Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ When Darkness Falls ❯ The End. ( Chapter 32 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The sun has set. Zell is packing his things, while everyone else has turned in for the night. When he and the others returned to the shelter after getting their tattoo's, they all had been complimented on their new looks, and boasted in a lie saying they were going for full body murals someday.

All through their dinner of soup and grilled cheese, which was actually just stale bread with dried out warm cheese, Zell couldn't stop thinking about what Locke had said earlier that day. He couldn't stop thinking about anything from the encounter actually.

'Why now did Locke have to show up and complicate things? He said his mother would need someone other than Conrad, what did he mean by that?' The distraught teen wondered. He was now stuffing his last item of clothing into his backpack, getting ready to leave.

He didn't really have time for any thinking right now, he was going to the park to meet with Squall, he needed to tell him that he planned to stay with him and... live his life as a vampire. If he had to. Zell paused while zipping the back pack and stared into space.

'Gods, I pick some crummy times to get cold feet about things.' His hand came up and scratched the side of his face. He was definitely troubled. Letting out a sigh, he fished around in his back pocket pulling out a slip of paper with a note he had written to Terra when he was at Squall's. Creeping over to the young lady's cot, he slipped the note under her pillow letting enough of it show for her to find it in the morning. "I'm sorry, okay. Maybe I'll see you again someday." Smoothing her bangs aside, Zell kissed her on the forehead, then stood up. "Here we go." Adjusting the straps on his bag, he headed for the door but he paused on the way, but not because he wanted to, but because someone had his arm.

The grip was light and feminine, but sturdy all the same. "You're packed up... are you going somewhere?" A voice asked quietly.

Zell sucked his lips into his mouth, looking down at his anchored arm and the person holding it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was planning to leave and he had decided that he might as well tell Terra about it, now that she is awake... but having to face his departure head-on was making him begin to have second thoughts again.

'Maybe Squall is the one who doesn't need me... Who really does need me, anyway?' Yes, that was it. He would see who needed him more. Nice and simple. Being needed. Squall, Terra, and his friends or Seifer? Choices. Maybe even Locke was on the panel. 'Why do so many people want me around, I'm nothing.' His parents assured him of that - same with Selphie's parents and Locke - which saying that, he dropped Locke as one of his possibilities. First there's Seifer; he had been treating him like shit since they've met, and it turns out that it's all because he liked him. That to Zell sounded destructive of a relationship to get into.

Then there's Squall, he didn't need him. He has Edgar, and he made sure Zell knew that, but still... he wanted to love him and give him a better life than one on the streets. That had to count for something.

And Terra... She didn't really want anything from him, and he was willing to stop some guy he didn't even know to make her feel better. Was that a form of love for her? Her way of needing him without actually asking him for anything?

"Damn it." Zell said. Tears filled his eyes and fell messily onto his bag. "It wasn't supposed to be this hard. I was just supposed to say goodbye and kiss it all off."

"Oh." Terra placed her hand on his burdened shoulder, rubbing it lightly. "...Do you... wanna have a party before you go? We can get some stuff together and..."

"No!" Zell snapped. "I don't want a party, I don't want anything... I just..."

"Zell..."

"I just wanna be left alone for right now." He murmured, ignoring Terra's attempt to get his attention. The torn teen started for the door again, but Terra held fast having to take a step forward with him.

Zell turned to face her looking into her sad green eyes; a misty flash of Selphie played with his mind. "Ha... don't give me that look. I hate that look," he was saying with humor in his voice. "it's the mark of Selphie, hahaha."

"She must have wanted to keep you around too." Said Terra releasing Zell's arm. "I can't stop you from going but, can I at least walk with you until you get there?"

Zell didn't see any problem with that, he wasn't exactly going directly to the mansion, he had a few stops to make first anyway. So there was no harm in Terra coming.

"Sure, I have to drop some things off first anyway." He swayed from side to side. "It'll be nice having someone to talk to while I'm playing mailman."

"And this?" Terra asked, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket. It was the note he had left under her pillow. He hoped she hadn't read it yet.

Terra flipped the folded paper open, but Zell's hand came up folding it back down. "Can you read it when I'm gone?" He requested. "It's just more comfortable that way."

The green haired girl nodded and shoved the note into her back pocket. Zell smiled at her and took the her hand. "This is just like the first time, only it's not morning and we're not getting something to eat."

"Haha, although it wouldn't be a bad option, I'm starving." Terra remarked.

"Then we'll get something on the way." Zell announced. The two of them smiled at each other chuckling lightly as they left the shelter.

Squall was up early that evening and he noticed the dull scent of Zell still in the room. It was close beside him; turning his head he saw that his little blond lover had left him a note.

"Hmph." He flipped the slip of paper open and read the words lowly, out loud.

/Squall,

I want you to meet me in the park, I'll give you my answer then. And don't forget you promised me you'd meet my friends. See you soon.

Zell/

'Huh, didn't think he was serious about that friends thing.' Squall thought to himself. "Humans are so weird."

Sitting up completely now, the vampire slid himself from the bed and stood up on the floor rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A yawn soon followed his sleeping body's desire to be awake, letting him get a second wind. Not that he needed it.

"I should get someone to eat, it's been a while." Figuring he had some time before his meeting with Zell, Squall walked over to the window dropping out of it landing gently on the ground. "I'd better grab someone small, if I'm going to save room for Zell's blood."

He walked away from the house, whistling a tune. His hands went into his pockets and he kept himself shadowy while the moon came up greeting the night. Squall sniffed into the air, smelling the scent of humans walking around even at this late in the evening. You gotta love daylight savings.

'I hope Zell chooses to stay with me.' Squall thought, absently listening to children in the back of his mind.

It didn't take Squall very long to reach town and he was now close enough to hear the straggling children who were talking in the back of his mind. He was mildly surprised to see the kids still outside. Probably milking their curfew for everything that it was worth.

'Aaaw. As long as they stay in front of the house, their parents say...' A child like smile graced Squall's features. 'How perfect a time for one of them that their child will be the example why.'

The children laughed as they sang odd songs at the tops of their lungs, played holding hands and spinning circles; Squall's personal favorite - - hide and seek.

"Eight... Nine... Ten! Ready or not here I come." The baseman called.

Squall stopped by the gate watching the children playing hide-and-seek, he had a delicious idea. Going into the fenced off area, he slipped behind a nearby tree and listened as the child found some of his friends and continued to look for the others.

"I know you're back here, I heard you laughing." The young boy lied.

As the child approached the tree, Squall readied himself to grab the kid and jump into the tree to finish him off. "Here you a-..." The boy looked up the length of Squall's body seeing that he wasn't one of his friends.

"Looks like you found me." The vampire whispered.

"Sorry mist-..." He was gone before the rest of his words could leave his mouth.

...

Locke walked quietly along the streets with his head held low. He had been wandering around outside since after school, stopping at home only to drop off his school things. His parents weren't there.

He has been moping since his encounter with Zell outside the tattoo place, and now he didn't know what to do with himself. And Locke's mother - - as sweetly nosey as she is - - must have already found the letter he wrote to her under his pillow, and she was probably glad he was gone. Same with Conrad.

"Who needs 'em then." The miserable teen remarked to the air. "Who really needs any of 'em. I can get along fine by myself." Locke paused in his tracks hearing a low sound of children playing somewhere nearby. 'They're out awfully late, don't their parents care that they could be snatched up, like that?' Looking up as though trying to visibly seek out the children, Locke noticed that he was at the park. 'How did I get here...?'

The brunet stared deeply into the darkness, his eyes couldn't make out a thing. But there... in the distance, a faint image appeared before his eyes. The figure wasn't alone though, it was joined by the hand with another figment, running. Locke stared hard wondering if someone were really out there or was he just hallucinating it.

/I'll bet I can swing higher than you./

The voice called out in his mind.

/You'd win that bet. I'm afraid of heights./ That one was Zell, so the other voice must have been himself. The two figures rushed over to a set of swings and sat down, pulling their legs out and in to get some momentom.

/You're kidding?/ His figure wondered out loud. Getting up from the swing the daydream Locke walked around behind Zell, hearing his protest to what he thought would happen.

/What are you doing?/

/I'm not gonna push you, I just thought you'd wanna sit on the chair swing instead./ He took Zell by the hand and walked him over to the chair swing that was attached to the same bar of the normal swings. They sat next to each other, with their arms wrapped around the other persons waist or shoulder.

A faint smile crossed his lips as he watched the two of them hand in hand swinging at the park on a night just like this one.

Locke shook away the memory, why think about it all now. It was too late to regret what he had done and also too late to ask for it all back. There were no take backs from everything that's happened since then. Zell said so himself.

Locke's head dropped in defeat. 'I was right to wanna kill myself, I don't have anything to live for.' A muffled scream caught his attention. He turned around to where the sound had come from but kissed it off figuring it was just one of those little brats, yelping because they didn't wanna go back inside.

But where was the parent's voice telling them to stop complaining? Kids noise was usually followed by an adult telling them they had no choice but to listen. Or some kind of command. 'Fine,' He raised his hands in defeat. 'Fine. You win. I'll go see if something's wrong with the little brats.'

Turning opposite from the park, Locke started across the street to where the children are playing. The first thing he noticed was something falling out of a tree. It was small, child sized. 'Did the kid slip?' He wondered as he approached.

"Hey, kid," He said.

His words were silenced when he saw another figure drop out of the tree. It was taller than a child, almost close to his own height. It looked as though the figure was staring Locke right in the eyes but, he couldn't really tell from the dull moon light that shown on the person's face.

Squall - on the other side of the street - recognized interloper instantly. 'Locke...' He took a step out of the moonlight, his night vision showing briefly before he stepped into another patch of light.

Locke was sure he'd seen that! Feeling a sudden knot in his stomach, the frightened teen turned on his heels and started running. Squall snickered and took off after him. The two of them pounded across the stretch of the playground, reaching a clearing of street and concrete before they hit the larger park of Dollet.

Locke was panting a little harder than he wanted to be, and he silently cursed himself for his smoking habits. 'Come on! Come ooon!' He urged himself. At this point he wasn't sure where to go, he couldn't go home, that would lead the pyscho right to his house.

He could go to a store or any other public location but whose to say his pursuer won't just follow him in and not care. Locke had seen that guy on the news one morning when Conrad was off from work; and even though he didn't hear the tv, he was pretty sure they weren't giving this guy a glowing report.

Squall was beginning to like this game of cat and mouse. Picking up speed he leapt into the air landing on Locke's back hard enough to make the mouse hunch over but soft enough as not to knock him to the ground.

The frightened teen straightened himself up to continue running but he stumbled over missing his foot placement. Frantically he rolled onto his back holding his hands up saying rapidly. "No, please don't kill me." He waited for the unrequested assault on his body. But when nothing happened, he parted his arms, that were up in hopes to shield his face from becoming unrecognizable plus to avoid seeing something that could haunt him on the off chance he should survive.

With his eyes, he skimmed the park for the killer but saw no one. 'Where'd he go?' Locke remained where he'd fallen over; wondering if the murderer was just waiting for him to make a move before he started in on killing him.

Squall peeked through the branches of a tree that he had jumped into and watched as Locke shuddered in fear. "What a baby..." He mentioned to no one in particular. Checking his watch Squall then looked out into the distance and wondered where Zell was. 'I'll give him ten minutes, it's only nine o'clock. Maybe he got held up with something.'

Chewing away at one of his fingernails Squall decided on hopping to another tree to get to the fountain, so he wouldn't disturb the crybaby any further. That's the last thing he wanted. With a grunt he leapt to another tree, then another and another, until he was out of sight.

...

Zell looked up at the moon wondering what time it is, and if he was late meeting with Squall. His walk with Terra went a little longer than he had planned it to because the two of them had stopped for something to eat, but getting it wasn't exactly easy.

Zell and Terra walked to a Wendy's drive through window, waiting patiently in the shadows for a couple to recieve their order before the two dashed out of hiding just in time to snatch the bag from the man behind the windows. Cruel, yet effective; and the couple in the car could always get something else. They, the penniless, could not.

"You know what?" His friend said, taking his mind away from his thoughts. "I know you're leaving, but I won't forget about you. Will you come visit sometimes?"

Zell looked over at her and smiled with a nod. "Of course I will... I don't know if I'm leaving town yet, but I will come and visit. I swear."

Terra made an inward sigh of relief. Spotting a dumpster up ahead of their walk she sprinted forward saying, "I'll race you to the trash can!"

"No fair!" Zell dashed ahead. "You got a head start!" He ran as fast as his legs could go, which was apperantly a lot faster than Terra, and he beat her to the trash can. She stopped a short distance away from the trash can and did a jump shot to throw the bag away. Zell swatted at the bag intercepting it's path into the trash can.

"Hahaha, home team intercepts it," Zell was saying. He stooped down picking up the bag. "moves in for the dunk." He tossed it into the air over his head watching as it landed into the open dumpster. "And wins the game for the whole team." He cheered for himself waving his hands around wildy.

Terra walked the rest of the way to the over to the designated goal, and looked past it noticing the street they were on. "I guess this is my stop..." Glancing beside herself, she then lowered her eyes. "Zell, I hope that you're really happy where you go." She looked up at him and smiled. "Then you can write to me and tell me all about it."

"Word for word, I promise." He took her hand. "Don't worry I'm not leaving town. Just leaving this life."

"Hmhm, you make it sound like you're going to transform into someone different." She commented.

'You have no idea.' As they walked closer and closer to the shelter Zell squeezed the girl's hand harder. 'Don't worry Terra, cause someday I'll come get you out of here too, if you can except what I've become.'

The door to the shelter was right before them and they froze. Their silence was deafining for a brief moment, then they flung their arms around each other. "I'll miss you, kid." Said Zell.

"I'll miss you, too." Terra replied, backing away. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." He patted her head.

Opening the door, Terra stepped inside then turned back to Zell and waved. "Bye."

"Bye."

She disappeared in the darkness of the building, leaving the door for him to close. He knew that she couldn't do it herself. He didn't want to either, but this chapter of his life had just come to a close and now it was time to open the book to his new one.

'I'd better get to the park before Squall leaves.'

Dashing away, Zell headed towards the park.

"Squall?" Zell looked around the area with his eyes.

The vampire's ears twitched hearing his human's voice. Emerging from the shadows, Squall looked for him and saw him standing in the distance looking around for him. With a smile, he walked over and tapped the blond on the shoulder causing him to jump out of his skin.

"Shit!" Zell shrieked turning around. "Don't do that." He warned letting out a breath.

"Sorry..." Squall replied. He stepped over to Zell so that they were face - - well, maybe not face to face but standing in front of each other, then he leaned down and kissed him. 'Aaah, the taste of human food. It seems like forever.' Thought Squall, savoring every breath that came from Zell's mouth and the taste of hamburger on his lips.

Zell was glad for the contact as well, but he mostly wanted the hug part right now. He was still a little down from having to say goodbye to the first nice person he's ever met on the streets.

Squall backed up until his back was pressed against a tree. Zell didn't mind, except his hands were brushing sharply against the bark, sharp enough to scratch and bleed. Which is probably what Squall wanted. So, Zell slipped his hands down into the vampire's back pockets to avoid the bark.

The two of them never broke their kiss once it had begun, and it only became more heated with every minute they were within it. It wasn't until Zell's fingers brushed the tip of something in Squall's pocket that he pulled away, bringing the object with him.

"What's this?" He asked before it came into view.

"A picture." Squall replied casually. He leaned down again only this time he was sucking on Zell's neck, almost as though he were trying to clean it or tendorize it for biting.

"Yeah, but, it's a picture of me... Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know." He lied.

"You know..." He pushed the vampire away. "Where did you get this picture?"

"Does it matter?"

Zell nodded and held the thing in plain sight for Squall to look at it. "Only two people have this picture and that's me and Selphie... So who did you get this from?" Zell was very serious, because if Squall had hurt Selphie he would never forgive him. Never.

"I got it from this guy okay." Squall replied. "Who cares."

"What guy?" This seemed odd to Zell, why would some guy just have a picture of him and Selphie.

"I don't know, some big blond guy."

"...Sabin?" The homeless teen said lowly. "You mean you got it from Sabin?"

"That's what his watch said." Squall walked over to the fountain taking a seat.

Zell remained where he stood. He couldn't believe this, Squall took the picture from Sabin. 'But why did he have it?' Wondered the angered blond. 'Maybe he was looking for me too... But wait...' He suddenly noticed that Selphie was missing from the picture, ripped away in fact.

"I killed that guy, if you're wondering..." That called Zell's attention back. "He won't be taking you away from me now."

"You killed him..." He repeated the words to see if they made any sense. But no matter how he put it together he couldn't understand. "Why?"

"Because he was looking for you." Squall sounded cocky and cruel right now, and he stood up approaching Zell possessively. "I didn't want him to persue you into leaving me. Nobody can know you, not anymore."

"What?" Zell couldn't believe his ears! This person didn't sound like Squall at all. Cold and vicious. Maybe he has made the wrong decision. "Squall, you can't just - kill someone because they know me." He informed. "That's fucking stupid! What if it were my friend Selphie... I never would have forgiven you for that..." He lowered his head and his voice. "And to tell you the truth I'm not so sure I can forgive you for this either."

Squall couldn't believe his ears, what was the big deal?! He killed people all the time! It was his way of living. Zell knows that. So why make a big stink about it now? "Zell I..." He walked forward but was shoved back.

"Don't touch me." He warned.

"Don't touch you? What's the big deal?" Squall threw his arm out as though it were nothing. "I kill people all the time, that's how I survive, remember? I'm a vampire."

"I know that!" Zell was shouting now. He couldn't believe Squall couldn't sympathize with how he was feeling towards this. "You killed Sabin purely out of jealousy, of what I don't know... It's not as though you and I were some big thing..."

"I thought..."

"We only saw each other a few times; and yeah we were getting close, but not like this." He said bringing the picture back up.

Squall's eyes narrowed on the thing and he snapped it out of his hand, ripping it to bits. "Fuck this... it's just some dumb picture. He was just some dumb guy!"

Squall, although shouting as well, had his voice low and vicious. He was clearly getting heated up now, and he wanted to calm down before something got started. But Zell wasn't even trying to understand him. "Zell, forget about that... it was just one time." He raised his hands as though trying to show he was harmless. "It won't ever happen again."

Zell scoffed. "You know, I'm glad I didn't bring my friends to meet you... you probably would have killed them too, eventually."

"That's not fair, and you know it."

"What's not fair is that you just killed some guy because he knew me!"

Someone was watching them in the distance, and they were moving in closer. Squall tried again to hold Zell, to calm him down, but the infuriated teen shoved him away.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You're only mad because you're having second thoughts about coming with me, and you know it!" Squall remarked very pointedly.

The sound of panting and fallen weight caught the ears of the verbally combatanting pair.

"Zell!"

They turned their head to the sudden voice that followed.

"Locke?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "This guy again." He said, then thinks. 'I knew I should have killed him.'

"Get away from him he's dangerous!" Locke informed.

"No I..." Zell's sentence was cut off by the sound of a siren whailing once as though only to alert the trio he had pulled up.

The three watched intently as a cop emurged from his car standing behind the door with a flash light in his hand, pointing it first at Locke then to Zell. Squall remained but his insides were shaking as he saw the cop's flashlight beam point towards him next.

Recognizing him instantly the cop drew his gun into his hand. "I know you. Freeze!"

Frantic, Squall dashed a few steps forward grabbing Zell around his chest. The blond felt a knot in his chest as fear began to rise. They were only bullets sure; and Squall could easily have gotten away, but neither his feet nor abilities seemed to take him anywhere.

"Let go of the boy!" The cop retorted, keeping his gun aimed for Squall's head.

The three of them hadn't even noticed that the cop wasn't alone until they heard the radio inside the car crackling to life with a response to a request none of them had heard.

"We'll send back up right away." Said the responder, adding. "And use caution, this man is dangerous."

"Will do, over." This cop then appeared outside of the car holding a gun as well. "Let the boy go, or we'll fire!" He warned.

Squall grumbled low in the back of his throat as a warning for the cops to back off.

Everyone: Squall... Zell, Locke, and the officers remained quiet and still. The first cop must have been impatient in waiting for back up as he took a step around the car door so that he was now full bodied in plain sight.

Squall's foot shifted backwards by a hair. The cop took another step towards them, a laugh began to build in the back of the man's throat, low at first as though he didn't want anyone to hear it then louder as though keeping it back would be impossible.

"You animal!" He shouted.

The outburst startled a very confused Locke. 'What is going on?' He wondered.

The man continued to yell as he spoke. "You killed my partner back in that cell block..."

"And I'm supposed to care?" Squall hissed with malice.

He sucked in through his nose noisily adding. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna get a huge reward for capturing you." He fired.

"A-aaahhhh!" Zell cried out.

The bullet grazed Squall across his cheek and the vampire merely narrowed his eyes feeling his distilled blood boil in the back of them. "Zell," He whispered into the boy's ear. "Are you paying attention?"

Zell nodded.

"I'm gonna get out of here, and I need your help,"

Zell made a whimpering sound in his throat, as though he thought Squall had snapped and decided to drag him down with him.

"No no, listen. I only need you to get away. I won't hurt you. I promise."

Zell was too scared to know what to do. A cop just fired at Squall regardless the fact that he's holding a hostage, who's to say that Zell won't get shot up if the two of them run. He closed his eyes tightly wondering what he should do. Wait a minute, he felt something... something he's never felt before. A pulse.

Zell noticed that there was a strong heart beat pounding against his left shoulder blade, but it wasn't his own. It was Squall's. 'He must really be scared... I don't understand why though, vampires can't be hurt by bullets.' A quiet shudder ran through his body, remembering how scared he had felt when he heard sirens for the first time when he had vampire blood in his body. 'Those must have been Squall's feelings... He really is afraid of something.'

Zell glanced back at the vampire and nodded quickly. "Do as.." He swallowed the dryness from his voice. "Do as he says. Please; I don't wanna die!" He shook himself to make it look as though he were crying when he wasn't.

"Drop your guuuns!" Squall shouted. "Or I'll kill him!" Squall pulled out a pocket knife flipping the very sharp blade out. The vampire held it dangerously close to Zell's face and began to back up whispering in Zell's ear. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Zeeeelll!" Called Locke, sounding as though he were about to have a panic attack.

The two cops looked at each other with mixed signals. The second cop, who had radioed for back up, dropped his gun to the street. The first one stood his ground.

"Please, put your gun down!" Zell shouted to the officer.

"You're gonna be fine, son! Trust me." The cop continued his slow pace forward.

"I said gun down!" Shouted Squall.

"Aaahh..." Zell's eyes scrunched in pain as a trickle of blood drained from his cheek.

Squall lowered the knife back to the teen's neck after moving it slowly across Zell's face breaking the skin. This time Zell had honestly cried a little. Squall was just hostile enough to not realize what he was doing, and he could actually kill him.

"Pleease, put your gun down." The hostage tried again.

The cop seemed reluctant but eventually dropped his gun to the concrete. "Get on the ground; and you, too..." Squall pointed the knife in Locke's direction. "Don't try anything funny, hero, or I'll slit his throat."

Locke listened to what Squall had asked, and lowered himself to the grass, face down. The cops did the same.

"Good, stay there." Just as Squall began to back away from the scene, four more pairs of lights shined around them. He turned his head seeing that they are enclosed within a swarm of cop cars, all holding two or three officers.

"Let the boy go!" The first to get out of his car demanded.

The other officers filled the area their cars surrounded, trapping them. Squall's eyes darted this way and that, he wanted to keep this nice and normal but the situation was becoming unbearable to the point where the only way out was up.

Glancing at the night sky, he looked down at the frightened teen. Zell had been gripping his forearm so hard it was beginning to leave marks. 'What have I do-..' His eyes widened. "Aauu!" Squall's back jerked in feeling something sharp stick him. Swatting it from out of his back, the vampire turned around feeling another tranquilizer dart shoot into his side. "Aaa!" He more roared than yelled.

Within the breif second that he let go of Zell the officers behind him opened fire. Zell covered his ears from the loud bangs between the normal guns and the tranquilizers. Squall took them intentionally to block Zell.

"Uuugh!" That one hit the back of his neck. It was time to go, before the effects took over him for a second time in life. "Zell..." Squall said in a strained voice.

Zell opened his eyes in enough time to see Squall shoving him to the grass.

"He's attacking, fire!" One of the men in the front shouted. The spray of bullets filled Squall's abdomen but he continued looking after Zell's path making sure he was all right. When he saw Locke snag him into safety, he found his time to escape.

Jumping into the air he... "Aaah." It was too late. His body was shutting down. The tranquilizers effects were spreading quickly into his system. It hadn't worked this fast before, they must have strengthened it from their last encounter with him.

Squall fell to the ground heavily, writhing and scratching at the burn in his skin while his body went into full paralyzation. But the cops continued to fire.

"Stop iiiiiiittt!" Zell shouted as loud as he could, but no one listened. No one. He shook Locke's grip off but his ex just grabbed him back holding on tightly. "No let me go, he's hurt..." Zell broke down inside, dropping from his weakened knees. "They're gonna hurt him." He cried.

Squall's eyes were closing quickly, heavily and with effort he managed to turn his head, getting one last look at Zell as he cried for him. A small smile crept across Squall's stiffening mouth and he thought before seeing a white light. 'I am alive.'