"Dimensional Whiplash"

by Aleenia Rheese

Chapter 18

Desert Rose

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

A warning. There is almost NO getting a full-fledged fic from me without some yaoi (gay) content. There's a bit of a suggestion that a character in here is gay later on…. Don't be too upset. Here's a hint as to who: Uee-hee-hee-hee…. Hee… Don't worry, nothing concrete, just the suggestion. ^-^

Terra's world, Figaro Desert, Just Outside the Castle

Terra stood in the dry desert air, watching Sabin practice his Blitz moves. She wore a worried expression. Should he be working so hard after dying, and coming back?

She wondered about the man who had "killed" Sabin. When he had first come to the Throne Room through a black vortex, he had said something about his Mother. He had stared at Terra in surprise for a moment….

The man stared at Terra. "Are you one of them?" he asked. She stared back.

"One of whom?" she'd responded in her whispery voice. The man laughed and threw open his arms.

"Do you have a number as well? Are you one of the experiments? Is your mother Jenova as well?"

"What are you talking about?!" Setzer had demanded. The man unsheathed the long no-dachi at his side, and cut Setzer along the chest, the force of the blow sending the Wandering Gambler slamming into the wall. He slumped there, unconscious.

The man had seemed mad. She shook her head, and ran a hand through her hair. It was down, and fell around her shoulders in soft blue-green wavelets. She wore a white tunic with white pants and sky-blue boots. Sky-blue gloves completed the outfit.

Terra watched Edgar watching Sabin. Edgar's blue eyes were shadowed, and he was obviously upset about his brother's insisting to keep up practice…. Terra sighed. Her heart went out to the young king.

Inside the Castle

Alie watched from her window as Sabin worked below. He was working far too hard after nearly dying, but Terra said he refused to stop. Alie watched his sweat-drenched, muscled body dart to and fro, punching, kicking. His muscles gathered, and he unleashed his energy as a pummel attack on a mannequin lashed to a pole that was buried in the sand.

Aleenia frowned. Even from this distance she could see his chest heave, see him wipe the sweat out of his eyes. She stood, closed the book whose pages she had never even glanced at, and, setting the volume down on a table next to her chair, left her room to go talk to Sabin.

Back Outside

Sabin moved over to a bucket of water he kept cold in the desert heat by casting numerous Ice spells on the ground around it, and knelt, using the ladle at its side to scoop out water. He took a few small sips, and then a big gulp, and tossed the ladle aside. He picked the bucket up, and dumped the entire thing over his head. The shock of the cold water was refreshing.

He turned to the mannequin. He charged up, and executed his Aura Bolt. With a mini explosion, the concentrated blue energy incinerated the training dummy, and left a small circular hole in the sand.

Sabin breathed heavily, and wiped the sweat and what remained of the water off his brow. He glanced to the side, and saw Alie walking toward him, long hair in a low ponytail. He frowned, and turned back to the hole.

"Sabin," Alie called. He pretended he didn't hear her. When she reached him, Alie placed a hand on his arm. Sabin blinked at the tingly sensation that ran up his arm and throughout his body. Alie just thought he blinked in surprise.

"Sabin, you need to come back inside the castle and rest," Alie said. Sabin could hear the worry in her voice. He turned to glare at her.

"Why? I'm fine, Alie. Fine."

She looked at him sadly. "No, I don't think you are. You've been acting weird, Sabin. Out of sorts." She brushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. "You've been snappy, had a short temper. You've been avoiding most of us, and completely ignoring some of us." She said the last part quietly, and Sabin felt a bit guilty.

He looked away. He knew she was being truthful - Sabin hadn't said much more than the necessary "Thank you", "You're welcome" and "Hello/Goodbye" since the night the silver-haired man had attacked them.

Since Sabin had almost died.

He turned his blue eyes on her again. "Alie, please… just let me train. Just leave me alone for a while, alright?"

He saw the hurt that flashed in her brown eyes then, saw her lips tremble. Before he could say anything, she took her hand off his arm and turned. She walked away quickly, but Sabin could see her frame shake with quiet sobs.

Sabin suddenly felt like the biggest heel that ever walked the earth. He stood for a moment, head bowed, then walked slowly to the castle.

He suddenly felt very tired, and an empty, hollow feeling rose up in his chest.

Terra & Edgar

Edgar watched this all with a thoughtful look on his face. The way Alie had reacted…. Hmm, he thought, There might be something more to this than meets the eye…. He looked over at Terra, who was looking back at Alie as the girl from another world entered the castle.

Edgar pushed the Alie-Sabin situation to the back of his mind.

"Terra," he said suddenly. The woman looked to him.

"Yes?"

"Are you planning on doing anything tonight?"

"No, why do you ask?"


"Well, I just… You know, I wanted to know if you would like to go on a chocobo ride… out in the desert… with me… tonight…."

"I'd love to."

And thus, Edgar got around to finally ask Terra out on a date. ^.^ ISSOKAWAII! *ahem*

Meanwhile, elsewhere….

A pair of sharp aquamarine eyes watched a multi-colored figure pace and rant before him.

Kefka, a man dressed not unlike a clown, whirled, his multi-colored robes swirling around him madly. He grimaced. "DO THIS, she says, KILL THAT, she says. Who the hell is she to tell me what to do?" He stopped, and put his red-nailed hands on his narrow hips.

I was once the most powerful god-being thingie EVER to walk the planet! AND SHALL BE AGAIN! UEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!" He suddenly stopped in his maniacal laughter, glaring angrily at Sephiroth. "Why did she bother bringing you here? I could do this just fine on my own!"

(AN: Kefka's a little crazier than before, as I'm sure you notice… Eh-heh.. heh… heeeehhhhh…)

The cold, aquamarine eyes stared back, no emotion showing in their icy depths. Kefka's holier-than-thou sneer wavered a little. "Well, answer me you silver-haired goon!"

"I brought him here," came a deep, resonating female voice, "Because you're too idiotic to do this properly on your own."

Kefka whirled again. And again. And again and again. But he didn't see the owner of the mysterious voice anywhere. He was tempted to snap at the voice for her snide remark, but decided not to - this lady was powerful enough to drag him out of the hell he had been roasting in to do her dirty work. That was powerful indeed.

"Well, I still don't see it," the clown muttered.

"There is no reason for you to. You must only do as I command. That is your purpose, Kefka."

Kefka didn't reply, and idly flicked an imaginary speck of dirt out from under one of his long, red nails. He tossed a glance at Sephiroth, who was looking at the floor. Ah, to know what went on in his companion's mind. Kefka had the creepy feeling that his partner's insanity wasn't quite as real as his own - that it was just a front, hiding the brilliant, devious, cruel mind beneath. Not a fun thought.

Kefka liked to do what he thought of as fun - destroying things was an example. Sephiroth was always just... sitting there. When he had returned from pestering Kefka's killers - those blasted Returners - he had been ranting about an aqua-haired girl. That Esper girl, Kefka had realized. Well, whatever quivered his quill, as Kefka said.... Now, if he was to pick one of those Returners, that young thief was the only one he saw worth bothering with before he killed everyone....

"Stop thinking about such menial things, Kefka!" the woman's voice boomed. He winced, then began idly toying with the large gold hoop that dangled from one ear.

Sephiroth finally lifted his head. He looked directly up. Frowning, Kefka did so as well. He balked.

Just under the ceiling, an image floated. It was of a woman's face, framed with spiky silver bangs that reached her chin. Her eyes were emerald. Sephiroth smiled.

"Hello, Mother."

"Hello, my son. Ready to destroy this world and rebuild a new one in its place? And become its gods?"

"Yes, Mother. Jenova."

"Good. Ah-hahahahahahahaha!"

Kefka stared blankly at the woman's face above him, then his eyes dropped to Sephiroth. They're crazier than I am….

But again came the feeling that Sephiroth was more - much more - than Kefka, or even his insane alien "mother" could possibly ever realize.

Back at Figaro Castle, ten minutes later

Alie, face flushed and tear-streaked, walked slowly up the stone carved steps to her room, paying not the slightest bit of attention to where she was going. When she ran into someone, she jumped back, bowing and apologizing, trying to hide her face and slip past them.

As she made to slip away, two fairly large, and strong hands grasped her arms. Sabin? she thought. But no, the fingers were too soft and supple. Sabin's hands were larger….

She twisted around, and looked into a pair of very dark eyes. She blinked. "Shadow?"

Shadow reached up, and brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "You've been crying," he said as she tried to move away from him. Something in his voice made Alie stop. She looked at Shadow uncertainly. "Who made you cry?" he asked, equally soft, with that same tone in his voice. Alie looked into his dark eyes for a long moment, then shook her head, sighing.

"No one. It's nothing." She turned to go. A wave of shock ran through her as Shadow took her hand as she was turning. He wasn't just restraining her with that hand. He was gently stroking the palm of her hand with his thumb, almost absently. A tingly thrill moved up her arm from her hand and slowly spread through her, but she dashed it away.

"Shadow...?" she murmured, unsure of what was happening. He shook his head, and brushed a stray wisp of hair out of the girl's eyes.

"It wasn't 'nothing'." Shadow reached up with his free hand, and pulled his mask down. Alie had never seen his face before. She wondered if any of them had. He had high cheekbones, olive-tanned skin, and his hair was a rich brown, like milk chocolate. "What happened?"

Alie was confused - confused by the way Sabin had brushed her off like that, by Shadow's actions toward her now. She was tired, and couldn't stop thinking about Sabin and her brother...

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. Sobbing, she covered her face with her hands. She didn't dwell on the strangeness of it when Shadow pulled her against him, wrapping his lean, strong arms around her, telling her that it was alright. She just let herself be comforted.

Unseen to either of them, Sabin ducked out from his hiding place against the side of the stairs, just below them, and walked slowly to his room.

Sabin's Room

Sabin lay stretched out on his bed, berating himself for the way he had treated Alie. He remembered the sight of her clinging to Shadow, and felt quite suddenly that that was what he was supposed to be doing. He brushed away all feelings of jealousy toward Shadow when they arose. It wasn't the stealthy ninja's fault that he was there when Alie needed someone to lean on.

He had walked into the room when Alie had started crying again. He had begun to walk toward the steps, aware that he was the reason for her tears. That knowledge cut him like the sharp blade of a knife. But he saw Shadow embrace her, comfort her, and stopped in his tracks. He had felt the first wave of jealousy the moment Alie had laid her head on Shadow's shoulder.

Sabin closed his eyes, and, exhausted from his training, and from the tumult of emotions roiling in his soul, drifted off to sleep.

Later That Night - Figaro Desert

Terra looked up at the vast night sky. A black velvet blanket covered with tiny diamonds, sparkling in the distance…. She smiled. It was romantic, she had to admit. She also had to admit that she was enjoying the company of the young king, Edgar Figaro.

Edgar looked over at her, saw the way the moonlight shone on her aqua blue-green hair, saw the way it caught in her pale blue eyes, turning them silver. He smiled. Love swelled in his heart. Yes. This was right. This was the way it was supposed to be. Terra and him, side by side on chocobos, on a midnight ride in the vast, cool desert at night.

After an hour of riding in companionable silence, they dismounted. Edgar moved over to Terra's chocobo, and helped her down, holding her by her small waist and lifting her to the ground. He paused there a moment, and he knew that they must have looked like two lovers on a secret tryst, the night sky's myriad of stars and single moon smiling down on them.

Terra looked up into Edgar's eyes, and he finally did something he'd wanted to do for a long, long time. He leaned forward, and kissed her softly. I love you, he thought. My desert rose…

He looked into Terra's lovely eyes, and she smiled.

"Edgar...."

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Sorry if that was a little quick, that last part. At least I got this fic worked on!

I know this description of Keffy may be different from yours, but bear with me.