Disclaimer: Don't own nothing except the GFs and chars and attacks I make up. There wont be too many of those though. .

No Regrets, No Mercy

Chapter One

Meandering aimlessly on the endless seas with the wind running through his hair and his posse by his side. Yes, that was how God had finally repaid him for all the wrongs that had been done unto him. A moment of peace, when all the struggles that he had had to face were put to rest and he could reflect on what had passed and what lay ahead. Raijin's cheerful banter could be heard in the background periodically interjected by Fujin's sharp remarks. Just like it had always been. The barrier that had been between the friends while Ultimecia was alive seemed to have dissolved. They knew what each meant to the others. Not just friend but family.

Had he been responsible for what he had done? If truth be told, then he wasn't sure. At times everything had been lucid, at others, hazy. But it was his ambition that had led him into Ultimecia's trap. What transpired thereupon, he hardly remembered. It was no more than fragments of memories hanging loosely together. A torn veil, a forgotten dream.

"Hey Seifer" said Raijin poking him on the shoulder with his staff.

"Where do we go from here. I mean, we can't go on like this, ya know. No food for one."

"SENSE." said Fujin with her arms folded across her chest.

"Oh anywhere." said Seifer carelessly "It doesn't really matter where we go. 17 years ago it might have been different. But no satellite images now. No one'll know us."

"Whooooo!!! Then lets make for Fisherman's Horizon. There's fish an fishin' there ya know." Raijin paused a moment.

"Hey Seifer."

"Yeah?"

"Where the heck are we anyway?"

That jerked Seifer out of his reverie.

"Where?" He said waving his arms helplessly "How the hell am I supposed to know? Somewhere in the world. Or at least I hope so anyway. Don't think we're dead yet."

"Er...So.......how do we get......somewhere?" Inquired Raijn scratching his head.

"TRIAL AND ERROR." said Fujin lying down on the raft. Seifer had thought that she would be mad at him but it didn't seem to be like that. It was almost as if she was enjoying this impromptu sailing trip. No wonder. After what they had been through in the last month or so.......

Fujin's ambiguous answer seemed to have satisfied Raijin though. He went up to the front of the raft and leaning on his staff gazed into the sunset.

Seifer felt guilty for what he had got his friends into. Their exam for SeeD had been scheduled right after his. But they had thrown away their chance of a life of honour and adventure because of him. Wherever he had gone, they had followed him unquestioningly. And they would follow him even if he walked into a lion's den.

"Don't worry Seifer." said a soft voice. Seifer looked around with surprise. It was very seldom that Fujin spoke like this.

"It wasn't your fault. And nothing they say can make it so."

He looked at her gratefully. Many people saw Fujin as cold and unemotional. But he knew better. To Raijin and him she thawed out a bit at times. And she always knew what to say. He could only wish that what she said was true.

"LAND AHOY!!" hollered Raijin.

Fujin got up to take a look and Seifer followed.

It wasn't too clear in the twilight, but it seemed to be a large island, absolutely devoid of trees. There were slight undulations in the land but from a distance it looked like the top of a bald green head.

"What on earth...." mouthed Seifer. Nothing he had seen was remotely like what he beheld just now.

"Hey Seifer" yelled Raijin. "I think we should steer her towards that bit of bay. Give me a hand."

"A hand with what, idiot" shouted Fujin over the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore.

The full implication of the retort struck Seifer and Raijin simultaneously.

"Damn..." was all Seifer could say before the boat stuck a rock and they were all sent flying.

There were weird things floating around. A piano, a truck.........not to mention a 9-headed Cyclops. But whenever he tried to bang one of them on the head, they would fly away twittering and laughing like that awful messenger girl. Then the scene switched to something infinitely worse. Ultimecia, larger than life stood before him asking him why he had failed to stop the SeeDs. He wanted to slash her in two with Hyperion but all he could do was bow ungracefully and hang his head like a dog. "Failure, darkened knight, lapdog....." she said in a high pitched voice. But he could do nothing. It was as if all his pride and sense of superiority had disappeared, and all that remained was a servant that scraped at his master's heels.

But some of his arrogance was still there. All of a sudden, something changed.

"No, I did not fail. I let them go." he said defiantly, displaying an almost superhuman will.

"So......." the sorceress breathed, her lips twisting upwards into a cruel leer.

"Yes" continued Seifer "I let them go so they could destroy you and ruin your plans."

"Is that so?" the voice had taken on a tone of amusement.

The knight was silent. He no longer wished to play this game. There could only be one winner, and he was not it.

"They cannot kill me." Said the sorceress. The pitch of the voice had increased manifold.

"Yet I, I, can kill them and will."

"But to you, I give a fate far worse than death" she screeched. Black wings exploded from her back and her face disappeared into a faceless mass. Her clawed hands reached for him and though he parried, he knew there was no hope. This was the end.

"SEIFER?" Said a concerned Fujin as she heard him groaning in pain. Though all three of them had been a bit bruised and battered, Seifer seemed to have taken the worst of it and was still unconscious. He had been badly cut up by the rocks and had lost a lot of blood. They had bound up his wounds the best they could but it was a bad lookout. Unless they got some help...........goodness knows what would happen.

Raijin was sobbing behind her back. He had seen Seifer and that had left no hope left in him. With a gash opening up his chest, Seifer was a terrible sight. But she had seen him recover from worse. She could not afford to lose one of her friends now. Not when they had just got over the worst.

A cry from Raijin startled her.

"Fuj....!!" There was near hysteria in his voice.

"What is it?" she asked running over to him.

"There is something here." he said in a shaky voice. "Something terrible. Are you junctioned?"

Fujin shook her head. "No GF."

"Does Seifer have one?"

"WRAITH."

"Then draw it from him, quick. I'm not too good at magic."

Fujin turned back to draw the GF from Seifer. Just then she heard the flapping of wings and a roar. Before she could react, a massive ball of fire hit her from behind burning through her combat dress and tearing her flesh. Stars flashed before her eyes. She staggered for a moment, then her eyes rolled up and she fell to the ground.

Raijin watched with horror as the Ruby Dragon breathed out its flames onto an unsuspecting Fujin. He saw her fall and knew that she would not rise again if the dragon attacked another time. There was nothing left to be done. The posse had lived together and they would die together. But he was determined to make the dragon fight for his prey.

"Draw." he shouted and beads of light flew from Seifer's body into him. He could feel the strength of the Keeper of Darkness supplementing his own. With a savage cry of hatred and anguish, he rushed at the dragon and dealt him blow after blow after blow. He backed away after the blitz, panting and sweating. He had done nothing but angered the great dragon. Physical blows could only do so much against a dragon's hide.

He backed away from the snarling beast and braced himself for a last desperate lunge, but he felt a strange aura surround him all of a sudden. He looked down and saw that the ground under his feet was throwing out faint pink beams of light. It was a draw point, but the dragon was closing in fast. He could do nothing against it.

Taking a chance, he drew whatever spell was contained in the point and even as the familiar warmth set into his body, cast it on Seifer.

Seifer felt the acrid taste of 'Life' in his mouth as the spell thrust consciousness upon his body. He got up groggily, instinctively reaching for Hyperion. In the distance he could see a huge ruby dragon. And right beneath his talons was.......Raijin.

"Noooooooooo!!!" he shouted sprinting towards the monster. Desperation welled up in his soul and gave him inhuman power which he could feel surging through his whole body. This was the moment.

"Limit break-Supernova"

He yelled leaping up into the air. His left hand glowed with an ethereal light and a supernatural wind blew across the barren land. There was a mighty humming in the air as a ball of black fire gathered at his fingertips. He pulled back his hand and threw it with full force towards the dragon.

The ball whistled through the air and erupted as it hit the dragon, engulfing the screeching beast in a dark fire. Seifer landed nimbly on his feet and ran towards Raijin. He dragged him back from the burning dragon and laid him on his back against a rock. Then he turned back to the dragon with his sword drawn.

But the beast had had enough. Raijin had hurt him badly with his blows and the limit break had almost been the end of him. Uttering one last screech of agony, the dragon rose into the air and flew off with trails of the black fire billowing out behind him.

Seifer junctioned Wraith back and drew some curaga spells from one of the innumerable draw points to get Raijin and Fujin back. His mind was working furiously. Though he had only heard strange tales about the place. He knew where they stood. It was the island closest to hell.

A/N: Pathetic, I know, sorry. But I promise that the rest of it will be better. And regularly updated too apart from when I'm having my exams. Well, hope you liked it anyway and please review so that I know whether its worth going on or not. (Oh yeah, this is my first fiction. And I've written it without any kind of help, so don't flame).