Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ United Pair ❯ Mysteries revealed... sort of. ( Chapter 2 )

So ya'll don't get confused, 'anything written like this is normal language'

"anything written like this is Trianian (explained later)"

'anything written like this is a thought'

Part 7

Zell sat in the Infirmary cursing quitely under his breathe has Dr. Kadowaki rubbed a pale liquid onto cut. 'Ow' He moaned.

'Oh don't be such a wimp' came a voice

Zell looked over the Doctors shoulder and saw Rinoa looking over at him. In her hand was a hotdog. Zell grinned widely.

'So Dr, do you think he's well enough to have this?' she asked

'Hmmmm.. I'm not sure' replied the doctor smiling at her.

Zell frown and shot up, grabbing the hotdog and biting off a large chunk.

'I guess that showed me!' Dr Kadowaki laughed and went back to her desk.

Rinoa smiled and sat down. Zell wolfed down the remainder of the hotdog and sat next to her,

'Thanksh ..mgm..Rinoa..' He mumbled between mouthfuls. Rinoa laughed, 'Your welcome' Zell swallowed a huge mouthful and grinned at Rinoa, 'So what brings you here?'

'I wanted to make sure you were ok, we were starting to worry when you came in covered in blood'

'Oh. well most of it wasn't mine'

Rinoa raised her eyebrow. Zell looked at her, 'It was a T-Rexaurs'

Rinoa sighed and stared at the blond next her, 'Where were you? Quistis was going batty'

Zell gulped and told Rinoa what had happened. Rinoa ummed, ahhed and nodded until Zell got to the end. Rinoa lent back in the chair taking it all in, 'Wow, and then she just dissapeared?'

Zell nodded. 'Yeah... well there was one more thing'

Rinoa looked up. Zell took a deep breath, he could trust Rinoa. 'Before she dissapeared, she, erm, kissed me' He said, going slightly red around his ears.

A wide grin spread across Rinoas face and she started to giggle

'But you can't tell anyone!' Zell pleaded, 'They'll only laugh...like you but worse!'

Rinoa smiled sweetly and nodded. Zell smiled back.' The only problem is now, how do I find her again?'

'You really taken with her aren't you?'

Zell nodded.

'I'll ask around. maybe my father knows of someone' Zell gave her a warning glance, 'But don't worry! I won't say why!' She winked before walking out of the Infirmary

Zell sighed and lent back down on the bed. Images of this mystery girl ran through his head, reliving the battle. He watched her jump, and dive, weeve in and out. He remembered her summon, and the strange feeling that came over him, the power, the wolf, the defeat of the monster. Zell reached into his pocket and pulled out the star fragment he had found. He held it gentle between his finger and thumb moving it from side to side, catching the beams of light and separating them into small rainbows. Then, finally, he remembered the kiss. It was completely unexpected. He hadn't known what to do or how to do it. It just sorta happened. Zell closed his eyes and smiled at the memories. He closed his hand tighly around the stone. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait to long before he could try again.

Zell woke early the next morning to find his arm bandaged and his hand still clasped around the stone. He looked at it shining in his hand and placed it once again into his pocket. He stood up and walked over to Dr Kadowaki's desk. The doctor, who was sat behind the desk, looked up and smiled. 'Feeling better today?' she asked kindly

'Yep! thanks doc' he said. A voice came over the intercom.

'Would Squad Alpha please report to the landing bay. I repeat, Squad Alpha to the landing bay'

'Looks like your wanted' said the woman. Zell smiled again and nodded. Just as he reached the door, Dr. Kadowaki came running after him, 'I think you forgot these' handing him a small bag. Zell looked inside and saw a brand new pair of Ehrgeiz gloves. His eyes light up but the exctiment soon gave way to reality.. 'There's gotta be a mistake Doc' he said. 'These aren't mine'

'Well they've got our name on them'

Sure enough, sewed inside the gloves was : 'Z.Dincht. SeeD... Mechia Mei ' Zell gaped at the gloves, and tucked the bag under his arm as he pulled off his own gloves. carefully he placed the new gloves onto his bare hands. A perfect fit. They were much tougher and lighter than his last pair. He stared at them for a moment before shoving his old gloves into the bag, thanking the doctor again and running off to the landing bay.

At the landing bay, Zell, for once, was not the last to arrive. Squall and Rinoa were standing by the enterance of the ship, Selphie could been seen waving madly from the bridge with Irvine behind her.

'S'up guys!' he called out

'Hey Zell, Feeling better?' asked Rinoa. Zell beamed and delibrately yawned and streched his arms out infront of him. Squall noticed his hands and his mouth fell open. 'Zell, are they?'

'Yep!' Zell said proudly

'How could you afford them?' Rinoa asked

Zell,' Squall frowned, 'You didn't cheat on the SeeD Test did you?'

'No way!'

'Sorry but I had to ask' Squall said embrassed

'Ignore him,' Rinoa growled, 'They're fantastic Zell, where'd you get them?'

'I'll tell you later' Zell replied as he saw Quistis and Seifer running towards them. Both looked a little flushed and Seifer was struggling to put on his jacket.

'Sorry we're late' Quistis blushed, 'We, er, lost track of time'

Rinoa and Zell looked at both of them and noticed Seifer trying not to blush.

Squall cleared his throat, 'Right. well since your here I guess we'd better be off.' They quickly boarded the ship, with Rinoa and Zell laughing at Seifers face. Once on board Squall gave Selphie the go ahead to take off

'WooHoo!' came a scream of delight from the cockpit as the ship shot into the air.

Part 8

Inside the passenger room, Rinoa pulled Zell aside. 'I asked my father about this Lana girl, but he said he hadn't heard of anyone by that name. He won't be able to do much without a second name' she informed him.

Zell looked dissapointed but he gave Rinoa a thankful smile, 'Thats 'k. I wasn't expecting you to find anything anyway,'

Rinoa leaned forward, 'So where did you get the gloves from?'

'The Doc gave them to me. She said they were left on her desk, they've got my name on and everything.' As proof Zell pulled over the opening of his left glove to show Rinoa the inscription.

'Mechia Mei?, what does that mean?' she asked

Zell shrugged. 'Dunno' he said, 'Maybe they're the guys who made them'

'Maybe.. hey Zell. You don't suppose Lana may have left them for you'

Zell stared at the gloves..'I'm not sure... I guess she might have..'

'And what are you to talking about?' Rinoa and Zell both jumped,as Squall strolled over to them and kissed the top of Rinoas head. She stood up and faced him, spreading her arms around his waist and laying her head of his chest. 'Oh, nothing important' she said, winking at Zell.

That was the last they spoke of mystery girl. Zell passed his time listening to Selphies new song. It was exactly the same as her train song except she changed the word 'train' for 'plane.' A few choruses later Zell decided that Selphie had gone quite mad and flopped down into the seat next to hers. He stared out of the window and watched the landscape below them go wizzing by. He was pretty positive that they weren't supposed to be flying that low but decided against mentioning that to Selphie in case she got mad at him. He lent his head back against the head rest and soon he felt his eyelids become heavy and close, sending him into a dreamless sleep. After what seemed like barely 10 minutes, Zell was woken by Irvine challenging him to a triple triad game. A glorious defeat followed which left Irvine singing ' simply the best,' and doing alittle victory dance. With a slight shake of his head, Zell decided to try and find Squall and the others. He took the small elevator down a floor and turned to enter the passenger room. As he crossed the threshold Zell paused. Opposite him he could see Seifer with his arms wrapped tightly around Quistis' waist, her head resting on his shoulder. Zell took a step back into the shadow, slightly embrassed about walking in on their private moment. He sighed deeply. He couldn't help but feel jealous. Even Seifer had someone...so why not him?

Looking back briefly he turned away and walked back through the door. Above his head he heard a crackling and Selphies voice came over the speakers.

'Erm, guys, you'd better come and see this'

The groups marched into the cockpit and looked out the bay windows. Squall heard afew gasps behind him as he looked down. A mass of red objects were quickly moving across a barren landscape, flowing over the sandy floor like blood. 'Selphie, get in a bit closer' Squall ordered. Obidiently Selphie flew the ship lower to the ground. As they drew closer, the mass parted and and Squalls eyes grew wide.

'Dragons.. They're all dragons' stuttered Seifer. Thousands of Ruby Dragons were charging side by side, like a swam of ants. One large red blur running widely over the sandy ground, kicking up a huge dust cloud behind them. 'Where are they all going?' Quistis asked. Squall shook his head. 'Selphie, Fly on ahead, Lets try and see where there going'. Selphie flung the ship foward, nearly sending Irvine flying out of the seat next to her. 'Ooops, sorry Irvy' she grinned. Irvine glared and straighted his hat. The Ragnarok flew sliently past the red patch of dragons and Selphie squealed as a white tower rose up from the horizon. 'Thats must be Triana Tower' she cried. 'And thats where the dragons are heading!'

'We have to get there before them!' commanded Squall. Selphie pushed the Ragnarok as hard as she could and it zoomed towards the tower.As they grew nearer, the white tower became a castle. They noticed a large, blue transleusent orb covering the building and surrounding houses. A crackling voice came over the radio. 'This is Tirana Tower, please indentify yourself.' Squall stepped up to the microphone, 'This is Commander Squall of the Balamb garden. We are here by the request of King Calnir.' There was a couple of seconds silence and the voice reappeared, 'Your clerance has been confirmed, once the shields have been lowered please move immediately to the marked landing area'

The blue shield flicker slightly before dissapearing. 'Selphie get a move on,' Squall yelled, 'We can't risk the Dragons getting into the city.' The Ragnarok shot downwards and circled to tower, landing with a soft swish of air on the landing pad. As the blue orb reappeared around them Selphie swung around in her seat and looked at Squall, 'That fast enough for ya?' Selphie grinned

Part 9

The party were greeted by a tall man dressed in dark blue. He wasn't much older than them, his blond hair was hung loosly in a ponytail. He approached the party and bowed. Squall nodded politely and introduced himself and the members of his team. The man eyed them one by one and then turned back to Squall, 'My name is General Seth Kitase. I am the General of King Calnirs army. His orders were to bring you to him immediately, so if you would follow me'

Rinoa watched the man curiously, she wasn't expecting him to be so formal. She got the feeling he didn't want them there. Zell caught her eye and nodded in silent agreement. She leaned over and whispered to Squall, 'For someone who asked for our help he doesn't look to please to see us does he?'

Squall looked down at his girlfriend and shook his head, 'We're here now, we might as well see what we can do.' Squall and his group followed the young man across a thin white bridge, to a large archway leading into the nearby building. They were lead to a large hall with tall pillars supporting a round, stained glass celing. The light from above shone coloured strips of light over the floor.The walls were bright white and decorated with 4 large coloured drapes, hung from above. Each showed a picture of an elemental sprite. The one on the west wall showed an earth sprite, one on the North wall, where they had entered, showed the wind sprite, the south showed the fire sprite and the west showed the water sprite. Large windows allowed a continous stream light into the room. Along the south wall were 3 sliver chairs decorated with crystal. In the middle of the large marble floor was a golden shield with a silver wolf emblazed on top. Seven chair stood in a line opposite the larger, silver ones.

Seth stood in the middle of the room and addressed the group. 'This is the great hall,' he said, his voice echoing through the room, 'The king will be with you shortly. Please make yourself comfortable' with that he turned and left the room by a small wooden door on the western wall.

The group stood open mouthed as they took in there surroundings.

'Can you believe the size of this place?' Irvine asked

'It's huge!' squealed Selphie, running over to one of the windows and looking down, she squealed again, 'We're so high up!'

While the others rushed over to the window to look down, Zell walked over to the south wall to take a closer look at the chairs. Each of the chairs had vines of crystal wrapped around their silver frames with small flowers made of different coloured gems. The middle chair was larger than the ones beside it. They reminded him of the star fragment he still hand in his pocket. Over by the window Squall looked down into the town. It was empty. Not a person in sight. ' Where is everyone?' he thought. Suddenly the General walked in followed by two other men. Squall came to the conclusion that they were guards. The others came away from the window and stood behind the row of chairs.

'Commander Squall and fellow SeeDs, may I present to King Calnir,' annouced the General.

A tall man dressed in long, flowing white robes entered through the door. He walked up to the largest silver chair on the south wall. Squall bowed and motioned for the others to copy him. Calnir nodded and sat down. He waved his hand and the guards left the room, all except the General. The king wasn't as old as Zell had expected, he didn't look much older than the headmaster. The only thing that gave away his age were the flecks of grey in his jet black hair.

'Commander Squall,' King Calnir said, his voice seemed to boom out around the room, 'Thankyou for coming so quickly, please be seated.' Following Squalls lead the group sat on the chairs infront of Calnir. After a moments pause, King Calnir continued, 'As your headmaster may have told you, Triana has come under attack by the Ruby Dragons. Our lands have been burned and turned into a barren desert, we cannot grow crops and every attempt to collect supplies has ended tragically,' He sighed before carrying on, 'The dragons have grown stronger and I fear that our shield will not be able to keep them out for long. Most of our people have evacuated to the other towns across the river. We need your skills in defeating this monsterous enemy.'

Squall stood up, 'We shall do all we can to help you get rid of these creatures, your highness.' The older man smiled and nodded. Rinoa shakelly raised her hand, 'Erm, excuse me' she said. Calnir looked over to her, 'Yes young lady?' he asked kindly.

'What do they want?'

It was an obvious question but one Calnir took sometime answering.

'At first we thought they mearly wanted food but their behaviour is not that of normal dragons. For example, when the nearby towns and villages are attacked they do not burn anything. They only burn the land and crops. Often they stop mid-rampage and leave'

'It sounds as though they might be searching for something' Selphie suggested. The King seemed to digest the information and nodded slowly, 'We noticed they are hesitant to attack the castle. Perhaps the young lady is right.'

'My men and I tracked them down to the mountains in the far north.' The General said, walking forward afew paces, 'They travel there and back each day. It is a 3-day travel by foot as all but two of our vehicles have been destroyed but they seem to manage it at incredable speed'

Squall thought about this for a moment, 'They must be returning for something, Can we get up to the mountains?' The King nodded. 'It is possible, but you cannot go through the mouth of the caves, it is heavily guarded and there is no one in my kingdom who knows another way into the caves. '

'Thats not exactly true'

A voice from the left caught the attention of the room. A young woman, dressed in a purple gown, came quickly through the door and made her way over to Calnir. Her black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with a few rebel strands hanging loose over her sholders. She was followed by an older woman who wore the same type of dress except hers was made of a red material . Zells eyes fell on the young girl... 'Lana?! '

In the commotion, Zell leaned over to Rinoa, 'Thats her!' he whispered. Rinoa looked at the woman and then back at Zell. 'Are you sure?' she asked. Zell nodded. He'd recogise her anywhere.

'Mei, Cerena!' Calnir called, 'I told you to stay upstairs'

'But father..' cried the youngest girl, 'I could take them!'

King Calnir began to talk in a language which none of the SeeDs understood.

"No Mei. It's too dangerous!"

"But father, I know another way! If I can show them, they could rid us of the dragons!"

"Fathers right Mei," said the elder girl, "It's far too dangerous"

"I don't care! I know those caves better than anyone! I'm not going to let Triana fall just because of abit of danger!" The girl was practically shouting. This was even more worring to the SeeDs as they didn't understand a word they were saying.

"Sir, I do not think it would be wise to leave Princess Mei alone with these people" added General Seth

Mei glared at him. " Don't talk about me like I'm not here. I'll be fine, besides I'll have Fenir with me"

"Thats not the point!" the girl in red screamed back, " I won't have a sister of mine hanging around with these mercenaries!"

Mei clenched her fists and stared her sister straight in the eye, "Don't talk about them like they're hired thugs, Cerena. Father please, I can help to save Triana, please"

Calnir looked at his daughters pleading face and sighed," Very well Mei, but on one condition. General Kitase will accompany you"

Mei's face dropped slightly, but she didn't complain. She knew this was as good as it was going to get.

"Can we trust them?" The King asked

Mei looked over and caught Zells eye, she smiled softly. "Yes father, I believe we can"

Zells heart jumped. She'd looked right at him....it must be her! King Calnir turned to the group and began to speak in the common tongue again. 'Please excuse my rudeness, I did not mean for you to be removed from the conversation. Let me introduce my daughters, Princess Cerena.' The girl in red nodded,

'And Princess Mei.' The girl in purple also nodded and gave Zell a small smile. It was so unoticable that even Zell wasn't sure he'd seen it. His heart sank. 'A Princess?!'

'You may take our two remained vechicles to the mountains' said the King 'Mei and General Kitase will act as your guides' Squall began to protest, 'With all due respect my lord, I cannot vouch for the safety of your daughter...

'I understand. That is why Kitase is joining you'

'Not that she needs him' Zell thought.

Squall opened his mouth to argue again but then Mei shook her head at him so he head nothing and mearly nodded.

'Very well,' said Calnir, 'The night is growing late. Plans shall be made at first light.' To avoid any further confrontation the king stood and quickly made his exit. Cerena glared at her sister before turning to leave. The General soon followed, 'Are you coming my lady?' he asked. Mei looked at him and nodded. 'Just a moment Seth.' The General glared. He didn't trust these people. Not a single one.