XXXX CROSSROADS XXXX
~Chapter Two~
It all starts with a click, sort of like a machine being turned on.
Beep.
A sudden dizziness. Swim back to consciousness.
Beep....beep...beep...
Heart monitor. Machines aren't fun to deal with. Life is starting to tingle slowly in the limbs. Wiggle a toe. Twitch an arm. Note the obviousness of an IV needle feeding a vein near the elbow.
Beep...beep...beep...
Black becomes gray. Eyelids flutter. Gray becomes a blurred painting of color. Abstract. Focus...focus... Etched lines become clear. White. White everything. White wall, white floor, white ceiling. White sheets, white table, white telophone, white curtains. Black television, a smudge of charcoal on canvas, out of place in the sterile whiteness of the hospital room. White nurse in white clothes.
"How are you feeling?" Voice to match the dullness of room and her clothes.
"Dizzy. Tired."
"Well, that's normal. Good...good..." Scan the white papers with calculations and statistics scrambled in typed words. "The IV contains morphine, a narcotic to kill the pain from your operation. You suffered a puncture wound to the stomach, but we believe you'll be okay."
"Zell? Selphie? Quistis? How are they?"
A slightly confused look. "They've had a few mishaps, but they'll be okay."
"Can I see them?" Urgent pleading.
More confusion. "Don't you want to see your own friends?"
"Friends? They are my friends!!"
Large, brown-skinned man bursts through the door, grin sloppily painted onto his face, hobbling clumsily on crutches.
Confusion from both original parties, but more from the nonprofessional.
"Raijin? What're you doing here?!"
"Why wouldn't I be here? You got banged up pretty bad, ya know?" Naive stupidity prevents further explanation.
"What happened to your leg?"
"The car crash, ya know?"
"You were in a car crash too?"
Silly grin becomes another dumbfounded look in the collage. "You don't remember?"
Panic enters the morphine-saturated mind. "Why are you in my room?! Why can't I see my friends!? I wan't to see Selphie! I want to see Selphie!"
White-clad Nurse steps to the bedside to console the delirious. "There, there, you're just confused. Relax for a little while, and perhaps you can see Selphie in an hour or so." Turns to the larger man, ushering him out to the hallway where they can speak.
"That's not like Fujin, ya know? She doesn't usually speak in normal sentences, and she doesn't think too fondly of Selphie. I wonder why..."
A hand is rests on his arm to calm him. "The morphine and the accident may have caused confusion, but I don't know how she knows about the people from the other car. No one's told her about them."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clocks are logical. They tic away patiently like there's not a care in the world.
Seifer Almasy, however, was not logical, nor was he patient. He paced white tiles of the waiting room that he'd earlier passed out on. Lack of blood had made him dizzy, the doctors had explained. Not that he cared. He needed to know what had happened to Fujin. If she died...
The room spins for a second, and he stops his never-ending journey. It's been five minutes since he came to. He will NOT think such things of his posse!
A female doctor enters the room, closely pursued by Raijin. She surveys the blonde, then glances behind him at the Balamb-dwellers still huddled in the corner.
"...Well?" Impatient Seifer demands. "How IS she?"
The doctor notes that he's become a lot more talkative since his revival. After a moment's consideration she decides that there's no point in keeping things from the young man with a violent reputation. "She wants to see Selphie."
"SELPHIE?! What the hell for?!"
His painfully loud outburst attracts attention from the group across the room. The doctor winces, and is rescued of explanation by Raijin.
"She's not herself, ya know? She's talking in full sentences, and she didn't remember that I was in the car."
Selphie Tilmitt sticks her head into the conversation. "Excuse me? I'd like to know why I'm being spoken of..." Her usual cheery voice sounds heartbreakingly sad.
Raijin continues to babble on. "Fujin wants to see you!"
"Fujin?" She is confused. "What for?"
Raijin shrugs his heavy shoulders. "No clue, ya know?"
"Well..." Selphie considers a moment. "Okay..." She follows the doctor to the room in which the silver-haired girl is being dormed.
The frail girl's face brightens immediately. "Selphie!! They let you come see me, thank goodness! I was afraid they'd lock me up in here forever all by myself?"
Selphie blinked a wave of confusion back. "Why'd you want to see me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I didn't think you liked me much, for starters..."
"Aw, Sefie, you know I love you..!"
Shock often strikes like a bullet, forcing the receiver to take five seconds to realize what has happened before turning their brains back on. "Sefie? That's what...wait a second. Tell me your name."
"Why?"
"Just tell me your name!"
"It's Irvine, Selphie. Irvine Kinneas!"
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[end chapter two]
~Chapter Two~
It all starts with a click, sort of like a machine being turned on.
Beep.
A sudden dizziness. Swim back to consciousness.
Beep....beep...beep...
Heart monitor. Machines aren't fun to deal with. Life is starting to tingle slowly in the limbs. Wiggle a toe. Twitch an arm. Note the obviousness of an IV needle feeding a vein near the elbow.
Beep...beep...beep...
Black becomes gray. Eyelids flutter. Gray becomes a blurred painting of color. Abstract. Focus...focus... Etched lines become clear. White. White everything. White wall, white floor, white ceiling. White sheets, white table, white telophone, white curtains. Black television, a smudge of charcoal on canvas, out of place in the sterile whiteness of the hospital room. White nurse in white clothes.
"How are you feeling?" Voice to match the dullness of room and her clothes.
"Dizzy. Tired."
"Well, that's normal. Good...good..." Scan the white papers with calculations and statistics scrambled in typed words. "The IV contains morphine, a narcotic to kill the pain from your operation. You suffered a puncture wound to the stomach, but we believe you'll be okay."
"Zell? Selphie? Quistis? How are they?"
A slightly confused look. "They've had a few mishaps, but they'll be okay."
"Can I see them?" Urgent pleading.
More confusion. "Don't you want to see your own friends?"
"Friends? They are my friends!!"
Large, brown-skinned man bursts through the door, grin sloppily painted onto his face, hobbling clumsily on crutches.
Confusion from both original parties, but more from the nonprofessional.
"Raijin? What're you doing here?!"
"Why wouldn't I be here? You got banged up pretty bad, ya know?" Naive stupidity prevents further explanation.
"What happened to your leg?"
"The car crash, ya know?"
"You were in a car crash too?"
Silly grin becomes another dumbfounded look in the collage. "You don't remember?"
Panic enters the morphine-saturated mind. "Why are you in my room?! Why can't I see my friends!? I wan't to see Selphie! I want to see Selphie!"
White-clad Nurse steps to the bedside to console the delirious. "There, there, you're just confused. Relax for a little while, and perhaps you can see Selphie in an hour or so." Turns to the larger man, ushering him out to the hallway where they can speak.
"That's not like Fujin, ya know? She doesn't usually speak in normal sentences, and she doesn't think too fondly of Selphie. I wonder why..."
A hand is rests on his arm to calm him. "The morphine and the accident may have caused confusion, but I don't know how she knows about the people from the other car. No one's told her about them."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clocks are logical. They tic away patiently like there's not a care in the world.
Seifer Almasy, however, was not logical, nor was he patient. He paced white tiles of the waiting room that he'd earlier passed out on. Lack of blood had made him dizzy, the doctors had explained. Not that he cared. He needed to know what had happened to Fujin. If she died...
The room spins for a second, and he stops his never-ending journey. It's been five minutes since he came to. He will NOT think such things of his posse!
A female doctor enters the room, closely pursued by Raijin. She surveys the blonde, then glances behind him at the Balamb-dwellers still huddled in the corner.
"...Well?" Impatient Seifer demands. "How IS she?"
The doctor notes that he's become a lot more talkative since his revival. After a moment's consideration she decides that there's no point in keeping things from the young man with a violent reputation. "She wants to see Selphie."
"SELPHIE?! What the hell for?!"
His painfully loud outburst attracts attention from the group across the room. The doctor winces, and is rescued of explanation by Raijin.
"She's not herself, ya know? She's talking in full sentences, and she didn't remember that I was in the car."
Selphie Tilmitt sticks her head into the conversation. "Excuse me? I'd like to know why I'm being spoken of..." Her usual cheery voice sounds heartbreakingly sad.
Raijin continues to babble on. "Fujin wants to see you!"
"Fujin?" She is confused. "What for?"
Raijin shrugs his heavy shoulders. "No clue, ya know?"
"Well..." Selphie considers a moment. "Okay..." She follows the doctor to the room in which the silver-haired girl is being dormed.
The frail girl's face brightens immediately. "Selphie!! They let you come see me, thank goodness! I was afraid they'd lock me up in here forever all by myself?"
Selphie blinked a wave of confusion back. "Why'd you want to see me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I didn't think you liked me much, for starters..."
"Aw, Sefie, you know I love you..!"
Shock often strikes like a bullet, forcing the receiver to take five seconds to realize what has happened before turning their brains back on. "Sefie? That's what...wait a second. Tell me your name."
"Why?"
"Just tell me your name!"
"It's Irvine, Selphie. Irvine Kinneas!"
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[end chapter two]