Terminal Recovery
Chapter Thirteen - Theory
By Tori Singer
Notes: Interesting reviews: Somebody reviewed and asked a good question. I think it was Golden Eagle something. I can't remember. Anyway, they mentioned that Joey said 'Mikey's not gonna like this...' Anyway, as to answer that question, I can't, it'll give the whole story away. You'll just have to wait and see! *giggles to self*
More Notes: I'm gonna start this chapter but I'll have to finish it tomorrow. Blah, gotta be at work at 8AM and it's almost an hour drive. *Looks at clock* It's almost eleven so I'm hittin' the sack. *leaves*
*Comes back about five minutes later* I can't stand it! I have to get these ideas down before I forget them! *fingers are sore*
IMPORTANT: I'm gonna have to do some Odine speech here, it's hard so just bear with me if it sounds stupid, ok?
Terminal Recovery
Chapter Thirteen - Theory
By Tori Singer
I've always admired the city of Esthar. It's so big and advanced looking. But I'm sure that Squall hates it, besides the fact that his father lives here but also because of all the bright lights. I can see it on the horizon, it's pretty damn big. I keep fidgeting in my seat, nervous as hell.
"We're almost there!" David cheers from the passenger seat. I grin, reaching over and grabbing Squall's hand. He doesn't do anything, but I felt reassured with his hand in mine. About another hour and we'll be to the city gate. I couldn't wait, I just needed to know if Odine can help. That dirty old man better know how to fix this or.....or what?
What would I do if Odine couldn't help us? Kill Squall? Unthinkable! We would have to figure something else out, even though I have no idea what that something else will be. I sigh, wiggling in my seat. I've always been an anxious person, and this is no exception.
"Hurry up, Matt." I scold playfully, earning a glare. I grin innocently at him while pointing to Squall. He rolls his eyes. David laughs at my antics, digging in his bag for something. Curiosity once again reared it's ugly head. I peeked over the seat, sniffing. I could smell something familiar....
David catches me peeking and hides the object under his jacket. I frown, I know I smelt that before..... Then it hits me.
"Twinkie! Hand it over!" I attack David, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, reaching for the golden goodness. He hollers, holding the Twinkie out of my reach. I grunt, stretching my fingers for the second most perfect food. I've almost got it now. He tries to push me off with his free hand. Matt was just laughing his ass off, trying not to run the car off the side of the bridge.
"Gimme gimme gimme!" I beg, reaching for it again.
"No no no!" He counters, leaning forward in the seat. He turns and looks at me, a triumphant look on his face. I surprise him by standing in the car and leaning toward him.
"Gimme that damn Twinkie!" I yell one last time before grabbing his wrist. He fights me, but I pry it out of his hand. I grin before retreating back to my seat. I smirk before stuffing it in my mouth. He leans against the back of his seat, glaring murder at me. I grin widely, swallowing the yummy treat.
"Hmph!" He huffs, flopping in his seat. I add two points to my scoreboard. I sat on my mental Twinkie thrown, basking in my mental Twinkie glory. I stared at the back of David's head triumphantly. Matt was laughing so hard he started coughing, giving us all a heart attack when the wall of the bridge got dangerously close to the side of the car....
"Finally!" I shout from the back seat. The gates to the city were so close now, only a few more minutes. I glomp my best friend, snuggling into his chest. He didn't react, naturally, but it made me feel better. I ignore the irritated look David shoots my way. He's not still angry over my Twinkie pilfering is he? Nah, couldn't be.
Matt pulls up to the gate's guard. He explains our situation before being allowed inside the city walls. He pulls the car in town, slowing to a stop.
"What's wrong?" I ask. He turns and looks at me.
"I don't know where this guy lives!" He says irritably. I grin before scratching the back of my neck.
"Oh yeah. Well let me see if I can remember..." I look out the window at the scenery. It was so different than when I was here last. I couldn't even tell which part of the city we were in!
"Uh, go that way..." I tried to sound sure, but he saw right through it.
"Don't tell me that you don't remember...." He glares at me. I laugh nervously.
"Now why would I do a thing like that?" I keep grinning as he pulls the car down one of the brightly colored blue streets.
A couple hours later, we still haven't made any progress. David was going ape shit.
"Why don't we just stop for freakin' directions! You men are so immature! Always 'We're men, we don't get lost!' Ha! Just please stop NOW!" Matt was shaking with irritation as David kept hollering. Finally, Matt smacked him upside the head.
"Alright! I'll fuckin' stop if you'll quit your god damn bitchin'!" I scoot down in my seat, staying out of Hell's path. David was cowered in the corner of the car, whimpering like a baby. I don't say a wooooord...
"Damn!" Matt says for good measure, pulling to a stop. David wastes no time in leaving the car and the infuriated man. I quickly follow him, leaving poor Squall to listen to his rage. I follow David as he approaches a citizen. They were dressed in the traditional white robe of Estharans.
"Uhh...excuse me, but could you tell me where uhh....(what's his name again, Zell?)" I roll my eyes at him before speaking.
"We're lookin' for Odine's lab, where is that?" I ask, smirking at David's glare. The man bows to us before pointing back where we came.
"Go down this lane and take the first right you come to. There will be a sign. You cannot miss it." He waves before walking away. David grins and jumps up and down.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" He comments before bounding back to the car. I follow, schemes of his demise running through my head. We get back in the car and Matt starts the engine. I notice that he has a calm look on his face.
"You seem in a better mood." I comment. He grins sheepishly at me.
"Yeah, well I kind of took it out on Squall." I roll my eyes, looking over at my best friend. I noticed that he looked indifferent except his face seemed whiter...
"Hey! You scared him pale!" I blurt aloud. We have a little laugh at Squall's expense, knowing that he would forgive us, eventually. I go on to tell Matt the directions that the man gave us. He rolls his eyes slightly.
"Geez we just came that way!" He grumbles before turning the car around. I just smile and stare out the window.
It wasn't long before we came across the turn. Matt guided the car down the short lane and we saw a big sign. It said, "Odine's Laboratory" I laugh as Matt growls irritably. It wasn't far away from where we first started. I was just glad to finally get here.
Matt parks the car in front of the building and we all get out. We trudge up to the front door, where two guards were standing. They held up their guns, defense in their stances.
"Halt! State your business!" One of them demands. I walk up to them, planning on telling them our 'business'.
"We're here to see the Doctor. We are hoping that he can help us." I tried to be as vague as possible, I didn't want everyone knowing about Squall's condition. They don't go for it.
"No one is authorized to see the Doctor without an appointment or a pass!" I growl low in my throat, now this is getting irritating.
"Listen! We have come from Winhill, we don't have a freakin' pass!" I pleaded with them, trying to work this out without violence. He seems to hesitate before turning to his companion.
"Watch them! I'll go speak to Odine." He walks inside, leaving the other guard alone with us. He was holding his gun at us shakily. He looked like an amatuer to me. Probably was but I didn't care enough to ask. It wasn't long before the guard came back out. He pointed his gun at us.
"Odine says that he does NOT want to be disturbed!" My jaw drops, why that little runt! I stamp my foot, causing them to back away a bit.
"Listen you circus clown! My best friend is very sick and I need to see the doctor right away! It's a matter of life or death!" My breathing was getting heavy with all the excitement. They seemed to debate a minute.
"I cannot let you pass without his ok! And he said no!" My face feels very hot as I clench my fist. I could take them on but I didn't want to risk getting one of us shot, mainly Squall. Squall!
"Hey, this is the president's son! You can't treat him this way!" I gesture to Squall, who never moved, typical. They look a little closer at my friend before quickly saluting.
"S-Squall Leonhart! S-Sir right this way sir!" They turn and run into the building. I grin and pat Squall on the back, though he didn't even flinch. I flash a grin at Matt and David's looks of awe before running inside the building. They follow, their footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. We made a few twists and turns but eventually found ourselves in front of a large door.
The guards leave us, much to my relief. David grins and leans on one hip.
"Man, Zell! You played those poor suckers like violins!" I blush at his compliment before turning to the door. Well, this was it. I push against the big door. It groaned as it came open. We walked inside, looking around at all the machines and computers.
"Wow!" David exclaimed, running over to one of the machines.
"What's this button do!? Huh? Huh?!" I cringe as he started pressing buttons.
"Vat are you doing! Don't mess vith vy machines!" I laugh as I look at the short old man hobbling over to David. He started beating his arm with his cane.
"Ow! Quit!" David complains, running over behind us. I kept laughing, staring at the fuming old man.
"Vho are you!?" He asks, hobbling over. I grin.
"Don't ya remember us, doc? It's Zell and Squall!" I push Squall forward, he stumbled a bit before standing stock still. Odine looked at Squall a bit before hopping up and down.
"Oh! Squall! Thee Prezident's zon!" He looked Squall up and down before settling his vision on his sunglasses.
"Hmmm, vat are you vearing zose vor?" I always hated the way Odine talked, but I guess I'll get over it. I step closer to him, explaining our situation to him.
When I was finished, Odine was walking around rubbing his chin and looking really excited. That was never a good thing.
"I zee. I've alvays vanted to zee zis vith vy own vyes!" I almost grinned, but restrained myself. So, it looked like he did know something. I cross one of my legs over the other, placing my hands behind my head.
"So, you can help us? What do we do to change Squall back?" I ask, getting anxious. Odine frowns at me.
"Vell, vrom vat I've heard, zere iz no vay to reverse zee evects." I almost fall over in shock.
"W-What?!" I yell, getting angry. He holds up his little hands.
"Visten! I have veen experimenting vith zis kind ov zing!" I almost calm down. He continues.
"Zee only vay to get hiz zoul back iz to kill zi one vho ztole it!" I understood him so far, but... David intervenes.
"Well how the hell do we kill a demon?!" He asks, looking bored. Odine shrugs.
"Zats vat I've veen vorking on!" We all sweatdrop. I sigh, this sucks. Odine hobbles over to one of his computers.
"I've veen vorking on zis! Itz a zmall version ov zi time comprezzion vachine." I almost groan at that. I've had enough with time compression. But he goes on.
"Iv I vinish, it vill be able to trap zi zpirit in zi time comprezzed vorld!" I piqued up, curious.
"So it will trap them in the world, but, how will that kill it?" I ask, not getting it. Odine looks at me like I'm stupid.
"Ztupid voy! A demon cannot live in zi time comprezzed vorld! It haz no zpirits to veed on! It vill die immediantly!" Oh, I get it...now.
"How long will it take you to finish this machine?" I ask, looking over at Squall. We didn't have but maybe four days left.
"About three veeks." I fall over, we didn't have that much time!
"But Odine! We only have four days!" I tell him, feeling like I was foaming at the mouth. Odine steps back.
"Vell! Vaterials are hard zo come vy!" I sigh.
"I told you that Squall will 'transform' or something in at least four days or so!" I was getting irritated at this old man. He rubs his chin again before walking this way and that. I knew he was thinking deeply, he always did this when that was the case. Finally, he jumps up and down.
"Vureka! I have it!" I watch him punch a few buttons into his computer. A diagram of a bracelet comes onto the screen.
"Zis iz zi vachine. It vill zoot out a lazer at zi demon, tranzporting it to zi time comprezzed vorld. Uzually, zis vill take veeks to vinish, but I can narrow it down to three!" I lean against the machine, confused.
"Well, how you gonna do that?" I almost groaned when he looked at me expectantly.
"Vell, you have to help, I need a certain cryztal in order vor zis vachine to vork. Zats vat takes zo long vor zis to be built. Ve have to try to vurn a zertain cryztal into a vorm of energy, Vut! Iv you can vind zis cryztal in itz raw vorm, I can zpeed up zi prozess." I almost sighed in despair. Everytime Odine wants up to find something, it's dangerous and more like a wild goose chase.
"Alright, where do we find this cryztal?" Matt blushes and corrects himself.
"Crystal." I guess Odine's way of talking is addictive. The doctor pushes a few more buttons and a mountain comes into view. There was snow everywhere, so I figured that it was in Trabia.
"Zis iz zi Volar Vountain." I look at him.
"The Polar Mountain?" I guessed. He jumps up and down in anger.
"Zat's vat I zaid! Zi Volar Vountain!" I just roll my eyes. David laughs and Matt cracks a smile.
"Vat ever you say, doc." I mock him, earning more laughs. Squall was just standing there as usual. I was really missing him, though. I wanted to feel him wrap his arms around me and-
"Anyvay! Az I vas zaying! Zis iz zi Volar Vountain, zi cryztal ve need iz deep inzide. Here iz a picture ov zi cryztal." Another picture comes up, and it showed a small blue gem.
"It's beautiful!" David exclaims, leaning closer to the screen. Odine glares at him.
"Vut! It vill look different zan you zee here. It vill be in it'z raw vorm! It vill look like a dull vlue color!" I hop off the edge of the machine.
"Then what are we waiting for?" I ask, getting really anxious. Odine jumps up and down.
"Vat I vant to talk more!" I clenched my hands into fists.
"We don't have time! Just tell us how to get there!" I holler, really getting irritated. He grumbles before going over to his small desk. He fumbles in a drawer before throwing me a set of keys. I recognize them.
"Hey! These are the keys to the Ragnarok!" I exclaim, filling with excitement. David hops up and down.
"Really?! I've always wanted to ride on that thing!" I sweatdrop, he's such a pain sometimes, but he's cool. Odine warns us as I walk toward the door.
"Squall vill ztay here. You do not vant to zee him iv he turns. Zee guards vill show you to zi ship!" I almost hesitate at that. Leave Squall here? Well, that does make more sense, considering he'd have all the help Esthar could offer. It wouldn't be good to be stuck in a mountain cave if Squall decided to turn on us.
"Vere iz a vap ov zi area zat zurrounds zi vountain!" Odine hands me a large map. I take it and stuff it in my pocket. I look at Odine dangerously.
"You help him any way you can, got it!?" I warn him before going up to Squall. I stand on tiptoe and I kiss him briefly on the lips. He doesn't even twitch. His lips felt cold and lifeless against my own. Odine clears his throat and I smile sheepishly. I walk to the door, a laughing David and Matt following me out. Squall goes to follow and I stop.
"Um, stay here, Squall." I felt kind of akward, like I was telling a dog to stay. He doesn't move, just stands there as I leave the room. I kept looking back at him before we turned a corner in the hall. I sigh and look to the others.
"I....guess I kind of dragged you guys along for quite a ride, didn't I?" I smile at them, glad that they were coming with me. David hops along side us.
"This is so fun, despite the reason we're here!" I had to agree with him, it did beat the same old same old training and teaching in the garden. But, I still would rather be doing that than trying to find a way to save my friend. We exit the building and I look at the guards. They immediantly salute. Ah, the quirks of having friends in high places....
"Sir!" They shout simultaniously. I grin at them.
"You're gonna show us to the Ragnarok, now!" I instruct them, inwardly smirking when they scrambled off to the side of the building. We ran after them. They headed toward a big building over at the edge of the town. It was a garage it looked like. We caught up to them at the entrance, trying to catch our breath.
"Hey...you know some....people aren't in great a shape as they used to be..." Matt complained, but I ignored him. It's not my fault that I'm a martial artist and wasn't in the least bit fazed. We followed the guards inside. The building was bustling with people, working on and building ships. We went through several doors and down a few halls but we made it eventually.
There she was.....the red ship that carried us to save the world. A wave of nostalgia runs over me. I grin at my friends as they stared at the ship in amazement.
"Wow!" David yells, his face gleaming with joy. I walk toward the ship as the guards talk to a few of the maintenance guys. They lowered the bridge of the ship, giving us access. I walk up the steps, feeling happy to be back aboard the Ragnarok. David and Matt followed as I headed to the cockpit. I laughed with glee and jumped into the pilot's seat. My friends sat in the seats behind me.
"This is so cool!" David kept gushing about the ship. I rolled my eyes and turned on the speaker.
"This is Ragnarok, ready to take off when you are!" I stated to the control room. The speaker crackled before a voice came over the waves.
"Roger Ragnarok, opening sky lift as we speak." We jumped when the ceiling started opening, giving us room to lift off. It was such a loud noise, but it was so exciting! I haven't flown this thing in like, ever!
"Come in Ragnarok, you're clear for take off. God speed to you and your crew." I grin at that and I started the ship. All the buttons lit up and the engine came to life.
"Sweet!" David hopped in his seat. I turn around and grin at him.
"Uh, buckle your belt." I tell him before preparing to take off.
"Why?" He asks as Matt buckles his own safety belt. I punched the lever and the ship rose off the ground. David kept pesturing me with questions as I gained enough altitude to clear the city.
"Hold on!" I holler.
"But why! This is so cool!" I press the ship forward, throwing David out of his seat.
"Ahh!" He hollers, tumbling up next to me. He was a tangle of limbs under my control deck. I laughed at him as I sped up. He tried to get up but kept falling down.
"That's what happens when you ignore your captain's orders!" I laugh again. He hurks.
"I'm gonna get sick..." He whined before heaving over the side of one of the control panels. I groaned before pulling out my map. Well, at least he wasn't singing....
End of chapter 13.
Notes: Well? I'm at the end of the chapter finally. Damn but Odine's speech is so hard to do! Sorry if it sucked, though. *looks at clock* Damn! It's after 1! I really need to get to bed now! Bye! *goes off to bed.*
-Tori