"Ashes (Prelude)"
8. Becalmed
Squall followed Selphie down the elevator shaft and into the elevator. Once they were back on ground level main, he took a breather. No matter what was happening, no matter what had happened, he had to stand on his own two feet and appear to be strong. He could fall, if the fall was internal and showed nothing to the others. It wouldn't matter then.
Selphie took his arm and held him. Her presence calmed him, strengthened him. It instilled a strange thought in him: that they would make it through this, and everything would be fine.
"Come on, let's-"
They both saw cadets and the occasional SeeD moving in the same direction.
Brea emerged from the elevator and wiped the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand. Having made the climb up and down once more had taken a lot out of her. She saw her General and Lieutenant General Tilmitt standing there. She came over and announced her presence with a salute.
"Are you alright, sir?" she asked Squall.
"Better than can be expected." Squall said, "How's Xu?"
"A medic is with her right now, sir. He told me that she could easily hold out until we can get her to the Infirmary."
"Where are they going?" Squall asked, pointing at the few that were walking in the same direction.
"Looks like the path to the Infirmary has just been cleared, sir."
"Let's go."
Brea, too afraid to presume she could do that, simply walked by Squall's side while Selphie had his arm. They walked at Squall's pace, which, Selphie found, was irregular, often with one foot dragging and making him miss the step. She supported him as much as she can, and is aware of the fact that sometimes, he leaned forward before pulling back, as if he was about to fall, but reeled himself in at the last second.
A crowd had gathered on the edge of the Infirmary. Some, Squall saw, were injured cadets who had makeshift bandages over their wounds, made from their clothes, their ties. His brow creased. Why wasn't anybody going in?
"Step aside, please." Brea said, elbowing her way through to clear it for Squall and Selphie. They slid by the crowd and got to the entrance.
Squall just stopped. Selphie took one step further and she, too, stopped. Brea, by their side, was simply standing there, staring onto the scene. The hallway leading into the infirmary had been scorched black, the debris cleaned up by the appointed squad cluttered it along both sides. The double doors were gone, reduced to bent pieces of metal. Through it, the inside of the Infirmary could be seen and...
Black. Scorched black. Ashes. Nothing but ashes, and the defiant SeeD Cross looked like it was floating there, nailed to the wall.
"S-Seifer said..." Selphie stuttered, "Th-tha-that Quistis would be..."
"Move!" Squall brushed past her, followed by Brea. Selphie sprinted after them.
"Quistis!" Squall shouted, only to encounter two field medics, one, he remembered, was a junior.
"Stand back, sir! Please! Nobody should get in here, stand..."
Brea made a small whimpering sound and cupped both hands over her mouth. Selphie held back only by Squall's arm, simply froze there. Squall could feel his headache become just a mild annoyance in the hurricane of thoughts screaming at him. Three medics were already doing what they had been trained to do, and they were right to do so, but the damage... the damage seemed, to him, worse, much worse...
A question came to mind.
"How did she survive?"
"We don't know, sir." The junior level medic said, "We couldn't find anybody else, just... fragments."
"Protect."
Squall, Selphie and Brea turned and saw Seifer, hugging his knees on the corner.
"Wh-what?" Selphie could manage.
"Her... right hand is... is..." Seifer swallowed, "It's burnt. But the rest of her body is... isn't so... the casting hand she... casts with her right hand. I don't..."
Squall's stomach lurched and he barely kept his teeth clenched. The stench of burnt flesh was thick in the air. He staggered back, pulling Selphie along, and took two steps before throwing up all that he had left from the bridge. Selphie steadied him as he breathed, his eyes turning in their sockets. Black infested his vision, just for a second, and then he managed to steady himself.
"Squall, you need to-"
"Not now," Squall said.
"Sir, are you alright..?"
"I'm fine Brea, just... we have to..."
The thin screech of feedback made them all cringe. The speakers, those still functional, came to life with Nida's voice.
"Finally, this fucking thing works! Thank fuck for that... Ahem, everyone, listen to me - all of you, hold onto something. I'm going to give the Garden a big push, and it's going to shake you all - I don't want any unnecessary injuries. You have about a minute to get into position. Nida, out."
Seifer reached out, and gently draped himself over Quistis. He whispered in her ear, again and again, that he was here.
Selphie and Brea helped Squall back to the elevator shaft. As he had guessed, nobody else had thought to go there - few ever thought to seek refuge in what was essentially a mostly-sealed box. On their way, they saw couples and trios hugging benches, holding onto the still-intact railing, onto chunks of stone... some had even decided not to hold onto anything, but to simply sit out in the open.
When they got to the elevator, Selphie went in. Brea opted to stand guard in front of it, in case anybody tried to get in at the last minute. Squall missed his step coming in, and ended up being slowly lowered to the ground by Selphie. She cradled him on her lap, gently holding him.
"I'm... I didn't do anything... but I'm tired..." Squall said, "But there's something else... FH bridge, they... they need to know we're coming... we have no communications..."
"Shhh..." Selphie said, "I'll take care of everything. And Brea's watching over us."
"I just... wake me up if I fall asleep. I don't..."
Nida's voice
"Here it comes, people!"
Selphie held Squall tightly, and Squall's eyes closed. As every sound started to come from further and further away, he heard Selphie's voice, whispering a prayer.
Please, Hyne, please...
