No Mercy
Part Three
Squall paced back and forth, looking out over the water that Balamb smoothly floated over. The beautiful blue sea that he had always loved so much. But it wasn't the same without Rinoa to watch with him. He wished she was back there with him, to console him and help him find out what was going on. Things had gotten so strange, he just didn't know what to do anymore. Xu was dead, he had recieved some sort of message that he wouldn't be able to see anymore. Something was happening to Fujin that scared the living hell out of him. Nothing made sense at all, but somehow it all fit together. It just felt like pieces of a puzzle that fit together in a weird dark sort of way.
"Squall!" Quistis cried from his office. "Squall are you up there?" Her voice was frantic, and Squall dreaded the sound. He quickly activated the lift, and lowered himself to her distressed face.
"What's going on?" He asked tiredly. The agitation on her face showed him no mercy as she parted her perfectly painted lips to speak.
"Rinoa... she's missing." Quistis sounded hesitant, as if she were afraid to tell Squall such news. It hit him like wildfire, and she took a step back. His eyes burned with an anger she had never seen concealed in his raging heart.
"That's it." He hissed, clenching his jaw, his fists, anything that could make his body tense as a board. "(I won't sit back anymore.) I'm going to Deling. (It's not everyone else's responsibility, it's mine.) I have to find Rinoa, and Fujin, and get to the bottom of everything. (I can't hide behind anyone anymore. This is my job, my love.) Prepare the Ragnarok." He walked briskly out of the office, leaving Quistis staring open mouthed at him, surprised at his sudden change of direction. She had expected him to break down, maybe even show a little emotion. But it was worse than she had thought. He showed the wrong emotion. And now, all hell was going to break loose in Deling City.
"You don't understand me?" Fujin rasped, slamming her fist down onto the counter. She ran her fingers over the blades of her weapon lovingly, as if a mother to a child. "I need you to refine this. Now."
"Miss, I don't have access to the items needed for this, no matter how much you pay me." The clerk broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding so terribly he was sure she could hear it. Maybe even see his ribs pulsating with each heave.
Fujin narrowed her eyes, a look of sheer annoyance framing her features. Her attitude had increased, and so had her tolerance. If she hadn't any control at all, she would have killed the man right on the spot. Yet she needed him, needed him to remodel her baby into the fierce weapon that she needed it to be. She knew the place, the underground black market of weapon refining, and this store was a direct link to that. The clerk was playing dumb, not wanting to reveal himself in case she was with the authorities, but she knew his game. And she wanted in on it.
"Excuse me." She leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. "One, I don't care how much you deny it, I know you can turn my pinwheel into a devastating piece of metal. Two, I know you have links to special illegal items needed to do so. And three... who the hell said I was paying YOU?!"
Rinoa rolled her neck, letting consciousness take her to the real world again. Her head had a light throb, not from being hit but from a powerful sleep spell that had been cast by an equally powerful man. Fear overtook her, and she wished to the heavens that she had gone straight home with Colton. She could just imagine the things that could be done to her, after what had happened to Xu...
"Don't be so tense, I'm not going to kill you." A familiar voice said, firm as a rock. Rinoa clenched up even more at the sound, and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to awaken from a horrid dream. She struggled a little, finally noticing that her hands were bound above her head to a pipe, while she sat with her legs folded on the cement floor. She had no idea where she was, but wanted out. Especially with that man, that evil man that had shrouded her mind that summer ago.
"Why are you here?" Rinoa asked, trying to keep her voice steady and clear. He laughed at her effort, throwing his head back in that arrogant way of his.
"I need you, dear Rinoa." The way he emphasized the word dear made her cringe. She had heard that line too many times.
"Did you kill Xu?" She inquired deeply, forcing herself not to look at him. One glance into those steel quicksilver eyes would cause her to melt once again, regardless of the fact that he had her tied to an overhead pipe. He had ever ceased to captivate her, those lucious features... that belonged to a murderer. "(He must have done it. God Rinoa, stop it. Stop torturing yourself.)"
"Yes." He bluntly replied, and Rinoa let out a sob. "Don't cry. I'm not going to kill you." He repeated, but she couldn't stop. The tears weren't from that, however. It was beccause something had suddenly clicked in her brain of what was happening to her. He was going to use her for something terrible, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't good, it wasn't good at all. How she ached for Squall. She wanted him to embrace her, to kiss it all away.
"Please, Seifer... please just let me be..."
"(Finally...)" Fujin thought as the nervous clerk brought her around into his office in the back. Pulling a few books from a high shelf, he yanked on a hidden chain and the floor opened a hidden staircase right before her feet. He led her down winding stairways, through passages, as if in a maze. She tried to keep a mental note of where they were headed, but it was impossible. Nothing unfamiliar could find it's way out, unless it had a photographical memory.
The clerk had eventually given in to her when she threatened him enough. Her brutal strength had shown through, she let him see the power lying within her feminine physique. Sure, up close Fujin didn't look like much, but ultimately, she was the stronger person. The clerk saw that once she had argued and motioned enough, and led her down to the hugest stock of black market refining items she had ever seen. There were things everywhere, insane dangerous illegal things that Fujin had only dreamed of.
"Wh, what do you want?" The clerk bit his lip, nervous as hell that he may be found out. The woman was so strange, he couldn't tell whether she really wanted things or wanted to bust him. She was so dangerous, acted as if he was a futile creature in her presence. And, in a way, she was.
"I want fire... and electricity..." Fujin pointed at a few elementals, while also looking at an Ultima-Induced blade. "Hmm..." She rubbed her temple, peering around at the vast selection. She knew certain combinations, but her knowledge only went so far. "I want all the elements, I think. And some Ultima for my limit break..." She continued, piecing together something that the clerk had never even dreamed of creating before. The weapon might very well have been the most dangerous equipped blades to ever be. Ultimate weapons had been created before, but usually ended up confiscated, destroyed, or under military control. Fujin had something within her, something burning with desire to destroy, and she wanted the best of the best. And because he feared her so much, he gave her exactly what she wanted.
"Squall, you don't even know how to FLY the Ragnarok!" Selphie protested, but Squall kept his arm outstretched. The worried look on the thin girl's face gave a little comfort to his aching heart, but not enough to give in and let her come with him.
"I can learn." Was his simple reply, and Selphie was forced to oblige.
"You know, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days." She slapped the ignition keys into his hand and crossed her arms, cocking her head to the left.
"Not in this lifetime." Squall turned on his heel, and stalked up the ramp into the monstrous ship. He remembered a little bit of the flight instructions from the time he and Rinoa had been in the cockpit together. It wasn't that hard, and the worst that could happen would be that he'd crash the damn thing. In that case, he'd just take Garden to Deling. It might not be as fast, but it would beat waiting for the train. He sighed heavily, wondering what had become of him. A year ago, he would never have gone running away from his duties to look for a woman, let alone a woman like Rinoa. He had let himself get wrapped up in her charms, and the walls of ice around his heart melted. He cared for the girl thoroughly, but at what cost? He hoped that Quistis would be as good as Xu was at her new job. Quistis was the only other person he figured he could trust with the position, although the former instructor wouldn't be as inclined to run errands for Miss Heartilly.
Squall started up the engine, letting the ramp close up, and let out a deep breath. He could do it. He could fix everything, find Rinoa and Fujin, have a funeral for Xu, and forget about the Sorceresses for once. He needed down time, as Quistis had said. Xu needed down time too, and he saw what happened to her.
"(Alright, let's see what we're made of.)" Squall lifted off, shooting up into the sky full speed, pressing him back against the seat.
"(I'll get you, I promise.)" Seifer leaned his head back against the wall of the windowsill he was perched on, staring out at the desolate alley he had so suddenly taken Rinoa from. He wasn't even planning on taking her that early, but she just popped up, and it was too good a chance to miss. He took a long drag of his cigarette, crystal eyes glinting in the moonlight. Things weren't happening as smoothly as he'd have liked. Being obliged to travel to Deling right away, he had to bring Xu's body with him to make sure that the transformation had become complete. After her mark disappeared, he knew that the fated essence had left her completely. Dumping her in the hotel wasn't the least conspicuous thing he could have done, but it would drag the attention away from Rinoa for a time. It would be smart to leave Deling with her, but the newest contaminant was in the City. He had to find her, and quickly. "(Why can't I feel you? Usually I can sense where you are at one exact moment. I know you're here, but it's jumbled.)"
Seifer heard a soft moan, and saw Rinoa moving in her sleep. Her raven hair shifted and revealed her troubled expression. She didn't look to be having a very pleasant dream.
"Squall..." She murmured, and Seifer furrowed his brow. He stared at her, eyes running over her distressed features and down to her mature figure that had been his that summer so long ago. Now it was for the 'valiant hero'.
"It's always Leonhart." He hissed, quietly jumping down and crossing the secluded room to her. He knelt, and stared at her head on. "This time, it won't be about Squall. (It's about me.) You used to love me, Rinoa. And though you don't now, you'll still have to pass her into me." He reached out, stroking her cheek. "You're the virgin sorceress."
Fujin had named it Abolisher. A fitting name for what she was going to do with it. No, not Fujin. The soul leveling up inside of her. The evil etched upon her very being that was slowly controlling her, and it was hard to keep battling it. And now it had created an ultimate weapon, something that would devastate the hearts of many. It's many elemental blades whooshed through the air, as if cutting existence itself. After spending many hours with the store clerk, it was finally done. With her last shred of Fujin, she had paid him a hefty amount of gil for it, and walked out of the store with dread in her heart. It was the only part of her still pure.
'Sweet Fuu, don't frown so. This will be for the good of humanity...' The voice of that evil woman echoed in the silver haired warrior's head. 'Abolisher suits you well, you know.'
"Don't speak to me." Fujin shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning against a tree standing near the General's house.
'Take a good look at the sky, Fujin.' The voice wafted, with no hint of amusement left. 'It's the last time it will be this colour. Next time you rest your eyes on it, the sunset shades will turn a blood red. An omen of the coming darkness, the torture that shall befall the human race.'
"Why do you want this?" Fujin's lip quivered, in a way she had always called weak. It disgusted her, the show of her inner softness that she would never admit to having.
'I don't, Fuu.' The mocking tone was back in the splitting voice. 'You do. Don't you ever wonder why you seek the Knight? You think it's lust, but it is far deeper than that. Your fate draws you to him... because you will kill him.' Fujin stepped back, nearly slipping and falling down behind the tree. The words cut into her deeply, and she shook her head.
"I... I'd never kill Seifer." She rubbed her temples harshly, allowing Abolisher to sound a clear thunk in the grass. Her own voice sounded far away, and it frightened her.
'Yes, you will.' The voice began to laugh, and Fujin shook her head, trying to rid herself of the voice. She wanted to scream, cry, and hurt someone all at the same time, but did none. She fell to her knees, and finally let sobs overtake her. In all her hopelessness, Fujin cried tears of blood.
Part Three
Squall paced back and forth, looking out over the water that Balamb smoothly floated over. The beautiful blue sea that he had always loved so much. But it wasn't the same without Rinoa to watch with him. He wished she was back there with him, to console him and help him find out what was going on. Things had gotten so strange, he just didn't know what to do anymore. Xu was dead, he had recieved some sort of message that he wouldn't be able to see anymore. Something was happening to Fujin that scared the living hell out of him. Nothing made sense at all, but somehow it all fit together. It just felt like pieces of a puzzle that fit together in a weird dark sort of way.
"Squall!" Quistis cried from his office. "Squall are you up there?" Her voice was frantic, and Squall dreaded the sound. He quickly activated the lift, and lowered himself to her distressed face.
"What's going on?" He asked tiredly. The agitation on her face showed him no mercy as she parted her perfectly painted lips to speak.
"Rinoa... she's missing." Quistis sounded hesitant, as if she were afraid to tell Squall such news. It hit him like wildfire, and she took a step back. His eyes burned with an anger she had never seen concealed in his raging heart.
"That's it." He hissed, clenching his jaw, his fists, anything that could make his body tense as a board. "(I won't sit back anymore.) I'm going to Deling. (It's not everyone else's responsibility, it's mine.) I have to find Rinoa, and Fujin, and get to the bottom of everything. (I can't hide behind anyone anymore. This is my job, my love.) Prepare the Ragnarok." He walked briskly out of the office, leaving Quistis staring open mouthed at him, surprised at his sudden change of direction. She had expected him to break down, maybe even show a little emotion. But it was worse than she had thought. He showed the wrong emotion. And now, all hell was going to break loose in Deling City.
"You don't understand me?" Fujin rasped, slamming her fist down onto the counter. She ran her fingers over the blades of her weapon lovingly, as if a mother to a child. "I need you to refine this. Now."
"Miss, I don't have access to the items needed for this, no matter how much you pay me." The clerk broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding so terribly he was sure she could hear it. Maybe even see his ribs pulsating with each heave.
Fujin narrowed her eyes, a look of sheer annoyance framing her features. Her attitude had increased, and so had her tolerance. If she hadn't any control at all, she would have killed the man right on the spot. Yet she needed him, needed him to remodel her baby into the fierce weapon that she needed it to be. She knew the place, the underground black market of weapon refining, and this store was a direct link to that. The clerk was playing dumb, not wanting to reveal himself in case she was with the authorities, but she knew his game. And she wanted in on it.
"Excuse me." She leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. "One, I don't care how much you deny it, I know you can turn my pinwheel into a devastating piece of metal. Two, I know you have links to special illegal items needed to do so. And three... who the hell said I was paying YOU?!"
Rinoa rolled her neck, letting consciousness take her to the real world again. Her head had a light throb, not from being hit but from a powerful sleep spell that had been cast by an equally powerful man. Fear overtook her, and she wished to the heavens that she had gone straight home with Colton. She could just imagine the things that could be done to her, after what had happened to Xu...
"Don't be so tense, I'm not going to kill you." A familiar voice said, firm as a rock. Rinoa clenched up even more at the sound, and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to awaken from a horrid dream. She struggled a little, finally noticing that her hands were bound above her head to a pipe, while she sat with her legs folded on the cement floor. She had no idea where she was, but wanted out. Especially with that man, that evil man that had shrouded her mind that summer ago.
"Why are you here?" Rinoa asked, trying to keep her voice steady and clear. He laughed at her effort, throwing his head back in that arrogant way of his.
"I need you, dear Rinoa." The way he emphasized the word dear made her cringe. She had heard that line too many times.
"Did you kill Xu?" She inquired deeply, forcing herself not to look at him. One glance into those steel quicksilver eyes would cause her to melt once again, regardless of the fact that he had her tied to an overhead pipe. He had ever ceased to captivate her, those lucious features... that belonged to a murderer. "(He must have done it. God Rinoa, stop it. Stop torturing yourself.)"
"Yes." He bluntly replied, and Rinoa let out a sob. "Don't cry. I'm not going to kill you." He repeated, but she couldn't stop. The tears weren't from that, however. It was beccause something had suddenly clicked in her brain of what was happening to her. He was going to use her for something terrible, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't good, it wasn't good at all. How she ached for Squall. She wanted him to embrace her, to kiss it all away.
"Please, Seifer... please just let me be..."
"(Finally...)" Fujin thought as the nervous clerk brought her around into his office in the back. Pulling a few books from a high shelf, he yanked on a hidden chain and the floor opened a hidden staircase right before her feet. He led her down winding stairways, through passages, as if in a maze. She tried to keep a mental note of where they were headed, but it was impossible. Nothing unfamiliar could find it's way out, unless it had a photographical memory.
The clerk had eventually given in to her when she threatened him enough. Her brutal strength had shown through, she let him see the power lying within her feminine physique. Sure, up close Fujin didn't look like much, but ultimately, she was the stronger person. The clerk saw that once she had argued and motioned enough, and led her down to the hugest stock of black market refining items she had ever seen. There were things everywhere, insane dangerous illegal things that Fujin had only dreamed of.
"Wh, what do you want?" The clerk bit his lip, nervous as hell that he may be found out. The woman was so strange, he couldn't tell whether she really wanted things or wanted to bust him. She was so dangerous, acted as if he was a futile creature in her presence. And, in a way, she was.
"I want fire... and electricity..." Fujin pointed at a few elementals, while also looking at an Ultima-Induced blade. "Hmm..." She rubbed her temple, peering around at the vast selection. She knew certain combinations, but her knowledge only went so far. "I want all the elements, I think. And some Ultima for my limit break..." She continued, piecing together something that the clerk had never even dreamed of creating before. The weapon might very well have been the most dangerous equipped blades to ever be. Ultimate weapons had been created before, but usually ended up confiscated, destroyed, or under military control. Fujin had something within her, something burning with desire to destroy, and she wanted the best of the best. And because he feared her so much, he gave her exactly what she wanted.
"Squall, you don't even know how to FLY the Ragnarok!" Selphie protested, but Squall kept his arm outstretched. The worried look on the thin girl's face gave a little comfort to his aching heart, but not enough to give in and let her come with him.
"I can learn." Was his simple reply, and Selphie was forced to oblige.
"You know, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days." She slapped the ignition keys into his hand and crossed her arms, cocking her head to the left.
"Not in this lifetime." Squall turned on his heel, and stalked up the ramp into the monstrous ship. He remembered a little bit of the flight instructions from the time he and Rinoa had been in the cockpit together. It wasn't that hard, and the worst that could happen would be that he'd crash the damn thing. In that case, he'd just take Garden to Deling. It might not be as fast, but it would beat waiting for the train. He sighed heavily, wondering what had become of him. A year ago, he would never have gone running away from his duties to look for a woman, let alone a woman like Rinoa. He had let himself get wrapped up in her charms, and the walls of ice around his heart melted. He cared for the girl thoroughly, but at what cost? He hoped that Quistis would be as good as Xu was at her new job. Quistis was the only other person he figured he could trust with the position, although the former instructor wouldn't be as inclined to run errands for Miss Heartilly.
Squall started up the engine, letting the ramp close up, and let out a deep breath. He could do it. He could fix everything, find Rinoa and Fujin, have a funeral for Xu, and forget about the Sorceresses for once. He needed down time, as Quistis had said. Xu needed down time too, and he saw what happened to her.
"(Alright, let's see what we're made of.)" Squall lifted off, shooting up into the sky full speed, pressing him back against the seat.
"(I'll get you, I promise.)" Seifer leaned his head back against the wall of the windowsill he was perched on, staring out at the desolate alley he had so suddenly taken Rinoa from. He wasn't even planning on taking her that early, but she just popped up, and it was too good a chance to miss. He took a long drag of his cigarette, crystal eyes glinting in the moonlight. Things weren't happening as smoothly as he'd have liked. Being obliged to travel to Deling right away, he had to bring Xu's body with him to make sure that the transformation had become complete. After her mark disappeared, he knew that the fated essence had left her completely. Dumping her in the hotel wasn't the least conspicuous thing he could have done, but it would drag the attention away from Rinoa for a time. It would be smart to leave Deling with her, but the newest contaminant was in the City. He had to find her, and quickly. "(Why can't I feel you? Usually I can sense where you are at one exact moment. I know you're here, but it's jumbled.)"
Seifer heard a soft moan, and saw Rinoa moving in her sleep. Her raven hair shifted and revealed her troubled expression. She didn't look to be having a very pleasant dream.
"Squall..." She murmured, and Seifer furrowed his brow. He stared at her, eyes running over her distressed features and down to her mature figure that had been his that summer so long ago. Now it was for the 'valiant hero'.
"It's always Leonhart." He hissed, quietly jumping down and crossing the secluded room to her. He knelt, and stared at her head on. "This time, it won't be about Squall. (It's about me.) You used to love me, Rinoa. And though you don't now, you'll still have to pass her into me." He reached out, stroking her cheek. "You're the virgin sorceress."
Fujin had named it Abolisher. A fitting name for what she was going to do with it. No, not Fujin. The soul leveling up inside of her. The evil etched upon her very being that was slowly controlling her, and it was hard to keep battling it. And now it had created an ultimate weapon, something that would devastate the hearts of many. It's many elemental blades whooshed through the air, as if cutting existence itself. After spending many hours with the store clerk, it was finally done. With her last shred of Fujin, she had paid him a hefty amount of gil for it, and walked out of the store with dread in her heart. It was the only part of her still pure.
'Sweet Fuu, don't frown so. This will be for the good of humanity...' The voice of that evil woman echoed in the silver haired warrior's head. 'Abolisher suits you well, you know.'
"Don't speak to me." Fujin shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning against a tree standing near the General's house.
'Take a good look at the sky, Fujin.' The voice wafted, with no hint of amusement left. 'It's the last time it will be this colour. Next time you rest your eyes on it, the sunset shades will turn a blood red. An omen of the coming darkness, the torture that shall befall the human race.'
"Why do you want this?" Fujin's lip quivered, in a way she had always called weak. It disgusted her, the show of her inner softness that she would never admit to having.
'I don't, Fuu.' The mocking tone was back in the splitting voice. 'You do. Don't you ever wonder why you seek the Knight? You think it's lust, but it is far deeper than that. Your fate draws you to him... because you will kill him.' Fujin stepped back, nearly slipping and falling down behind the tree. The words cut into her deeply, and she shook her head.
"I... I'd never kill Seifer." She rubbed her temples harshly, allowing Abolisher to sound a clear thunk in the grass. Her own voice sounded far away, and it frightened her.
'Yes, you will.' The voice began to laugh, and Fujin shook her head, trying to rid herself of the voice. She wanted to scream, cry, and hurt someone all at the same time, but did none. She fell to her knees, and finally let sobs overtake her. In all her hopelessness, Fujin cried tears of blood.