Chapter 11: Dead or Alive

Ellone coughed in surprise, “Rinoa??”

Seifer shrugged as he took a bite of his sandwich, “Yeah, she blabbed to me ‘bout it one day. She just kept asking me how she was supposed to tell Squall. Would he be happy and excited? I actually laughed at that….Squall happy and excited…heheh. Anyways, it was so pathetic..”

“Wait a minute,” Ellone waved her arms back and forth for him to stop. “Rinoa is really pregnant?”

“Of course, you didn’t know?” Seifer rolled his eyes playfully. “Well, she is and she actually TOLD me so. Don’t ask me why. Maybe because I’m not really into the whole ‘friends’ concept and she figured I wouldn’t tell Squall or anyone else for that matter. When Cid ordered me to go check up on her while Squally-boy was away at physical therapy for his leg, I wasn’t really paying attention and Rinoa just came out and..”

“And she told you,” Elle looked at him skeptically, “that Squall and her are going to have a baby?”

“Hey,” Seifer returned her look, “I’m already gonna get in trouble for tellin’ you. I think you owe me at least your trust. After all, I did save your life.”

Ellone laughed, “Riiight, but you wouldn’t have had to if you had left Zell alone.”

“THAT MANIAC!!” Seifer yelled accusingly. “He’s the reason we’re trapped in here together….”

“Am I that bad of company?” Ellone interrupted in an attempt to change subjects. She couldn’t take another long, drawn out conversation about whose fault it was. What was done is done. Elle just wanted to let it go.

Seifer started at the question and it seemed to Ellone that he had turned a little pinkish. “I didn’t say that…”

“Ohhhh,” Ellone smiled, “So I’m not a completely horrible, annoying person to be around, like you?”

“I’m not THAT annoying…am I?” Seifer said defensively but a bit hurt.

Ellone pretended to consider what he had just said and then responded, “Well….I guess it’s a kind of cute annoyingness..”

Seifer gently pushed her in a playful manner, “Face it. You gotta love me.”

“Okay,” Elle laughed, “But I’d really, really, really love ya if you traded half of your salami sandwich for half of my peanut butter and jelly one….”

Zell awoke suddenly calling out in horror.

“It’s okay, Zell,” Selphie turned toward her panting friend to reassure him, “It was just another bad dream. Go back to sleep.”

Zell shook his head vigorously. “It may have been a dream now, but it really happened…”

Quistis looked up in alarm at the shivering figure propped up against the wall. “What really happened?”

“Yeah, lil’ buddy. Tell us what is a botherin’ you.” Irvine coaxed. He wondered if it had something to do with Seifer. Promising Selphie to leave the injured Zell alone had proved to be quite a challenge, considering Irvine had searched the cave thoroughly with not even an idea where Seifer might be….dead or alive.

Zell began to tremble as sweat slowly dripped down his forehead. He had begun to develop a fever but shivered at the true image of events that had occurred.

“I didn’t mean….I wasn’t thinking,” Zell mumbled in a hazy voice, “Oh Elle, Elle..”

“Hey!” Selphie fell to her knees beside Zell, “Ellone was here!?”

All Zell could bring himself to do was nod yes.

“Zell, this is really important,” Quistis told him urgently. “Were Seifer and Ellone in this cavern when the ceiling fell?”

Zell looked away and again nodded yes. His eyes became watery and he quickly wiped his tears away before any of his companions could see. He had to tell them. “I fired…rocks fell…the force sent me flying….Seifer was with Elle…”

“Okay,” Irvine looked sympathetically at Zell. “Seifer and, and Elle, were there and they….”

“That’s the thing. I don’t really know…” Zell sighed miserably. “They jumped…”

A thread of hope strengthened Quistis, “Where, Zell. Tell us where.”

Zell stiffened as he thought it over. “They, no, no, wait…maybe…”

He stumbled to his feet and staggered across the room.

“Zell! Sit down!” Selphie yelped, stunned he could even find the energy to get up.

“”It was, a little….cave inside a cavern..” Zell murmured to the newly formed wall of rock. “He leaped…why? Oh god….”

“Alright, alright,” Ellone threw her arms up into the air as if surrendering, “Rinoa may be pregnant.”

“May?” Seifer looked at her doubtfully.

Ellone sighed. “Well, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if she WAS…..”

“I never said that,” Seifer stated defensively. “I mean babies can be sort of fun sometimes.”

Ellone cocked one of her eyebrows, “Sort of? I think you really love babies. Remember when Matron brought little Joy in? As I recall, you were inseparable..”

“Hey,” interrupted Seifer, “She just liked ME, and who wouldn’t?”

“Your so cute,” Ellone laughed. “Just like when you were younger. Do you remember the time you found that troll!”

“It was not a troll!” Seifer stated. “It was a monster, a really scary monster.”

“Yeah,” Ellone nodded sarcastically, “My mistake. Your right, a ‘scary’ monster the size of a dog that lived in a hut making bracelets and singing children’s songs..”

“Those songs were meant to lure unsuspecting kids up there so he could eat them and the bracelets, I hate to tell you, but they were made of bones….” Seifer commented matter-of-factly.

Ellone just stared at him critically.

“So…I might have made a mistake,” Seifer shrugged reluctantly. “If my memory serves me right, you thought Squall had rabies on my birthday. You cried ‘til I dragged Squall out of bed, waking him from some sort of nightmare and wiping the sweat and drool off his face. His eyes were all bloodshot from crying about not having any parents…”

“I was really worried,” Ellone countered. “Poor little Squall…he always was a loner because he thought he was cursed…”

“We all did…” Seifer whispered.

Ellone sighed, “Yeah, but you were always there to help me. Squall was almost always alone…he thought if someone loved him, something would happen to that person…”

“If you weren’t there, I’d have been lost!” Seifer smiled. “You were my only friend.”

“Oh, that’s just because I was a girl and you didn’t think it was right to torture me,” Elle laughed. “Now Squall, Irvine, and Zell. Boy, you really gave it to them!!”

“What?” Seifer looked at her innocently, “Me?”

Ellone shook her head in amazement, “You’ll never change. Still too ashamed to show everyone how nice you CAN be, eh?”

“Hey,” Seifer shrugged, “You’re the only one who ever deserved my niceness. Respect is another thing, though. Squall and I have always had this kind of understanding…”

“Yup,” Elle yawned, “I know. You two have this weird eye connection.”

Seifer laughed, “Oh yeah? You’ve been watching us, then?”

“Of course,” Ellone answered, “You are my favorite people. I wouldn’t have been happy at the orphanage without either one of you. Squall as my ‘family’ and you as my friend or ‘knight’ as you used to say.”

Squall sighed as he reached over, taking Ellone’s hand in his own. “Did I mention how sorry I am?”

“For what?” Elle asked baffled.

“Getting you trapped in here,” Seifer answered, “provoking Zell, annoying you, coming out to this island in the first place, worrying you…..”

“Hold on,” Elle cut in, “I’m sorry, too. I must have made you think that you needed to get me some special gift because you weren’t good enough by yourself…”

Seifer grinned, “THAT’s why you’re sorry? In that case, I now have to grovel for forgiveness and cut off my hand in sacrifice because if your apologizing for not telling me you didn’t want a present, I’m in trouble….”