Chapter 7

"Alex, Squawk!" Zoro greeted me but I didn't answer, instead I lay

on my bed and cried, and cried.

Knock!

Who the hell was that?

"Who is it?" I didn't feel like getting up.

"Um, it's Quistis. Can I talk to you?"

um how 'bout..."No I'm busy" *sniff* Stupid people  

"Busy doing what? Crying?" I decided to get up.

"What do you want?" I asked as I opened the door.

"Something's bothering you, I want to know what it is, everybody's

worried about you." No, I don't want them to.

"Well you can tell them to stop. Now if you'd excuse me, I have

 things to do," I started to close the door but she grabbed it.

"You tried to commit suicide last night, today you disappear and

them comeback and cry somethin's up and I need to know to help

you," she looked at me and wouldn't stop.

"I'm fine, just go away," I shut the door quickly. Why must people

insist on knowing everyone else's business? If I tell you I'm fine I'm

probably lying, but accept the answer I feel like giving you.

What did I ever do to deserve a life like this? It was fine when mom

was around. Dad was home, working on his books, mom was a

teacher, then that fucking drunk ran her over in the school parking

lot.

It was after that when my life started to go down hill. My dad

married a bitch, I don't know why, and we moved from Trabia to

Balamb. Two weeks later, he left.

How am I gonna get the stupid fly chip? When does he want it?

Where do I go to bring it to him?

I wonder if they put it back yet.

I had to find a way to get it, it's probably in Cid's office or where

ever the navigation room was. Hmmm I wonder if I could get Cid to

take me there?

"Um, Cid?" I opened the door to his office.

"Yes?" he didn't even look up.

"I was, um... wondering if I could see the navigation room? See

how the garden flies?" That was so lame, if he buys it then I'll have

no respect for him.

"Sure, just go up there," he pointed to another elevator thing, "And

I'll be with you in a minute." What a loseric moron, hehe I made

that word up.

"Uh.....ok" I went up the elevator thingy and came up on top of the

garden. The navigation room. Ok, so if I were a fly chip, where

would I be? Do I remember what it looked like? Yeah, it was small,

like it could fit in the palm of your hand, on one side it was purple

and on the other side it had eight spike things that plugged into

something. Obviously to make it fly. But where is it? Hmmmmm...

there's the steering and there's some other stuff and..........ah ha!

There it is! I'll just...haha! Got it. Now to leave.

"I'm sorry Alex, can you come back later? I have something

important to attend to," Cid called from his office.

"Sure, no prob," I went down the elevator thing and left his office.

But what now? Where do I go to deliver? Shit, Seifer's gonna die

and it's my fucking fault. Shit! Um, maybe if I wait by my old house

they'll come to pick me up or whatever they're gonna do. Yeah,

that's a plan.

I headed for the front gate and Zell came along.

"Alex, we need to talk." No Zell, not now, "Somethin's up and I

need to know what is it," He stopped me from going through the

gates.

"I uh need to go..." I tried to walk past him,

"Alex, tell me, I can help but I need to know what it is." Zell, I will

tell you, just not right now.

"Zell I can't ok!" I pushed past him and went through the gates.

What have I done? I stopped and turned to face Zell

"When it's all over.........I'll tell you everything......"

It took like an hour to get to Balamb on foot but I made it. The

 place I knew as home, as a safe area, was like a long dark ally at

night. You don't know anyone, you don't trust anyone, and you

never know what's behind that big green dumpster. On Sundays

Balamb is like deserted, it's all quiet and you'll see the odd person

on the street so it's like those really, really old western movies

when it's all quiet and weird. I walked the streets for a while then

headed to my street.

Funny how a place can seem like home one minute and like a total

new place the next.

I sat on the curb for like an hour and was about to go back when

the jet black van turned the corner and stopped right in front of me.

"Hey Alex," my dad said with an evil smirk "Climb in..." I stepped

into the van and again, so I wouldn't do anything stupid, Seifer was

there still being held by a couple of guys.

"So...do you have it?" he asked as soon as we had started moving

again.

"Yeah........I got it," I handed it over, "Ok you have what you want,

now let Seifer go,"

"Hahaha, not so fast Alzera hun," he winked at me. "What about

cutting the power?" I glared at him. If you could do damage with

your eyes I'd have this place torn apart.

"Seifer first. You let Seifer off at this next stop and I'll do it, and

don't call me Alzera," hmmmm if I could tear this place apart with

my eyes, what would go first?

"Uh, no cut the power and I'll drop him off back here, you have

until four PM today to cut the power, any longer and Seifer's gone,

 then when we do attack we'll kill off all your other friends, Zell,

Squall, Rinoa....." how the hell did he know?

"No you won't, I'm not a complete idiot, you'll still need Seifer as a

bargaining chip with Cid," Hehe, I'm so smart

"Ahhh, but that's the thing, you don't know that, I could kill him but

the only way to find out is to come." Ok you have your gunblade

 just quickly draw it and stab this fucking asshole. As fast as

humanly possible I reached for my gunblade and slashed my dad

a crossed the chest. Blood covered his shirt.

"You little bitch!" he screamed and tried to hit me but I swung at his

fist. He caught it! He caught and held my gunblade with his bare

hand. Ok that was unexpected, so unexpected that I wasn't ready

for when he pulled it out of my hand.

"Don't you know when you can't win you little bitch?" someone

came up behind me and held my wrists, another person grabbed my ankles. No! I can't fight back! This is like.......this is like when

Seifer beat me up, only I don't have Squall and Irvine here to save

me.

The first punch came to my face, and just about broke my jaw.

One good thing came out of it, It hurt my dad's hand! I think that's

good......anyways. I bit hard down onto my tongue and there's that

ever so familiar taste again. But it was just blood, just like what I

was feeling was just pain. No biggie.

"Is that the best you can do? Pathetic." Ok maybe that was a bad

move.....

"Oh I've taught you well, ok then......" he stood back a bit, winded

up his arm so to speak and......I pretty much collapsed except two

people were holding me. The stomach/lower gut is the worst place

to get punched really hard. Oh and did I mention I wasn't holding

myself up?

"Not so tough now are ya?" he had a personal punching bag, and

he didn't even care that it was his daughter, what a model father.

"Oh common, stop going easy on me," ok why don't I just shut up?

"Alex don't! He's gonna kill you!" Seifer was quickly quieted buy a

punch to the stomach from the guy holding him.

"No he won't, he needs me for his little plan thingy," Wow, I said

something useful for once.

"She's right man you can't beat her up too much," the guy holding

me agreed,

"Yeah, why don't you just let them both go? If she doesn't cut the

power then make her watch you kill her friends cause she didn't do

what we asked," that was the guy holding Seifer. My dad looked

really mad but it was a sensible plan.

"Fine, I'll let them both go, stop at the next street!" he yelled to the

driver. Oh yeah, we were moving, I must have overlooked that little

detail while I was getting the shit beaten outta me by my dad.

"I'll see you tonight and if the power isn't off when we invade then

you'll watch each of your friends die slow and painful deaths." He

turned away then came back with a punch to the stomach.

"See you later hun," he taunted as the door closed and the van

left.

"Alex? You don't have to be all tough all the time, sure there's the

pride thing, but then there's the am I gonna have health problem's

thing." I was sitting on the curb hugging my stomach.

"....whatever, we need to get back and shut off the power." Seifer

looked at me as if I had just said, "Let's go jump off a bridge and

see how many times we bounce."

"Uh no, let's get back so we can tell Cid to prepare for a fight."

Don't think so.

"No, I can't let anything else happen to the people I care about, or

are friends with, were, or I'm gonna cut the power and you're not

gonna say a thing." I tried to get up but fell back onto the sidewalk

clutching my sides groaning

"You ok?" well at least he still sort of didn't care.

"I'll be fine lets get going," I got up, leaning on the wall and started

walking, very slowly.

"Uh maybe we should take a cab."

"No, we have no money and I'm fine." I stood up straight biting my

lip and took a real step.

"Ahhh!" after my legs collapsed from the sudden sense of pain, I

found myself in Seifer's arms.

"Were talking a cab, on the garden's expense," he helped me back

up and I leaned against a wall while he waved down a cab and

helped me in.

"Ok here's the story, you escaped somehow and found me in an

 ally in Balamb, I had just gotten beaten up by a gang that wanted

my money, I wouldn't give it to them so they beat me up and took it

anyway, then you found me." It was a convincing story and people

wouldn't bug Seifer about how he escaped cause of the whole

'mental damage' from the test.

"Alzera you can't just let them invade." Seifer why do you choose

now to start caring about other things besides yourself?

"The SeeD's know what to do when attacked unexpectedly and I'm

not letting them kill my uh......" did I consider them all my friends?

Zell, definitely, Squall, yeah, why not, Rinoa....I guess so, she is

Squall's girlfriend and I have to help Squall so yeah, Selphie, way

over hyperactive but she's cool, Quistis um yeah and Irvine, well

everyone else likes him except me and Selphie would go nuts if

anything happened to him so I don't like him but I have to protect

him too, and Seifer.........I almost got him killed, I have to help.

"Your what?"

"My friends........... and don't call me Alzera," we were almost there

and I think the driver was ease dropping.

"Seifer? Uh.........thanks for uh, helping save me, even though I

don't think it was worth it uh, thanks." Ok that was just lame.

"Um, I did what I had to."

We got out and headed for the gates, people pointed and stared at

Seifer but he ignored them. Oh pain is not a good feeling when

your trying to recover from previous attacks in the same spot.

"Ow, ow owowow shit," I stopped walking, I couldn't take it

anymore. The pain was just too much.

"You ok?" he asked from where he was at.

"Yeah, I'm fine," ok that was soooo not the truth. I took a few steps

and dropped to my knees.

"Uhhhhhhh, shit," why does it hurt so much? I can usually handle

the pain but why not now?

"You gonna make it up to your dorm?" I held my stomach and

rocked for a minute but then got up.

"Yeah," I forced myself to bare the pain all the way to the elevator.

Then she came over

"You are never gonna be forgiven for what you did you know," that

ditzy blond girl from the dance.

"Why are you smiling? You killed Seifer," well who wouldn't when

the guy you supposedly killed is standing beside you.

"Oh, I'm dead? Oh jeez thanks for telling me, it would look pretty

 stupid walking around Balamb garden if your dead." Ok that was

funny you have to admit, and the look on her face when she saw

Seifer, never will I forget it.

"Hahahaha! Oh my god, that was sooo funny did u see the look on

her face?" I was laughing and on the floor cause when I laughed it

hurt my stomach but that was soooo funny!

Seifer helped me to my dorm where I cured myself and talked

about where the main power would be at. We both had no idea.

Knock!

"Alex?"

"Uh who is it?" um please don't be Zell,

"It's Quistis...." thank god "And Zell," oh jeez why do I even bother?

"Uh yeah?" I have a feeling I know what they want

"Can we com in? We need to talk to you,"

"Just a sec," I looked over at Seifer.

"Do you want them to know you're alive?" I asked in a whispered

voice.

"If they do I'm gonna tell them what happened......." oh please don't

do this..

"uh......um.....I uh......guess .......so." He nodded.

"Come in," I got up so I could hurry them in and shut the door.

"Seifer!" Quistis's eye lit up like lights "You're......you're alive!" he

smiled at her,

"Last I heard."

"Seifer, Alex! What the hell happened to you two?" Quistis and Zell

just stood there.

"Well......." Seifer looked at me. Oh jeez ok whatever.

"Eh, when I went to go clean out my house I came across my dad,

and he said he had Seifer so I went with him and he told me to

steal the fly chip and cut the power so he and a bunch of other

Galbadian soldiers could invade. I brought the fly chip to them

today and they let Seifer go but they still want the power cut for

when they invade and if I don't I'll have to watch them kill you

guy's, and, uh they're invading in an hour." oops.......

"How did you get that?" Zell asked about the bruise from when I

got hit in the face.

"My dad uh......."

"Her dad pounded on her," Seifer always had a way with

words.......

"Your dad did that to you? What about the black eye from earlier?

Was that your dad too?" Quistis always worried about everybody

except herself.

"Yeah," ok now I feel like a moron.

"He's not gonna touch you again!" Zell was getting really mad.

"We have to tell Cid......" that was Quistis

"No! No don't tell a soul! I'm gonna cut the power and what

happens, happens."

"Alex, we can't not tell Cid, if he finds out that we knew we'll get

expelled," Zell was agreeing with Quistis?

"I'm willing to take that risk, tell no one, not even Squall, now

excuse me, I have to go and cut the power........"