Calvary "Class, can you tell me what is the standard hierarchy of Guardian spirits." Quistis asked with a sly smile. The class mumbled and looked about curiously, finally Royce stood and cleared his throat. "The basic hierarchy of Guardians starts with..." He began but the intercom buzzed to life, cutting him off. "Instructor Trepe you are needed on the bridge." Xu's voice sang out clearly. "Okay Royce, hold that thought. I'll return shortly. While I'm gone I expect all of you to work on the sheets A through C." "Yes Miss Trepe." The class said in unison. With that, Quistis shut her books and stood to leave, she then noticed Rinoa looking at her eagerly. "I'll call if there's word." Quistis assured her. "Thanks." Rinoa smiled. As Quistis exited the class she stopped to regard Fujin, who stood in the hall holding a bucket of water in each hand. "I think you learned you lesson, you can go back in now." Fujin made a face at her in response. "Don’t give me that, I warned you over and over about falling asleep in class." Now dump those and get to work on the assignment. Fujin grumbled and carried to buckets to the nearby janitors closet. Quistis couldn't help but grin as she made her way up the hall. She hated doing that sort of thing to her, but she couldn't be put above anyone else just because they shared their evenings. She knew Fujin understood that and they never spoke of such things outside of class. Curiosity played at her mind; she wondered what was of such importance as to interrupt her class. Perhaps Squall and Zell had returned. It'd been nearly two weeks since the Ragnarok had been sighted over Esthar and there was a growing sense of dread amongst the faculty members. As for the students Cid thought it best to keep things as quiet as possible for now. Nida and Xu meanwhile had been working extra hours using Balamb's sensors to scan for wreckage or any other sign of the ship. Irvine took the newest SEED and formed a search party, but with no leads they returned in defeat. They even tried to contact Luccian for any info what so ever about their destination. The information he provided was of no help and now he couldn't even be contacted. His relative's claimed he was touring a series of factories up in the mountains surrounding Dollet. Quistis frowned, things were looking grim, and she was powerless to do anything. Fujin kept assuring her things would work out and that they would return. Quistis shared her optimism for awhile but after nearly three weeks, her faith was faltering. She arrived at the bridge to Xu was pacing back and forth with Nida at the helm, the young man looked haggard and unkempt. A high pitched series of pulses was echoing about in the air, the noise had a rhythm that repeated after every four or five cycles. "What is that racket?" Quistis frowned. "Is it a homing beacon?" "You tell me." Nida growled. "I'm working on it." Xu snapped irritable while mumbling to herself. "Where's it coming from." Quistis asked hoping for a more defined answer. "Somewhere near the Lunar Cry ruins to the south." Nida nodded to the holographic globe by his side. Quistis walked over to the globe. "That's about where we found Odin." She mumbled curiously then regarded Xu. "How long has this been going on?" Xu shrugged in dismay. "Kinda hard to know for sure. We barely spotted it; it's on a low band frequency that no one uses anymore. Apparently we'd been receiving it for at least for a few days but we only found about an hour ago. It was coming in on a secondary receiver. We think it's from the Ragnarok." "I assume we're on the way?" Quistis perked up brightly. "That would be a yes." Nida assured her. "So, I take it, that it’s a distress call of sorts." Quistis guessed. "No idea." Xu said gravely. "It's a binary pulse, a message of some kind. I'm trying to decipher it but we don't have a set up for that sort of thing. So I fear, I have to do it by myself." She said sorrowfully, holding up a notebook with what looked like gibberish scrawled all over it. "Ack." Quistis frowned. "Tell me about it, the beeping is driving me nuts." Nida grumbled. "Why the hell would they use something like that?" Quistis wondered. "Higher systems failure, power loss, any number of reasons." Xu explained. "Oh." Quistis nodded. "Why'd you only call me?" "Because, you’re the ranking SEED officer and Cid left with Edea for Trabia earlier this morning." "Dear me." Quistis blinked. "Yup hon, you're in charge of this boat." Xu chuckled. "We'll I guess the shoe's on the other foot eh." Quistis grinned at her. "Yeah we'll I'm still your boss so far as the education faculty goes." Xu huffed good-naturedly. "Ouch, okay, I get the hint." Quistis joked defensively. "Sucks to be you." Nida laughed. "Alright then." Quistis said growing suddenly somber. "How long till we arrive?" "ETA eight hours." Nida calculated. "Okay, keep on this heading for now." "STOP!" Xu shouted abruptly. Nida brought Balamb Garden to a standstill and turned to regard her. "What was that about." Quistis said, folding her arms, slightly peeved at her first order being countermanded. "I deciphered it!" Xu said excitedly. "Let me guess, it says, come save us." Quistis said with a grim smile. "Sort of, it says, to hell." Xu scratched her head curiously. "Whatever that means." Quistis scowled. "That sounds really, really bad." Nida said quietly. "To hell? Xu are you sure of that? I mean that sounds pretty cryptic." Quistis said skeptically. "Great the ship is telling us to go to hell." Nida mumbled. "Perhaps they went mad?" "I doubt it." Xu sighed and walked to the globe. "I'm thinking they mean the isle of Hell." She said proudly, pointing to the small island. "But Xu, the Ragnarok isn't on the island of hell." Quistis pointed out. "I know that." Xu said with a hint of defensiveness. "Then why in Hyne's name would we go there?" "I haven't worked that out yet." Nida turned to the two and frowned. "You two want to give me a heading, Isle of hell or the Centra Ruins?" Quistis looked thoughtfully. "I'll take a team to recover the Ragnarok and search the area. Xu, take some volunteers and head to the island of Hell in a couple of Jaegers." Xu nodded and made some notes. Nida frowned at the suggestion "Good luck getting ashore, the cliffs there pretty much surround the island." He pointed out gloomily. "We'll think of something." Xu said with a wink. "I'll tell Rinoa and Nicole, I know they'll be glad to hear the news." Quistis said then faced Nida. "Wait until Xu's team has left then resume course. "Any problems with me taking Rinoa, Irvine and Selphie?" Xu asked, looking up from her notes. "Selphie stays." Quistis said quietly. "Oh yeah, do you think Irvine should go?" Xu asked curiously. "It's up to him, but Selphie is off active duty unless absolutely needed." "She's gonna freak." "Tough, I'm in charge now it's my call." "Listen to you." Xu giggled. "Ha, Ha, be serious." "I am, I am, It's just that I'm glad to finally see some action." "Take last years graduates with you, it's time they got their feet wet." "You’re the boss." Xu saluted. "Stop that, you make me feel old." Quistis chuckled. "But you are." Xu called out laughingly as she left to make arrangements. "Nida, I'm heading back the class, call me if anything else pops up." Quistis said, patting him on the shoulder. "Will do." Nida smirked. Satisfied that things were under control Quistis left the bridge and returned to class where everyone was quietly working on their assignments. "Rinoa, come with me for a moment please." She motioned towards the hall. Rinoa paled and stood slowly. "What's wrong?" She murmured. "It's okay, I just want to talk to you." Quistis assured her and lead her outside the classroom. Rinoa stood awkwardly, unsure what to think or ask. "We've found the Ragnarok." Quistis started. "Squall?" Rinoa asked softly. "We don't know yet." "Oh." "We also have a lead, to check out on the Isle of hell." "What kind of lead?" "A message. It was cryptic and we're not even sure what it means but Xu believes it refers to the island." "So the Ragnarok is there! We have to go then!" "The Ragnarok isn't there, its near Odin's ruins." "But you said?" "The message is from the Ragnarok, look, it’s a mess to explain. Xu is putting together a search party to go to the island. Meanwhile we'll continue on to recover the Ragnarok. We need someone with experience to go with Xu's team, Selphie is off active duty and Irvine may not want to leave her." "What are you saying?" "I want you to go with Xu's team." "I can't do that what if Squall is with the Ragnarok! What if he's hurt!" Rinoa protested vehemently. "We'll be in constant contact, we'll let you know if we find him." "Quistis, that’s not fair." "Hon we have to face facts, you have talents that will help them search the area faster. I mean, you are a fledgling sorceress." "I can't, what if he's dying or something horrible and I'm not there." "Rinoa, don't make this harder than it needs to be. We need your help here." "Get Edea to do it then, she's a sorceress too!" "Her power is depleted, besides she and Cid are away." "But." Rinoa sighed heavily. "It'll be okay." Quistis smiled. "How can you say that, we don't know anything!" Rinoa grumbled. "Call it faith." Quistis said firmly and placed her hands on the young woman's shoulders. "I need you're help Rinoa." "Fine." "That’s a girl." Quistis smirked. "You better let me know if anything happens." "I promise. "Now get back to class, Xu won't be ready for another couple of hours." "Okay." Rinoa sniffed softly. ******** "This is your fault Seifer!" Zell snapped loudly, shoving Seifer hard against the interior wall of the ship. Seifer snarled and swung wildly at him but without his Guardian Forces to augment his speed he missed by a mile. "STOP IT!" Squall shouted, coming between the two. "Wuss, crazed with fear, lost and useless." Seifer spat. "I don't care!" Squall growled pushing Seifer into a nearby seat and grabbing Zell by the collar. "We are NOT going to go crazy and tear each other apart do you understand me!" "He's got us killed!" Zell moaned in dismay. "We make the best of what we can." "With what man, we've been dead in the water for over a week." "Be thankful it got us this far, hopefully someone will find us. How are the repairs coming along?" Zell sat down in the floor weakly and scratched at his newly grown beard. "I don't know man. Mr. brilliant over there didn't seal the hatches while he was off playing cave-man. The engine is still corroded, the seals are dry rotted, and the fuel is tainted, everything sucks." "You got it running before, you can do it again." Squall said firmly. "It took us days to get this tub sea worthy. Plus it's easier to work on something on dry land without everything rolling about." "You'll do fine, just tell me what you need me or Seifer to do." "Oh, well gee, you can have Seifer jump overboard and you can bring me a new engine and some decent tools." Zell sighed. "Tool's, you have what we got, engine you're gonna have to make do." Squall said thoughtfully then looked at Seifer with a dry smirk. "Shut up!" Seifer snapped. Zell couldn't help but laugh. "I'll try again, but this isn't going to work, I'm good but I'm no miracle worker." "Try your best." Squall said understandably. "Seifer and I will try to come up with something." "How's our supplies holding up?" Zell asked curiously. "Pretty good actually, we can go for another month perhaps even two if we go to half rations." "Master of preparation, wondrous and brilliant is he to acquire such non perishable goods for those helpless." Seifer proclaimed proudly. "Oh shut up it's a pile of dried up fruit and funky tasting beef jerky." Zell ranted, tired of Seifer's madness induced idiosyncrasies. Squall ignored the exchange and got Zell's attention. "What about the Radio any luck." "I haven't tried it that much, the battery is low and the solar cell is damaged. Plus with the -antenna-," Zell said through clenched teeth at Seifer. "Turned into a hunting spear, its signal is weak. I don’t want to risk using it unless we know someone will hear us." "Wonderful." Squall sighed heavily, rubbing his head. "I told you, we're doomed." Zell tossed his hands into the air. "Fear, is pointless, strive to move on, better ourselves, be children or men, decided or perhaps women!" Seifer chuckled. "Shut up!" Squall and Zell shouted in unison. ***************** Quistis and Xu strode into Balamb Garden's dry docks where twenty fresh faced youths stood ready. Xu gestured towards the group. "I've got my team ready, We'll be taking two Jaeger's out. I'll be running the search party from the Alpha boat; Irvine will be in charge of Beta." She said with a hint of pride. Quistis walked among the young SEED's and smiled. The young men and women talked eagerly amongst themselves and were busting at the seams to be underway. "Irvine's going too?" She said making her way back to where Xu stood. "Yeah, he all but insisted." Xu smiled. "How'd Selphie take it?" "She went ape." "I can imagine, I'll pay her a visit later." Quistis sighed. "Well your people seem ready to go. Everything stocked up and ready to go?" "Yes Ma'am, it'll take us about twelve hours full speed to reach the area." "Understood, you guys be careful and good luck. Where's Rinoa?" "Over here." Rinoa called from atop the Alpha boat where a SEED officer was showing her proper emergency procedures. "You be careful." Quistis shouted to her. Rinoa gave her the thumbs up before going back to what she was doing. "She'll be fine." Xu smirked. "You forget she's seen more action than any of these newbies. "I know, I'm just used to her being my student." Quistis sighed. "Don't worry about it we'll all be okay. You worry about taking care of things till we return." Xu said firmly then saluted her. Quistis returned the salute and nodded quietly. With that Xu turned and waved an arm at the group gathered. "Alright, everyone move out! I want us prepped and ready to flood the bay in five minutes!" Quistis waited until everyone boarded the vessels before heading up the walkway leading out of the docks. A klaxon sound loudly as made her way to observation deck overlooking the bay. Fujin was waiting for her, as was Selphie. "I can't believe you pulled me off active duty." Selphie grumbled. "MOTHER TO BE." Fujin said bluntly. "No one asked you." Selphie snapped half-heartedly, not in the mood to commit to a full out tirade. "Fujin's right." Quistis said quietly as the bay's massive doors began to open. Seawater began to fill the chamber and soon the ships began to float off their moorings. Once the waterline leveled out the ships' engines' roared to life and within moments each one tore out of the docks in a terrific spray of water and fury. Fujin went to the control panel and shut the doors; she then started draining the water from the bay. Quistis glanced at Selphie, her expression solemn and drawn. "How's Nicole?" She asked absently. "Okay now, but we had to give her some sedatives, she was worrying herself sick." Selphie responded. "She doesn't handle stress well." "Who here does?" Quistis said with a faint smirk. "Point." Selphie grinned dryly. Fujin finished cycling out the water and sealing the bay. "COMPLETED." She announced. "That it then, come on, let's get out of here." Quistis sighed. ******************* It felt a panic in the air. It knew what troubled the inhabitants of Balamb and it didn't care. In the weeks since its return it had grown stronger, thanks in part to the absorption of that service worker. With him, it had gained part of the knowledge it longed for. Even now its influence was slowly growing, it could sense whole areas, rooms, tunnels, doors, and windows, as if they were part of its own flesh, and in a way they were. It's mass pulsed heavily where is rested deep in the bowels of Balamb's engine room. It was impatient; its power was growing slower than it hoped. It reconciled itself with the fact that it had waited more than two years already, and that it could wait a little longer. Now easily five times the size of a man it knew the time to act was near. ****************** "TENSE." Fujin mumbled as she sat straddling Quistis back. "Sorry." Quistis sighed as Fujin massaged the muscles of her back and shoulders. "RELAX." Fujin urged. "I'm just worried, what if they're dead?" "THINK NOT." "But what if?" "DONE WHAT COULD." "I know, I wish I could do more. I feel so helpless." Fujin leaned forward to kiss her shoulders lovingly. "WORRY NOT." "You're right, I just hope I don't screw up." "CHOICES MADE." "Yeah but what if they're wrong." "THEN WRONG." "That’s awfully blasé" "NEGATIVE." "I wished you would stop saying that, it's awfully impersonal." "HABIT, APOLOGIES." Fujin chuckled. "Still, you seem awfully calm about all this." "MUST FACE CLEAR MINDED." "It's hard, I mean they're my friends, I should be with them." "NEG..NO. IN CHARGE." "Xu should be in charge, everyone was right, I'm not cut out to be a leader." "STOP THAT." "What?" "BEATING SELF." "I'm not." "YES YOU ARE." "Fujin." Quistis murmured slightly hurt by her accusation. "STUDENTS NEED YOU." "I don't want to mess this up." "THEN DON'T." "You make it sound so easy." Quistis sighed heavily. "ISN'T IT?" Fujin chuckled, leaning forward to kiss her once more. "You amaze me sometimes." "ONLY SOME?" Fujin huffed. "FUJIN TRY HARDER." Quistis laughed aloud and rolled over to face her. Fujin grinned down at her brightly, something she noticed herself doing more and more often. "Nice to see you smile." Quistis said softly, as she caressed Fujin's cheek. "SILLY LOOKING." Fujin blushed. "Never." "IF YOU SAY." "I do." Quistis purred, as she pulled her into a warm embrace. *********** It was well past nightfall as Balamb approached the shattered lands that used to be the home of the ancient Centra people. Destroyed by a lunar cry centuries ago the region was now desolate and deserted. Only monsters thrived here and most sane beings avoided the place. Balamb's bridge was a hotbed of activity. Nida was at the helm, as Quistis scanned the area for any sign of the Ragnarok. Selphie meanwhile had a pair of headphones on and listened diligently for any new transmissions. Fujin meanwhile had gathered a small army of volunteers' consisting of Celest, Nicole, The Treppies and mob of other students. The group were waiting to form a search party incase Squall and Zell were not with the ship. Quistis let out a yell of success and rushed over to Nida. "I have a lock on the Ragnarok, it should be right over that hill about two miles ahead." "Got it." Nida nodded. Within moments Balamb crested the hill and broken terran flattened out into the flat, cracked remnants of an ancient lava field. At the center of which, surrounded by what appeared to be ruins, sat the Ragnarok. "There it is!" Nida shouted excited. "Fujin, get down below, I want you guys out there to secure the area as soon as we land. I'll be right behind you as soon as we get everything in order here. "ON IT." Fujin nodded briskly and motioned for her group to follow. "This is exciting!" Royce mumbled excitedly to Aeka who looked ready to go to war. "Our first field exercise. I hope we find Mr. Leonheart." She said worriedly. "I'm sure we will." Royce smirked as he checked his gear. "From what we've been told, I bet they had technical failure and just need to be picked up. This hoopla is probably for nothing." "Hey and if there is trouble, we'll kick it's ass." Celest said rowdily. "LESS TALK." Fujin snapped as they made their way down the hall and to a large service elevator. "Crabby gal ain't she." Celest mumbled. Fujin shot her a dark look. "FOCUS!" "Ack, sorry." Celest winced as Aeka and Royce exchanged worried glances. Fujin wasn't thrilled with their carefree attitudes; the situation was not to be taken lightly and with all optimism aside there was still the chance that they'd find Squall and Zell dead. The elevator carried them down to a large service ramp. Hot wind met them as the ramp lowered and touched the hard baked earth below. Aeka winced as sand and grit billowed up in a choking cloud. "Oh the smell!" She coughed. The air had a sulfur smell mixed with something akin to rotting seafood. Fujin made a face but strode down the ramp. The roar of Balamb engines directly over their heads made it hard to hear. She turned and tapped the headpiece she and the other members of the party wore. Taking her cue, everyone switched on his or her headphones then looked at her expectantly. Even with the blinding glare of Balamb's external lights the absolute darkness of the surrounding area seemed thick and malleable. Squinting, she took a heading on her compass and pointed north. "THREE PERSON GROUPING." She said firmly into her microphone. The group did as ordered and separated into trios. Fujin nodded approvingly and looked about. The wind blew with such fierceness, that it threatened to scour the very skin from her face. Raising a hand she gestured to each group in turn, pointing in the direction she wanted them to search. "I'm going with you and Quistis to the ship." Nicole said firmly. "NEGATIVE." Fujin said firmly with no intention of arguing. "What if he's in the ship." Nicole argued. "WHAT IF HE IS." Fujin said in an eerily sad tone. Nicole's expression melted into grief and she nodded somberly before joining the other groups. Switching on high-powered flashlights the search parties trotted off into the darkness. "COMM'S STAY OPEN." Fujin ordered as the groups began to spread out in a radial fashion. Satisfied she folded her arms and waited for Quistis to arrive. She didn't have to wait long. Within moments Quistis appeared and walked down to greet her. "What is that stench?" She blanched in disgust. "VOLCANO NEARBY, POISONED WATER." Fujin responded, pointing to angry red glow in the distance. "At least it's not toxic." Quistis shrugged, fidgeting with her flashlight. "NOW AT LEAST." Fujin said in oddly reserved tone. "Enough of that, lets not make this harder than it need to be. Let's go." Quistis frowned before heading off into the darkness. After several yards a beam of light surrounded them. The light was bright as the sun and they had to close their eyes to keep from being blinded. "Nida! Chill with the flood light." Quistis shouted into her comm. "Sorry guy's just wanted to get you're attention." Nida responded his voice sounding hollow and distant in her headphone. "Well you did, now stop that!" Quistis growled. "What do you want?" "Follow the light, I'm going to aim it towards the Ragnarok." "Why didn't you land by it!?" "The ground is to uneven I couldn't land there." "HOW FAR?" Fujin asked. "Less than a hundred yards." Nida answered, the light moved off them and traveled a ways into the distance where it highlighted the shattered remnants of a stone dome. The Ragnarok was nestled amid the ruins, the ship was battered, its head was firmly buried under the rubble of the dome and it seemed as though it had been on fire. "Come on." Quistis said softly as her heart grew heavy. Fujin nodded and the two jogged off into the darkness. Fujin was the first to arrive; she frowned as she approached the ship. The ships gangplank and outer hatch was ripped asunder and the ground was slick with oil and hydraulic fluids. "ODD." Fujin said, looking curiously at Quistis. "Perhaps it was stuck? It looks like they blew the hatch open from the inside." Quistis reasoned as she made her to the top of a small rubble heap to look around. She panned her light around, searching the many shadowed crevices formed by the craft and the surrounding debris. Finding nothing of importance she frowned in dismay. "ENTER?" Fujin asked, thumbing at the open hatch. Quistis hopped off the pile and looked darkly at the black smoldering depths of the open hatch. "Yeah, come on." She said solemnly, her hope dimming. "GOING IN." Fujin said firmly into her headset. "I got on visual from here, you two, be careful." Nida responded worriedly. Quistis started to enter first and Fujin gently pulled her back. Quistis looked at her questioningly. Fujin shook her head then went in first. Frowning, Quistis looked ready to protest but kept quiet. Like it or not she was in charge, and it would not do for her to be putting herself at unnecessary risk. The interior of the ship was dark, liquid could be heard dripping somewhere in the darkness and a heavy haze of smoke hung in the air. "This is bad." Quistis murmured. Fujin said nothing, her gaze locked firmly ahead as they moved further into the cargo hold. Grating and toppled cargo boxes lay scattered about the hold. Dutifully Fujin checked around each one while hoping she wouldn't find the crushed remains of Squall or Zell. She wasn't fond of Squall but had no real reason to hate him or wish him ill will, if anything she respected him. As for Zell, though she would never admit it, she was fond of the worrisome nincompoop. If for no other reason than, he was fun to torment, in a good-natured way. "It's a good sign that the ship made it down in one piece. Hopefully they did too." Quistis said in the quiet tone one would take at a funeral. Fujin nodded in agreement. They soon came to the small elevator that led to the upper decks of the ship. A large section of metal plating blocked the elevator and Quistis scowled. "Great, even if we move this thing there's no power to run the elevator. Looks like we get to climb, I just hope the ladder is in one piece." Fujin tucked her flashlight in her pocket and grabbed the panel firmly. It was wide and she could barely get her hands around it. Grimacing, she started to shift the plate aside. Quistis moved to help and soon they moved the plate out of their way. Fujin rolled her shoulder and nodded to the nearby ladder. "INTACT." She said, coughing lightly in the smoke-laden air. "Looks like it." Quistis nodded, panning around with her light. Fujin yanked on the ladder to test its strength. Satisfied she climbed up to the upper level. After checking to see if all was clear she motioned for Quistis to come up. "This is silly, I can take care of myself you know." Quistis grumbled as Fujin waited for her. "PROCEDURE." Fujin responded simply. "My ass." Quistis said with a dry smirk. "Come on lets go to the bridge." The bridge was dark. The heavy scent of burnt wires and scorched leather hung in the air. The seats where burnt down to their metal springs and frames while several service panels lay torn open, their contents scattered along the floor haphazardly. The controls to the ship seemed intact but devoid of power. "At least there not here, perhaps they bailed out?" Fujin frowned in thought then shook her head. "NEGA..." She started but quickly corrected herself. "NO." "Why not?" Quistis asked curiously. "SHIP INTACT." "It's in one piece yes, but I wouldn't go so far to call it intact." Quistis said candidly, standing before the controls. "To bad these don't have power, we could probably get some information." As if on cue the panel sparked and came to life. Quistis jumped and tripped backwards. Fujin caught her and stared curiously at the glowing displays. The entire ship shuttered slightly and they felt the entire head of the ship move backwards. "We're moving!" Quistis shouted in shock. "AUTOMATED?" Fujin wondered aloud. One by one several overhead lights began to flicker to life, then the screeching started. A shrill high pitched sound, something akin to radio feedback but amplified a hundred times mixed with tearing metal. Fujin buckled and clutched at her ears in pain. Quistis staggered back from the noise unable to even think clearly. Then as sudden as it started, the noise stopped. "WHAT!?" Fujin shouted still wincing. "I have no idea?" Quistis moaned, rubbing her temples. "You guys okay? I got some major feedback over here?" Nida called to them through their headsets. "Yeah, we're fine, I don't know what that was." Quistis answered. "I see the ships still operational. Good work moving it out of that rubble." Nida said cheerily. "Wasn't us, it must have righted itself." Quistis shrugged. "GYRO SYSTEM?" Fujin offered. "I guess." "I take it there's no sign of Squall or Zell?" Nida asked. "No, but I don't know if that’s a good or bad thing." Quistis sighed. "SEARCH TEAMS?" Fujin asked. "No luck so far, it's going to take time to check the area thoroughly." Nida's voice crackled back in response. "This is going to take forever." Quistis grumbled. "We have the HVC's prepped if you want to send some more people out. It could speed things up considerably" Nida pointed out. "Those hover chairs are Galbadia issue, how many of our people even know how to use em?" Quistis asked with cautious skepticism. "Enough to do the job, coach Kusanagi's been teaching his engineering class about them." Nida chuckled. "He would." Quistis smirked. "Allright send em out." "Will do." Nida responded. Royce's voice broke in over Quistis's headset. "Miss Trepe!" He shouted over the sounds of battle. "Royce?" Quistis said tensely, her brow furrowing. "Yes Ma'am, our group is under attack, it's some kind of, thing!?" He yelped. "Do you need assistance, Nicole's team should be nearby?" "Leave it us Ma'am." Royce said, his voice growing calmer. "No heroics Royce, you're not a SEED yet, be careful." She said sharply. "Understood." He said with a stubbornness that worried Quistis, she hoped his eagerness to impress her didn't get him killed. She glanced at Fujin worriedly. Fujin shrugged helplessly, knowing they could never get there in time. ******* The tentacles of the thing made it hard to get close the body. Aeka had been the process of investigating what looked to be a leather coat lying by a steaming pons when the creature burst out of the water. It was obviously some type of octopus but had a large spiral shell on its back. By the time Royce had finished his message to Quistis, Nei, one of the class's more prestigious students had already severed five of the creature's tendrils with her forearm-mounted blades. Aeka meanwhile settled on dodging and firing the occasional spell at the beast after she realized her throwing knives were unable able to do much damage to creature. Royce, frowned, and leapt back into the fray. Charging forward a few steps he drew the large metal boomerang he wore slung over his back. Not much of a melee fighter Royce preferred to fight at a range where he could pick and choose his targets carefully. Taking careful aim he let fly the weapon. Arcing in a wild curve the weapon slammed hard into the creature's shell, right above its head. A large crack appeared that spread halfway to the tip of the shell and the Creature covered the area with it remaining tentacles. Rebounding, the boomerang's magic enabled it to fly back to him, and he caught it with ease. "Aim for the weak spot!" He yelled to Aeka, who was busily gathering energy for a spell. Nei too held out both hands and concentrated. Unfortunately the creature was faster. Rearing up on its arms, it revealed it's beaked mouth, out of which it spat a stream of brackish foam. Aeka shouted in disgust as the foam engulfed her. To her horror she realized she couldn't move as the mess solidified almost immediately. Nei fared better and quickly struggled out of it. Royce meanwhile was far enough away as to only get misted by it. "Nei, help Aeka.!" He shouted and readied to throw his weapon again. Nei nodded and leapt atop the creature's back, moving quickly she scampered over its shell and leapt off the other side. Landing almost on top of Aeka, she pressed both hands against the hardened mass covering the girl. Her spell took effect right as Royce let fly with his attack. The creature was still recovering from its efforts and had no way to block the assault. The boomerang slammed into the already weakened section of the creature's shell. With a sickening crunch the shell cracked further, the fissures now resembled a spider web as they spread over its entire surface. Nei glanced warily at the creature as it thrashed about in a mix of anger and pain. Turning her attentions back to Aeka, she was thankful to see her spell was having the desired effect. Aeka gasped for air as the sludge that previously encased her melted away. "Thanks." The girl coughed and pointed over Nei's shoulder. Turning quickly Nei gasped as a tentacle slammed into her midsection, sending her flying into the water. Aeka scrambled to her feet and tried anew for a spell. Royce smiled, he was glad to see Aeka was worse for wear. With a grunt he tossed his weapon again, this time the creature's shell shattered under the impact. A mixture of shards and a milky slime rained down over the creature's head blinding it temporarily. It gurgled in pain and reared, ready to spray another gout of foam. This time Aeka was faster. A bolt of lightning shot out of the heavens and struck the creature's now, exposed and bulbous body. The bolt worked marvelously, if not to good, as it caused the creature to explode like a gore filled balloon. Aeka screamed in revulsion as she duck and covered in an attempt to shield herself from incoming debris. Nei, who had just crawled out of the water, jumped back in having no desire to be doused with the mess. Royce, meanwhile could care less and gave triumphant shout as the creatures remains rained down about him. *********** Quistis and Fujin were continuing their search of the Ragnarok when Royce's victory yell rang out through their headsets. Quistis chuckled, thankful to hear they were all safe and sound. Fujin smirked and shook her head, by the sound of him one would think he'd just won some grand prize. "Royce? I take it you beat it?" Quistis asked with grin. "Yes ma'am, Aeka made it explode." Royce laughed. "It was gross, I want a shower." Nei said gruffly. "I didn't know it would that, I'm sorry." Aeka mumbled. "Don't be sorry, you did good." Quistis assured her. "Any luck finding anything?" "Sort of." Royce said curiously. "I found a leather trench coat, it's scorched and torn up though." Aeka explained. "Trench coat?" Quistis mouthed and looked curiously to Fujin for suggestions. Neither Squall nor Zell wore a trench coat. "FROM ANYWHERE." Fujin shrugged. "I suppose, but let's not take any chances." Quistis frowned then spoke into her headset. "Bring it back with you, so we can take a look at it." "Will do." Royce replied. "Good work you guys, I'm proud of you." Quistis added warmly. "Thanks Ma'am." Fujin waited for them to sign off before motioning for Quistis. "What's wrong?" Quistis asked worriedly. "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM." Fujin grumbled, pointing to a battered panel near the navigator's seat. "Looks like someone beat the hell out of it." Quistis frowned. "NOT ALL." Fujin said, her voice growing darker. She knelt and picked up a small armored case with wires sticking out of it. The device was partially melted and obviously ruined. "That’s the ship's black box. Now why does that not surprise me." Quistis frowned. "RUINED." Fujin huffed, dropping it. "Someone would have to go out of their way to rip that out and destroy it." Quistis said, looking around with a growing paranoia. Fujin nodded grimly. Taking a cue from each other they drew their weapons. "Okay people." Quistis said firmly into her microphone. "We may have hostile forces in the area be on the look out." "Hostile forces?" Nicole said in a near panic, her voice barely audible because of interference. "Yes, we have reason to believe there may be a outside force at work in the area." "Who?" Royce chimed in. "We don't know yet but from now on keep radio silence unless you run into trouble." "Quistis?" Nida asked sounding somewhat strained. "What's wrong Nida?" "Selphie is about to tear me apart, she wants to join the search parties." "Quistis this isn't fair, Its not like I'm crippled." Selphie could be heard yelling in the background. "Tell her to sit tight Nida." Quistis sighed. "If you say so." Nida groaned. "I do and tell her I'm serious, she is not to leave unless I order it." "Understood, over." "PROTECTIVE." Fujin said vaguely. "Oh come on now, we're fine without her. No need to put her at unnecessary risk." Quistis groused. "WANTS TO HELP." "I'll call her if we need her. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her to make her loose her baby. "PERHAPS." "Since when did you start taking up for Selphie I thought you didn't like her?" "NEVER SAID THAT." "You have a point." "SHE HATES ME." Fujin pointed out. "Well, that’s true." Quistis admitted regretfully. "UNIMPORTANT NOW." "Your right." Quistis nodded and looked around annoyed. "I wonder who did this." "POWERFUL PERHAPS." "They'd have to be, Squall and Zell are no slouches." "OPTIONS?" "We'll take this back to the Garden." Quistis said, picking up the discarded black box. "We may still be able to get some information out of it." "XU SHOULD KNOW." "I'll have Nida tell her to be on the look. Come one lets get out of here. ********************** "Aeka!" Fujin shouted firmly. The young girl jolted and opened her eyes. Looking around she realized she'd fallen asleep. The search teams had returned from their preliminary search with little success. Everyone was now gathered around the Garden's loading ramp, eating breakfast as the morning sun breached the horizon. Selphie, wanting to do her part had the cooking staff waiting with hot food when everyone returned. Fujin handed the girl a plate. "GOOD WORK TONIGHT." She said evenly, before heading back to where Quistis stood talking to several technicians. Aeka smiled proudly before digging in. Quistis meanwhile was beginning to look haggard. "What do you mean the ship has no power." She said, gesturing in the Rangnarok's direction. It had power earlier, it even righted itself." "The only power running in that ship is the reserve battery powering the beacon." One of the men argued. "That doesn't make any sense." Quistis frowned. "Can you salvage it or not." "It'll take time, if ever." Another technician said frowning. "Do what you can. Keep me posted." Quistis sighed rubbing her temples as the men hurried off. "COFFEE." Fujin offered, handing her a cup. "Thanks." Quistis sighed, taking it. "PROBLEM?" "Nothing that surprises me. This whole fiasco make no sense." "WORD FROM XU?" "They've arrived at the area and are searching now. Hope they have better luck than we have." "DOING YOUR BEST." "Thanks hon, I'm trying." Quistis smiled wearily. "TIRED?" "I'm fine." "LIAR." "No really I am." "STRESSED, GO REST." "I can't do that now there's to much to do." "DELEGATE." "I need to be up to date on what's going on." Quistis said firmly. Fujin frowned, Quistis could be downright stubborn sometimes. "SELPHIE!" Fujin called. "What!" Selphie snapped irritably at her then caught herself. "Yeah?" She tried again, walked over to them. "OPINION?" Fujin said, stepping back to regard Quistis, who was obviously not amused. "On what?" Selphie queried. "QUISTIS NEED REST?" "I'm fine." Quistis bickered. "You two are picking at me." "Ew she's crabby." Selphie mumbled. "I am not." Quistis balked indignantly. Fujin nodded otherwise. "I think Fujin's right. We got it covered Quisty, you've been running about like chicken with it's head cut off. The first batch of search teams are heading in, you should join them." "I don’t think so." Quistis sighed, unsure. "GO." Fujin said firmly folding her arms. Selphie smiled sinisterly then looked to Fujin. "Carry her to her quarters." Fujin stepped forward without hesitation. "Allright!" Quistis shouted in defeat. "I'm going, I'm going. You bunch of, of.. " She babbled to annoyed and tired to think of anything clever. "Yeah, yeah off to bed with you." Selphie waved. "This is mutiny." Quistis mumbled under her breath as she headed up the loading ramp. "THANK YOU." Fujin bowed slightly to Selphie. Caught off guard, Selphie nodded and smiled. "No problem. Come on lets get the next Search teams out." *********************** Sleep was restless but welcome; she didn’t notice Fujin's presence as the woman sat down quietly at the edge of the bed. Fujin smiled softly and touched her cheek. Quistis murmured worriedly in her sleep, her brow tensing. Fujin frowned; she hated seeing Quistis worry so. Gently she leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. Quistis's eyes fluttered open. "Fu?" She murmured in quiet voice. Fujin nodded, her tired face smiling down at her. "How long, what time is it?" Quistis moaned, sitting up. Fujin grinned and pointed at the clock sitting by the bed. "Hyne! I've been asleep ten hours!?" Quistis yelped, nearly on the edge of panic. Chuckling, Fujin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from jumping up. "What are you? I can't sit here, there's things to do!" "CALM." Fujin said quietly. "Calm!?" Quistis gawked. "THEY ARE OKAY." Fujin smiled warmly. "Who is!?" Fujin laughed and shook her head. "Oh, my, you mean?" "BOTH OF THEM." Fujin assured her before lying down at her side. "How, when, why didn't you wake me sooner?" Quistis prodded. Fujin yawned cutely and curled up against her. "XU, HOUR AGO." She mumbled. "Thank Hyne, I got to go to the bridge." Quistis started to rise. "STAY." Fujin said softly, her expression weary. Quistis looked down at her with soft eyes and relaxed. "for a moment." Fujin pleaded quietly, her voice barely audible. With a loving smile Quistis pulled her close, Fujin snuggling contently as she wrapped her in a warm embrace. Quistis waited a long while, quietly rocking while Fujin fell asleep in her arms. Finally, when Quistis was certain Fujin was fast asleep she slipped from around her. Moving carefully she pulled the blankets around the sleeping woman and crept silently from the room. She made it to the bridge a short time later to find one of Nida's subordinates at the helm. Nicole sat sound asleep in the communications chair; her expression was one of relief and joy. Quistis smiled thankful for the good news. "Where's Nida." She asked quietly. The subordinate turned to face her and saluted. "He has retired to his quarters ma'am." He said in a strict militaristic tone. "At ease, no need to be so formal." Quistis chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." He said briskly. Quistis noticed Balamb was moving and looked at the youth quizzically. "We are in route to rendezvous with Xu's party?" She assumed. "Yes ma'am." "What of the Ragnarok?" "It was brought aboard under it's own power." He responded. "Ha!" Quistis shouted in vindication then shrank in embarrassment. "Pardon?" The man blinked. "Nothing." Quistis coughed, blushing. She knew the ship had power and was glad to be proven right. "What's are ETA?" She asked. "Six hours." "Good job." She nodded then headed to the communications station. Slipping on a headset so she wouldn't wake Nicole she attempted to contact Xu's group. "Alpha group, this is Balamb over." She said cheerfully as she paced idly about the bridge. There was a long pause before Irvine's distinct accent echoed through her headset. "Ah your awake." He chuckled. "Yeah, your girl threatened me. I'll be charging her with mutiny when Squall returns." "Works for me, the life of a bachelor is beckoning me." He joked. "Cad." Quistis smirked "Glad to hear from you gal, how are things holding up?" "We're all fine here. I hear you have good news for me." "Indeed I do ma'am." He said proudly. "Mission accomplished." "That’s what I've heard, so they're alright?" "Fit as a fiddle, they're bunked down in the back asleep right now. Want me to wake em up?" "No, let them rest. I'm sure they need it." "Yeah, the guys had it pretty rough." "So what happened?" "Well, that’s actually kinda funny." Irvine chuckled. "Why do I doubt that." "Apparently, they headed to the island to get Nicole a birthday present." "You're joking." Quistis soured. "No joke, all this trouble over a dag-burned dragon egg." "A what!?" "Something called a su dough dragon." "Pseudo." Quistis sighed rubbing her forehead in disbelief. "Of all the bonehead." She ranted quietly. "That’s what I said." He laughed. "If they are there, then how in the world did the Ragnarok end up in the middle of no where?" "They had no idea." "This is damn peculiar." "You don’t know the half of it." Irvine added darkly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Quistis asked, worried. "I think it best to let you see for yourself." He said cryptically. "You know I hate surprises Irvine." "I know and your probably gonna really hate this one." "Hate what?" Quistis snapped. "I promised not to say anything." "Damn it Irvine." "Sorry Quisty, I have to go." "Don't you hang up on me, let me talk to Xu." "She's asleep." He said apologetically. "Fine, see you guys in few hours." Quistis huffed. She stood silent a moment before striding off the bridge. Having nothing to do, now that everyone was asleep or preoccupied, she wandered. She wasn't sure why but she soon found herself in the hanger bay staring at the battered hulk of the Ragnarok. It's legs where crumpled slightly causing it crouch, giving it the appearance of a wounded animal. The -head- of the ship, damaged from the impact only furthered the pitiful appearance. It hung low; mouth agape as if struggling against death while hydraulic and other fluids seeped from various damaged sections. Every now and then the metal of the ship would groan audibly from stress, adding more to the semblance of a living thing. Quistis frowned in dismay, she was not one to get sentimental about machines but she couldn't help but feel sorry for the once noble ship. Standing on her tiptoes she reached up to caress the chin of the ship tenderly. A low hiss sounded and she backed up warily, the ship was moving. Gas vented from the legs of the craft and it shuttered violently. With the loss of hydraulic fluids the ship could no longer stand and slowly it collapsed onto its side. Quistis felt tears well up in her eyes as the head settled near her. Seeing her reflection in it's -eyes- gave her the sense that it was looking at her. After a moment she quietly sat down, resting back against the craft. She soon lost herself in thought as the sounds of metal groaning and steam venting settled into silence. **************** He remembered the ship actually tried to kill them. Luccian stood silently atop Odin's tower, watching as the Ragnarok lumbered into Balamb's Hanger bay. He recalled that Ultimecia had torched the bridge meaning to destroy the computer but it was to late and they crashed headlong into one of the many ruins in the area. He remembered his arm being on fire. Looking down curiously at the gnarled remains of the limb, he was surprised to see that it was a blackened, skeletal husk, yet there was no pain. Come to think of it, he wasn't feeling much of anything lately and that made him wonder. He looked about for Ultimecia and saw her standing silently with her back towards him, the sun's rays silhouetting her perfect form. "How long have we been up here?" He wondered. "Mistress?" He said dully. "You've come to your senses." She said smoothly. "I suppose, but what?" He started to ask. "Shush child, it's almost time." She said softly "and soon I must leave you." "Leave me, why?" "Do not koncern yourself." She snapped sourly. "You can't leave, I love you." He croaked weakly. "I know child but my purpose is nearly over." She purred. "As is yours." She added with a loving smile that was all together unwholesome. "Take me with you then." He pleaded. "I think not. Now prepare yourself child. He comes." She said stepping away from him. "Who? Who comes?" Luccian said fearfully. "The one you seek." "What do I do." Luccian asked in fear as forming storm clouds blocked out the sun. "You've already done all that needed to be done." She laughed, as her skin began to gray. "I don't understand." "You never did." She chuckled, her voice sounding far away. Lightning flashed overhead as clouds formed. "Don’t leave me now." He pleaded. "I've done all I was made to do child." She responded as her skin began to crack and flake. "Why did you help me?" He shouted over the growing wind. Ultimecia put a hand to her lips and laughed daintily even as her fingers crumbled to dust. "Help you? Foolish child, you are damned." That said, her from crumbled to dust and within seconds she gone all together. Luccian stood uncomprehending as the wind beat his naked, ruined body. "I don’t understand." He mumbled, trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. He didn’t even flinch as lighting struck him. The lightning coursed over him as if exploring, tendrils snaking up his nose and into his mouth. He felt a presence in his mind. "Mistress?" He said hopefully. The storm exploded in a flash of thunder and lightening. A swirling darkness snaked out of the clouds following the lightning stream. "You are he?" Luccian asked curiously. The darkness formed a something resembling the head if a lion. The shadowy beast roared silently it's form shivering. Luccian smiled brightly even as blood burst from his eyes and mouth. ****************** Everyone waited eagerly as the twin Jaegers docked and the water drained from the bay. Nicole seemed ready to burst and she hopped up and down giddily. Quistis smiled at her and even Fujin wore a smirk. The first ship's hatch opened up and the gangplank dropped heavily onto the dock. Irvine was the first to appear and let out a raucous cowboy yell. Selphie burst into laughter as he hopped down to meet her. Xu came out next, she wore a grin but there was something in her eyes that hinted of trouble. She walked somberly up to Quistis and saluted. "Mission accomplished." "You did good." Quistis smirked. "Wait a minute before you say that." Xu said darkly, giving Fujin a haunted look. Fujin scowled, she wasn't sure she liked how Xu said that. "WHAT." Fujin snapped. Xu just shook her head and made her way up the dock. Squall and Zell was next to appear with Rinoa bouncing happily behind. "Goodness." Quistis gawked in shock at the site of them. Squall and Zell both wore scraggly beards and deep tans. Their clothes were tattered ruins and both men looked haggard and weak. "ZELL." Nicole screamed, running to him with open arms. Zell was not prepared for the charge and fell backwards as she slammed into him. A high pitched screech issued from under Zell's jacket as the hit the ground. "Easy babe." Zell laughed and withdrew a small squirming creature. "What in the world." Nicole blinked as he held the multicolored, dragon like animal out to her. "Happy birthday!" He laughed. "He's a mother." Squall smirked as Selphie tackled him with a hug. Rinoa laughed as he pried the girl loose. "No one to hug the lost one, here stands he, the forgotten son." Seifer bellowed brightly as he strode down the gangplank. Wearing only a loincloth and long beard he was unrecognizable. "Who in the world?" Selphie gawked. "Don’t ask." Rinoa sighed. "Oh yeah, him." Zell grumbled heavily. "What the hell?" Quistis mumbled in shock. "Long story." Squall sighed. "This should be interesting." Irvine whistled. Fujin's expression was unreadable, unnoticed she turned and walked away without a saying a word.
Back to Frozen Index - Back to Final Fantasy 8 Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction