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 27: Fear Accomplishments

The group sat on the steps outside the hotel. It was Monday, November 4th, 10:45 a.m. Everybody had come down, except for Zell, but nobody expected him to anyway. They hoped he would come down soon, cause they dreaded having to go up and get him. Everyone was tired, as they didn't get much sleep. Squall was the only one who didn't show it though. Seifer and Irvine sat with their heads down, and Selphie had a bad headache. Injuries weren't bad. Squall and Seifer had a few nicks, Selphie had a headache, and Irvine just had some sore muscles. Zell was a different story. Unsure how to address the issue, they kept quiet for the last hour.

"How do I go down there without making an ass out of myself?" Zell thought, as he watched them wait down below. They all thought he was too weak. They all thought he wouldn't have the guts to come down there with a normal expression on his face. They thought wrong. Pumping himself up, Zell slid on his knuckles, grabbed the Quarterstaff he wrapped last night, and made his way downstairs. He left his suitcase in the room, cause it really didn't matter if it got stolen or not. He had bigger problems to deal with today. His legs hurt like a bitch, but he made himself…no he forced himself to keep going. The group was surprised to see him limp out the hotel door, but he paid them no attention, and sat down next to them.

"What's our plan?" Zell asked with his head down. He used no emotion, causing it to sound like Squall said it.

"We don't have one," Seifer replied. "We don't know where the fuck they took him."

"So we'll look!" Zell snapped with a sudden wave of anger. "We'll look until we find him!"

"Whoa, don't get me wrong," Seifer said almost apologetically. "They fucked with the Garden, I will get my revenge." Zell nodded and backed off.

"So other then random guessing, what other options do we got?" Selphie asked.

"We'll use your sources," Squall said dryly to Irvine.

"No, I really wish I could but…" Irvine tried.

"That wasn't a question." Squall glared at him. Looking up, the cowboy saw Selphie and Seifer looking at him the same way. He didn't even dare make eye contact with Zell, because from what he figured, Zell was close to that Puma kid. In fear for his life, it didn't take long for him to change his mind.

"We'll use my sources," Irvine gulped.

"It's a four hour trip to Galbadia Garden," Squall muttered, getting to his feet. "The longer we wait, the worse off we are." The rest of the group got to their feet, and followed the brunette to the two cars. "I'll take the cowboy." Irvine swallowed again, and reluctantly sat in the passenger seat next to Squall. The other four piled into the second car, and followed Squall to Galbadia Garden.

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

"We have a war on our hands!" Headmaster Cid directed, standing in front of all the SeeDs he could muster. He had spent all night working on rallying the troops. Their destination and enemy he was unsure of, but he rallied them all the same. "You will win. You will come home with victory, or won't come home at all. Can these bastards attack Balamb and get away with it?"

"Sir, no Sir!" the group replied, fired up for battle.

"We will get our vengeance. Now is the time to send a message. Nobody insults the garden!"

"Sir, yes Sir!" the group replied again.

"You'll fight under Squall Leonhart. If you let him down, he will let me know about it. DON'T…let him down."

"Sir, yes Sir!"

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

Squall hadn't said anything for the entire car ride, and it just made Irvine sweat more. He started to recognize landmarks and signs, and knew they weren't far from the Garden. "Maybe he won't say anything…" Irvine hoped. For another fifteen minutes, Squall stared absently on the road, but to Irvine's utter dismay, the brunette suddenly turned and looked right at him.

"I appreciated your help back there Mr. Kinneas," Squall started, shifting his eyes back to the road.

"Thanks…" Irvine said nervously, turning his gaze out the window. "Maybe it's going to be a friendly conversation." The cowboy knew in the back of his head that it wasn't though.

"I will appreciate your help in the future Mr. Kinneas."

"Um…sure." The attitude had been drained out of Irvine, as he knew that Squall greatly out powered him. He also noticed that Squall could and would hurt him if he got in the way. Rubbing his hand over the scab that formed on his neck, Irvine rolled down his window to get some air.

"Are we nervous Mr. Kinneas?"

"Yeah…" he admitted, feeling the wind cool down his body.

"I hope this nervousness won't affect your ability to gather information."

"I hope so too," Irvine gulped. Squall sneered at his pun, but kept a stoic face.

"Let me cut to the chase," the lion muttered, looking directly at him. "I would do my best today, as my threat remains."

"Thanks," Irvine rolled his eyes

"This is no time for jokes, as the situation has became much worse. If you fail, I will do much worse then kill you Mr. Kinneas."

"What's that?" Irvine asked, swallowing quickly.

"I'll turn you over to Zell," Squall shot, making it sound like being damned to eternal hell. "I'll only kill you, but Zell will torture you." He paused for a second, letting the point sink in. "I noticed you couldn't even look at Mr. Dincht today, and that's a wise decision, because I don't want to face that kid today." Squall took another pause, as Irvine stared at his feet. "If you fail Mr. Kinneas, Zell will kill you, and not in a nice way. No, he won't shoot you; he'll make it much more interesting." Irvine looked out the window, the color draining from his face. "I don't know how much you know about Mr. Dincht, but I'll tell you what I know…He has a lot of rage, and was very close to the Puma who we lost yesterday. If you fail Mr. Kinneas, Zell will have you head, I guarantee it. Zell's not a happy person today. Let's try not to lower his mood any shall we?"

Irvine nodded weakly, and Squall smiled; happy his message sank in. They finally pulled into the Garden's parking garage, and the cowboy found new motivation, as a displeased Zell emerged the car that followed them. Gulping, Irvine turned quickly, and went in search of the one man he knew would have the scoop on the relocation of a thousand people. Going down many twisting corridors, Irvine led them out another exit, and made his way to an outdoor track.

"Ryne!" The cowboy called, as a lanky runner passed them by. The boy looked at him, and reluctantly turned back.

"What's new Kinneas?" the boy heaved, putting his hands behind his head. Zell inched his way forward until he stood beside the kid as well. "Who are you?" Ryne nodded to Zell, but the blonde gave no answer.

"Ryne…let's take a walk," Irvine suggested, leading him away from the crowded track. The cowboy knew that his life was more valuable then his friendship with this kid, so he willingly took Squall's advice.

"Let's not intimidate him," Squall whispered to Selphe, Seifer, and Zell, as Irvine led the kid away. "Stay here." With that, he jogged to catch up with Irvine and Ryne. Zell disobediently followed him, but the brunette sort of expected it, and wasn't willing to argue with him.

"Who are they?" Ryne asked.

"You remember Squall form school, and this is his friend Zell," Irvine greeted. Ryne held out his hand, but neither shook it. With a confused look, he slowly removed his offer.

"What you want my lunch money?" the runner laughed nervously.

"More then that I'm afraid," Squall broke his silence, flashing his gunblade. With a scared look in his eyes, Ryne suddenly broke off into a full sprint away from the three.

"HEY!" Irvine yelled, but it was no use, the kid was full speed. Desperate, Squall raised his gunblade, and fired a bullet into Ryne's leg. With a yelp, the kid fell 500 ft. ahead of them. Irvine looked at him terrified, but Squall and Zell walked silently towards the wounded student. Zell was the first on to reach him, and Squall knew that he wasn't going to be gentle.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ryne yelled, as Zell pulled him up by his hair. The kid kicked Zell in the leg, causing a soaring pain to shoot up his old wound. He retaliated by shattering Ryne's shoulder with a quick jab. The runner fell to the ground in a heap of pain, as Zell stood over him.

"WHOA!" Irvine exclaimed, getting between Zell and his friend. "You can't kill him."

"Not yet…" Squall interrupted.

Ryne shuddered from the ground like an injured rabbit. "What the hell do you want?"

"What do you know about Timber?" Zell asked, speaking for the first time in a long while.

"Some punks tried to take them out. They fled."

"To…?" Zell muttered impatiently

"I can't tell you that…." Ryna whined from the ground. Losing his cool, Zell kicked him in his already injured shoulder. The kid cried out in pain, and sobbed softly, as Irvine tried to restrain Zell from hitting him again.

"You will tell me," Zell scoffed.

"Listen, Ryne, these guys are serious." Irvine appealed to his friend. "They already cut my neck open."

"Then why'd you bring em' to me?"

"Cause they were gonna kill me! So tell em' what they want, and we can get the fuck out of here."

Ryne debated it in his head for a few seconds, before finally coming to a decision. "They went to the Island Closest to Hell. It's off northwest the coast of the continent."

"Thank you," Squall muttered, as he left the scene going back to the group.

"You're coming with us cowboy," Zell said, grabbing Irvine and dragging him back to the cars. With anyone else he would have protested, but Irvine kept his mouth shut out of fear.

"What about me?!?" Ryne called, still lying on the ground.

"If you weren't such a bitch it wouldn't have happened," Zell called, abandoning the boy. Pain shot up his legs, as he had overused his legs already, but he ignored it and trudged on.

"Where's the closest phone?" Squall asked Irvine as Zell dragged him back.

"Take this hallway, and then make a left. It'll be on your right."

"Kay, get back to the cars, I'll catch up to you," Squall commanded. The group nodded, and prepared themselves for another long car ride.

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

"Island Closest to Hell," Cid started his second speech today. "Squall approximates the army somewhere near 1800." The headmaster paused, letting the SeeDs visualize the situation. "This is the last one. Your mission will be to destroy whatever base they have, and then to return home. We'll dispatch from Balamb at 15:00 hours…"

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