Nightmares
by TacomaSquall
Part 3: NREM Stage
Seifer stood on the
exposed deck of the SeeD attack landing craft Strife. He stood facing ahead into the roaring wind
of the small assault ship's passage. The
small ship was making 80 knots as it carved its way across the ocean towards
Dollet Dukedom. A sense of déjà vu
washed over the blond weapons instructor, remembering the last time he had been
on board the Strife, more than a year ago, making a run to the same
destination.
The Strife was a
good ship, being the first commissioned of the special SeeD assault craft. Along with her sister ships, the Wallace,
Lockhart, Valentine, Kisaragi and Highwind, the
small assault boat had served SeeD well since their construction by the Dollet
Naval Yard ten years before. Top-rated
at a speed of 100 knots, and armed with a dual 9 millimeter DelingTech
machinegun, the small craft were capable of providing rapid insertion and support
for amphibious operations. In the
aftermath of the Second Sorceress War's depletion of materiel, and with the
Ragnarok currently down for maintenance, the six craft were currently Garden's
swiftest transports.
Normally, on a mission
such as this, with a client in danger, SeeDs in civilian attire would have been
dispatched via the high-speed train that ran between Balamb and Timber. Just the week before, however, the
underwater tunnel connecting the two cities flooded. The clean-up crews were still working to restore rail
service. The track itself had been
corroded by immersion in the salt water of the ocean, requiring that a
hundred-mile-long stretch of track be uprooted and replaced. Needless to say, trains were out of the
question.
Seifer smiled. Over the past year, he had discovered a love
of the sea that helped fill the aching void within. In the past year, Seifer had found that the permanence of the sea
and the perpetual cycle of the waves soothed him. They reminded him that life went on, even when disaster occurred.
On the waves, Seifer
could escape the demons that haunted him to this day. The battered form of his rival, tortured for information about
the purpose of the Gardens. The looks
on the faces of both Fuujin and Raijin when they turned against him, in Lunatic
Pandora. The moment when he looked into
Ultimecia's eyes, as she possessed Adel of Esthar, and saw the annihilation of
all time. Most of all, he was haunted
by the desolate look on Rinoa's face, as he gave her to Ultimecia/Adel, to be
Junctioned into a bizarre triune sorceress.
It was that look of
terror that drove him to abandon Ultimecia's cause, breaking him free of the
horrid compulsion she had exerted upon him. When he heard that she had been defeated by Squall and his companions,
Seifer rejoiced. Finally, he was free.
Or so he had
thought. Now, he was rushing to Deling
City to protect the woman he once loved from the Sorceress who once promised to
fulfill his every fantasy. He prayed
that Squall was wrong, because if it was Ultimecia…
Seifer was jarred from
his reverie by the realization that the attack ship was moving downwards. He looked ahead and saw the reason why. His blood ran cold.
The Strife was
slowing down, as it moved ahead. The
small ship was moving into an area where the water had retreated somewhat. Seifer could see the sea bottom in the
lowest portion of the depression. Beyond the depression, racing forward at a speed greater than the
assault craft could match, was a huge swell. It was easily taller than Balamb Garden stacked upon itself five times
over. It was a certainty that the wave
would swamp the small ship, unless they could make a miracle.
At that moment, Zell and
Selphie rushed on deck. The brash
martial artist held in his hand a foil-wrapped bundle that resembled one of
Mrs. Stepanicci's hot dogs. As Seifer
watched, Zell he juggled the hot parcel from one hand to the other. "Damn, that's HOT!"
Selphie flicked the
Strange Vision loose, taking an end of the weapon in each hand. She stared at the onrushing wave and screamed,
"There's something in there!"
Zell dropped the hot
parcel and looked into the wall of water that was drawing nearer with every
breath. He brightened. "I have an idea!" He sent a silent call to one of the Guardians he had
junctioned. Leviathan?
What is it, Fist
of the Fated?
Can you help us out
here? The Strife is about to get swamped by a massive wave, and something
is inside the wave, causing it to take place.
It would be a
pleasure, child.
As the Guardian began to
materialize, Zell and his companions vanished. As they faded briefly from existence, Zell reflected that the Guardians
were very useful, but that they could be damn patronizing…
An aperture opened to
another world, and a tendril of water flowed out of it. The tendril slowly stretched forth, as the
wave drew ever-nearer. Finally, there
was a flash, and Leviathan appeared, its coils surrounding the assault ship. It screamed, and the wall of water that
rushed towards the Guardian and the SeeD ship parted, leaving enough space for
the Guardian to bring the ship to safety. With a shrill cry, the Guardian vanished.
As the SeeDs reappeared,
they were shocked to see a hulking shape rise up from the depths. It sported an elongated body that was more
massive than the assault boat. The
scaled saurian body had enormous flippers in the places where its prehistoric
land-based cousins, the Bracheosaur and Brontaur, had feet. Like those long-extinct creatures, believed
purged by the Centra a millennium ago, this beast had an extremely long neck,
stretching almost as far as the body's length. Zell remembered a Garden biology class that discussed the myth of such
creatures' existence. For some reason,
in the flesh, a Plesiosaur did not seem as cool as it had then.
Selphie looked at Zell
in shocked dismay. She mouthed, "What
in Hyne's name is that thing?" Her
words were drowned out by the crashing of the water displaced by the beast's rapid
rise to the surface.
Seifer screamed, "I
don't care what it is. It's dead!" He concentrated, calling upon the power of
the Guardian Ifrit.
While the weapons
instructor began concentrating, Zell cast a Triple spell on the brown-haired
head of the Garden Festival. In
response, Selphie unleashed a spell to protect each member from all
attacks. The Protect spell, modified by
the Triple metaspell, affected each of the SeeDs in turn, instead of the usual
single target mandated by Hyne so many years before.
The Plesiosaur cocked
its head to a side for a brief moment, looking at its diminutive
adversaries. Somehow recognizing
Seifer's link to Ifrit, it snaked its neck forward, taking Seifer in its jaw
and clamping down, hard. The saurian
monster hoisted Seifer into the air, and chewed. Finally, it spat Seifer back to the deck of the ship, finding
something about the blond warrior unappetizing. The instructor was unharmed, but the massive jaws of the beast
were powerful enough that the Guardian was dispelled before it could manifest.
Seifer rose slowly to
his feet, shaking his head to clear it of the pain caused by having the link to
his Guardian broken so suddenly. He
barely stepped aside in time to avoid a massive fluke as it swatted at
him. He grimaced. This was not going to be easy.
A flipper moved forward
for another swipe at the blond Instructor. Before it could reach Seifer, however, it was intercepted by a strike
from the Strange Vision, followed by a lightning-fast one-two combination from
Zell. The Plesiosaur roared in pain.
Seifer yelled to his
companions. "Selphie – throw a Triple
Float on us. Then we can close with
this beast. Zell, cast Slow on it! I'm going to keep it distracted."
The failed SeeD called
upon the Firaga spells he had Junctioned, hurling a gout of sorcerous flame at
the monster. As he cast the spell,
Seifer felt his resistance to flames diminish. The spell impacted against the Plesiosaur, succeeding only in angering
the beast. Zell followed up on Seifer's
attack with a spell that dilated time around the creature.
Selphie cast three Float
spells, giving the companions the ability to effectively walk on water. Freed from the limitation of the ship's
deck, the two others charged. As Seifer
slashed at the beast's neck with his gunblade, Zell charged around to the
Plesiosaur's side, kicking its unguarded flank. Selphie concentrated, taking advantage of the distraction the
creature was suffering, and Drew a shimmering being from the Plesiosaur.
Hello, Mistress
of Doom, I am the Lord of the Sea. I
have heard tales of you from my brethren. Selphie was shocked, as
she realized she had made contact with the Guardian, Neptune.
The Plesiosaur whipped
its tail around its body in an attempt to swat this being that had the temerity
to attack its sides. The tail struck
Zell, knocking the martial artist in cartwheels away from the fight.
That was when Selphie
smiled, seeing an opening. The brunette
called upon the magical forces Junctioned to her physical abilities of
recuperation, unleashing a barrage of Meltdown spells upon the Plesiosaur. The hellish energies of the tripled spell
broke down the resistance of the creature. When Hyperion came around for another slash, it met considerably less
resistance, cutting deep into the saurian's flesh.
Zell charged back into
the fray, a sunburst of energy being released as he called upon the techniques
he had turned into an art. He rained
Punch Rushes and Mach Kicks upon the creature with wild abandon. The monster stood no chance under the
onslaught of Zell's Limit, and it collapsed into the water.
Seifer looked at his
companions. Selphie was soaked from
head to toe in salt spray from the splashes created by the monster. Zell looked like nothing less than a
grinning bruise. And Seifer was sure
that he looked no better than they.
"Let's get back onto the
Strife." Seifer looked at
Selphie. "Did I see correctly? You Drew a Guardian from this creature?"
Selphie nodded. "He says his name is Neptune."
"I hope he can tell us
why a living fossil attacked us." Seifer's voice was grim. "Let's
get belowdecks and dried off before we talk. After all, it would be very bad for the Float spell –"
At that moment, the
Float enchantment wore off. Both Seifer
and Zell were dumped, unceremoniously, into the waves.
To be continued…