Tour de Force
by Soul Hunter
Part 8
The man in the silver overalls can't help smiling while recalling the face of his brother. Pushing in his late forties, the hangar technician remembers fondly the party he organized for his brother's only child, who happened to be dying of a rare degenerative disease. She just turned six, and since two years previous the little girl had been clamoring for an audience with Mary Huang, popular TV star, teen idol and host of the internationally acclaimed children's show Legends of Mana. It nearly cost him an arm and a leg. Nearly, if not for the teen star's generous offer of giving her services for free.
Mary even offered to have the little girl as guest in her weekend morning TV show. And the elder technician has decided that he wouldn't miss seeing that episode for the world. There's no way he's not going to see his beloved niece on TV.
But all of it had to change when he was threatened with termination by his work superior, who had earlier ordered him to report for duty to spruce up the recovered VY-1 bomber prior to its delivery back to its owner, Jerico & Indiana. The disgruntled technician winces in the frustrating fact that he had to miss his niece's short moment of glory to keep his job. Grudgingly, the middle-aged man continues on with his chore.
He feels a slight bout of queasiness, yet ignores it. Must be some sign of old age, he surmises. He would have totally disregarded the unpleasant sensation if it had not started to get worse as he draws nearer to the prototype bomber.
"What's wrong with me...?" he blurts out, continuing to approach the aircraft. Within five more yards, he feels his legs buckle and his skin getting a choppy feeling. Shortly after, the man falls down to the textured floor.
There's about a half dozen corridors in the newly constructed SeeD Wing of Balamb Garden's dormitory section, all branching out from a central hub with a direct connection to the cafeteria hallway. Subdivided by student number ranges, the radiating network provides one of the most comfortable accomodations for military academy cadets since Galbadia Garden. Normally desolate since the resident SeeDs only come to this place to rest, this system of corridors is perhaps one of the most quiet places in Garden, even more than the library.
Perhaps that's why Zell is exercising extreme caution while traversing the corridor leading to section Dh. Stopping short of the next corner, he peeps carefully around the wall edge to see if anyone's present. Meanwhile, an amused Selphie giggles at what she describes as a very comical appearance of the cautious SeeD.
"Zell, will you stop with this cloak and dagger routine. So what if someone sees us walking around here?"
"You'll never know when someone might think differently about us, Sefie. Best be prepared." Zell whispers.
"Oh, you are so paranoid." scoffs Selphie.
"And you..." the martial artist suddenly turns toward her, grabbing her shoulders in the process. "are so irresistable. Come here!"
Again, the two SeeDs become locked in a passionate kiss, with Zell turning the two of them around to rest Selphie against the cool polymer wall. They would have totally been lost in the romantic revelry had Selphie not heard the clicking footsteps coming from the corridor perpendicular to the one they are at. Consequently, she immediately squirms out of Zell's hold.
"Someone's coming!" she mutters. They had just broken out of their embrace when Quistis emerged from the other hallway.
"Oh good. I was just looking for the two of you." echoes the instructor.
"Really...?" Zell stutters, looking at Selphie who was likewise slightly paling. "Well, you found us. Wassup, Quisty?"
Quistis hesitates slightly, detecting an unfamiliar ambiance enveloping the place as she looks at her two colleagues. Opting to ignore her cognizance, she then begins to state her business.
"I need to talk to you about that retrieval mission you just came back from. There's something that I need to clear out before filing a closure to this case." she starts. "Follow me to the briefing room."
The lengthy walk to the second floor briefing room was uncharacteristically silent, with Zell and Selphie both wondering -- quite nervously -- what this thing is that Quistis wishes to clarify. They are now both feeling paranoid, seriously considering an off-chance that the perceptive instructor may have just stumbled into this precarious secret they have between them.
The silence didn't escape Quistis' attention. However, she persists in ignoring her gut feeling in favor of the official matter at hand. As they finally enter through the secure door of the briefing room, she turns on the main workstation connected to Balamb Garden's Cray supercomputer.
Selphie's eyebrows meet upon setting her eyes on the display. "Is that the destroyed terrorist base?"
"That's right." Quistis answers. "Right after Headmaster Cid received word of the base's explosion, he immediately requested Laguna to send in rescue troops to confirm if you two made it out of there alive. Good thing you did."
"Tell me about it." Zell seconds. "We didn't even know it's gonna blow up. We just got into the bomber and flew off. Anyway, what about that base?"
"Do you see the faint green ring going around the wreckage?" the instructor says while pointing out the green outline. "What do you think it is?"
"Beats the hell outta me." Selphie quips. "What is that?"
"Preliminary analysis shows that those are traces of a very unstable chemical called Triserenilite, or TSL." Quistis returns. "As you both know, TSL is a compound used to generate electric power in places hardly reached by such conventional power sources such as hydroelectric or geothermal. However, because of its inherent instability, its use was discontinued and even short of condemned long before the first Sorceress war. Now this shouldn't be a significant thing except that we also know that TGL can only be made using the illegal substance called Mako element. Mako element, as you also know, is highly volatile and extremely radioactive."
"I know." the Trabian SeeD agrees. "I was hit by a Mako powered laser while we were carrying out the mission."
"Yeah, that's right." the martial artist follows up. "Apparently, those mooks have enough supply of Mako to make TSL for powering that base. Maybe something went wrong that's why the base blew up."
"Is that what you think, Zell? I mean, the destruction looks pretty systematic to me. Are you sure it wasn't sabotage?"
"We, we can't rule that out too, Quisty. But I doubt you can dig up any kind of evidence from that mess."
Quistis pauses to contemplate on her comrade's remark. Deeming his assessment reasonable, she then takes her place in front of the workstation and begins typing.
"You have a point there, Zell. Okay, since we really don't have much to go on here, I guess it's okay to close this case. Thanks. We're done here for now."
With that utterance, Zell and Selphie silently steps back, then nods to each other subtly before stepping out of the room -- completely unaware that Quistis saw that implicating gesture through the reflection in the monitor screen. Her forehead wrinkles upon a nagging suspicion that, try as she might, she just can't shake in light of the unusual behavior observed from her two friends. Feeling a chill down her spine, Quistis suddenly feels that the joke made by Squall the night before may not be such a laughing matter after all.
"Quisty, that is so stupid!" she exclaims to herself, trying so hard to negate this feeling of suspicion trying to conquer her. A vision of Zell and Selphie takes shape in her mind, a visualization of two of her closest colleagues, beginning to regard each other in more than the friendly way. She then thinks of Irvine. Zell and Irvine... two of the closest friends anyone can see loitering around Garden and making their rounds amongst the others who revere them as some of the best in the academy. He then pictures the same gunslinger, after he learns of a potential annomaly going on within his own circle.
"No..." mutters the instructor. "No one could possibly be as foolish as I am..."
Inadvertently, Quistis pictures Rinoa... with the same rage in her eyes. It was accompanied by a timely churning sensation deep in her stomach. This is the fourth morning that she's had this alarming condition. She picks herself up and takes hold of the phone.
"Hello. Dr. Kadowaki...?"
"Do you think Quistis is getting an inkling about us?" Selphie worriedly asks. "I mean, did you see how she looked at us in the hallway?"
"Now look who's becoming paranoid." Zell returns, trying to stay her concern. "How would Quistis get an idea when we got back only yesterday? Alright, she's smart. But I don't think she's that smart."
"Oh well..." she sighs, then makes sure that the doorlock is activated. "So... what do we do now?"
"I thought you wanted to talk...?"
"I do but..." Selphie fades, gloomily resting herself by the edge of her bed.
"But what?"
"I... I really don't know what to say."
He looks at her, baffled by the unfamiliar perception. For some reason, Zell suddenly realized just how beautiful his long-time comrade is. How could he have been so blind all this time?
No, he wasn't blind, Zell concludes. He was just in the place called for at the time. But he can't help wonder why, of all times, is this thing happening just now. Only now... when he had already developed a brotherly bond with Irvine.
"Irvine... some friend you have..." Zell echoes in his mind, followed by a vocal expression of his confused state. "Irvine and I are supposed to be tight..."
"Yeah..." she nods, turning even more somber with the thought.
"Well, at least that part won't be too hard for you, Sef. You and Iris aren't really that close."
"Does it really matter?"
"Uh... no..." he sheepishly retorts.
Selphie looks at Zell with the same guilt reflected in his sullen eyes. Lifting herself up, she walks over to the left side of the bed, toward the bedside table where her lover's framed photograph stands. Her fingers move, wanting to tip the picture over its face... a glaring sign of the ferocious battle raging at this very moment in her battered heart.
"Zell, what are we doing?"
"I don't know... I really don't know..."
"Can we like... just go back to how things were... how we were before we took on that mission?" Her voice is starting to grow heavy under the weight of her dilemma. And he knows very well that weight, that pressure brought upon by both conscience and the tormenting conflict of having to belong to someone else.
"I wish it were that easy, Sef..."
"What are you saying, Zell?" Selphie returns furiously. "That there is absolutely no way out of this predicament? That there's really nothing we can do to stop this insanity?"
"No. I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is if we really want out, it won't be that easy." Zell returns, almost vehement in his rejoinder.
"Then let's make it easy, Zell." she suddenly blurts out. "Let's just do it! Just like that. It shouldn't be that hard right? Our life used to be so simple before this... this thing started and messed the hell out of our heads. If it can happen that easily, maybe we can make it stop that easily too, right?"
He looks at her, almost unbelievingly. She sees his questioning gaze, yet still continues with her outburst.
"It's only been one day and already I feel like I'm going crazy! When I saw you with Iris this morning, I wanted to gouge out her eyes and strangle her with that silly tri-staff of hers. She even kissed you in front of me! I mean, what kind of nerve does that bitch have?"
Zell's eyes squint even more.
"See? Do you see now? Do you hear what I'm saying? This thing is driving me crazy! Like, last night, I really wanted to kill you, I just didn't show it. I mean, how could you do that? We'd just started with us and then you'd up and sleep with her the first chance you got.
"I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking about you... about her... about the two of you. I was thinking if you were already asleep, or if you two slept at all. I was so mad last night that I wanted to call Irvine up and ask him to spend the night with me, then let you know that he did. That's what I've been thinking about doing last night."
"Then why didn't you?" Zell calmly asks.
"Because I can't. It wouldn't be fair to him."
"And you think I'm being fair with Iris last night?"
Selphie abruptly pauses, her eyes training on the brash SeeD with a questioning look. She then feels like her heart wants to melt when Zell went on.
"I wasn't. I only did it because I don't want her to see through me. I can't let her know. Not yet."
"Let her know what...?" she asks though she already knows the answer. Selphie just wants to hear it coming from Zell.
"That there's already you."
Selphie's heart completely liquefies.
"... Thanks... I really needed to hear that..."
"You can listen to me say it as much as you want..."
"I'd love that... but... you're not mine..."
Zell's heart sinks. Why is she retreating all of the sudden?
"If... If I really wanted to, I could have done something to get either one of you to leave your room last night. But I didn't because... I don't have the right to do that."
He wants to say that she does, but some force is holding the martial artist back. It's as if he was just prevented from unleashing words that he fears he may have to undo later on. All of the sudden, his head starts aching because of the sharp clashing of two conflicting sentiments. Yet even his dilemma turns up paling compared to Selphie's next utterance.
"Zell... let's just make it easy on ourselves. Let's just cut our losses and stop this thing..."
Stunned by her unexpected remark, Zell feels a surge of rebellion in his heart as his typical brashness begins to set in, owing to Selphie's rather sudden turnabout.
"Stop this, just like that, huh." He shoots back, his ire growing more evident. "After all the speeches and all this 'I'm having a really hard time' talk, you'll just up and bail out, huh."
Feeling his disappointment, Selphie consequently lowers her head. But as much as she wants to come to Zell with a loving word of assurance, she can't seem to bring herself to do it due to this force of indecisiveness gripping her psyche at this very moment.
"It's really that easy for you all of the sudden. Maybe you think after we decide to just forget about this, everything will go away." He furthers irately while snapping his fingers. "Just like that!"
She still didn't answer, prompting the already angry Zell to comply with her apparent wish.
"Alright then... As soon as I walk out of this room and close the door behind me, everything will go back to normal as if nothing happened. As if we were never trapped in that cave or you were never delirious the other night. Nothing... happened. Understood?"
He then turns around and heads for the door. But before he can even touch the doorknob, his arm was again gripped by soft and fragile hands. Zell turns back to Selphie, consequently feeling his anger get doused with an ocean of ice water. Their faces both replete with extreme want, the two enraptured SeeDs give in once more to the merciless command that calls for two to become one again. Their lips once again come together in a furious fusion of heart and soul. And when they part, he sees the tears rolling down from her eyes.
"Don't go... please don't go..."
"Selphie... I thought..."
"I don't want you to go..."
His arms slither around her slender frame, seemingly wanting to engulf her entirety, as her dainty hands crawl over his broad back. They just stood there, savoring the peaceful closeness, basking in the warmth of their beings. Feeling right has never assumed an entirely new meaning until this moment.
"Selphie, I want us to be together... I really do..."
"Zell, let's not think about it. Not now, at least. Let's just enjoy this moment..."
"Yeah, but..."
"Zell..."
"Sefie...?"
"Shut up..."
- end of part 8 -