Chapter 4 Cont.: New Girl on Campus

  "Thundaga!!"
Zell roared his command at a huge Grat and a jagged bolt of light shot from his hand towards his target. The monster convulsed spasmatically as the electricity surged through it's plant-like body. Squall charged at an Ochu Lord, swinging down with his gunblade with such force that he managed to hack away some tentacles. Sweat dripped from both of their bodies and their breaths were heavy and labored. Another spell from Zell sent the Grat to an untimely doom and Squall summoned Diablos to finish off the Ochu. After the battle was over and their bounty collected they took the time to heal eachother's wounds and rest up a bit. Breathing heavily, Zell flopped down on the mossy ground.
"Whew!!", he exclaimed, wiping his brow with the back of his arm. "These new monsters are something else."
Squall took a seat next to his partner. He dug the tip of his gunblade into the soft dirt at his feet.
"Yeah, they're a lot more challenging than your standard monsters."
"Who's idea was it to cross-breed monsters anyway?", Zell snorted, swatting at a fly buzzing near his head. Squall rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you listen in class? Some scientists in Esthar developed the method years ago. It was only up until now that the Garden agreed to take in a few of their botched experiments."
"Those were botched?! They seemed perfectly fine to me."
"I don't really know what you're complaining about.", Squall grunted as he rose on sore legs. "You've fought harder enemies before and never said anything. I think you've gotten soft."
"Th' HELL?!", Zell scoffed, following Squall's lead as he picked his way through the tropical plants. "Zell Dincht does not get 'soft'."
Squall laughed a little. "It's all those hot dogs. We warned you about eating too much. I think you've even gained some 'extra baggage' around the middle."
Zell flipped him a bird and scowled. "I don't know what you've been smokin' Squall, but the only extra baggage I'm carrying around happens to be in the form of a chisled six-pack. And if you care to argue, you can take it up with Mr. Knuckles. Catch my drift?"
Squall shrugged as another jumbo Grat jumped from behind a bush.
"Whatever."

  Dominique picked her way through the brush, her legs and arms gaining new scratches and cuts as she traveled deeper into the grounds. The voices were growing clearer and she could distinguish that it was Zell and Squall. She grinned as she got closer. The idea of sneaking into a forbidden area rather excited her, and using Zell as an excuse made it even more fun. She climbed over another fallen tree and came face to face with a highly disgruntled Armadodo. A stranged cry mixed with suprise escaped her throat and she threw up her hands infront of her to defend herself. Like that was going to do any good against something with a shell as hard as a rock.
"D O N ' T   P A N I C."
That voice again. Dominique cautiously lowered her hands; the Armadodo was preparing to charge at her.
"What do I do?!", she asked frantically.
"J U S T   R E L A X.   I   W O N ' T   L E A V E   Y O U R   S I D E.   N O W ,   Y O U   K N O W   W H A T   T O   D O."
Filled with the new courage her guardian had given her, she directed her palm at the monster, focusing her mind completely on what was infront of her. Everything faded away and all she could see was her target. She felt the hot energy of magic pulsing at her fingertips, traveling up her arm with a tingling sensation.
"Flare!", she cried, throwing her whole concentration into one attack. It hit the Armadodo with full force, and to her suprise it fell over in a crumpled heap, leaving a few items for her to gather.
"Wow, I did it.", she murmured, looking at the semi-precious items in her hand.
"I   T O L D   Y O U   S O.   O F   C O U R S E,   I   H E L P E D   O U T."
"I know.", she said with a little laugh as she pocketed her spoils. "And I'm really grateful."
Dominique continued walking towards the men's voices. She could pick up bits of their conversation now. Blizzaga...Cura...Blind Even the sound of a Summon could be heard. From the rumbling she felt on the ground, she guessed it was some Earth Elemental Guardian Force...probably Brothers. Even after a few weeks in class, she had learned things very quickly. She understood what a GF was, although she still wasn't entirely sure where it came from. Pulling a leafy branch aside, Dominique could see Zell rush his enemy with a blaze of lightening fast punches. She marveled at his agility as he did a back hand-spring to avoid a barbed tentacle of a Grat. He was...really interesting to watch...hmmmmm. She could see Squall swinging his gunblade in a fierce upper cut, taking off several tentacles of another Grat. She frowned as the third Grat hovered omniously in the back line. Three on two hardly seemed fair. Maybe she could help. Yeah! And then she could prove herself at the same time. Once Squall saw that she was capable of holding her own in a fight, maybe then he and the others wouldn't fuss over her so much! Adrenaline pumping, she stepped from behind the tree and hurried over to the fight. Out of the corner of his eye Zell could see a figure approaching.
"Th' HELL??!!!!! Dominique!"
Squall's concentration was diverted momentarily at Zell's shocking statment and he took a hit to the head with one of the Grat's powerful tentacles. His vision immideately became cloudly and dark. He couldn't see a thing and he furiously rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his sight.
"Zell!! I've been blinded!"
Frustrated that Dominique had unexpectedly shown up in the one place she wasn't allowed and struggling to keep his concentration on his target and healing Squall, Zell scrambled to cast Esuna on Squall before another attack. Squall shook his head, his vision clearing gradually, and swung at a Grat, killing it on the spot. Dominique hadn't moved an inch. Zell's throughly angry shout at her presence froze her. She had thought he'd be impressed that she'd come this far. Why had he seemed so upset that she was there? All she wanted to do was prove herself. She stared at the fighting duo with startled eyes. She was so focused on them that she didn't see the third Grat whipping its tentacles in her direction. Zell saw it though.
"Dominique!! Look out!"
A last second shout snapped her attention towards the Grat, just in time to throw up a hand to protect her face. She screamed as the barbed tentacle peirced her hand and she immideately drew it back, huddling herself near the ground. Her head was spinning and she felt nauseas. She watched with a disoriented gaze as Zell pounded her attacking Grat into a pulp and left Squall to deal with the remaining one. Zell sprinted over to her side immideately.
"What the HELL are you thinking?!", he shouted, his voice raised out of frustration and to be heard of the banging of Squall's gunblade shots. Dominique whimpered and held her injured hand to her chest, bright drops of blood staining her shirt. Zell shook his head and gently pried her hand away, his angry demenor vanishing.
"You could be seriously hurt here, ya know. Especially since you're not equipped.", he said in a softer tone as he examined her hand. A barb from the tentacle had completely peirced her hand. It was lodged in the fleshy muscle between her thumb and fore finger.
"I'm...s-sorry...", Dominique whimpered again. "I...j-just..."
What? Like she'd tell him she came here because she wanted to say "thank you"? That was the lamest excuse she had ever thought of. So what would she tell him?
"I j-just...wanted to see if I c-could do it.", she lied, avoiding Zell's blue gaze. He shook his head and pulled out a pouch from his back pocket.
"But you don't have to get yourself killed to prove anything.", he muttered, turning her hand over in his own to examine it closer. "That's going to have to come out. These barbs can be poisonous. Do you feel alright?"
Dominique swayed as another wave of nausea hit her and she threw her good hand to her mouth and pitched forward. Zell grimaced.
"Guess not.", he said with a slight chuckle. "This may hurt a little...", he said, taking hold of the barb between his fingers. Dominique screamed into her hand as Zell extracted the barb with one sharp tug. Her freshly opened would dripped blood and it started running down her wrist, staining her jacket cuff. Zell tore open the pouch with his teeth and sprinkled it's powered contents onto the wound. Dominique looked away from the bubbling substance painfully burning her hand at Squall; he looked like he was struggling a bit with that last stubborn Grat.
"Zell! How is she?", he called over his shoulder.
"She's alright. Just got barbed. You okay?"
"I could use a potion or something.", Squall panted as Zell tossed him a small vile of liquid. He swallowed it without hesitation and charged at the Grat with renewed strength. Zell turned his attention back to Dominique as he felt her flinch her hand in his.
"It burns! What is that?", she gasped as the stinging became stronger.
"It's an antidote. You needed it 'cause you were poisoned. It shouldn't sting much longer. That barb was in there real deep.", he replied. He brought her hand closer to his mouth and blew a little on the bubbles in attempt to cool the stinging. Dominique felt her face heat up at the gesture but quickly pushed the emotion away. Zell took a roll of gauze from his pocket and proceeded to wrap her injured hand. Murmuring a quick Cure spell over the wrapped wound, he let her pull her hand back and stood.
"That Cure spell should stop most of the bleeding.", he stated, reaching a hand down to help her stand. Dominique took it with suprise.
"You're...not mad at me?", she asked meekly. Zell shrugged, a smile passing over his face.
"No. I'm not mad. I just think you're really stupid, that's all."
Dominique managed a weak laugh at his intended joke and followed him over to where Squall was towering over the fallen beast. He glared at Dominique with cold eyes.
"I though I told you not---"
"Don't worry about it.", Zell interupted. "No body was killed so it's all okay."
"No one was killed THIS time, but what if that was a T-Rexaur that got a hold of her?!", Squall retored, his voice rising. Dominique cowered behind Zell.
"I'm really sorry Squall.", she said quietly. "I just...well...I can fight. I just wanted a chance...to prove myself..."
She looked down at her feet. She felt like such a screw up. Squall was completely right - this was NO place for her. She was better off going to class, studying, and never having any adventure in her life. She was safe that way. Her unstable mind wouldn't handicapp her there. Bitter tears stung her eyes and she furiously forced them away. If it weren't for her own stupidity and that stupid voice she would have never ended up in this mess. Her hand wouldn't have become a pin cushion and she'd still have Squall's good favor. She couldn't even raise her eyes to meet his or Zell's faces. A supportive pat on her shoulder caused her to look up anyway.
"Next time you try to prove yourself...just make sure one of us is there, alright?", Squall sighed, pulling his gloved hand from her shoulder. Dominique nodded in full understanding. So she hadn't lost any face in their eyes after all. Maybe they could train her to use a weapon, that way she wouldn't always have to rely on magic. That would be interesting.
"Dominique..."
The grave tone in which Zell uttered her name snapped her from her day dream. He wasn't looking at her, but staring off into the trees. Squall was doing the same. Zell pushed her away with a strong arm.
"You've got to get out of here."
"What? I-I don't understand..."
The ground started shaking rythmically and the trees were swaying in a most unsettling manner. Something was coming. Something very big. Squall readied his gunblade, as if poising himself for an attack. Zell pushed her away again, harder this time.
"GET THE HELL AWAY NOW!!", he roared as a T-Rexaur came thundering through the trees heading in their direction. Dominique screamed and scrambled away as the giant dinosaur roared at them. The sound was so loud it revirberated within her chest. She hid behind a boulder as Zell and Squall took positions on either side of the monster.
"Zell!!", she screamed in fear. He threw a few items at her : a few potions, some phoenix downs, and an elixir.
"Be our medic! Use those if we need 'em!!", he yelled, readying himself for a summon. Squall yelled as he charged at the beast's leg, sinking his blade into the sinews of its powerful limb. The T-Rexaur roared in pain and whipped with its massive tail. Squall couldn't dodge it and took a full force hit. He staggered and knelt over.
"Dominique! Throw me a Hi-Potion!", he gasped. Dominique nodded and frantically searched for the item. She found it and tossed it his way just as Zell completed summoning Quezacotl. The thunder bird rained energy down onto the monster and its body shook with pain. It let fourth an agonized roar as the bird vanished and Zell regained his place in the physical world.
"Squall! You alright?!", he shouted, dodging a bite from the T-Rexaur's crushing jaws. Squall gasped and clutched his ribs with a hand. Shaking, he regrasped his hilt and charged again.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine.", he managed to choke out. He knew his ribs were cracked, but there wasn't time to heal himself. He had to weaken this monster as quickly as possible. If he summoned Diablos repeatedly, maybe he could inflict enough damage that incase he was KO'ed, Zell could finish the job. Squall readied himself for a summon, but the T-Rexaur lashed out with its tail again. Diablos was already severely weakened from the previous battles, and the powerful tail smashed through Squall's defenses and sent him flying hard onto the ground. Dominique screamed at the mauling sight. What could she do? Ok...medic class...phoenix downs revive KO'ed party members...where was the phoenix down? She found it and tossed it at Squall. He stirred from his place and struggled to rise. Zell wasn't fairing too well either. He had already requested Dominique use the Elixir on him, incase Squall was KO'ed, he'd still have the strength to fight the next round and revive him. He wasn't counting on Squall getting hit again right after Dominique revived him and being permantely thrown from the fight.
"Shit.", Zell grimaced as the beast took him in its jaws. He could feel a rib crack as its rows of sharp teeth threatned to peirce through his protective leather vest. The beast threw his broken body up into the air and he smacked the ground hard near where Dominique was hidden. He felt a pop as his shoulder joint dislocated. He screamed in pain and bit back tears that threatened to pour from his eyes. Now was not the time to cry like a wuss. Zell knew, however, that his arm was completely useless now. He couldn't hardly move it at all, much less throw a punch. He looked to his right and saw Squall, motionless on the ground. Then he looked at himself...this was NOT good. If he summoned, he'd still be in this state once the GF disappeared and its attack wouldn't kill off the T-Rexaur. If he healed himself, he would at least last through another blow...but all he had left was three Cura spells and an Esuna as far as healing magic was concerned. He searched his mind for another spell. He had exhausted his Life magic supplies in a previous fight with a weaker T-Rexaur. He heard Dominique whimpering from behind her protective rock. Maybe she had something he could use.
"D-Dom...inique...", he gasped, his body immideately shuddering in a hard coughing fit. Dominique scrambled to his side. Her eyes were wet with tears and she licked her dry lips.
"Zell! Oh God...Zell...", she murmured. If he was this bad off, she'd hate to think what Squall looked like. Zell attempted to push himself up, but pain seized him and he collasped into Dominique's lap. Breathing hard, he clutched his broken abdomen with his remaining good arm.
"Do you...have...anything...left?", he managed to gasp out. Dominique sniffed and shook her head silently. She'd used up all the items Zell had given her. Zell silently cursed to himself and rolled from her lap.
"Wait Zell. I-I might could use some...magic..."
She could cast magic? Zell thought that was highly strange, seeing how he couldn't sense she was junctioned to anything. He was desperate enough for anything. He nodded and Dominique placed her hands on his ribcage. Blood continued to trickle from his puncture wounds. Alright, he had to come up with a strategy. He had to get himself, her, and Squall out of this before they were all killed. After she healed most of his wounds, he would try to cast a Blind spell. It didn't work the first three times he tried, but maybe its defenses were weak enough for it to be effective. He could feel warmth flowing through his body as she began to cast her spell. He laughed nervously as he felt some strength returning to him. Suddenly, the T-Rexaur unexpectedly charged and lashed out with it's tail. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Zell shouted. Dominique screamed. The tail made contact. Their bodies were knocked backwards. Zell fell on the side of his dislocated shoulder and screamed in agony. He looked for Dominique. She was laying in an ackward position a few feet from where he landed. She looked like a broken doll. Zell felt an emotional lump form in his throat. So this would be it. This would be how he would die...at the jaws of a stupid monster. He cursed himself that his fate wouldn't have been a bit more heroic. He coughed a fit again and the felt something wet running down his chin. He touched it with a shaking hand and saw that it was blood. He was coughing up blood.
"Shit...", he thought to himself. There was nothing to do now. He would just wait for the next attack to finish him off. His mind was swimming, but certain memories came to surface. He was eight and was learning to ride his first hover board. He was ten and was with his parents. He was in Garden and he had just made it into SeeD. He saw faces. Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, Matron, his parents...and Dominique. He saw her smiling face. He always liked how her smile filled her entire face; you could tell she was genuinely happy. He suddenly realized how reluctant he was to die now because he would never see her smiling again. Somehow, she always made him feel good when he was around her. It seemed that no matter how bad his day had sucked, just having a simple conversation with Dominique made it all seem drastically insignifigant. She was attractive, with her long, mahagony colored hair, silky and smooth; her tanned complexion; her honey-gold eyes that took in everything they looked at; her long neck; her full lips in a constant grin. Zell felt bile rising in his throat at the thought of all these people he would be letting down. If he died now, he felt like he'd be letting them down because he hadn't lived up to his full potential yet. If he died now, it wouldn't be the honorable death he'd want them to remember him by. No, he wouldn't--he COULDN'T allow it!! He'd live, he'd make sure he lived. Painfully pulling himself towards Squall, he searched his mind harder than before for one last, life-saving spell. But before he could get there, he heard a groan from behind him. Turning his neck slightly, he looked up past the blades of grass to see Dominique staggering towards the T-Rexaur.
"NO!! She can't! She'll be killed!!", he shrieked in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he changed directions and began to move towards her instead. As he grew closer he could see something wasn't right. Her gaze was vacant but fixed solidly on the T-Rexaur. It growled menacingly and slowly stomped towards where they lay. It began sniffing the ground around Squall's fallen form.
"NO! Stay...away from him...you bastard..."
Zell didn't know what to do. He turned back to Squall, but then Dominique threw herself on the ground. She began shaking and convulsing, her head bowed between her hands. The sight frightened Zell. He prayed that she wasn't epileptic and that her spasmatic movements wouldn't draw attention to herself. He felt his vision begin to blur and he shook his head to try to clear it. He had to stay awake. He watched as she lurched and snapped her head up in a high scream. It died away as quickly as it began, leaving her mouth agape but no sound was coming out. His eyes grew wide at the sight of her small frame shaking about out of control. She pitched forward again, her back heaving. Two bright spots of crimson appeared from under her white shirt. A sickening ripping sound met Zell's ears. Whether it was the sound of her shirt tearing or her flesh, he didn't know. He hoped it wasn't the latter. A gruesome sight met his fading vision. Two black leathery objects burst from her back. They opened slowly, revealing themselves to be wings. They flapped, shaking blood and ooze from them, and he could see that they weren't black, but a dark blue color. It was wrong...seeing these wings that resembled those of Bahamut's protruding from her small back. He stared in horror as the wings flapped again, hovering her toes an inch from the ground. Her eyes continued their vacant stare as she flew towards the T-Rexaur. Zell's vision blurred again, and instead of one Dominique, he saw two. He blinked and held it for a while. Series of noises met his ears, but he was too out of it to distinguish what they were. A sudden rumble near his body caused his to open his eyes slowly. He was staring directly into the orb-like eye of the T-Rexaur's decapitated head. He turned and vomited at the sight, the smell of blood overwhelming him. Its jaws were still clacking at the air and its eye rolled about in its socket. Momentarily it ceased all movement as the nerves finally died in its brain. Zell rolled his head back towards where Dominique was flying about. It wasn't Dominique he saw, however. It was a monster, a terrible monster that was literally shredding the body of the dinosaur to nothing. He heard the rip of flesh being torn from the bone as his vision blurred again. The sweet seduction of sleep clouded his thoughts, and although he tried as hard as he could to shake it away, it was too potent to fight back. His vision blurred once more before he saw darkness. He heard hacking and snapping sounds in the distance as he was pulled down into an icy, eternal sleep.

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