The boat swayed fiercely
as crashing waves splashed all around it. Zell lay sprawled across the
floor of the little raft. He pushed himself up by his arms and lifted one
of his hands to his lip. Looking at his fingers, Zell saw a dark red liquid.
“Damn
it,” Zell muttered to himself as he leaned back against the side of the
boat.
“It’s about time you came
to,” Seifer said spitefully when he noticed that Zell had gained conscientiousness.
Zell turned his head and
stared coldly at Seifer. When he inspected his previous fighting opponent
closely, Zell saw, to his great pleasure, a huge gash along his hairline
and that his left eye had begun to swell and blacken. Seifer’s right hand
was also wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth.
Although tying to meet Seifer’s
cold look, a smile slowly formed on Zell’s face and he laughed quietly,
despite himself.
“God, do YOU look bad!!”
Zell exclaimed, pointing at Seifer.
“Yes, and you….,” Seifer
chuckled, “you look like a half drowned, blood-soaked rat.”
Zell startled at the statement.
He had not had a chance to look at himself. He glanced down and surveyed
his body. Zell saw that his arms were covered in bruises and scratches,
there was blood from a gash on his chest seeping through his shirt, and
his pants were ripped and stained. Plus, he noticed a tingling numbness
running through his body, concentrating mostly around his legs.
“. . . Yeah,” Zell admitted,
“I don’t really look, or feel, like my handsome self, huh?”
Zell hesitated and then
looked at Seifer again.
“You know what? I may appear
to be in bad shape, but,” he paused as excitement (and amusement) began
building in him, “you look much worse than me. I really kicked YOUR ass!
Who’s the chicken wuss now, eh Chicken wuss?”
Zell laughed and was surprised
to hear Seifer’s laugh accompanying his.
“Let’s see you stand up
and say that to my face,” Seifer retorted, his mischievous eyes glowing
in anticipation, “. . .that is, if your man enough.”
Zell leaped to his feet
to meet the challenge, but as soon as he did, a sudden blinding pain swept
through his body and he crumpled down to the floor. He shut his eyes tightly
as he lay inertly on the ground of the boat.
“That’s right,” Seifer said
amusingly. “After you foolishly attacked me and left this gash on my face,
I hit you across the legs with the paddle. You fell unconscious immediately
and then Raijin saw that I had broken your right leg. Raijin set the bone,
and he generously stuck you with some morphine shots, which will, I assure
you, wear off completely within the next half hour.”
Zell raised his eyes to
his foe and cruelly stared at him, “Why did y. . .,” he started to question,
but was quickly interrupted.
“I still don’t like you
and, in fact, I think I loathe you even more than before, if that’s possible.
However, Squall would come after me himself if I happened to kill you or
injure you permanently. That’s something I just don’t feel like dealing
with right now.” Seifer sighed, “Hey, there’s an incoming storm. With a
little luck, you may yet be hit by lightening and die of electrocution.
Squall won’t be mad at me for that, though I’m sorry to say that I can’t
control the weather; thus, we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed
and hope for your painful demise.”
Seifer smiled to himself
at the thought.
“Right,” Zell responded
wryly, “sure, what ever you say.”
Turning his attention away
from Seifer and onto the environment, Zell suddenly realized that the boat
was moving. Looking around, he saw that a paddle (most likely the one used
to break his leg) was split in two and thrown in pieces on the little so-called
“deck”. Still, they were moving, but how? Zell turned his gaze toward the
bow and saw that a rope attached to the boat was pulling them to what seemed
to be a small island that he could barely see in the distance.
“What the hell?” Zell mumbled
as he looked at the mysterious rope.
Seifer, disturbed by all
the muttering and mumbling, glanced upward at Zell.
“Oh, that’s Raijin,” he
said, annoyed with Zell’s stupidity. A wry smile appeared across Seifer
face, “He graciously volunteered to pull us all the way to land. We’ll
be landing on that island, Naoka Island, shortly in order to get out of
this goddamn no-excuse for a boat before the storm hits.”
Seifer paused and then added
vehemently, “If that’s alright with YOU, Chicken wuss.”
Seifer laughed to himself
as he returned his attention to re-dressing the wound on his hand. He was
really quite pleased Raijin had spotted the little boat. It was fun to
tease, bully, and make fun of Zell. Seifer liked Zell’s determination and
“don’t stop ‘till I have what I want” attitude. It was refreshing and a
pleasant change from the idiotic chatter of Raijin. Even Fuujin wasn’t
a good person for conversation, but Zell . . . . . Zell soaked everything
up like a sponge. Seifer was satisfied in knowing that his insults would
not be wasted on a moron, like Raijin, but rather be placed upon someone
who will take offense and understand their meanings.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lightening lit the room in a burning blaze, and the
sound of thunder rumbled ferociously a second later. The storm was getting
closer to Balamb. Power all over town had gone out and sirens rang out
from the fire station, urging people to stay inside. Squall sat nonchalantly
in the living room with his half-sister, Ellone, while Rinoa dashed around
the house to secure every window or crack from leakage.
“You know,” Rinoa’s voice hinted at her distress and
weariness, “it would be nice if someone could help me.”
Ellone stirred in her seat, ready to give assistance,
but remained where she was when she caught a glimce of Rinoa’s face. Following
her sister-in-law’s stare, Ellone’s eyes rested on a black brief case next
to Squall’s feet.
“I’m going to go to the guest room,” Ellone smiled
at Rinoa. “You two have to talk, I sense.”
With that, Ellone strided to the quaint little room
assigned to her. She jumped happily onto her bed, glad to get away from
the tension of the living room and to have a place to sleep. Content, although
a tad worried about her brother, she closed her eyes in hopes of a peaceful
slumber.
Rinoa frowned at Squall after Ellone had left. They
had just gotten back from the train station and Squall, so far, had said
little over a few words between Ellone and herself. Something was up and
she fully intended to find out what.
“Honey,” Rinoa said as she picked up Squall’s hand,
“what’s wrong?”
She waited for him to answer, but no reply came. She
sat down on the couch, scooting closer to him as she leaned her head on
his shoulder, stroking his back with her hand.
“I . . . . . . .” Squall swallowed and took Rinoa’s
face into his hands, “have some news and . . . . . . . .it’s not at all
good.”
Squall gazed into Rinoa’s eyes, a concerned look on
his face. Should he tell her? He fought with himself internally. Of course!
After all, Zell is her friend, too. But looking at his love, he doubted
his first judgment. Maybe she’ll cry, he thought. This was something he
never wanted to make his wife do. I’ll be causing her pain!
As these thoughts raced through his head, Rinoa sat
patiently next to him.
“Alright.” Rinoa crooned, trying to sound calm, “Tell
me what happened.”
Squall hesitated, “Cid came by earlier today. I have
to return to the Garden for . . . . . . . .”
His voice trailed away to a stop. He took a deep breath
and cleared his throat to continue, “ A search party is needed. . . . .
to find. . . . .umm . . . .to find Zell. He’s missing. No communication
with him has been made in hours.”
Rinoa gasped and covered her mouth. “Zell?” she questioned,
“That can’t be! I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. . . . .right?”
Squall shook his head slowly, “He’s definitely missing,
. . . . . . . but he’s probably fine.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rinoa sighed, “It’s just like him to go off on a mission and get lost,
worrying us to death.”
Squall smiled, “You’re right. Still, I need to go
to the Garden. It’s going to be very hectic, what with the search party
gone, cure ingredients needing finding, and other international problems
awakening.”
“Right,” Rinoa said sadly. “You can’t leave everything
up to Cid. It’s your job now, and you have to go even if it means less
time together.”
Squall chuckled as he pulled his wife closer to him,
giving her a soft kiss on her rosy cheek, “I was so mad when Zell accidentally
knocked me down the stairs, running like a madman in order to obtain a
few measly hotdogs!”
Rinoa’s eyes lit up at the memory, “Ah, yes. You yelled
at him like YOU were a madman when you gained consciousness and found that
he had broken your leg.”
They both smiled as they remembered Zell’s heartfelt
apology that came along with his never-ending presence around their home.
Zell had made a point to come by every other day to help out with chores
Squall’s leg prevented him from doing. It was a sweet gesture, greatly
appreciated by Rinoa especially.
“I really should go. . . . .” Squall whispered into
her ear. “I probably won’t get home tonight with all this work and the
storm.”
Rinoa blinked.
“Please,” she asked hopefully, “can I come? I won’t get in the way! I swear,
and. . . .”
Squall raised his hand to silence her. “I was hoping
you’d want to. After all, I won’t feel right leaving you while there is
such a dangerous storm brewing outside. I would worry my head off!”
Rinoa hugged him tightly. “Thank you! I’ll go get
Ellone and pack.”
“Be ready soon, the storm is getting worse by the
minute.” Squall warned as Rinoa fled to the guest room.
Squall sat back and sighed. “I hope Zell’s not caught in this monstrosity,” he mumbled to himself fearfully as he glanced out the window at the waving branches, pouring rain, and flashes of lightening.
______________________________________________________________________________________________