Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Intensity ❯ Caught In The Act ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6.

Back in Balamb Garden. It was now around 5:45 a.m and some people were waking up so that they could go home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and amongst them was Selphie. She was in her bathroom taking a shower listening to her shower radio that was playing the newest song from Justin Timberlake. "Give me a chaaaance to be your man." She sang cheerfully and washed her arm grabbing a scrub brush to sing into.

'I can't wait to see Sir Laguna later on!' She shouted mentally grinning hugely on the outside. 'It's gonna be so great, and think of the footage.' She already planned on sticking it in the video year book she was making for the garden and this time she knew it'd be better than the one for Trabia when she went there.

She twirled in a circle and rinsed herself off then leaned forwards under the spray of the water and turned it off. Climbing out she grabbed her towel and dried herself off quickly so she could be dressed and ready, even though it was early and she had a good few hours before they all left for Esthar. She was just too excited to sit still in bed any longer than she had too.

"I wonder what we'll have, I've never eaten president food before." She was saying to herself. A low knock was on her door and she walked over and slid it open. "Hey Quisty. What are you doing here?" She asked toweling her hair and slipping out of her towel to pull her clothes up; the instructor covered her eyes and looked away. "Ohh don't be so five you've seen yourself naked," Selphie was saying then stood in front of her smiling. ".....you can open your eyes now, I'm dressed."

"Thank you, now I'm here because I wanna ask you something." She said in all seriousness so Selphie wouldn't joke.

"Okay, go ahead." Quistis was about to say something when Selphie looked over her shoulder and saw Xu walking up to the door. "Hey Xu." Selphie said and the girl smiled at her turning to Quistis doing the same.

"I just wanted to inform you both that I'm going now, and I wanted to say good bye." Quistis mumbled a good bye and turned her vision back to Selphie who looked at that rather strangely then she flung her arms around Xu's shoulders. "See you later Xu. Have a happy Thanksgiving."

The girl smiled a thank you then walked out. "So what did you wanna tell me?" The energetic girl said to Quistis who shook her head.

"Nothing. Be ready by ten that's when we're leaving."

With that the instructor turned around and walked out the door. "Weird." Selphie said and went back to dabbing her hair.

Quistis strolled down the halls when she saw Irvine walk in. 'Irvine?' She also noted that he was carrying Squall's gunblade with him and she had to know what happened. "Irvine!" She called and he either didn't hear her or he pretended not to as he walked into the men's dorm rooms hall.

"Seifer you awake?" He said banging on the door. "Seifer get up and open the door!"

"Irvine what are you doing?" Quistis asked when she reached him.

"What does it look like I'm doing- Seifer! Open the door." She sighed watching him until he was ready to make his next knock and she held his wrist.

"He won't wake up ya know?" She said.

"And why the hells not?" He asked smugly.

He'd been getting very sick of people not helping him lately and it was really starting to get to him. He was gonna tell her to mind her own business when the door slid open and Zell popped out fully dressed and looking as though he were going running.

"Hey Quistis, Irvine. What's all the banging about?" He asked and Quistis let Irvine take the floor since he was obviously the one with the problem.

"It's Seifer. I need to talk to him." He said.

"What for?" Zell asked stretching.

"Because Squall never came back from that mission they went on and I need his help to find him." The cowboy sounded really depressed at this point like a kid whose best friend just moved away.

"Well he doesn't get up until nine." Zell said turning to go into the room. "I'll see what I can do anyway."

"Squall's missing?" Quistis asked the obvious and then Zell returned with a frown on his face.

"He said he can't help because he doesn't know where Squall is, or where he'd go, and that staying behind was his decision not his." Zell shrugged. "Sorry man, but hey maybe Squall's been finished up and he already went to Laguna's ahead of us?" The martial artist grinned hoping to ease his pain but it didn't help.

"Do you want us to help you look for him?" Quistis asked getting concerned herself.

"Nah, it's alright, who knows maybe he is at the palace already and he just left the lion there because he didn't have time to go back for it." He explained the reason he was holding it incase they were going to ask. "Well see y-..." He started and Selphie bounced up.

"Hey guys! Ready to go?"

She asked looking rather dolled up. Zell laughed at her hair which was yanked into a butterfly clip flip up that even with her odd hair cut looked rather nice. She was also wearing a yellow cut off turtle neck sweater and blue jeans. "What's so funny? Hmm?" She asked Zell poking him in the arm.

"Ha ha, nothing Selph', I'm going for a run see ya later."

He took off out of the dormitory area and called over his shoulder. "I hope Squall turns up." Then he vanished around the corner seeing R.B. run by.

"What about Squall?" The energetic girl asked and Irvine shrugged starting to leave.

"Nothin' Selphie, see you both later at the palace." He walked away tiredly and they both watched with frowns.

"What's going on?" Selphie asked not wanting to be left out.

"Nothing, everything is fine. Lets get some breakfast." The instructor placed her hands on Selphie's shoulders and walked her to the cafeteria. Quistis saw Irvine from the side of her eye and he was leaving the garden again. 'Good luck Irvine, and I hope Squall's ok.'

* * *

"Look what we brought you Chyna." The woman was saying. "It's a birthday cake." The little girl smiled down at it as if she were shocked they'd even remembered.

"You blow all them candles out ya hear?" The man said downing some gin. Chyna took in a breath and blew hard taking out a few of them with her breath but some were still burning.

"Yaaay." Her mom clapped and the man shook his head in disgust.

"Nope," he said lighting them back up. "you gotta blow them all out at once, or trolls will come and eat your feet then chop you to little bitty bits."

"Oh stop it." Her mom said laughing and blew out smoke from the puff she took off her cigarette. "Go on, try."

The little girl sucked in again and this time more of them stayed lit. Chyna frowned and looked down at them and the man didn't seem to happy about that. "You stupid little-...!" But before he could do anything she knocked the cake off the table and ran with the man chasing her. A storm had been going on that night and the thunder was booming loudly as if Hyne wanted to see her blood that night or save her life.

The guy scraped a knife harshly against the wall calling her name and she ducked into a room closing the door and sliding under the bed. The scraping of the knife getting louder and louder and-......

The vehicle made a turn and then there was a sharp sound of metal scratching pavement. Squall opened his eyes , waking from another strange dream and looked out the slit under the boarded window and saw the sun light. 'What time is it?' He wondered wishing he had a watch. 'Everyone must be worried by now, if they even noticed.' He added not really meaning too. He knew his friends cared about him and would come looking. 'But when?'

As the RV slowed to a stop, Squall felt Edgeler moving around up front then he got out closing the door loudly. Squall grabbed the gun looking around. "Looks like we're here." He said to Laura and opened the skinny metal door and stepped cautiously out into the base of the vehicle. From the window he could see the place; it was a log cabin a three story- counting the basement it has that is- but the house looked flat, as though it were a one story.

Squall made sure that things were quiet before he stepped out of the RV. He closed the door soundlessly and held the gun up to his face creeping along through the grass and dirt. A blind vender moved slightly as Squall made his way into the house. He looked around at the big area noting how nice it was inside.

There was a medium sized kitchen area and a large living room with a big fire place. The windows to the cabin were large and the place had two patios one upstairs like a balcony and one at the bottom. The place was made with honey wood oak and almost everything inside had some type of wooding on it, including a very large table that looked as though it needed ten men just to slide it over.

Squall blinked himself back to life and walked through the living room looking for a door that might lead him to the basement. 'I'm gonna get Chyna and get out.' He thought. 'One quick motion.' He crept along the wall hearing Edgeler's foot steps above his head. He figured he was in his bed room and he sighed with relief of the distraction he was given.

When he saw a door he opened it and looked down inside. There was a metal built stairway that went straight down. Squall swallowed and walked cautiously down them glancing back over his shoulder incase the killer might come down the stairs behind him. When he reached the basement he saw a hole in the wall of what looked like solid stone brick basing.

He noticed a door inside of the hole and took a step forward freezing when he heard a sound of fire igniting. He looked in the direction it had come from and he saw a water heater then heard shower water over head. 'This should be easy. We just have to move quickly.' He thought.

Squall passed through the broken wall that Seifer and Irvine might have to duck a bit to get into and stepped into a perfect sized opening before the door. Walking over to it he opened the large door; it had padded walls behind it and padding on the door as well, looking as though there used to be a nut house down there but the guy built his home over it keeping this one area the same. He walked to the second door and looked into a small glass window that was a mere rectangle placed in the solid metal.

He couldn't believe his eyes seeing a little girl about 15 sitting on a tiny wooden chair reading a book. 'The wind and the willow.' Squall noted. 'Just like in those strange dreams.' He banged on the door but the girl didn't move.

"Chyna!?" He called and her vision looked up to him. Her face was plain and emotionless along with an expressionless mouth that looked as though it were stuck in a permanent frown.

She was clean though healthy looking and dressed in a plaid skirted jumper with a white shirt under it and her long brown hair was nicely brushed with a little blue clip. 'At least he is taking care of her- in his own sick way.' Squall thought and tried the door knob.

"Chyna, I'm gonna get you out of here, but the doors locked you have to come and open it for me."

The little girl made no attempt to move and he looked over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone and not making too much noise. "Chyna, Chyna listen to me, I'm a good guy and I've come to get you out of here but you have to help me by opening the door...." Nothing. 'Maybe she can't hear me?' He thought as a reason.

He then looked at the book and smiled. "Chyna, can you hear me? Badger sent me, Badger from the book, he sent me here to rescue you." At that the girl turned her head and looked right at him. 'All right.' He thought looking back over his shoulder. 'He must have the key somewhere, I just have to find it, Chyna might trust me now but something tells me she won't open this door no matter what.'

"I'm going to look for a key, I have to hurry cause he's in the shower right now, but we'll make it I promise just trust me." He backed up a bit then added to reassure her. "I'll be right back I promise."

He walked up the stairs and through the living room when- "Ah!" He was shoved to the side hard and smacked into a table counter in the middle of the kitchen, being grabbed from behind having his arms pinned down seconds after he hit it. Squall tried wriggling free but he couldn't so he elevated his feet up and pushed himself off of the little counter smashing his back into Edgelers chest and his back against the refrigerator causing him to release him.

When Squall was free he ran forwards a bit blindly from the rush and was grabbed by his right arm. He reached out for the nearest thing which was a Mr. Coffee pitcher and he smashed it against the mans head and it shattered.

Edgeler let him go a second and brushed the glass away and Squall pulled out the gun and aimed seeing the man freeze. This was his first close up look at the guy he had and the guys first look at Squall, aside from the slight peek he could get from the window and he didn't seem impressed. "Put the gun down junior." He said to him and Squall just stood there holding it at his face. "You don't wanna get yourself in more trouble then you're already in, now put.. the gun...down." Squall just adjusted his aim on him making sure it would go right through his forehead.

"Then go ahead," Edgeler said. "...Shoot me."

'Nothings holding me back.' He thought and squeezed the trigger waiting for the bang but all he heard was high pitched laughter. Squall looked at the gun shocked- it was empty! The man started to calm his laughter but started up again when he saw Squalls shocked face.

When the commander tried to swing at him it was useless because Edgeler grabbed his neck snatching the gun from his hand as well. "Wooo boy was that a rush! Huh?!" He laughed lightly and tightened the grip he had on Squalls neck. "I mean that was intense." He grinned. "If this gun were loaded, well I'd have a BIG hole in my face wouldn't I cause you- you were ready to shoot..." He laughed casually and looked at the gun saying. "But we both know that this is the gun from the gas station and since you must have been at the gas station you must know why the gun is empty. right...?"

Squall just shifted in his grip trying to make it hurt less but the guy slammed the back of his head against the cabinet and asked again. "Do you know why this gun is empty?" Squall nodded and he smiled. "Right, so when tiny Tim held it up to me what did I tell him I was going to do- and I want an answer now because you know this."

Squall took a moment to find his voice and he said. "You were..." he swallowed hard from the pressure on his throat.

"What?" He asked.

"You said you would shove them down his throat-.."

"One.. by.. one." He finished then continued. "And I did but you know what,? I only got to five because they kept coming right back up." He shifted his own grip on Squall to ease up on his knuckles then went on. "I mean did you know even when you're dead you still burp- you still release those gases from your throat? Huh?" He asked and Squall shook his head.

"Well it's true, and no matter how hard I tried they just kept coming back up, burrp burrp burrp like that but it's funny right?" He said letting Squall go and aiming at him. "If I only put five in there and this we both know is a six shot weapon, how many bullets do you think are left in it?" He waited for Squall to answer him but he was holding his throat catching his breath.

"Come on now!?" He said then tried helping him out thinking he were dumb. "Six minus five is what?"

"O-..one." Squall managed to get out and Edgeler nodded.

"One..." He clicked the bullet into place and............

To Be Continued.