Ow... my stomach...
Zone
Zone is a non-player character in Final Fantasy VIII. He is the leader of the Forest Owls, a resistance faction in the Galbadia-governed nation of Timber, whose members include Watts and Rinoa. Despite being the leader, he is cowardly and lets Rinoa step up and take the lead. He holds the missable Shiva card, for which the player only has a narrow window of obtaining.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Zone has short dark brown hair. He wears a blue fleece jacket with a red label, cropped indigo pants and brown shoes. When wearing a disguise, he masquerades as an elderly man.
Personality[]
Zone gets nervous easily, and when he does, he keels over complaining about stomach pain. Whether the pain is real, or he is faking it as an excuse to not participate in the dangerous parts of his organization's plans, is ambiguous. He gets little sympathy from Rinoa for this, but his loyal childhood friend Watts is ever at his side, referring to Zone as "Sir". Zone is later revealed to have some traumatic experiences in his past, which may explain his bouts of pain whenever things seem threatening. The events from his childhood cement Zone's hatred of Galbadia and its president, and thus he leads a grassroots resistance organization in the hopes that the tyranny can be one day overthrown.
Zone seems to have a soft spot for women. Zone's attraction to "naughty magazines" is known around town, others treating it as a bit of a joke. During a hasty escape plan, Zone dejectedly relinquishes his train ticket to Quistis even if he doesn't have a back-up plan, feeling he can't let a lady get stranded. He feels protective of Rinoa, the Forest Owls' "princess", and gets furious when he deems Squall has failed to protect her.
Story[]
Zone's and Watts's fathers were publicly executed by the Galbadian government to set an example for other would-be rebels during the Timber War. In vengeance, Zone and Watts took over the Forest Owls in their fathers' stead.
Despite being the group's leader, Zone often lets Rinoa do the talking and take responsibility for the tougher tasks. He gets "stomach pains" whenever much pressure is laid upon him, or he is asked to participate in the more dangerous missions. Rinoa embarks to Balamb Garden to hire the owls some SeeD mercenaries to help them liberate Timber from Galbadian tyranny, and when Squall arrives Zone is quick to shake his hand. When he asks Squall to go get Rinoa for their meeting, Squall is displeased he is being asked to run errands, and Zone becomes intimidated and squats down in the corner with a stomach pain.
The owls hire the SeeD to kidnap Vinzer Deling, the president of Galbadia, but everything goes awry and the owls' base is destroyed. Zone and Watts put on disguises to lay low in the now locked down Timber, and he lets Quistis have his train ticket to escape Timber. When she tries to thank him he doubles over in pain and runs away, saying he will hide somewhere and that the others don't need to worry about him.
Later on Zone and Watts end up on the White SeeD Ship, his stomach pains now absent. When he learns of Rinoa's comatose state Zone becomes angry, cursing Squall for not protecting her. He heads to the helm, and if Squall follows him there, Zone has calmed down and explains he has learned how to pilot the ship.
Gameplay[]
On the White SeeD Ship Zone will will give Squall a Shiva card and a Rename Card if he gives him The Girl Next Door magazine for free. If Squall asks for money he gets gil instead. The Girl Next Door is found in the Timber Maniacs building in Timber by examining the magazine stacks on the floor of the reception, but visiting the White SeeD Ship is available for a very short window.