Queen of Souls
By Soul Hunter
Chapter Seven
He had reason to be proud of himself. Four doctorate degrees in astrophysics, chemistry, paranormal biology and geology gave him those reasons. A man of unreserved passion for his trade, he had found it convenient and even necessary to skip over the usual nuances of what an ordinary life offered, in favor of his pursuit for excellence in his craft. He considered himself one of the best, an asset that his employers negotiated hard to acquire. He believed they could never do without him.
But that was before they unceremoniously terminated him.
Fools they are, he had come to believe since then. Stupid, intractable oafs who did not know talent when it stared them in the face. Arrogant, insensitive dolts who cared nothing for his dreams. Who thought of nothing but their insufferable penchant to solve problems by looking for one to land the blame on. That debacle wasn't in any way his fault. Whoever approved to accommodate those self-worshipping youths who believed they know everything should be the one who blamed. Whoever gave that questionable authorization was at fault. Not him. And they had the gall to single him out as the one who had to answer to that ugly incident that nearly gave back the world one of its most despicable tyrants.
He'd be damned to not give them back the grief they caused him.
The scorned man stared intently at the one before him, the one who claimed he could provide him with the means for retribution. He looked at the hefty individuals shrouded in shadows. He couldn't see his face. But that hardly mattered. What was important was his ability to make good with his words.
"Name your price, and whatever you will ask of me is as good as done."
The one in the shadows laughed.
"Really, my friend. You cannot dream to have whatever it is that can entice me, so do not pursue your crass intent on patronization by asking for my price'."
"What is it you want, then?" He came back perplexedly.
"On the contrary, I'm the one who will pay you for your services, as well as provide you with the means to achieve your dreams of revenge."
He smiled. Things couldn't have been more amicable for him.
"Is that why they call you the dream-giver? You provide dreams for everyone angry enough to put his foot down in trampling everything that he used to believe in, for the sake of revenge."
"Oh yes, yes." Chuckled the man in concealment. "I am the dream-giver. In more ways than you think possible. In a lot more ways"
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The shimmering green glow had just dissipated from Zell's head after Quistis healed his wound with a Cure spell. As the surroundings went dark once more, Quistis looked up to observe from the tattered ceiling of the tomb-maze that the moon's silvery face had risen to its highest point in the night sky. Normally, her behavior towards this nocturnal occurrence was that of celebration. Even in her grimmest moments, the view of the moon's resplendent face always managed to uplift her spirit somehow. But today, it only meant she had lost her stealth edge as the bright rays vanquished the darkness she had been hiding into for the last hour.
That hardly mattered now, though. Seifer already found her.
"So what'd the deal, instructor? You sold us out? What's with this traitor business?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I explain it to you, Seifer." She retorted while lifting herself up. "And I suppose it'd be useless for me to ask you to just stand down and let me be."
"You're right, it's useless." Seifer shot back. "And frankly, I'm really not interested if you have a valid explanation or not. Just wondering if our highly esteemed instructor has finally gone nuts and betrayed Balamb Garden. Why, you're even making me look like an amateur."
There are a limited number of things that get a rise out of Quistis. For one thing, she doesn't approve of the Garden staff intruding into her personal life. Headmaster Cid aside, Quistis just couldn't agree with the clamor of some obnoxious faculty members who advocated the concept of full disclosure of their activities outside of Garden business. Sometimes, she just couldn't avoid thinking that these nosey individuals may have other intentions in mind aside from the professed rational of safeguarding Balamb Garden interests with that rather outrageous proposition.
Another thing that has the propensity to irk her was the allegation that she was too friendly to her students to the point of spoon-feeding them when it came to intra-curricular activities. Yes, she liked milling with her pupils and treating them as near-equals. She was also criticized frequently by the senior faculty staff for her practice of privately tutoring some of the weaker students. And Quistis had time and again opposed these criticisms ferociously, stressing the lesson that they all should have learned after the ill fate that befell Mairi Celandine *.
Being accused as a traitor was the third one. As the most deathly loyal citizen of Balamb Garden, any insinuation of betrayal can easily make her see red. And in this instant, it did exactly that.
"I never thought it would amount to anything if I tried to explain my reason, Seifer." Quistis exclaimed. "That's why even though I hated it, I had to go around attacking my friends from behind. I know they would never see it my way. And let alone you."
A loud crack exploded when she snapped her bullwhip against the ground.
"And it will do you well NOT to question my loyalty!"
Another sharp thunder blasted out as the bladed tip of the Save the Queen broke through the sound barrier. Seifer's spiteful smirk suddenly disappeared as his arms instinctively raised the Hyperion to protect him from Quistis' onslaught. The shockwave almost jolted him when his blade met her bullwhip.
"My, aren't we feisty today!" He chortled falsely.
But another impact from the whip jarred his composure, completely erasing his smugness as it forced him to assume a protective stance while the instructor attacked relentlessly. He almost regretted his condescending remark. Seifer wasn't exactly used to being on the defensive in a fight, and he certainly wasn't accustomed to seeing Quistis this enraged. He realized that he struck a very sensitive nerve this time.
Still, he was not one to be easily cowed. Regaining his composure, Seifer allowed his warrior's instinct to take over, meeting one of Quistis' swings with an equally forceful counterattack that almost knocked the flexible weapon from her grip. The power of his counter-swing staggered the instructor back and forced her to use her aching left leg to regain her balance. Quistis winced when a sharp pain ran through her appendage.
"So is this it, Quistis?" Seifer snidely rang out. "Have you finally realized it's just not worth wasting your life in Garden while harboring all these wishes that your favorite student finally see you for what you really are?"
Quistis barely avoided another onrush of the deadly Hyperion, ducking just in the nick of time to allow the blade to strike a defenseless wall. She quickly wobbled away just as a shard nicked her shoulder.
"I've always thought you for a fool, you know." He continued while going after her. "Even you can't deny the kind of sight you enjoy everyday with your students either drooling or swooning over you. Boys and girls, all jockeying for position to get to your good side. And what are you doing in return?"
Seifer pressed one more assault, with Quistis using all her strength to parry his spinning strike.
"You're ignoring the glaring evidences that you're perhaps the most loved person in Garden, just because of some jerk who couldn't differentiate between you and a cafeteria table."
"What the hell do you care?!?" She shot out with a backhand against his face. Seifer recoiled back, stunned but at the same time pleased. He nonchalantly wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't care." He quipped. "Maybe I shouldn't bother with your idiosyncrasy of torturing yourself for an endeavor that isn't yours to pursue."
He flung his fist against her, and this time, the gradual ebbing of Quistis' strength took its toll on her, as she became too weak to dodge. Seifer's knuckles landed with a reverberating smack against the instructor's face.
"But I do. I do care. And do you know why, dear instructor?" He continued, his voice starting to assume an indignant tone. "Because everytime I see you groping for a dream that isn't yours, I'm always reminded of my own pursuit for a dream that wasn't mine! Everytime I see you in that pathetic state, I remember myself being the enemy. I remember acting like a trying hard, idiotic sorceress' knight, and all the grief I caused because of it!"
Her brows met. Was Seifer admitting a guilt that she thought he never felt? Was he finally giving in to remorse for the shameful misdeeds that he committed? Quistis collected herself, deeming it untimely to think about his misgivings. Mustering what little strength she had left, Quistis lunged at Seifer and buried her knees into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He folded up in throbbing pain while trying desperately to catch his breath all the while continuing to spew out his bitter indignation.
"You always had to remind me of this always had to make me think of everything that was lost because of my delusions. You simply just won't quit making me wonder what it'd be like if I didn't become the enemy."
"What?" Quistis stuttered. Her momentary lapse proved to be her undoing when Seifer suddenly rose up to strike with a jolting punch up her chin, sending her hard against the granite escarpment. The instructor struggled desperately to stay conscious, gritting her teeth violently even as she felt blood flowing down the back of her neck.
"You always had to drum it into my thick skull that if not for what I did, Rinoa and I would still be together!!!"
Rinoa? Seifer's agonizing over Rinoa? She didn't even expect it, what with her memories of his baneful attempt at casting the girl he professed to have loved once before the reviving form of the tyrant sorceress of Esthar. She never even thought he had it in him to care this deeply about someone. Hell, she didn't even think he cared about his self-styled posse. All she knew about Seifer, aside from the fact that she was with him back in the orphanage, was his cold and calculating nature as a warrior.
Quistis had always considered Seifer her equal notwithstanding the fact that he was once her student. A warrior almost without peer, the intrepid Almasy was counted as one of the few who had been genuinely gifted with the art, as if it was one of his birthrights. Arguably, the only other person who surpassed him by a half-rung is the illustrious Squall Leonhart, but even this claim had not gone uncontested. Seifer had always been poetry in motion in the battlefield: pure skill, sheer courage and cold efficiency. And though she normally wouldn't question her own capability, Quistis had enough sense never to underestimate her opponents. Much more Seifer himself. She had never tried scrimmaging with him, and she honestly didn't know if she was powerful enough to beat him in a fair fight. At best, Quistis could only hope for a stalemate. One that she just could not afford at the moment in light of present circumstances.
On the other hand, one of the reasons why she was considered the best was her penchant to undermine her adversaries' Achilles heels. Zell's was his hot-blooded impulsiveness. Seifer's was his inimitable loftiness. He may believe that he was the best, and he may have reason to. But even the best of them still has a kink in his armor. And for the last tormenting minutes, Quistis had been talking to him, goading him into a mistake that she hoped could be taken advantage of. Inadvertently, she uncovered a hidden pain in his heart, that of his silent longing for the past to come back together with his former place in the heart of the same girl she envied so much: Rinoa.
The instructor almost pitied the frustrated knight. They have a lot more things in common than she previously thought. But now wasn't the time for pity. Only action. And she had to push herself to the limit once more in enduring the kick he planted in her upper torso.
"Auggh!" Quistis wailed in pain, feeling the unmistakable throbs of a fractured rib. Perhaps reminding Seifer of his heartache wasn't such a good idea after all. She had never seen him fight this ferociously.
"Let me give you a bit of advice, instructor. You're bankrupt in this betrayal business so just give it a rest, all right? You're too much of an altruist. Taking it easy on me is definitely not the way to win."
"What's he doing?" She asked in her mind. It was either Seifer was turning the tactical tables on her, using the same strategy she had been employing against him or he's simply provoking her to lose her patience. And in her weakened state, she knew that whether Seifer was exercising his own brand of tactical maneuvers or merely wanted to juice out more challenge from her was already immaterial. She can't afford to give in to his needling. She'd most surely lose.
The golden bullwhip once again lashed out, intending to capture Seifer's legs in its unbreakable coils. Ignoring the pain in his right knee, Seifer abruptly made a leap to avoid the rushing weapon even as Quistis made her move again. The Save the Queen whirled in the stale air, relentlessly pummeling the obstinate Almasy who was once more forced into a defensive stance. And Quistis knew she shouldn't be doing this, trying to match fire with fire in this draining battle with the proud warrior. But in her fatigued state, she could hardly come up with any new idea.
A Firaga assault again threw the instructor back.
"It's over, Quistis." Seifer spoke out with contempt. "I don't usually take prisoners, I'm sure you know that about me. But in your case, I'll make an exception. If you surrender now, I promise I won't cripple you."
"Not on your life!" Quistis blurted out. Without warning, her bullwhip exploded into action once more as she powerfully snapped her wrist to send the bladed tip into a direct path toward Seifer's face.
He nonchalantly cocked his head to the right, and the whip hit nothing but the granite wall, wedging its sharp edge deeply into it. Seifer once again mocked the instructor.
"Missed."
"Nope!"
Quistis suddenly tugged hard, pulling her weapon free and took with it a huge slab of rock that subsequently hit Seifer hard at the back of his head. His knees instantly wobbled after the impact.
She immediately took the advantage, throwing all caution down the drain while unleashing a staggering round house that hit Seifer's lower midsection. Quistis groaned in frustration while watching him double up in pain. She was really aiming for his face, but the restricting dimension of her vermilion pencil-cut obstructed her movement. Without hesitation, Quistis ripped her skirt off and tossed it behind her, after which she hurled her booted foot again. A soft thud emanated when Seifer collapsed on the ground.
"Hhh watching all those Batman movies does pay off." A voice resonated from behind her. Quistis didn't have to turn around, she already knew it was Squall who was speaking to her.
"And for once, I have to agree with Seifer. I can see at least fifteen different ways to disable you from this position, instructor. So I suggest you save us both the grief and give up."
It seemed she wasn't the only one fascinated by the exploits of the comic book hero, the instructor thought. She would have savored the hilarious irony were they only not faced with a grim situation. But this time, she felt she had to let him know of this. For some reason that she wasn't exactly oblivious to, Quistis just couldn't bear keeping Squall in the dark.
"You have no idea the kind of danger you all face, Squall." She began. "If I don't do this, you will surely die. All of you."
"And what are you trying to do? Save us from this monster that a sketchy prophecy decreed will kill a legion who's also destined to destroy it? And since when did you start allowing old ladies' tales to affect your judgment?"
He knew.
"How did you?"
"I saw this scroll inside that tomb, Quistis. It looks at least a hundred years old, but it doesn't necessarily lend any credence to this prophecy you seem to be hinging your faith on too much."
"You don't understand, Squall!" She exclaimed with a desperate voice. "I've seen things. I saw visions and omens that could only mean one thing. If we battle this creature together, we will all die! And you know I can never allow that to happen!"
"So you're going off to fight this creature alone? And what assurance do you have that you can beat it all by yourself? The way I see it, your logic is just as naïve as this prophecy you allowed to push you into betraying us. If he really has the power to kill us, then that means you're doomed to die alone if you insist on facing the monster all by yourself."
Quistis turned around to face Squall. She tried to talk, but seeing his skeptic attitude, she subsequently became gripped with doubt on his ability to believe her being the chosen one to conquer the destroyer.
"And you know I can never allow that to happen." Squall followed up. Quistis was startled at his words.
"What do you care?" Her choking voice rang out. "For the last two months, you've been treating me like some unwanted stranger whom you had no choice but to tolerate. What do you care if I die?"
Squall was caught off-guard by her aching repartee. He wanted to tell her that it was merely a dutiful penchant of a leader to watch over his charges. But deep inside, he knew there was something amiss, he just couldn't put a finger on it **.
"Because you're my teammate, and I believe you shouldn't be asking my stand in this." He subsequently voiced out the conviction that he knew was incomplete.
"Never mind" She trailed off. "Choose not to believe me if you must. But you also must know that I will do whatever I believe is right for the safety of my friends."
"Then you also leave me no choice." Squall replied with resignation. He then unsheathed the Lionheart. "Though I really wish you'd reconsider, Quistis. You're in no shape to fight me."
He was right, she thought. After taking down five of her comrades, Quistis was exhausted. There was absolutely no way that she can beat Squall in her fatigued condition.
However, a lurking shadow behind the SeeD commander eventually rendered the point moot. Squall didn't even hear the onslaught coming as a rapid-fire of chops, punches and kicks pummeled him mercilessly. When the whirlwind assault relented, the SeeD commander became relegated to a hurting and confused neophyte who had seemingly been run over by a pack of stampeding Wendigos.
"Damn, you're tougher than I thought." Hunter murmured, watching Squall as he refused to give up the rather one-sided battle. The black-clad mercenary swung his weapon toward the blurry image of his opponent, and hit nothing but air. A simple sideward kick then disarmed him.
Hunter walked over to Squall and positioned his fist in front of the SeeD's chest.
"The one-inch punch. It'll hurt like hell, but at least it's not gonna break your bones or anything."
A deafening thunderclap rang out. Quistis bit her lips as Squall careened to the other end of the corridor. After the melee, she turned her attention annoyingly toward Hunter. Her disdain was replaced with mild perplexity when she saw the look on his face.
"What?"
"Quistis could you kindly... put your skirt on? You have to realize that I'm not in any way a saint, so..."
She almost blurted out laughing despite the slight embarrassment she felt for standing partially naked before the amusingly nervous warrior. And after strapping on her skirt, Quistis once again turned toward Hunter with a serious facade.
"So where were you? I could have been killed here."
"Come on, you don't really expect your friends to seriously hurt you."
"No, but that's not the point." She bellowed. Hunter immediately stopped tying Seifer up to focus his attention to her. "I needed your help. If the threat is that huge as you claimed it, you should have at least given me a hand here."
If he weren't wearing a helmet, Quistis would have seen the wry smile that became painted on his lips.
"Would you really have wanted me to?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come now, Quistis. I saw the look on your face while I was beating the crap out of this guy here." He furthered his sarcastic tone while pointing at Squall's unconscious form. "I figured if you wanted your friends taken out, you wouldn't trust anybody else to do it for fear that they might be hurt more seriously than they ought to."
She didn't reply anymore, conceding to his accurate assessment of her sentiments. Deep inside, Quistis was surprised with Hunter she had never met anyone who immediately developed a rapport with her. As Squall previously attested, she was just so hard to get along with.
A sharp pain shot out from her chest that brought a moan out from her. Hunter again left his chore to immediately attend to the ailing instructor. He noted her hand clutching the right portion of her chest before gently removing it to put his own hand on the same spot. He pressed softly, bringing Quistis to a labored grimace.
"A broken rib, but not too serious."
"Yeah, right" She sighed. "It hurts like hell!"
"Will you quit whining like a baby?" He chuckled. "This can be easily patched up so don't worry, all right? I'm gonna take good care of you."
"Well, you better"
He wasn't exactly expecting that soft rejoinder from her. Hunter looked up, and saw the tender gaze on Quistis' magically mesmerizing sapphire eyes. At that very moment, he saw in her the resplendent face of the queen who had begun to reign supreme in the deepest domains of his soul.
End of Chapter Seven
* My good friends and colleagues, Astarte and Brightangel, are working on a FF8 story that chronicles the circumstances surrounding Mairi Celandine's fate. Titled The Purity Gradient, it's now ongoing in FFOnline.com.
** Author's note: this could be a lingering effect of the events that transpired in True Destiny.