THE ZELL DINCHT COLLECTION

WARNINGS

1) I do not own Zell, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Seifer, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, or any other character I may mention from the FF8 series. I may add some more characters, which are mine. If you steal them, I probably won't find out about it. I also do not own most of the towns, monsters, etc… used in this story.

2) This was written cause Zell is the coolest character ever to be created in the FF series. It's rated NC-17 for mostly sex, but there's also some language and violence

3) This is a yaoi story. If you are offended by yaoi or don't know what it is, I suggest you leave. You have been warned.

Ok think I got everything. Just read it and leave me some feedback. If you flame me I'll find it funny, so do whatever the hell makes you feel good.

CHAPTER 13: Confessions, Repercussions, Solutions

Zell's feelings could be described in one word. FRUSTRATED. Who the hell had the right to pull him away from Ma right now? Two hours ago she had a gun to her head, and they wanted to pull her son away from her to give a report? How fucked up was that? Zell sighed and shook his head. He loved his job though. If he left SeeD, where else was there to go?

"I could never leave SeeD." Abandon all his friends and success? No. He was still furious though. It was just procedures, but where the hell was the line? Zell clenched his teeth and shook his head most of the way home. It was hard for Squall not to notice the kid's anger.

"This is going to make an interesting report," the brunette thought, as he pulled into the parking lot. As the two got out of the car, Squall tossed Zell his keys, and told him to open the trunk. Zell nodded, and jumped back at what he found. Inside was the unconscious guard Zell popped.

"Don't worry I drugged him," Squall nodded. The brunette pulled out his shopping bags, and Zell put the soldier over his shoulder. It was 2:30 when they arrived in the lot. Classes didn't end til 5, but students were already out and socializing. Word of the attack must have spread throughout the school. With the appearance of two SeeDs, one carrying a foreign soldier into the garden, every student they passed, stopped whatever they were doing, and glared.

"They're as pissed as I am," Zell thought. He was right. Nobody ever, EVER attacked Balamb. It was a slap in the garden's face. Suddenly foreigners think they can come over and take over weak towns? Balamb was the garden's property, and nobody NOBODY fucked with the garden's property. If there was a sign up sheet for war against these bastards, every student in the garden was ready and willing to sign it. Zell was proud. His classmates acted like they didn't care about the outside world, but when their home was attacked, they were ready to defend it. The students parted to let the two up to Cid's office.

"Headmaster," the two saluted, when they were inside.

"At ease," Cid nodded. "Take a seat." Zell and Squall both pulled up a chair. The blonde roughly threw the unconscious soldier on the ground. He was in the headmaster's office, but he didn't care. This was the last place he wanted to be, and frankly, the soldier deserved it. Cid was a little taken aback, but he didn't know exactly what went on at Balamb except from Squall's sketchy description. "I think you gentlemen know why you're here."

"Where do you want to start?" Squall muttered.

"Let's take it from the time you arrived at Balamb." Cid grumbled in reply.

"Um…we parked in the car rental station, and began to wander into town." Zell started. He then restated everything he did today, and Cid was satisfied with his explanation.

"Thank you Mr. Dincht. Now Mr. Leonhart, please tell me your location from the time you left Mr. Dincht to the start of the fight." Squall took a deep breath, and began to tell his side of the story.

"As Mr. Dincht said, he entered his house. I waited outside, because I considered it unwise for both of us to entire an environment with minimal exit possibilities. My assumption proved true, as Mr. Dincht was taken hostage by this rebellion soldier," Squall nodded towards the passed out soldier.

"Very wise Mr. Leonhart. Your rank will be increased," Cid nodded. "Please continue."

"I scaled the house to stay out of the sight of the soldier, and followed him and Mr. Dincht to the docks. There, I observed the number of soldiers, their motives, and Mr. Dincht's activities. When the situation got out of hand, I stepped in, and it ended as Mr. Dincht explained."

"Very well both of you," Cid congratulated. "Mr. Dincht, your ability to wait for the right moment to attack impresses me, and Mr. Leonhart, your keen sense of leadership and capability of reading a situation once again astounds me."

"Thank you sir," Zell and Squall once again saluted.

"Now that I know the plot, let's analyze the situation," Cid muttered getting to his feet. He went around his desk, and looked down at the unconscious soldier. "Any ideas of where he is from?"

Zell shook his head. He didn't have time for this. Cid got his report, what else did he want? "Permission to be excused," the blonde interrupted. It was disrespectful, but he didn't care right now. He had more important matters on his hands.

"Denied." Cid replied, surprised at the blondes sudden outbreak. "It is important you learn how to interpret the events instead of just stating them."

"I realize that sir, but my Ma…mother was taken hostage during the course of events," Zell complained. "I consider it important to get back to her."

Cid was fishing for an excuse to counter Zell, but he couldn't find one. He looked at Squall, who nodded his head. "Fine Mr. Dincht," he sighed. "I expect you back tomorrow however with a written report verifying what you told me."

"Yes sir," Zell nodded and saluted. The blonde got to his feet and looked over to Squall. The brunette sighed, and tossed Zell his keys. He gave Squall the thumbs up, and left the room. Cid really didn't want to be weak with the child, but Squall's face convinced him. Squall was Cid's Lion. He could release the beast on any of his enemies and have them shred to pieces. Squall's opinion mattered and was respected. He considered the brunette smarter and more powerful then himself, and Squall's happiness was number one on his priority list.

"So Squall?" Cid continued, as if the interruption never happened. "Your opinion on the soldier's hometown?"

"Dollet was my first instinct, but it's not an official uniform. I'd guess he'd be from the Galbadian continent, but not from a major army."

"Good eye," Cid responded. "Let's find out shall we?" The headmaster pulled a hyper needle out of his desk, and loomed over the soldier.

"Restrain him," Cid looked to Squall. The brunette nodded, and tied the soldier to a chair. The headmaster gave the enemy the shot, and Cid and Squall stood back as the man regained consciousness. He blinked his eyes, and then his attention fell upon the men in front of him.

"Where the hell am I?" the soldier cried, eyes wide.

"This is Dollet, you're recovering from a concussion," Cid lied, looking as innocent as possible. "I am Doctor Rhectubly, and this is my apprentice." Squall gave a small wave, falling into his character. "Your group dropped you off here, and will pick you up later." The soldier nodded, and relaxed.

"Why am I tied up?" he question, testing his restraints.

"Oh, um…" Cid tried.

"You were having convulsions," Squall interrupted. "We needed to restrain you so you wouldn't hurt yourself or anyone else." The soldier nodded in reply.

"Could you untie me now then?" the man asked, looking at Squall.

"I would, but I doubt you could stand anyway," the brunette bluffed. "The blow to your head was very damaging."

The man seemed satisfied with the explanation, and returned his gaze to Cid, waiting for instruction.

"Well um…we're going to ask you some routine questions," Cid said, a warm smile returning to his face. "Just to make sure your memory is intact, and that the concussion didn't do any more damage then we expected."

"Okay," the soldier responded cooperatively.

"What's your name and rank?" Cid started.

"Bero Theam," the man stated. "Um…I don't have a rank."

"Oh that's right!" Cid exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "We had a Galbadian soldier in here too, he was a Lt.."

Bero nodded, and forgave Cid for his mistake.

"I forget who employs you. Squall could you get me his file?" The brunette nodded, and picked up a random folder from the desk. He handed it to Cid/Dr. Rhectubly. "Ah that's right." Cid laughed. "Can you tell me who you work for?"

"The Forest Spiders," Bero responded. Cid pretended to nod in agreement.

"Yes, yes your memory seems intact," Cid smiled. The soldier grinned back; obviously glad his injuries weren't too severe. "One final question, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." The soldier stated. "Tomorrow you can ship me back to…"

"Headmaster Cid!" interrupted a voice from outside. Cid groaned, and Squall put his hands over his face. Bero's eyes lit up, and glared at Dr. Rhectubly. The gig was up. Cid walked over and threw open the door.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!!!" Cid screamed. A small junior classman stood outside, and simply ran away from Headmaster Cid's rage. "Sorry about that misunderstanding," Cid laughed, trying to play it off. "Where do you want to go tomorrow?" he asked softly. It was hopeless, the soldier just glared at him. Names like Headmaster Cid stood out. Bero knew he was in the garden, and he knew he was tricked. Cid sighed, and headed to the intercom. "Xu," he mumbled. "Take the prisoner away."

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

Zell left the Headmaster's office in a hurry. Sure, he left a bad impression on his boss, but Squall would defend him. All he needed was Squall's support, and he'd be fine. Plus he had more important stuff on his mind right now. What kind of son leaves their mother alone after an incident like today?

"You ungrateful bastard." Zell tried to shake the negative thoughts out of his head. He picked it up from a light jog to a full sprint towards the parking lot. Rounding the corner, Zell ran into a familiar face.

"I'm coming with you," Zoe just glared. It wasn't a question; it was a command. Ma may as well have been her aunt, cause Zoe knew her since she was three. Zell's mom was always kind to her, and when classes were cancelled due to an attack on Balamb, she was Zoe's first thought.

"Get in," Zell heaved, unlocking the car. They pulled out of the garden, and began the short drive to town.

"What the hell happened?" Zoe asked with seriousness. All she had heard was that Balamb was taken hostage for a couple of hours, and Zell Dincht and Squall Leonhart liberated town. There were a lot of rumors flying around, but this is all she could get confirmed.

"Me and Squall went shopping," Zell started for the second time today. The entire way home, he filled her in on everything from his inspection of home, to Squall's heroic fight scene. "…And then those bastards pull me away to give some stupid report," Zell finished. The blonde was going over 100 mph towards town, but he didn't care. It turned a five-minute trip to a minute and a half. They turned into the car rental facility, parked, and took off home.

"At least the townspeople are here this time." Zell shook a few hands, and Zoe said hello to those she knew, but they were trying to get to Ma ASAP.

"That was quick." Zell's neighbor told him, as the two got home. "She's fine, I'll leave you guys alone." The blonde thanked the man, and saw him out. Like Zell, Zoe's first reaction was to look around the house for anything missing.

"You're right," she said, after their neighbor left. "The important stuff is here." Zell nodded and pointed upstairs.

"Let's go up and see Ma." The pair tore up the steps, and were surprised to find her in Zell's room instead of her own.

"Zelly you're back," she exclaimed, wrapping him in a warm hug. "And my Zoey." She pulled Zoe into the hug.

"You're looking better," Zell laughed, sensing his mother's sudden energy. She was no longer the weak bedridden woman she was two hours earlier.

"Oh yeah Zelly," she beamed. "You have a surprise!" Ma led him over to the bed, and on it was a wrapped, flat, present with a card that simply said Zell.

"Who sent me this?" the blonde smiled. He lifted it and realized it was very heavy.

"Oh no, no, no! Open the card first," Ma encouraged. So everyone sat down on the bed next to Zell, and watched him pull the card off. Opening it, he found the following:

Zell,

They made me write a card. (Zell chuckled, immediately recognizing it as Squall's handwriting. This was going to be an interesting message). The townspeople were looking for something to get you, as they overloaded me with clothes. This is all I could think of, cause I remember you having your eye on it. I know red's your color, and hopefully it'll help you in the future.

Squall

"What did I have my eye on?" Zell said aloud. He passed the card to Zoe, so she could read it, and began to unwrap the package. Inside, he found a red laptop, exactly like Squall's. "OH YEEAHHH!" Zell jumped to his feet and did a little jig. Ma beamed up to him. She already knew what it was, but it was good to see her son happy.

"The townspeople all chipped in and paid for it," she giggled. "They dropped it off an hour ago.

"Whoa! Let me see that," Zoe cried, picking up the mini-computer off the bed. They quickly popped the lid, and turned it on. Zell looked through the default programs included. He had a word processor and some other small things like a calculator, an art program, and a couple of games.

"Woohoo! Triple Triad!" Zell smiled. He opened it, and saw he only started with five Grat cards, but was still impressed.

"Oh yeah," Ma said slyly. "This came along with it." She handed Zell a CD, and smiled.

"No Way!" Zoe cried. It was a GIO (Galbadia International Online) CD.

"Two years," Ma nodded.

"This is the greatest!" Zell exclaimed. It wasn't that Zell or Zoe had never seen the Internet before, but they never had unlimited access to it. Hell, the library had Internet access, but computers were always hard to get, and you were only allowed to visit sites that contained the word "school" in their URL. This was going to change Zell's life. Sure, he planned on getting some games and better programs later, but this was the single best gift he had ever been given.

"Give the townspeople my thanks," Zell told Ma. She nodded and continued to watch Zell upload GIO. They spent the rest of the night going to different sites and finding out stuff. To Zell, it was great, because he had the two most important women of his life right beside him. For a terrible morning, it turned out to be a nice evening. Ma had recovered nicely, and Zell was glad to see that life had begun to return to normal. This may be the beginning of a war, but his family and friends were safe, and that was all that mattered. Zoe and Zell never made it back to the garden, as they spent most of the night online. Zell crashed on the couch, and let Zoe have his bed.