Disclaimer: I don´t own Final Fantasy VIII...
Unexpected Destiny
Chapter 25: Rotten luck
By CelestialRage
"That was amazing, sir! You´re the best, sir!"
Watts had been showering the SeeDs with compliments since they had entered the Owl´s base. Squall – whose turn to receive Watts's praise had arrived – just nodded at the teen and called the SeeDs apart.
He looked at Rosie and said "You're right. The security on that train was almost non-existant."
"Wha? Wait a minute, man! Of course there was security! Didn't 'ya see all those g-soldiers on the train?" replied Zell frowning.
"Do you really think they were enough to secure the president of the most powerful country on this side of the globe?" asked Rosie frowning as she looked at the martial artist standing on her left.
"Well..." Zell didn´t had the chance to finish his reply, as Rinoa's voice interrupted him.
"You 4, tell me when you're ready to go." She said as she walked from behind them towards the presidential car's entrance. "As soon as you´re ready, I´ll start "serious negociations" with the president."
Squall's frown deepened. He didn´t like the term "serious negociations", it surely meant trouble. He just nodded towards Rinoa and turned to look at his comrades His tone became low, just enough for them to hear. "We better prepare ourselves for anything."
The SeeDs nodded in agreement, each of them proceding to check on their junctions and GF´s. Rosie leaned near Selphie and asked "Do you have any Phoenix Downs on you?"
The brunette girl nodded "Just one. You know, for emergencies."
The raven-haired SeeD smiled and nodded back.
Trust me, this is going to be an emergency.
ooo ooo
The door opened with a whoosh and the 5 teenagers entered the presidential car. Deling was still sitting with his back facing them. Squall's frown deepened when he noticed the president stayed calm and collected even as Rosie came to sight, holding Reaper in her hand and aiming for the man's head.
Rinoa joined the raven-haired SeeD and said "President Deling... as long as you... don´t resist, you won´t be hurt..." her voice sounded weak and a little frightened, but still the young woman held her ground when the old man turned his face to look at her dead in the eyes.
A minute or so passed and Squall got the impression the president was seizing the young girl in front of him. Suddenly – and to everyone´s surprise – Deling chuckled, threat evident in the evil sound. His sudden change of demeanor made Rinoa take an involuntary step back and Rosie´s grip on Reaper harden as the president's laughter was replaced by an ill-natured smirk.
"And what if I do resist? What would you do, young lady?" his gaze was fixed on Rinoa as she trembled slightly and gave another step back.
"What´s wrong?" asked Squall, moving to his right and stopping dead on his tracks when he got a better view of Deling´s face.
His eyes were no longer black, they had changed to a yellowish hue.
"The hell?!" exclaimed Zell as he and Selphie moved to support his comrades.
"Boo hoo! Too bad..." said Deling, twitching his neck to the side in an unnatural way. The SeeDs took combat stances as the man in front of them stood up. "I´m not the president. I´m what they call... a body double." He said, smiling wider as Rinoa´s face went blank with shock.
The fake Deling chuckled even more evily than he had before, a little drool escaping from his mouth, but he didn´t seem to care, not now when all the teens around him knew what he was. "All those rumors about the many resistance factions in Timber... You pass along a little fake information and they fall for it!" His creepy laughter echoed through the compartment again. Hiz gaze fell on Rinoa as he said between chuckles "How pathetic! Seems like there are only amateurs around here..."
"Ama... amateurs?" muttered Rinoa still in shock that all her info was fake. She couldn´t believe all their hard work had been for nothing!
The thing – because at this point, all of them were sure he wasn´t human – patted his rear slightly before speaking again. "My butt hurts form all that sitting... young... LADY..." his voice had grown deeper, reminding Rosie of Ifrit´s unearthly tone. The fake president took a step towards Rinoa as it chuckled again, his new tone almost making the cabin´s walls shake "So, what did you have in stoRE for me if I resiSTED?" His neck was still cranned to his right in a sickening way and more drool came out from his mouth as he spoke. "Why doN´T you teLL ME?"
The fake president´s arm swung in Rinoa´s general direction, but was stopped when a massive-caliber bullet pierced its skin.
Rosie had pulled the trigger.
The creature´s neck cranned so that its face was infront of the raven-haired SeeD, reminding Rosie of the famous scene from The Exorcist. The sound of shifting bones and flesh made the young girl sick, her grip on Reaper faltering a little at the sight of the unholy monster's yellow eyes getting closer to her.
"QuiTE AMusing thouGH..." the fake president said as he brought his injured arm up so Rosie could see it. She watched in horror as black goo leaked from the opened wound, though the creature seemed as good as new. His grin became wider as he said "... For BeING suCh AMAteurS!" his other hand quickly came up and gripped Rosie´s throat, pulling her up a couple of feet from the ground.
Zell moved quickly, hitting the monster with a backwards kick, but it just kept standing up as if nothing had happened. Rosie´s left hand was over the fake president´s one at her neck while her right squeezed Reaper´s trigger repeatedly, blowing the left part of the creature´s still smiling face, black goo splashing all over her face and clothes. Revolver slashed the creature's arm, cutting it almost to the elbow and Rosie fell to the floor coughing as she tried to get the creature´s hand off her neck.
The fake president swung his only arm, hitting Zell on the chest and hurling him backwards to a nearby wall. "How DaRE You inSULt thE PreSIdeNT!" it growled as he lunged for Squall. He brought his gunblade up, piercing the monster´s stomach, but much to his surprise, the creature laughed harder and walked nearer him, Revolver´s blade going even deeper into its flesh.
Selphie was about to cast a Fire spell, but with Squall so close to the monster she couldn´t risk it. Instead she ran to Zell and cast a healing spell on the martial artist. Rosie was already on her feet, she had cleaned the black substance out of her eyes and was aiming at the monster´s head, while it tried to bite Squall.
She squeezed the trigger, the Demmolition ammo hitting the monster´s head and blowing a little piece of it. The brunet did the same, Revolver´s powerful blasts opening a huge hole in the creature´s flesh. Stormy eyes closed slightly as the same black goo splashed from the monster´s injures.
Finally, after he had emptied the gunblade´s barrel, the fake Deling stoppped moving and fell limp to the floor. While Squall planted a foot on its chest and shoved his gunblade off the creature, Rosie walked near him and squeezed the Reaper's trigger twice, blowing the thing's head off completely.
Hope this way it´s really dead. She thought as she looked at the black blodied mass of flesh.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Squall, turning around to look at his comrades.
"Been better..." came Zell´s reply as he stoop up, still dizzy from the hit he had received. The martial artist was sure had it not been for his junctions, he would be dead by now.
"Wh... what was that thing?!" asked Rinoa, coming closer to the SeeD leader from her hidding place.
"No clue." replied Squall dryly as he looked at the monster´s remains.
Surely undead monster, by the way it received injures without even flinching.
"Geesh! I need a bath!" said Rosie, trying to get all the black substance off her arms. She looked at the equally dirty Squall and grinned "Well, at least I´m not the only one."
He was about to reply, when a scream from Rinoa made him turn to look at her. The raven-haired girl´s eyes were wide with shock. The SeeDs quickly spun around and prepared their weapons as Deling´s corpse started moving.
"Rinoa, get out of here!" yelled Squall as he readied his stance.
The 'princess' obliged, running for the exit and closing the door behind her. The fake president´s flesh was boiling and the SeeDs could see a strange purple and green steam coming from the corpse. The sound of cracking bones and opening flesh was sickening as was the river of black goo that had erupted from the remains.
The corpse back's flesh went up, clearly concealing something that was growing in the interior of the body. Selphie´s left hand shot to her mouth as she diverted her gaze, unable to watch the macabre show anymore. Rosie shut her mouth tightly, trying to conceal her urge to gag at the nauseous smell that had invaded the cabin. Suddenly, the flesh ripped and a huge greyish flesh mound emerged from the remains.
"What the...?" Squall muttered in shock as he stared at the bizzare creature in front of them.
Although humanoid, the sight was sickening. Its pale grey skin was transparent enough for them to see blueish veins all through its body. Its head was just a skull, though the eye orbs were not empty, instead a burning blue flame lighted them with malice. While its body's right side was proportional, its left was deformed, mounds of flesh vaguely molding a huge arm tipped with green sharp claws and an equally big leg. The most sickening and disturbing part was its abdomen, where a blue tumor-like growth throbbed and shifted as though it had a will of its own.
Recovering from the initial shock, the brunet organized his group. "Selphie and Rosie, stay back for support. Zell, you´re with me." The SeeDs nodded and moved through the cabin.
"BWAAAARGH!" The monster let out a gutural growl as it leaped for the martial artist. Although its massive size and apparent clumsyness, the creature was rather quick. Its deformed right arm raised, preparing to slam the blond SeeD, as he quickly spun around, a Fire spell hitting the thing's blue abdomen.
Squall moved forward, his gunblade slashing the creature's deformed leg, black goo splashing at the contact. A gunshot echoed through the cabin as Rosie aimed for the thing's skull and squeezed Reaper's trigger. Selphie had finally the chance to use the Fire spell she had been preparing and cast it just after the second gun's blast.
The creature seemed pissed, though relatively uninjured. It took a breath and aimed at Selphie, releasing a green gas towards the tiny SeeD. She moved to her right, catching her breath and avoiding to inhale the alien substance.
Zell and Squall charged again, the first one sending quick jabs to the monster's back, while the second one jumped and slashed the creature's head. Rosie aimed and shot at the blue abdomen, more goo splashing everywhere as the result of the 3 SeeDs attacks. The monster growled again and sent a spell to Squall, whose vision suddenly went black.
"Damn!" he cursed under his breath as he searched his mind for a curative spell. Suddenly he heard the monster´s growl again and the characteristic sound of a heavy blown being contained by a Protect spell.
Selphie focused on her spell as the monster tried desperatively to reach her through her magical defense. Rosie cast a Cure spell on the monster, gaining a growl from it as its deformed body twitched in pain.
"Undead monster!" yelled Selphie as she searched her mind for more Cures.
"Gotcha!" shouted Zell as he focused his energy to attack the monster with healing magic.
The creature sensing the magical course around it, turned quickly and used a Silence spell on the martial artist. Zell´s eyes widdened as his mind went mute, he could no longer access his magic stores or reach his GFs.
"Selphie, use the Phoenix Down!" yelled Rosie as she cast another Cure spell on the monster.
The tiny SeeD reached frantically inside her dress's right pocket, but by doing this, her energy on the Protect spell divertered a little, an opportunity the monster seized. It cast a Dispel on the magical barrier, breaking it like a soap bubble, its large deformed arm lunging for Selphie. She leaned backwards, but its sharp claws cut through the skin of her right arm. The brunette clutched at her injure and started hacking and twitching as she fell to her knees.
"Selphie!" yelled Rosie, running to aid her friend.
Zell rushed too, slamming the monster with all his might and sending it against a nearby wall and away from the other 2 SeeDs. Rosie kneeled next to the now pale Selphie and frantically reached inside her friend's pockets trying to find the healing potions she needed.
"Antidote! C'mon!" she yelled before finally finding a small, green bottle with a yellow label. "Drink it, Selph." She said as she poured its contents inside her friend's mouth.
Squall's vision hadn´t returned, he was out of appropiate healing status magic, and couldn´t even rely to his items, since all the vials had the same shape, so he could end up drinking an Echo Screen, instead of the Eye Drops he needed. He decided to focus on his other senses.
The SeeD planted himself firmly on the moving train´s floor, his gunblade up and in a ready stance. Squall´s frown deepened in concentration as he listened intently for the creature´s whereabouts. He could hear Rosie's voice along with Selphie's coughs in the further corner of the room. Zell's fast footsteps could be heard to his left... he was running towards the monster. Squall readied a Blizzard spell, hoping to trap the creepy creature enough so the other SeeDs could use their healing magic on it.
"Rosie!" He yelled, not sure whether she heard him or not. "Prepare the Phoenix Down!"
"Okay!" Squall was relieved when her voice replied.
The raven-haired SeeD left her friend's form leaning against the wall, Selphie's natural color already returning to her paled face. She reached inside the yellow dress's pockets and produced a little red bottle with golden label.
"Got it!" she yelled to Squall.
Meanwhile, Zell was pummeling the monster, keeping it against the left wall of the compartment, far from his comrades. Suddenly, the monster hacked and spit a green substance to the martial artist's face. Zell tried to avoid it, but the green goo splashed on his face. Screaming painfully, the blond brought his hands to his face, Rosie quickly casting a healing spell on him as the monster hit his form with enough force to send him flying across the room.
Squall released his Blizzard spell, trapping the monster's midsection in a thick layer of ice. Rosie ran towards the creature, now that its arms were contained, the red vial in her right hand. The monster used a Silence spell on the raven-haired SeeD, her mind going blank as the connection to her magical resources and GF was cut. The monster hacked again, spitting the same green substance he had used against Zell, catching Rosie's right leg as she got nearer.
She screamed painfully, as the green substance seemed to burn her flesh like acid and fell to her knees, unable to move her injured leg. The monster came closer, its proportional arm getting free from the icy trap Squall had conjured and reaching for the raven-haired girl at its feet.
This proved to be a mistake.
Rosie opened the vial as the creature's hand gripped the front of her green shirt, pulling her up to its face. The monster chuckled evily as it looked at its prey straight to the eyes.
"Eat this!" yelled the raven-haired, splashing the red vial's contents on the grinning monster's ugly face. The creature let out a pained, high-pitched howl, immediately releasing Rosie - who fell hard to the floor - and bringing both hands up to its now melting head.
The powerful healing magic robbed the monster of the death energies that kept its organism up and running. Its body started boiling, flesh and bones melting into a black-bloodied mush as it colapsed to the floor.
Rosie looked down at her injured leg and screamed in pain again as she tried to move it. Panting hard, the raven-haired was a little startled when a hand landed on her shoulder. Looking around, her surprise grew when she found Squall kneeling beside her.
"Well done." He said, his eyes staring blindly to the front. She felt a surge of pain looking at his empty eyes.
"You´re blind." she muttered, halting her hand just before she could caress his face.
"My potions are on the left side of my belt. I can't tell which are the Eye Drops." He said as he turned slightly to the side, so that his little pouch was visible for Rosie. She opened it and produced the small blue and silver vial he needed. She opened it and brought it to his lips so he could drink the contents.
Rosie´s gaze turned from Squall's face to her left, where Zell was already walking towards them. "Good move!" he said as he dusted the green goo remains out of his hair. "And thanks for healing me, that thing's like freakin' acid."
"You tell me..." replied the raven-haired sarcastically while pointing at her still injured leg.
"Cure!" a bright white light enveloped Rosie's form as Selphie cast the healing spell on her friend.
"Thanks, Selph. I´m glad you´re ok." said the raven-haired girl when the tiny SeeD approached her.
"Me too." chirped the brunette, smiling. She turned towards the dark monster's still boiling remains and said "Cool use for a Phoenix Down!"