“See
ya later!”
“Be
careful and try not to get into any trouble!” Quistis yelled back at Ellone,
who had already emerged into the trees.
She
sighed, “Why do I even try?”
Quistis
shrugged as she stole one last glance at the forest and then turned back
to the path she must follow. She began to walk along the beach, letting
the waves flow towards her. She was just close enough for the water to
wet the bottom of her feet and her toes.
She
cupped her hand to her eyes, creating a sort of visor against the sun.
Quistis stared down the beach at the black dot that had caught her attention.
Could it possibly be a living thing? She looked harder at the dot and was
sure that it had moved.
Quistis
gasped, “Hello!”
She
began to dash down the beach, kicking up sand as she went. “Hello! He-llo!”
she yelled down the beach at what she thought could be one of the missing
persons.
She
barreled down the way, and as she went, the black dot began to take the
shape of a person. Quistis could soon make out legs and arms, a dark toned
skin color, wearing a blue vest, black pants, and had a red rope tired
around their waist. It was Raijin, or some island tribal who was a dead
ringer for him.
“Raijin!!”
Quistis called. “Hey, Raijin!”
As
she yelled, the person froze. He turned to face her and lifted his hand
as if waving.
“He-ll-o!”
he yelled and then began to run down the beach to meet her.
Quistis
sighed in relief as he approached her. “Raijin! I can’t believe I found
you!”
“Hey,
Quistis,” Raijin puffed out with the little breath he had left. “I’m….
so glad…. ta see ya, …..ya know?”
Quistis
looked him up and down, and sat down on the sand. She gestured for him
to sit beside her so she could asked him some questions about what had
happened to him.
“Your
not looking so good,” Quistis giggled. “Tell me what happened. I know that
you went out fishing with Seifer, but what…?”
“Happened?”
Raijin finished her question. “Well, ya know, I don’t really know where
to begin.”
Raijin
scratched his head, and Quistis urged him to continue.
“Umm,
well, when Seifer and me met Zell,” Raijin started but was immediately
interrupted.
“Zell?”
Quistis asked hopefully. “He was with you?”
“Yeah,”
Raijin nodded. “Our boat broke and then we saw Zell’s boat and used fishin’
poles to reel him in. I accidentally dumped all his equipment into the
water so he couldn’t call anyone.”
Quistis
shook her head. Now, that must have been the reason that the communication
system between Zell and the Garden went dead.
“Anywayz,
the storm came an’ we’s were tryin’ ta get ta Naoki Island.” Raijin hesitated.
“But we couldn’t see through the storm an’ Seifer an’ Zell got in another
fight.”
“Another
fight?” Quistis asked, having a feeling of foreboding.
“Yeah,”
Raijin explained. “They don’t really get along, ya know?”
“I
can imagine,” Quistis rolled her eyes. “But they didn’t hurt each other,
right?”
Raijin
looked at her with doubt-filled eyes. “Ummm, well, Zell’s leg is….. and
Seifer’s hand… they both are pretty bruised and…cut up.”
Quistis
looked at him with a horrified look. “Where are they now?”
Raijin
was taken aback. “They’re in this cave, ya know. We used it for shelter
when the storm was still goin’ on.”
“You
left them alone, in an enclosed space, when they’ve already engaged in
a number of fights.” Quistis sat up, straight as an arrow and stared at
Raijin, waiting for him to answer.
“Yeah,”
Raijin said slowly, looking down at the ground. “Seifer told me ta go an’
see if I could find anything that washed up from our boat or even parts
of our boat.”
“Your
boat?” Quistis stood up, more worried than ever about Zell and Seifer,
but still interested in knowing what had happened while they were at sea.
“You didn’t get to the island on the boat?”
“Nope,”
Raijin shook his head. “We capsized. I had to swim all the way, carrying
Zell ‘cause he was unconscious. An’ Seifer swam, too, but without usin’
any driftwood like I did. He’s really strong, ya know? We met in the forest
an’ went to the cave.”
“Alright,
okay, this is just fine,” Quistis, who had been standing, seated herself
back down on the sand and began fingering through her backpack. “Ah, here
it is.”
She
pulled out a laptop computer with a headset attached to it. Placing it
on her head she fixed the microphone to be next to her mouth and the earpiece
to be situated correctly in order for her to be able to hear and talk without
trouble. Raijin peeked over her shoulder as she typed in the SeeD access
code to the Ragnarok’s main computer’s communications system. Quistis continued
to sound an automatic alarm to gain the attention of one of the airship’s
passengers. Finally, an answer came from over the headset in a broken transition.
“He….o?
Quis…can….. ‘ear me?” asked Selphie.
“Selphie?
There’s too much static. Try turning the big knob to level 7 or 8,” Quistis
explained into the microphone as she adjusted the level on her own headset
in hopes of establishing a better connection.
“Turn…wha…?”
Selphie questioned.
“The
big knob to level 7 or 8. Just turn the BIG KNOB,” Quistis stressed as
she tried to get the message across.
“Big…ob?
Umm…..oh! Found it! Quisty? Can you hear me now?” Selphie asked hopefully
after she had reset the dial to level 8.
“Loud
and clear, “ Quistis giggled.
“So,
Quisty, what did you find out? Did you find Zell?” questioned Selphie without
delay.
“Well,
I have yet to actually see Zell or Seifer,” Quistis hesitated, “but Raijin’s
here with me right now and he has assured me that they’re on this island.”
“Oh
my god!” Selphie yelped for joy. “You better not be kidding with me, Quistis
Trepe.”
“I
swear it’s true!” Quistis exclaimed excitedly. “You two better stop flying
around Yali Island and head on over here. I have to wait for Ellone to
come back anyway so I’ll be on the shoreline, about four miles north from
our drop off point.”
“Sounds
great,” Selphie told her without hesitation. “I’ll tell Irvine to turn
this ship around right away. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes!”
“Sure,”
Quistis nodded, “see ya then!”
With
that Quistis took off her headset and look at Raijin, who was lying down
in the sand waiting patiently for her to end her conversation with Selphie.
As he sat up to talk to her, she noticed that his hand seemed to hold his
side as if he were injured.
“Is
there something the matter with your side?” Quistis asked, as she looked
him up and down, realizing how many bruises and gashes covered his skin.
“Jus’
a lil’ cut, ya know,” Raijin answered.
Quistis
raised her eyebrows skeptically, “A little cut?”
She
made him raise his hand up to reveal a huge gash in his side.
“Hmm…”
Quistis thought. “I’ll just use some of the magic that I drew to heal you
right up, good as new!”
Raijin
nodded and told Quistis that she had his complete cooperation.
“Alright
then,” Quistis mumbled to herself as she stood up and braced herself. “Here
it goes.”
Quistis
raised her hand up into the air and closed her eyes in concentration. Taking
a deep breath, she summoned the cure magic as it began to collect in her
hand, a bright blue orb of light formed. Sensing that it was time, Quistis
brought her hand containing the shining orb down and shot the magic out
towards Raijin. The ball of light broke into a million of streams of light,
heading right for Raijin. They had just begun to wrap around him when there
was a sudden earth-rattling sound, like an explosion. It shook the island
and made Quistis lose her balance and focus. She stumbled to the ground
and the blue healing light dispersed into thin air.
Raijin
bent down to help Quistis to her feet. “Are ya okay?”
“Yeah,”
Quistis said as she shook the sand off of herself. “What was that?”
They
both stared back at the forest, each wondering the same thing. Did something
happen to Seifer and Zell? Quistis shivered. She had a horrible feeling….whether
it was Zell, Seifer, or even Ellone, someone was in trouble.
Raijin
sighed, “I think I better get back to Seifer, ya know,”
Quistis
turned back to him with a smile, “Why don’t you wait with me for Selphie
and Irvine. They’ll be here soon and we can wait for Ellone to get back.
Then, we’ll all go to the cave together and get off this island as quickly
as possible! I can’t wait to get home, can you?”
Raijin
smiled back at her, “…home…”
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