At a deserted location in Esthar, a prison security guard slammed his gloved hand down on a silver safety bar.

"The skinny one and the fat one!" he barked to Kiros and Ward. "Get your asses down to Lunatic Pandora! The rest of you … get back to work!"

Laguna and his friends were being forced to do manual labor in a small room, of which the ceiling reached upwards forever and down below the thin platforms they were stood on, there was nothing but darkness.

Kiros and Ward left quietly, and Laguna tried to catch the eye of another prisoner who was in the room.

"Don't roam around!" the guard shouted sternly. "And no talking!"

Laguna's stomach gave a great rumble and he clutched at it, in pain.

"I'm hungry," he groaned, and the guard shook a baton at him.

"You! I said no talking!" he spat. "It's only been 3 days, you wimp! When I was young, I worked all day and all night...without sleep!"

"I wonder if Kiros and Ward are workin', too?" Laguna mumbled to himself.

"No talking!" the guard said once more. "How many times do I have to-"

The stressed-out guard was interrupted by a bell chiming.

"Oh...Meal time!" Laguna clasped his hands together joyfully. "Alright, it's time to eat!"

He tried to walk off to the lift that would take him to the dining area, but the guard prodded him with the baton.

"You keep working! That's what you get for your big mouth!" he yelled. "That beast over there, you, too! No meal until your work is done!"

He was swinging the baton threateningly towards the Moomba.

"Hey...You can't be serious!" Laguna protested indignantly. "I'll be done in 2 to 3 hours, but...His job won't get done for days!"

"Then he just won't get fed for a few days," the guard retorted. "If he wants to eat, he should work faster!"

Laguna looked over to his fellow prisoner for help, but the selfish man had already made his way over to the lift, of which another security guard had come out of.

"Come give me a hand," guard 2 asked guard 1. "I can't handle the big guy alone."

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," the original guard warned Laguna and the man, then waved his baton at something above their heads. "The camera is watching you."

The guards left, and Laguna bent down kindly to the Moomba.

"You all right?" he asked softly. "You look exhausted. Do they feed you all right? Got a fever or something? Or you just scared of heights?"

"Grrr...Grrr..." the Moomba replied.

"Your stomach's goin' grrr?" Laguna chuckled.

"Ha ha ha...That's funny," the man laughed too. "I think that thing's 'Grrr...Grrr...' means 'thank you'."

He knelt down beside Laguna and the small, fluffy fiery-red creature.

"Know what? You're the first one to care about his well-being," the man said. "Those Moombas get worked to death for no reason. They only get half the food and sleep compared to us humans."

Suddenly, a foreign voice came echoing down the chamber from an upstairs level, after a huge rumble had rocked through the entire building.

"Bahh!" the voice cried. "This iz a failure!"

"Sounds like Dr. Odine's up to something again upstairs," the man said quietly, peering up to the ceiling.

The Moomba started yapping at Laguna and tugged on his trouser leg.

"Huh? What's up?" Laguna looked down. "You need a tool? I'll go get it. Wait right there."

He rose to his feet and walked over to another part of the complex.

"I think there was one here," he mumbled, and caught sight of a tool resting on the edge of a barrier, that was there to stop people falling off.

"Hey, you over there!" one of the guards shouted to Laguna. "Yeah, standing next to the elevator. Go get the guard upstairs! Tell them there's an emergency."

"Roger that," Laguna said politely.

"An emergency?" he thought gleefully to himself, and couldn't resist letting out a little giggle. "Maybe those guys are...up to something?"

"Go now!" the guard barked impatiently.

"Alright, I'm goin'," Laguna shrugged defensively, then noticed the tool in his hand. "Oh...I almost forgot. Here, catch!"

As he threw the tool over to the Moomba, it reached up to catch it, but lost his footing on the barrier and fell into the bottomless pit below.

"WHOA!" Laguna leapt forward with his hands outstretched, but only grabbed at thin air. He clasped onto the barrier and peered down into the darkness. "No! The poor little guy…"

Suddenly the orange creature leapt back up onto the bar, and Laguna noticed a safety harness around it's tiny body.

"Geez!" he breathed a sigh of relief as he helped the Moomba down. "That was close. I'm so glad … I'm so...so glad!!"

"You're such a nice guy," the other man said as Laguna cuddled the Moomba. "Not many guys like you these days. You seem like you'd be a good candidate to be our leader."

"A leader?" Laguna raised his eyebrows after setting the Moomba down safely on the floor.

"That's right. A lot of us are dissatisfied with the way Adel's been ruling Esthar. We may be disorganized now...But someday we'll gather our forces to remove Adel from power," the man explained. "We're overthrowing the ruler of a country. A sorceress, far beyond our powers. A half-baked plan would never work. We're waiting for the right time, now..."

Laguna listened eagerly and nodded at appropriate points.

"Most of us involved in the Adel resistance are specialists. It's easy to research ways to fight Adel, but…" the man paused, looking hopeful. "There's no one to lead the movement. That's our situation right now. We've been looking for someone like you...Someone who's strong an righteous."

A wide smile spread across Laguna's face, but before he could reply, the guard interrupted.

"Hey, did you go tell them?" he asked Laguna with annoyance. "What are you doing? Up to no good again, aren't ya?!"

"Stop!" Laguna warned as the guard approached, but didn't stop, and Laguna had no choice but to pull out his machine gun. Firing it only once, he hit the guard in the arm and made him stumble back. Laguna wanted to do some damage and protect himself, but he didn't want to go around murdering people.

But the trouble wasn't over yet, as another Esthar soldier descended in the lift and stomped into the room.

"Don't move!" he warned, holding up a sword at Laguna while striding towards him.

"Oops, I did it again," Laguna joked, throwing the soldier off-guard a little. "Well, too bad!"

Laguna captured the Esthar soldier in his grip, wrapping his arms around the soldier from behind so he couldn't escape.

"Just get on and go!" Laguna grunted with difficulty to the man and the Moomba, as he struggled with the squirming guard. Just then, Kiros and Ward entered.

"Kiros! Ward!" Laguna cried delightfully. "Great timing!"

As he said it, another security guard entered.

"Or should I say...bad timing?" Kiros smiled sickly. Kiros was always able to joke, even in the most desperate and dangerous of situations.

"Stop talking and just keep walking!" the guard behind them said, jabbing Kiros and Ward in the back with his baton roughly. Ward looked over his shoulder and gave the soldier a very dirty look.

"It's not so bad," Laguna said to his friends. "2 is better than 1. 4 is better than 2, right?"

Kiros and Ward stared at him blankly.

"So, who's the 4th one?" Kiros asked with an eyebrow raised. "Geez! Are you ... starting to hallucinate?"

"Yeah...I can see it!" Laguna cried, appearing to be looking at something invisible on the floor. "Oh...My sweet Elle...You make your uncle so happy."

As Kiros and Ward exchanged nervous glances, Laguna was close enough to them to whisper them a private message.

"Hey, now's our chance!" he whispered. "You know what to do? Let's just finish'em off and get out of here! Before we do that … are we all geared up?"

Kiros and Ward nodded.

"Alright," Laguna loosened his grip on his captured soldier and pushed him away, whipping out his gun once more. "JAIL BREAK!"

He fired a single shot at the soldier he had just pushed, hitting him once in the back, and he collapsed to the floor. Meanwhile, Kiros and Ward defeated the security guard effortlessly, with a 'thunk' and a 'slice.'

"Let's go!" Laguna waved over to his friends and they entered the high-tech lift, taking them up to the top floor. There was no security guard around, and Laguna took the chance to sneak up on Dr. Odine and listen in on his conversation between him and an assistant. Signaling for Kiros and Ward to remain silent, Laguna took his place behind the Doctor.

"To use Lunatic Pandora as a weapon," Dr. Odine's assistant was saying, "You would need a system to move it. And you are researching that now?"

"Indeed," Dr. Odine replied proudly. He was sat at desk, busying himself with some computer controls, and appeared to not want to talk much.

"How do you come up with such bold ideas?" the assistant asked, in awe. "I could never come up with such brilliant ideas."

"…I forgot!" the Doctor joked, and the two men laughed.

"Boring," Laguna thought, and lead the others outside the lab. The natural light felt amazing on his body, he was totally refreshed. After stretching out his arms and yawning loudly, he noticed the Moomba that escaped from the complex earlier, sitting by his feet.

"Hey! You waited for me?" Laguna knelt down to the Moomba's level.

"Grrr, Grrr..." the Moomba purred happily.

"Stay on your toes! Don't get captured again!" Laguna warned, and the Moomba bounced off. Behind Laguna, Dr. Odine's assistant walked out of the lab.

"Excuse me," he began politely, but Laguna leapt out of the way and reached for his gun.

"Stop!" the man from the prison stopped Laguna. "It's okay, he's an 'Adel Resistance' member too. He's Dr. Odine's assistant. All the hot info about the lab comes from him."

"You're a new member?" the lab assistant shook Laguna's hand. Welcome to our group. You made quite a bit of noise down there … I'd advise you leave this facility as soon as you can."

"Did something happen to the doctor?" Laguna queried. "Or did Adel stop funding this lab?"

"No, it's Dr. Odine. He...He's done it again," the assistant explained glumly. "He's found a new toy he prefers over a big one like Lunatic Pandora...Some child named Ellone."

"Ellone?!" Laguna and Kiros repeated simultaneously, and Ward's usually sleepy eyes shot open in surprise.

"You know her?" the assistant asked.

"Know her?" Kiros gaped. "She's really the only reason why we're here!"

"Where is she?" Laguna asked desperately. "Where's Ellone?!"

"Dr. Odine would probably know her whereabouts," the assistant explained calmly.

"We're going back in!" Laguna decided without any hesitation. "Thanks for all your help. Better go some place safe. Adios!"

"Wait a second! I still owe you!" the assistant reached out an arm to stop Laguna running off. "If you're looking for that girl, Ellone, you'll eventually need help. Facing Esthar and Adel with only the 3 of you will be difficult. Why not let us help you? We'll provide you with all the information you'll need."

"It's not a bad idea, Laguna," Kiros said to his headstrong friend. "We don't know anything about Esthar. I never want to go through all this again. I'm sure Ward feels the same way."

Ward obviously couldn't say anything, but Laguna guessed his feelings from the look in his eyes.

"Huh? What? Hmm ... Okay, fine!" Laguna agreed after some contemplation. "We'll accept your help. In return, we'll help you Anti-Azel movement or whatever."

Ward slapped his forehead.

"Geez, Laguna," Kiros sighed, exasperated. "It's ADEL. Start listening more closely, 'cause it's getting embarrassing - is what Ward would say. Can't you see it in his eyes?"

"Yeah, sure, I always see it!" Laguna said brightly, not embarrassed at all. Then he argued, "But...who cares?! I speak with passion, from the heart! That's what matters most."

"Yes, that's right!" the other prisoner agreed. "It all sounds crazy, but - I like you! I really want you to be our leader..."

"Leave it to me! Once we find Ellone, I'll take up that offer!" Laguna promised.

"This girl, Ellone," the assistant began curiously. "Is she your special someone?"

"Huh? Yeah, something like that," Laguna said quickly, brushing off the question quite casually.

"Laguna, puh-lease," Kiros scoffed, then showed a warm smile. "She's like a daughter to you."

"She may be small, but Elle's still a lady," Laguna retorted. "Imagine how angry she'd be if she heard me talking about her like a baby. So I say 'special someone' out of respect...and fear."

"I see," Kiros chuckled. "Maybe you have a point. It's not wise to upset her."

"Right," Laguna said firmly. "Do you remember the 'J Disaster'?"

"Yes," Kiros smiled fondly, in remembrance. "She got upset and put fruit jam in your shoes. You were almost in tears!"

"Ugh!" Laguna shuddered and rubbed his arms furiously. "Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps!"

"Sounds like a brat-" the prisoner began, then quickly corrected himself. "I mean, a spunky girl."

Laguna hadn't heard; he, Ward and Kiros had already raced back into the lab to confront Dr. Odine.

"Dr. Odine!" Laguna roughly picked him up from the back of his coat, and dangled his legs in the air. Dr. Odine was incredibly short, and it took Laguna no effort to lift him up from the floor.

"Vat are you saying? I do not know any...Ellone," the Doctor bluffed, but he was a terrible liar.

"Tell me!" Laguna demanded threateningly, shaking him.

"Wah! Okay, okay, I vas lying!" the Doctor admitted. "Ellone...I know Ellone!"

"Where is she?" Laguna demanded again, with another shake.

"Alright, alright! Stop shaking me! In O Lab! Ellone iz there."

"O Lab?" Laguna repeated, dropping Dr. Odine to the floor, and he scurried off. Laguna, Kiros and Ward made their way back outside. The assistant had overheard the ruckus.

"O Lab," the assistant confirmed. "He means Odine's Laboratory. "To get there, go over here...then over there...and then here."

The assistant gestured with his hands at the air in front of him, as Laguna nodded slowly.

"I see," Laguna lied, still nodding. "Um, I didn't understand a word. Kiros! It's your show from here!"

Laguna, Kiros, Ward and the other prisoner boarded a car which had pulled up.

"We'll be joining you as soon as we can. Until then, good luck!" the assistant waved. "Please be careful."

The car pulled up outside Odine's lab.

"This is the place, right?" Laguna asked for conformation, as he climbed out of the car and looked at the building before him. "This place sure is weird."

They walked inside, and luckily there were no guards about. At the far end of the corridor was a door, but when Laguna tried to open it, it was locked. The only other thing was a circular chair device in the center of the corridor, directly underneath a large hole in a huge glass pipe. Laguna gave the chair a poke, and it rose slightly off the ground, hovering silently in the air.

"W-What the...!" Laguna jumped back in surprise, but calmed down a little when he realised that he was in no danger. "So many unusual gadgets here."

"Looks like some sort of lift," Kiros observed intelligently, after taking a quick examination of the coral-colored chair and the hole above it. "It should be safe to sit on it."

The three men sat on the chair, and it zoomed upwards rather sharply, causing Laguna and Kiros, the lighter two of the three, to cling onto their seats so they didn't fall. It then traveled into another corridor, a darker one, before they were in a laboratory room with wall-to-wall controls and computer screens. At the far end of the room was a dome window, caving outwards. As Kiros and Ward examined the screens on the walls, Laguna went over to the window. It struck him as rather odd to have a big window like this indoors.

Through the window was an empty room, with only one thing in it – a person … a little girl. It was Ellone.

"Ellone?" Laguna gasped, and Kiros and Ward ran over to his side. Laguna started banging on the window. "Ellone! ELLONE!"

But Ellone sat where she was, crying. She couldn't hear Laguna through the thick sound-proof window.

"She can't hear me!" Laguna was almost in tears. Ward tapped him on the shoulder, and signaled for him to move back. Laguna did so, and Ward raised up his huge, heavy weapon – a giant anchor – over his head, before hurdling it at the window. It smashed into pieces, but Ward had hit it at an angle so that none of the glass fell near Ellone.

Wasting no more time, Laguna climbed up onto the ledge of the window and leapt down, kneeling next to Ellone.

"Ellone!" he smothered her in his arms, after she had looked up in surprise at the smashing noise.

"Uncle Laguna!" she shouted gleefully, but her voice was muffled through his shirt.

"See, I told ya I'd come save you," Laguna laughed a little, wiping a tear from his cheek. "Sorry I'm a little late, but..."

LL: Ugh, yes I know! This chapter is my worst yet! For some reason I found this particular Laguna flashback almost impossible hard to right. Probably cuz I didn't have much clue of what was going on when I actually played it in the game (why are they in jail???)… maybe just because I don't really like this scene and it was difficult to describe exactly where they were. Anyway, it's the space events after this, including a major Squinoa scene, and I can't WAIT to do those! So RR, and keep reading. =)