chuckled lightly at the look he had on his face. The robed man got closer to him and spoke.
"Mr. President, preparations for the ceremony have been prepared again." He said seriously, trying to ignore the fact that he had seen the naked girl leave. The president looked at him with a questioning look.
"Why isn't it working?" He said, getting up from his bed and taking a bath robe that was lying on the floor; he was also naked.
"We are not entirely sure, sir, but it probably has to do that we're not using the original specimen." The robed man said. "Maybe when we finally get our hands on it, it will work." He added getting a hold of the bottle with the red liquid hanging from his belt. "Once we give the subject a taste of this liquid we will bring forth the world we want to create; you will have absolute power over every creature and human being." The robed-man said. The president chuckled and turned to the candle next to him.
"It's so close I can almost feel it." He said as his eyes turned a faint yellowish green. Then they both laughed out loud. The robed-man walked out of the room to see the woman that had left the room earlier was lying on the ground bleeding profusely, but her hair was not silver colored anymore; it was blonde. He squatted near her and brushed strands of her hair away from her face. With a wicked smirk, he whispered some words and the woman screamed as her body slowly dissolved into thin air. Her scream echoed through the hallways and into every room. He began to walk away as her screaming faded and her body completely disappeared.
Squall was looking out through Ragnarok's window. He was leaning against the back wall of the bridge. Esthar could be seen in the distance. The city was glistening under the morning sun; it was a gorgeous and radiant sight. He heard Rinoa's soft gasp as she walked over to stand behind Selphie and next to Irvine to look at the city. Her skin looked as if it were glowing with the morning light reflecting gently on it. He heard both her and Selphie awing and giggling at the sight. He also heard Irvine chuckling and telling the girls he liked their eyes better. Squall shook his head with his eyes closed, but when Rinoa giggled again and he opened his eyes he was caught off guard. Irvine was right. The mixed reflection of both the sunlight and the bluish reflected light the city provided made her eyes look mysteriously beautiful; more beautiful than he ever thought possible. He shook his head and walked closer to them.
"Selphie, land at the air station." Squall said. Selphie nodded and did as she was told. Once outside the airship, Squall started to walk towards his destination; the Esthar Presidential Palace. He was just going to give them the warning and then he would leave, although he had some unfinished business with the president; business he did not want to take care of.
Author's note: Again, sorry for having you wait. Teachers had it against me, especially that guy from that text redacting class. I've never felt so miserable in my life; I tell you that man hates me. Anyways, feel free to review, still be nice; my head is still a mess of thoughts, school work, my mom's antics and the fact that I have abandoned my own social and love life because of school. So it may take a week or two before the next update, unless I feel unbelievably inspired and have nothing to do. Later.