AN: *mutters to self* this fic will not go over 13 chapters, this fic will not go over 13 chapters... well, this 'book' o.O;;
Disclaimers: I don't *sniffles* own Seifer or Squall, or any of the other characters from the game. I will, however, lay claim to the SeeDs I've named *grins*, and any other characters/GFs that don't appear in the game. Someone let Squaresoft know I'll trade all my characters (cause they're so brilliant *sniggers sarcastically*) for Seifer and Squall... :p
Book One of the Sorcerer Arc ~ History Repeating ~ Chapter Ten ~ Dreams and Confusion
Seifer regained consciousness to the sounds of the SeeD cruiser's engines whining as they stuck to the speed limits of Dollet's harbour. With a mental grimace, he noted that, like himself when he moved around, they preferred to go as fast as possible. Of course, speed restrictions – such as the many yelled orders from the Garden Staff that he was to walk not run – had never held him back.
Slowly – he didn't think his pounding head would thank him for speed just at the moment – Seifer opened his eyes, and found himself staring into a pair of softly glowing yellow eyes. Only exhaustion prevented him from screaming, then the rational part of his mind took control, reassuring him that it was only Squall, not Ultemecia come back to haunt him.
The eyes pulled back, allowing him to see Squall's face, confirming that his logic was sound. As he watched, the brunette's lips moved, whispering something with what seemed like relief in his eyes. Seifer felt his head throb to the words, even though they had been so soft that he couldn't make out what had actually been said. Regardless, he forced himself to sit up on the hard bed. Immediately the blond grimaced, and closed his eyes as the room whirled in dizzying circles. With one hand he reached up, massaging the portion of his skull that felt most likely to fall off – just to reassure himself that it hadn't.
A sudden cool tingle ran through his body, and the headache vanished. An Esuna spell.
Normally such 'pity' on his behalf would have thoroughly incensed the blond, but even when he tried to find the sarcasm within him, there was nothing. Seifer was simply grateful that the room was stable, his head was whole, and that they were well on their way out of Dollet, with the sorceress seemingly content to let them go. That and he figured Squall owed him for baiting him into the whole situation. Not that he would have needed baiting, but... There were issues that the two of them had to clear up before the situation with the sorceress degenerated any further – he was quite confident that it ~would~ degenerate, it was just a matter of how long before it did so. Issues that couldn't be aired in public, but might well decide their parts in this war, just as it had the last...
***
Giving a gentle shake of his head, Seifer dispelled his maudlin thoughts and folded his arms.
"So, do I get a bonus for killing that X-ATV61UE thing?" Squall quirked an eyebrow in amusement, even as he slipped the Griever pendant back around his neck.
"You're so confident it's dead?" Seifer stared at him incredulously.
"Odin's Zantetzuken kills - there's no one wandering around boasting 'I was attacked by Odin and survived'." Squall's eyebrow rose a little higher, his gaze a pointed reminder that Seifer himself contradicted his words.
"Except you." Seifer shrugged, remembering the terror he had felt seeing the legendary GF hurtling towards him. He also remembered what Ultemecia had said after that, in the depths of his mind.
"I only survived that because one of you didn't want me dead." Squall smiled, a touch ruefully.
"None of us wanted you dead Seifer. We just had to stop you as best we could." Seifer could hear the lie in the brunette's voice.
"Yeah." Sarcasm laced the word. "Selphie wanted me dead for destroying Trabia. Cowboy wanted me dead because Selphie did. Chickenwuss wanted me dead because it was his last chance to get back at me. Instructor Trepe wanted me dead because I got her licence revoked. Rinoa wanted me dead for dumping her. You... You wanted me dead because I was the enemy...and you were under orders." Seifer brushed away further comments with a flippant wave of his hand and a quick dip of his head, missing the flinch and brief tightening of Squall's expression at his last words. "So how did that ~thing~ survive?" Squall turned away, hiding his face and expression from the blond.
"It has a repair system with an integral blueprint. It also draws the materials it needs from the area around it. Eventually those two halves will form into two machines..." The brunette's voice was ice. Emotionless, hopeless, expecting nothing and never disappointed. His eyes burned cold holes into the thick metal door of the cruiser's small infirmary room.
"Two!" Seifer exclaimed, blinded to the warning signs in the SeeD Commander's voice and stance by the shattering explanation. "Sweet fucking Hyne... How the fuck are we supposed to destroy it - them!?"
"..." One of Squall's more pointed silences answered his question.
The silence seemed finally to register on Seifer's stunned mind that something was wrong. A glance at the brunette, still stiffly facing the door with his arms folded, and tension thick enough to cut radiating from his figure, and Seifer knew he'd put his foot in it... Somewhere. Rapidly he mentally backtracked over the conversation, easily finding where things had all gone downhill. But before he could say anything that might begin to undo what had been done, Zell burst into the room, almost colliding with Squall.
The blond martial artist yelped, trying to skid to a halt and take evasive action at the same time. The manoeuvre left him fighting for balance, and Seifer would have made a sarcastic comment...except he was still trying to figure out how to save his ass from a royally pissed Commander once they reached dry land. Ironically, as Zell finally regained his equilibrium, it was the younger blond who provided the answer to all Seifer's current problems...
"Squall! It looks like something's wrong! There's a big crowd of SeeDs at the harbour!" There was silence. Zell's shoulders slumped as he looked from Seifer – sitting on the infirmary couch with one hand still pressed against his head – to Squall – still glaring daggers in the door's direction. "Guys?" He queried, frowning. It was almost like the prelude to one of their infamous argument-duel-scar moments. He suppressed a shudder, remembering the last, and most recent, of those events – that morning...
***FLASHBACK***
"Hey Seifer! I heard you got straight A's on the last test! Guess we all know why you've been hanging round Trepe's dorm!" The blond in question spun on his heel, facing the SeeD who had yelled the accusation across the quad.
"Yeah?! Well at least I'm not reduced to chasing after chickens to improve my combat grade!" The famous Almasy smirk made itself known, even across the distance between the two.
"Shut up Almasy, you fucking bastard! I'll...!"
"Enough." Squall didn't need to shout. Squall had never needed to shout. The ice that coated his words gave them the spin and pitch that meant they could stop a charging behemoth on the other side of a raging battlefield. "This is not conduct becoming two high level SeeDs. Hayle, you're assigned to the training centre cleanup squad for two days. Seifer, I want a thousand word essay on why SeeDs shouldn't engage in slanging matches across the quad." The SeeD who had been cut off had blushed, then groaned at his assignment and fallen silent, but Seifer had never been able to leave well enough alone...
"No Leonhart, it's not enough. I know you and the rest of the faggots in Garden are drooling over my ass, but I don't need, and I don't ~want~ your protection! I can take care of myself."
"Like you took care of Fujin and Raijin?" It was a low blow. A very low blow. Especially considering this was Squall. The comment incensed Seifer, and he spoke without thinking.
"I suggest you wake up to the world, puberty boy." The blond sneered. "You never defeated Ultemecia, you were just extra baggage - a hired sword that everyone used. You were never worth anything, and you never will be, because all you've ever done is cause people misery. I may have caused thousands to die, but you did the same, the only difference is, ~I admit it~." The vicious verbal riposte caused Squall to physically take a step backwards, a change coming over his face that only those who knew him would have noticed.
"Our battles have already been a war Almasy. I suggest you remember who lost." And with that Squall walked away, the argument seemingly over in his mind.
"Yeah?! Well maybe it's time for a rematch, if you can pull Lionheart out of your ass!" The brunette halted, back still to Seifer.
"I didn't know you cared about my ass so much, but if you want your ass kicked again...you know where, and when."
***FLASHBACK END***
Zell had overheard the entire argument, as had the small crowd that had gathered, and it hadn't been long before the rumour mill had spread the word to the rest of Garden. For himself it had only confirmed his suspicions that Squall leaned 'that way'. After all, he had never shown any interest in...well, in anyone, but Rinoa had tried so hard, and Squall had been so cruel to her the day he finally just told the raven sorceress to leave. The brunette had ~tried~ to be tactful, what with Garden's purpose to defend against malign sorceresses and all, she couldn't really stay there, but Rinoa had been convinced that with just 'one more day' she could get Squall to open up and confess his love for her.
But something hadn't seemed right to him, just as the tension between the two didn't seem right now. It was almost as if...
"There's another sorceress, isn't there." The statement was almost worth the glare of death Squall promptly delivered, just to see Seifer gape in astonishment. Zell smirked slightly at his older tormenter.
"Guess some brain cells rubbed off when you were fucking that library chick." Seifer muttered, shocked expression slipping easily into a sneer. Zell glared, and turned his attention back to Squall.
"Well?" Squall nodded curtly. "Ah man..." Zell groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Why do we get all the shitty luck huh? I mean, Ultemecia was bad, but another one?" He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You said something was wrong. What?" Squall's cold voice brought Zell back to the present.
"Huh? Oh, well, I dunno. There's a whole bunch of SeeDs waiting at the harbour, that's about all I could tell." Seifer groaned.
"C'mon Chickenwuss, or have you used those brain cells up already?" Seifer jeered. "Did they look ready for a fight? Was anyone injured? Was anyone with them?" Zell thought for a moment, biting his tongue on a sarcastic reply as Squall glared at him.
"They looked kinda nervous, but no one was injured... There might've been someone with them, I'm not sure..."
The boat rocked once as it drifted lightly to rest, bumping into the pier as it did so.
"Guess we may as well go see for ourselves, huh Chickenwuss?" Zell glared.
"Don't call me that!" Seifer just sniggered, slipping off the infirmary couch and walking past the flustered blond after Squall's disappearing figure.
***
It was almost a relief to escape the stifling tension of the cruiser's small infirmary. Almost. The game he was playing out here was more dangerous, the line walked, narrower. Squall already knew what was going on at the harbour. At this close distance he would have been hard pressed not to, especially the way she was 'broadcasting'. That was one of the reasons he'd sent her away from Garden. Either through sheer ignorance or a childish desire to be at the centre of everything, the Raven haired sorceress Rinoa Heartilly gave off waves of 'presence' that forced everyone to notice her. Bad enough if you were an ordinary mortal, slightly more perceptible – and one of the reasons none of the SeeDs in Garden had ever really felt comfortable around her – to SeeDs with their junctions active, but extremely uncomfortable for another sorcerer or sorceress.
Zell's faint yelp of outrage at Seifer's parting comment drifted to the brunette's ears, and he smiled slightly. In a way, despite the tension between them, it was good that Seifer was there. His aura seemed to have a dampening effect that intensified around Rinoa – an instinctive reaction perhaps – reducing the aggravation she would otherwise inspire. Now of all times, he couldn't afford for her to make him slip and reveal...
The bright light of day forced him to blink, and broke his chain of thought. It was a good thing in a way. He could shield his thoughts, but it was still best not to think some things too loudly.
"Squall!!!" The high pitched squealing of his name was all the warning the brunette had before Rinoa was there, gleefully attempting to strangle him in a welcoming hug.
"Well, well, well." Seifer's lazy drawl announced his arrival – and that he had seen just who was attached to Squall like a leech. "Look what the Torama dragged in." Squall felt Rinoa go tense, her aura changing subtly. The ex-knight and the sorceress had never gotten on since Seifer had thrown the raven-haired girl into Adel's clutches – an experience that Rinoa had steadfastly refused to talk about. To Squall's relief, however, all Rinoa did was release him from her clutches and turn to face her other ex-boyfriend.
"Poor Seifer." She pouted at him mockingly. "Still trailing around after Squall so you don't get your ass kicked?" Seifer glared daggers at the girl, but his brief glance past her to Squall confirmed that he remembered the agreement he'd been forced into. No harming Rinoa, no matter how much provocation she threw at him. After all, she only needed an excuse to 'defend' herself and she could kill him, setting herself up for life as the sorceress saviour who 'delivered justice' to the evil sorceress's knight, Seifer Almasy.
"Nah." Seifer forced himself to reply calmly, hearing Zell finally appear behind him. "I've been relegated to baby-sitting the Chickenwuss's ass." The briefest of frowns marred the young sorceress's features at Seifer's crude language. It was silly really, she'd been the 'leader' – read 'figurehead' – of a resistance group against the entire Galbadian army, and yet she had still been sheltered from the world to an extent that was frightening. Though, somehow, Seifer suspected it was part of an elaborate deception on her part. People let things slip around those more naïve than themselves, like everyone did around Selphie. There was a goldmine of blackmail information in the bubbly brunette's diaries, Seifer knew that for a fact – having managed to sneak a look at one once. Hyne only knew what Rinoa's diaries hid, but it probably didn't bode well - for anyone.
"Tsk, tsk." An admonishing finger was waved at him, and Seifer fought down the temptation to whip out Hyperion and sever it from his ex-girlfriend's hand. "So disloyal." A frown settled on the blond's face. What was she jabbering on about now? Surely she wouldn't be talking about... "They followed you through thick and thin, and then, not only do you betray them, you betray your promise to them." ~That~ was ~it~. There were lines they ~didn't~ cross. He didn't talk about her parents, and she didn't talk about...about Fujin and Raijin. His face darkened as she laughed at his stunned expression.
And that was it. Hyperion was drawn with a silken whisper from its sheath, and Rinoa jumped back a step, flexing her fingers as if to display the over-long nails she now wore. The over-long nails that she had grown after the Adel incident, cultivating them as part of her sorceress image... Seifer straightened from his combative stance in shock.
"Holy fuck..." He cursed, realisation dawning. Rinoa simply threw back her head and laughed...
***
"Hey Almasy! Wake up! We're at Balamb already!" Seifer groaned, head throbbing at Zell's shout. The rough prod at his shoulder brought him fully awake, dispelling the last traces of the dream. "Man you look like shit." Zell's unsympathetic assessment earned him a glare, but otherwise Seifer was too concerned with making sure that his head was not about to fall off or explode.
"Here." A gloved hand entered his field of view holding a bottle. Seifer took the elixir gratefully and slowly drained the contents. A tingle ran through his body, but otherwise there seemed to be no effect. Then he noticed Squall holding a hand out for the bottle – an ungloved hand. Confused, but too tired to wonder overmuch, Seifer pressed the empty bottle back into its owner's palm. Skin touched skin and electricity seemed to leap between them. Seifer felt his flagging energy levels rise once more, and the pounding in his head vanished. A quick glance at Squall, noting the faintest yellow flecks in his eyes, and the faint head shake he received, were enough to confirm that the brunette's sorcerous powers had done what even the elixir had been unable to.
"You actually merged with a GF!" Zell exclaimed behind him. Seifer twisted around to glare at him. "What was it like?" There was the faintest sound of boots on metal, and the older blond realised that Squall had left... Squall had left first, just like in his dream... But, that was just a dream... Wasn't it?
Seifer ignored Zell's questions as his thoughts whirled in circles. The sorceress had seemed to be after Squall that morning, but having already been under the control of one sorceress, wasn't it possible that he was more attuned to their manipulative tricks? The dream hadn't really seemed to be one of manipulation though. Not of anyone. Well, unless you counted the painful subject of Fujin and Raijin... He slipped off the infirmary couch, picked up Hyperion from the table where it rested and placed it back into its sheath.
"Aw c'mon Seifer! You owe me!" Zell's whine finally cut through his thoughts to bring him back to reality. If this was reality, and not another dream.
"What the fuck for?" He demanded. Behind his back, Zell smirked, the expression quickly hidden as Seifer turned.
"Squall had his arms full carrying your wasted ass, who the hell do you think carried Hyperion back here?"
"If I find so much as a scratch Chickenwuss..." Seifer threatened, glaring daggers at the other blond.
"Yeah, yeah. Heard it already." Seifer's frown deepened momentarily, then he turned and strode out of the door, still refusing to answer the question or even acknowledge it. Had he really merged with Gilgamesh? He couldn't remember too clearly. He remembered Squall throwing the accusation of cowardice in his face, remembered screaming the GF's name as he charged towards... Shit. X-AT61UE. In his dream Squall hadn't said it was dead, had even implied that it was still alive... Shit. He needed to catch up to the brunette before he got out to the harbour. "Hmph, fine." Zell commented behind him. "I'll just tell Selphie that you merged with Gilgamesh..." Zell's words brought the older blond up short.
"Don't you ~dare~ Dincht!" He growled, hand on the hilt of Hyperion in clear threat.
"Hehehe. Fess up to me, or face the Tilmett inquisition." Zell chuckled all too gleefully. Seifer's eyes narrowed.
"You breathe a word of this to anyone and ~I'll~ tell Selphie all about that security tape." The younger man's eyes opened wide in horror at the mention of ~that~ tape. Selphie would do anything to get her hands on it, once she knew it existed.
"You wouldn't...no...you would... Fine..." The blond subsided into mutters, leaving Seifer to turn and pelt in the direction of Squall, already knowing the delay had made him too late...
***
"Hey! Bitch! Get away from him!" Seifer's shout had Rinoa's SeeD escort instantly on guard. But all Rinoa did was obediently release Squall from her clutches and turn to face her other ex-boyfriend.
"Poor Seifer." She pouted at him mockingly. "Still not figured it out yet?" Seifer glared daggers at the girl, frowning at her words.
"I've figure enough out. I don't know exactly what you're up to, but I know what, ~who~ you really are." Rinoa simply threw back her head and laughed...
***
His head hurt. Seifer frowned as the pounding broke through the dream... The dream! The same dream, twice? Or very nearly... The recollection of the dream – dreams? – made him sit bolt upright, despite the throbbing in his skull.
"Shit!" He cursed, fully expecting either Squall or Zell to respond. There was nothing. Opening his eyes, Seifer inspected the cruiser's small infirmary. Nope, he was alone this time. But was this real? Was he really awake now? Or was this yet another dream? In theory the throbbing of his head should have meant that it couldn't be a dream, but since he'd had a splitting headache in both the other dreams... Then again, wasn't it more like real life that there ~wouldn't~ be a sorcerer handy to cure his pains?
Sighing in resignation, Seifer eased his way from the infirmary couch, and gingerly out of the room. Fortunately the nausea that had accompanied his movements passed quickly, and he was able to concentrate more on his surroundings.
The whole cruiser seemed deserted, the engines silent, and no crew apparent. Surely they hadn't just left him lying unconscious on the infirmary couch? Did that mean this was another dream? There was only one way to find out. The one consistent event. His confrontation with Rinoa... Except, she wasn't Rinoa...
Why was he dreaming this? Was he dreaming this? How many variations of the same scene, the same confrontation, might he go through before he woke up, and how would he know he was really awake? How would...
"I've been waiting for you." The menacing purr came from the other end of the boarding ramp. Seifer looked up sharply, regretting it as his head swam. Rinoa...no, ~not~ Rinoa...
"A..." Her laughter drowned the name upon his lips...
***
The tingle that ran through his body woke him even as it cured his headache. Seifer sat up slowly, yawning and stretching as though he'd been asleep for days rather than minutes. At least, he assumed it was minutes. It could have been hours for all he knew. Sleep...dreams... He groaned and slumped despondently, too exhausted to begin wondering if this was a dream or reality...again.
"Squall?" He mumbled, closing his eyes and lying back down.
"..." A neutral silence answered. It was as good as a yelled confirmation for Seifer.
"Kill Rinoa when you see her, she's been possessed."
"..." Another silence, and then the sound of the brunette leaving the room.
The laughter filled his mind...
***
Sunlight, harsh upon his eyes and unforgiving in its assault against his senses. Seifer muttered incoherently and flung a hand across his eyes. He didn't care if he was supposed to 'wake up'. He'd given in. Fuck it – the dream, 'Rinoa', Squall, Zell... Fuck the lot of them. He wasn't going to play these mind games again. Not again...
Turning over so that his face was shielded from the offensive brightness, Seifer drifted back into darkness, faint and ghostly laughter teasing at his ears.
***
Over and over he woke to the same dream. No matter what he did, how the dream began or how he tried to break out of the loop, it seemed that there was no end. No end save for Rinoa's mocking laughter ringing in his ears. Slowly the dreams began to merge in his memory until there was only the laughter. Nothing but the laughter, and his frantic attempts to escape in any way he could...
***
Moonlight this time...
The thought made him pause. This was the first time he'd been 'woken' in the night. Did that mean this was reality? Or did it just mean that he was doomed to repeat a new version of the dream until he played along and named Rinoa...
Half expecting the laughter to ring out and the cycle to begin again, Seifer was surprised when nothing happened. Was this reality? What ~was~ reality? Maybe the dream had simply changed. Maybe he was doomed to forever repeat one sequence of events or another for the rest of his life. But, if he was dreaming, was any time actually passing? Sighing in resignation, Seifer used one hand to shield his face from the light, and opened his eyes.
The Garden Infirmary!? What the fuck? Had he really woken up this time? Hope surged, along with the intensity of the throbbing in his head...and shoulder... Tentatively he tried moving the joint in question. Pain seared across a path he knew all too well. He muttered a curse.
"You're awake huh?" Seifer glared at Dr Kadowaki as she walked into the room.
He stifled an ironic, hysteric, laugh, remembering his thoughts the first time this had happened. Only this time it wasn't the doctor who was dreaming. With a groan he flopped back down onto the bed, not caring if she thought he was in pain or if she took it as an insult.
"Shoulder hurting? I'm not surprised. You only did it this morning. I warned Squall that neither of you should be fighting until you'd both healed properly." Seifer suddenly started listening again. "Seems he listens as good as you do." Dr Kadowaki muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Still, you didn't pull the stitches too badly, so as long as you let it heal this time," she glared at him to emphasise her point, "the scar shouldn't be too much worse."
Quite honestly, at this point, Seifer couldn't have cared less about the scar. A scar was a small price to pay for reality.
"Where..." His mouth and lips were dry, and the words stuck in his throat. Kadowaki looked at him sympathetically, and silently offered a glass of water. "Where's Squall." He managed to choke out after a few healthy swallows.
"In his office, talking to Rinoa." If Dr Kadowaki expected a repeat performance of that morning's antics, she was disappointed. Seifer spared only a grunt of acknowledgement for the news. To be quite honest, as far as the blond was concerned, he knew who and what Rinoa really was... Or thought he did. They had been dreams after all, and what were dreams but manifestations of a person's subconscious thoughts? Damn but that meant he had a twisted subconscious. Still, he was reasonably certain that, whether or not his dreams had shown him the truth about Rinoa, Squall was far more capable of dealing with her than he was in his current state. Besides, this was a perfect opportunity to start rummaging around for information on sorcerers.
Seifer never even considered that this might just be yet another dream...
AN: Anyway, about the whole 'three chapters to go' – that's to the end of this fic. I kinda decided about two chapters in that this was going to be a prelude/prequel story (having 'accidentally' written the last chapter), and by the time I reached this chapter I'd kinda plotted what was happening in the next two chapters – which is why the chapter lengths have suddenly increased – I'm not letting my plot daemon push me around *sticks tongue out at plot daemon* lol :)
Hehe, uh, when I wrote that this chapter was nowhere near this long... Then again, the previous chapter was nowhere near as short X_X As for the three chapters to go, weeeell, I'm going to try to stick to that, although I have a couple of scenes I'd like to try and get in that may push it slightly over, but on the other hand, it may naturally compress to under... yeah, like ~that's~ gonna happen!
So, let me know what you thought to the chapter, please. Even if this is the only review you leave for the whole thing, let me know whether you liked it or not.
REVIEWS FROM VERSION 1:
Reviewer: hybrid2
Date: 20/10/2002
For Chapter: 10
Review: I really really really like this one *wondering if there's enough 'really's* I mean it...
So.... When are you updating?
Author's Response: Hope your comment still stands for the new version :) Thanks for the review!
Reviewer: Griever
Date: 14/10/2002
For Chapter: 10
Review: more please
Author's Response: Yes sir/ma'am (delete as applicable)! Hope you like the new version as much :D