"Laguna, she's here."
Laguna left the room where Seifer lay howling on the floor to go see the Sorceress Edea. Draped in black, she exuded elegance, with a network of intricate tattoos by her eyes. Laguna felt a familiar burning in one leg and gritted his teeth against it, not wanting to appear like an idiot.
"Sorceress Edea, thank you for coming on such short notice," Laguna said, unsure of how to properly greet her.
What do I do? Am I supposed to shake her hand? Bow to her?
"It's okay, President Loire. You don't need to worry about being so formal with me."
Ah! Laguna thought, taking in a quick breath of air. She's reading my thoughts!
The pain in Laguna's leg intensified, and he could feel the muscles starting to twitch.
"I, um… that is to say… I would appreciate it… please… uh… don't read my mind!"
This awkward statement made, Laguna's leg cramped up fully, nearly pulling him to the ground with its force. Edea reached out to help him, but Laguna held up one hand to stop her. After a moment or two spent massaging the muscles, he began taking tentative steps around the room, limping as he did so, in an effort to walk off the cramp. Off to one side of the room, he heard Kiros and Ward snickering at him.
"You know, guys," Laguna growled, "one would think that after the last, say, two decades or so, the novelty of my leg cramps would wear off."
"Yeah," Kiros said, making no effort to conceal his amusement, "you'd think that, but your little limp is so damn funny that it never fails to make me laugh."
Ward looked over at Kiros and raised an eyebrow, prompting the smaller man to burst out into hysterical laughter.
"What?" Laguna asked. "What did he say?" Kiros and Ward exchanged another glance and shook their heads simultaneously.
"Trust me, boss, you're better off not knowing."
His cramp starting to ease up, Laguna gathered the pieces of his shattered ego and turned back to Edea.
"Sorry about that," he said, "I get these… leg cramps sometimes… when I'm nervous."
"Let me apologize, President Loire," Edea said, her contralto voice rolling through the room. "I don't wish to make you nervous. And I promise I wasn't reading your mind. I don't have that kind of power. You just looked so… uncomfortably formal -- I made a guess. My comment was meant to put you at ease."
"Well. Okay. Let's forget all that. Down to business." Laguna started to sputter in an effort to move the conversation forward.
"Yes," Edea said. "You wanted to speak to me about Seifer Almasy."
"Right. Did Kiros brief you on the situation?"
"He explained everything to me on the flight over. May I see Seifer?"
Laguna glanced over her shoulder at Kiros and Ward, both wearing inscrutable -- and therefore useless -- expressions.
"I don't see why not. He's in the next room."
Laguna led the way into the room that the staff quickly dubbed "The Asylum." Seifer huddled in the corner, whimpering softly. As Edea approached, he moved out of the corner and into the center of his cell. Edea approached the cell and Seifer turned to look at her with closed eyes. Accidentally, Edea's hand brushed the glass that served as the outermost layer of his prison. In that moment, with almost feline dexterity, he lunged at her, eyes still closed, crashing into the barrier between them.
He stood back up, panting, and opened his eyes slowly. Seifer stared at the floor and his mouth began to move. His lips formed words, but he produced no sound.
"What…?" Edea said, putting one hand to her temple.
"What's wrong?" Laguna asked, starting to reconsider banning Dr. Odine from seeing Seifer.
"It's like… static," she said, "inside my head. But it's angry. I can feel her. She's trapped inside him, and she isn't happy about it. She's as much a prisoner as he is."
Seifer's mouth moved ever more quickly, his mouth forming soundless words with increasing fury. When it seemed he could go no faster, he stopped abruptly. Then, with great care, he looked up, directly at Edea.
And screamed.
Still, he produced no sound, but everyone heard the scream mentally. The scream personified rage and hatred, so oppressive that it seemed to attack the air around them. This horrid non-sound combined all the worst characteristics of a wailing infant and the shriek of metal-on-metal. Laguna at once covered his ears with his hands, but the sound continued to echo inside his head.
Edea, though, received the brunt of this psychic assault. It slammed into her with the force of a sledgehammer, throwing her against the wall with vicious force. As she slid down the wall, she saw an aura surrounding Seifer, a hypnotic miasma of red and purple, with thick black veins running through it. In her mouth, Edea faintly tasted the coppery tang of blood.
And everything went dark around her.
