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 it also contains 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 17: Dispatch

"Good Morning. Today is October the 5th, cycle day 3. Would all students please report to their homerooms for announcements," chimed Xu, the early bell announcer. Zell usually slept through this every day, but for some odd reason, it woke him up. He didn't sleep that well anyway, as today was huge. His actions could determine if Puma got into SeeD or not. No pressure or anything.

"What kind of GF is in the Tomb of the Unknown King?" he asked himself. Zell barely knew where it was, more or less what it looked like. He remembered discussing it briefly last year in class, but it was more of a geography thing then history. It was going to be as big of a surprise mission for him as it was for Puma. "At least a giant spider won't be chasing Squall this time……, or will it?" Zell smirked, imagining Squall running full speed out of a cavern with a giant spider behind him. "Now that would be funny."

Yawning, Zell sat up and prepared for the day. Cid told them to be ready by ten, but it was only eight o' clock. Plenty of time to do stuff. The blonde scratched his chest, and dragged himself out of bed. He made his way to his closet, and pulled out his SeeD uniform. Wearing only his zebra striped boxers, Zell made his way to the bathroom. He threw the uniform on the floor, and set the water temperature. Kicking off his boxers, Zell stepped into the shower, and began to clean up for the day ahead.

To his surprise, Zell realized he his heart was pounding. For the first time since he took his own SeeD exam, he felt nervous. No, he wasn't scared of the GF in the Tomb. It wasn't a fear of pain, but more of a fear of failure. Puma's future rested in his hands. Thinking about it, he should have taken Seifer. At least then he could have done a half assed job, and still be smiling the next morning. Puma was another case however. Sure, the redhead could always take the test next year, but for all Zell knew, he could be in Trabia fighting off a wild herd of Snow Lions by that time. And would Puma still like Zell if he failed? Two risks Zell didn't want to take. The relationship was a bad idea in the first place. SeeD didn't care if you were in love or if your mother was dying. You had to perform to their standards…Period. Hell, even if Puma passed this test, he wouldn't go on a mission with Zell for at least a year. In November, Zell could be shipped off to some remote place and never see the redhead for months. This is what he signed up for though; no excuses; no way out.

What about Zoe? Well Zell was a little less concerned on this topic. Whoever Squall took was a shoe-in. Plus he still wasn't very happy with her. He wasn't angry enough to wish her failure in the test, but that didn't mean he had to wear a smile. She was out of his hands anyway. He probably wouldn't even see her all day, so if she did fail, it wasn't his fault. It was a somewhat cold thought, and he revoked it after he thought of what she would be like if she did fail…"

"Just stop thinking," Zell shook his head. The warm water drenched his hair as he stared at his bathtub floor. Snapping back to reality, Zell realized he'd been staring at the ground for quite a while. Too many things going on. Too many possibilities. Too many factors. "Do your best today; have no regrets." Zell tried to convince himself that he had everything under control, but in reality his life had become complicated. Last year wasn't this hard.

Pushing it into the back of his mind, Zell ran the soap over his arms and over his chest. He was stressed, but he knew once he got going today, it would all turn into adrenaline. "Shouldn't have gotten up so early," he told himself. His hands moved to his muscular legs, and washed the smell of uncleanliness off them. The blonde then washed up the back half of him, and then did his hair. Kicking off the water, Zell dried off and tried to escape his hellhole of thought. He sprayed some cologne on his six-pack, brushed his teeth, and then threw on his uniform. Walking into the living room, Zell flipped on the TV.

"So where do you think the SeeD mission will be held today?" the junior classman asked his anchor.

"Well there have been a lot of Cactuars running loose on the Centra Continent, and I've also heard rumors that we would be liberating Timber from Galbadian control. I'd say one of the two." Zell laughed out loud.

"They don't have the first clue," he chuckled to himself.

"Well let's find out what you think!" cried the anchor. "Press *532 on your phone to vote for either mission or neither." The blonde jumped at the opportunity. He placed his neither vote, and then decided to find some breakfast. His walk to the kitchen was disrupted however, with a tap-tap-tap on the door.

"Puma," Zell yawned, still not quite awake. "What's up?"

"Just nervous. I'm hoping you'll get my mind off things," the redhead replied dressed in a matching SeeD outfit to Zell's. The blonde nodded, and let him in. Puma sat on the couch, and Zell continued his search for cereal. Puma rolled his eyes, as he realized that BGN was on. "You know, you're the only person who watches this," he yelled into the kitchen. Zell laughed and pulled out a bowl from his cupboard.

"Well after tallying the votes," the anchor continued from the TV. "100% of our voters, or shall we say voter, believes that neither mission will be used today." This caused another laugh from the kitchen.

"I'm the only one who votes too," Zell called back to Puma. He grabbed a box of cereal, and returned to the living room, taking a seat next to the redhead on the couch.

"I can't take much more of this," Puma shook his head. He snatched the remote, but had difficulty keeping it steady, as his hand shook.

"Whoa buddy," Zell smiled, grabbing it out of his hand and changing the channel. "Got a case of the jitters?"

"Just a little," Puma chuckled nervously.

"Haff thumb Phawsted Tahnbairieth," Zell mumbled, mouth full of cereal.

"What?"

"Have some Frosted Tonberries."

"Nah, I can't eat anything."

"Suit yourself." Zell continued to munch on his breakfast, while Puma flipped through random channels. "Trepe didn't make you go to class this morning did she?" the blonde asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Trepe said we should try to come it, but if we were taking the exam to sleep in."

"And I see you chose neither?" Puma shrugged, and finally stopped flipping the channels, and turned the TV off.

"What's happening today?" he questioned, staring Zell straight in the eyes.

"Well there went the small talk," the blonde told himself. "I can't tell you!"

"Well it's obviously not to Timber or Centra. We're slimming down the possibilities.

"I'm not telling you," Zell said again. "I'm not allowed to tell you!"

"Come on man, it's killing me!"

"No, I can't…." the blonde started, but was thankfully interrupted by the loudspeaker.

"Would all candidates for the SeeD mission today please report to the front gate. Would all SeeDs assisting in today's mission please report to the library. Thank you," Xu chimed.

"There you can find out from them," Zell nodded, getting to his feet. He grabbed his ID, and led Puma out of his dorm. They walked in silence until they were in front of the library.

"Here goes nothing," Puma sighed. "We'll see how it goes."

"You'll be fine. Show some confidence, and do what you usually do."

Puma nodded, and tried to motivate himself.

"The only way you wouldn't get in is if I let Selphie pair with you, and I didn't let that happen," Zell chuckled

"Yeah…" Puma laughed.

"Go get em' man. I'll see ya in a few minutes." Puma nodded, and made his way to the front gates. Zell watched him disappear out of sight, and then turned into the library himself. He found Squall and Selphie sitting in the back. There were no more chairs, so Zell just sat on the floor next to them. "You ready for today?" he looked up at Squall.

The brunette nodded, and returned Zell's glance.

"If you don't get Zoe in, I think she'll kill you."

"Don't worry about me, the better question is, will you be able to get Puma in," Squall muttered calmly. There was a dagger Zell didn't need right now. Squall didn't mean it insultingly, but he didn't apologize for it either.

"Nah, that's in the bag. I'm just looking out for ya because you're not as tough as I am."

"What did you say?" Selphie laughed. Squall just shot him the look of death. The blonde chuckled to the floor, as Cid stood up on a chair in front of them.

"I'm going to make this brief. I just finished talking with the candidates. They are waiting in the main lobby and have been given their pairs. We'll be driving to Balamb in approximately five minutes, and be transported by boat from Balamb Docks, to a beach four miles away from the Tomb. From there, you'll have to walk. Now, go find your assigned candidate, and report to an automobile for dispatch. The mission will begin as soon as you reach the car. I'm handing out forms for you to evaluate the mission. Make sure you pick one up and hand it back to my office ASAP. That's all, dismissed."

Zell grabbed his packet, and looked it over. On top was a form directly relating to Puma's performance. The others allowed him to record mistakes he saw other candidates make. There was also a sheet for discoveries made in the Tomb, and the final sheet let you record how successful you thought the mission was. After looking through it, Zell followed the others out, and went to find Puma. The redhead spotted him, and with quarterstaff in hand, started to follow him to the parking lot.

"The mission starts as soon as we reach the car," Zell stated with a sudden note of seriousness. "Once we get there, don't say, do, or even think anything stupid. You're considered a SeeD in this mission, act like one." Puma gulped, and crawled into the passenger seat, as Zell started up the car.