Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Domestic ❯ Delirium ( Chapter 11 )

Domestic

WARNINGS:

1) I do not own FF8, Squaresoft, or get any profit out of this story

2) Rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sexual content

Chapter 11: Delirium

Zell wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Two weeks later, here he sat. There wasn't a war. Actually, there wasn't much news at all. It was strange really, because everyone expected one. Squall had called all the SeeDs back from their missions and security was extra tight. Zell spent several days on hall duty looking for minor disturbances, as did the other SeeDs. Seifer was particularly touchy. Cid's threat seemed to get under his skin, and he was even more angry then usual. This was bad news for Travis, along with the other students. Seifer spent an entire Wednesday afternoon talking about how he was the most powerful man in the world not too long ago. Needless to say, this didn't bring back the fondest of memories with his students, and resulted in a meeting with Squall. Nothing ever happened though. It seemed as if Cid quietly went back to Centra.

Selphie thought this was exactly what happened. "Come on! You know Cid. He's a whole lot of talk but not a lot of action. Remember when NORG stood up to him. What'd he do? He cried in the infirmary and left Squall in charge. Now Squall stood up to him. Do you really think he's going to start a war?"

"She's got a point," Irvine shrugged. "I don't think Cid's got enough energy to start a war."

"So he's just going to lay back and let his son be kicked out of the Garden he helped create?" Zell asked, stretching his arms behind his head.

"What army is he going to use to stop us?" Selphie laughed.

"Good point," Zell muttered. He wasn't satisfied though. It was hard to imagine that Cid would do absolutely nothing. This conversation helped nonetheless. It was going to be another long night for the blonde. Actually it was about 2400 hours. Zell picked the short straw this week, and was on hall duty from midnight to 800 hours. The graveyard shift. He was prepared and slept most of the day, so it wouldn't go too badly. Selphie and Irvine were nice enough to stay up this late with him, but he could see they were about ready to go to bed. Irvine was continually yawning and Selphie's eyes were getting droopy

"I'm sorry Zell, but I think I'm going to bed," Selphie yawned.

"Me too. G'night," Irvine followed.

"Night," Zell responded. "See ya tomorrow." He followed them out of the Quad, and watched them walk back to the dorms. Kicking a tile, Zell walked towards the front gate. It took almost exactly ten minutes to do a lap around the main circle of the Garden. Zell was usually able to pull a good hour out of his laps however, as he liked spending time in the Training Zone. There was usually at least one person in there late at night. That could keep him entertained for a good twenty minutes.

Starting outside the Quad, Zell decided to check out the Infirmary first. He made his way down the long hallway, and saw Dr. Kadowaki sitting at her desk. Her head was slumped, but she waved sleepily at the blonde. He nodded, and smiled. Everything was a-ok there. There must have been some injuries she had to keep her eye on.

Continuing on his journey, Zell made his way to the front gate. Surprisingly, the old gate man was still awake. He also gave a wave to Zell. The blonde nodded and continued walking. This was worse then he remembered. He hated being watchdog. Looking down at his watch, he only had….seven hours and fifty minutes left. He sighed and kept walking.

The library was pitch black. Zell shrugged and decided to check it out. He had over forty different keys, so he might as well use one. The key slid into the lock and clicked quietly. He was in. The only source of light came from outside the room, and even those were dim. Zell clicked the front light switch, but nothing happened. The neon lights refused to cooperate, and he was screwed in the blackness. Zell knew that the genius who devised the library put the switchbox all the way in the back. This would prove to be interesting. After going past the first row of books, the light from outside no longer served him, and he felt blindly for the back wall.

Then there was a crash. His blood ran cold. It came from two bookcases in front of him on his left. He stood straight up and slid his gloves on. "Maybe a book just fell," he told himself. Zell tiptoed over; listening for anymore sounds, but none came. He couldn't see the ground or anything three inches in front of him for that matter, so he decided it best to turn on the lights first. Tiptoeing again to the back of the library, Zell felt blindly for the switchbox. It took him a while until he felt the cool metal run under his hand. He slowly tried to open it, but the box was rusty. A loud creak sounded, and Zell abandoned silence.

He flung the door open and flicked the switch. The library flashed with light, and Zell swung. He expected someone to be standing right in front of him, but there wasn't. He whiffed air. Slowly his eyes adjusted, and he looked around the now illuminated library. There was nobody in sight. He walked over to where he originally heard the sound. There sat "Hyne and You. An In-depth Discussion.". Zell just laughed. He gently slid the book back into the case and turned to leave. Then the door clicked shut. Quickly shooting his glance outside the library, Zell saw a blur run up towards the Training Zone. "Some prick," Zell mumbled to himself. "I'll totally write him up if I catch him. Scared the shit out of me." With this, Zell stormed out of the library.

Returning to the circle, Zell looked up and down for the running snot. The hallway was deserted though. "Prolly hid in the Training Zone." That was the next stop on his tour anyway, so the blonde jogged into the jungle-like fighting area. There was no sight of him. "Maybe something ate him," Zell thought hopefully. He made his way to the next room, and stopped dead in his tracks. At his feet lied a full grown T-Rexaur. He couldn't believe it. One was killed yearly, and that was by 20 people. Nobody could pull this job, especially at night. The beast was almost frozen with ice, and it looked like two different weapons were used on it. Two people, maybe three max, had taken this thing down.

Zell just shook his head. Tonight was full of strange events. He really wanted to bust that kid though. If you're going to break curfew, at least do it someplace cool. Take the cafeteria for example. Why the hell somebody would commit a crime to get into the library was beyond him. He probably would have let the punk go if he didn't run. Zell was sort of glad he did though. Chases were always fun. Pushing the T-Rexaur into the nearby brush, Zell continued the pursuit. The Training Zone was even more abandoned then usual. Zell went through two rooms and found nobody. The punk was fast. Zell knew he gave him a run for his money, and contemplated giving up the search. The kid probably ran back to his dorm and was shivering under the sheets. That made him smile.

A shiver ran down Zell's spine, as the bitterly cold night air blew in from the Secret Area. "Maybe he's hiding in there," the blonde thought to himself. He quietly approached the Secret Area, and glanced around the corner. There sitting was the last person he expected to see.

"I'm sorry Zell, I just really needed that book, and the librarians were…" Riene tried to explain. She was short-winded, and looked petrified.

The blonde just shook his head. "It's ok, just go back to bed." He didn't want to make her cry. "Oh yeah, how were you looking for a book in the dark?"

"I wasn't," she sobbed. "I thought you turned them off?"

As if by magic, the lights suddenly went out inside of the Training Zone. Zell watched the faint blue glow of the Garden go to black. The only source of light was the moon. "Oh shit."

"Did you do that?" Riene asked.

"No. I don't know what the problem is."

"Riene! Zell! You have to get out of here! The Garden's under attack!" Selphie screamed.

The blonde wheeled around to see the cheery brunette with a look of horror on her face. "How'd you?...What're you?" Zell tried.

"There's no time," Selphie explained. "Quick! Get down to the beach! Riene run to Balamb and try to get a train out."

"What're you talking about?" Zell exploded.

"No time! Down to the beach now!" With that, she gave Zell a big push, and he fell down the side of the Garden. He was sure he was going to die, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. He slid down the blue siding with incredible speed and safely landed on the ground. Selphie landed softly behind him. "Hurry Zell, it's Cid!"

"Cid? What's he going to do?"

"He's got the White SeeD ship! He's going to attack the Garden!"

Zell never ran faster. In one second flat, he sprinted from the Garden to the beach. Sure enough, the gigantic White SeeD ship was unloading. This time they didn't come in peace. "How are we supposed to fight this?" the blonde asked. Fear was rising in his body. This wasn't a battle, this was suicide.

"I don't know, but we're all counting on you Zell. I left my weapons up in my room."

With a sudden rush of hatred, Zell took cover behind a shrub. "How the hell am I supposed to fight Cid alone?"

"With your fists dummy!" Selphie smiled. "Don't worry, Irvine'll be here soon. You just need to hold them off til then."

For some odd reason, that helped Zell calm down, and he was ready for the charge. "Take care of yourself Selphie," he called. "I'll be right back." With that, he made his way down onto the sand. He met the first SeeD with a right hook. The man crumbled to the ground, and Zell moved on to victim number two. It seemed as if the SeeDs had no defense; like they were waiting for something. Zell got through five guards with little difficulty, but then something strange happened.

The White SeeD ship suddenly levitated out of the water and hung in midair. Then it lurched forward. Zell dove to the ground as the wooden monstrosity breezed over his head. It was heading straight towards the Garden. All the lights were still out in the Garden, as the two collided. A fireball burst into the air, as the boat skewed the Garden. Zell looked up in shock. The remaining White SeeDs on the beach walked into the ocean and swam back to Centra. Zell didn't pay much attention though. He slowly walked back towards the Garden. He wasn't sure what to do.

"You were really great out there!" Selphie smiled, wrapping her arm around him.

"The Garden's fucking on fire!" Zell yelled, pointing feverishly. "Everyone's dead! What do you mean I did a great job?"

"Well you have hall duty!" Selphie said seriously, stopping in her tracks.

Zell just looked at her strangely.

"You have hall duty!" she exclaimed again. "Zell are you listening? You have hall duty!"

(**********)

Zell woke up in a cold sweat. The Quad was all but deserted and Selphie was looming over him..

"Zell, you have hall duty tonight remember? Geez, you're on duty in a half hour. Why didn't you sleep during the day?"

"I don't know," Zell muttered, shaking his head.