**usual disclaimers apply**

legend:
(...) thoughts
*....* specific action while speaking
=== another place, dimension, time, group of people...etc.


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A MAGICIAN'S CURSE
by Rhys Icewind

~Chapter 13~

Sakura and Zell arrived only to find the whole group in the hospital
mourning. Everybody was sad as hell. Especially Squall.

"wha- what happened?" Zell asked.

Kiros, who seemed the only one composed, spoke in a grave tone.
"Selune's okay but....Laguna and Rinoa..."

"wait!" Sakura interrupted, "Laguna AND RINOA?"

"Doctors say that she underwent nervous breakdown and gradually became
comatosed...." Kiros explained.

"so you mean?" Zell asked.

"They are both in critical and doctors say they can't do any good..."
Kiros looked down and sniffed, then composed himself again.

"Bring them back to the Garden" Sakura said.

"W-what?" Ellone suddenly spoke up, "Uncle Laguna and Rinoa are about
to die and YOU want them to go BACK....TO THE GARDEN?" she stepped
close to Sakura, who was a few inches shorter, then ran to Kiros and
cried openly.

Sakura's emerald eyes were saddened. "I know it will be hard for you
to understand but I can heal them there better...especially with
Ruriko around."

Ward, who was sitting by a bench beside them and looking at the floor,
studdenly looked up. "yeah! Ruriko! she can help us! If she can cure
my muteness, then..."

"NO!" Ellone shouted, "they might DIE along the way!! and ... Uncle
Laguna's condition is FAR WORSE than what you HAD!!!"

Ward was shocked by her words and was taken aback.

Kiros looked at his friend, asking him to understand. Ward gave a nod
and Kiros said a silent 'thanks'.

"What are your plans, Sakura?" Zell asked Sakura, whispering.

"I can heal them... I just know it. I'm not gonna let them die!" she
answered.

===

"There's the hospital!" Quistis shouted as they ran through the streets.

Inside the hospital, they immediately went to the information table and
followed the instructions the nurse told them. When they got to the waiting
room beside the Intensive Care Unit, they felt the heaviness of the air.

"RURIKO!!" Sakura greeted, "you're just in time!"

"in time for what?" she asked.

"no time to explain. Let's go!" Sakura said as she grabbed Ruriko's
wrist and pulled her towards the ICU door.

Kiros looked at them and shouted, "what the heck are you doing? it's
off limits there!"

"We're gonna save the two people we all cherish!" Sakura shouted back,
making Squall turn and look up, his eyes all reddened, and follow them.

the other people who were left outside were just too stunned to move.


The doctors were all shouting when the trio got in, telling them to
get out. But Sakura knew better.

"Ruriko, I need your healing powers on Rinoa. I'll handle Laguna."
Sakura instructed.

Understanding the whole situation, Ruriko did as told and went over to
Rinoa's bed. "hold on Rinoa.... OPEN GATE!!!!" Ruriko held out her hand
before her and two circles of golden yellow appeared before it. The
doctors who were planning to stop her were frozen on the spot. "Healing
Light!!!" the gate widened and small yellow balls of light came out
from the gate and fused in Rinoa's body making her glow.

Meanwhile...

Sakura had already summoned her staff and had already summoned the Heal
card. Again, the fairy nurse reappeared and became a ball of light that
entered Laguna's body. Just as immediately, his body glowed white.

As all of those things happened, the doctors and nurses that were there
were just awe-struck. Squall, on the other hand, couldn't belive what he
was seeing. Two complete strangers were inside the ICU of the two people
he loved the most and was using unknown magics to heal them.

He watched in silence as the two ended their enchantments.

===

"You're being called." the lady in white told her two companions. "I guess
it would be futile to keep you two here."

"what?" Rinoa asked. "I can hear someone call my name but it's very faint."

"just go to them... hear them call... do not resist. It was nice chatting
with you two.." the woman said as she slowly disappeared.

Laguna heard calls for him but shut it out for a while as he saw the woman
disappear. (do not shut them out) the woman's voice echoed in his mind and
Laguna let the calls flood his mind and suddenly, he felt light-headded and
suddenly, he felt good.

He felt alive.

===

"there is still so much for those two to learn." a stranger who was scrying
through a crystal ball, all cloaked, said as it watched the goup of people
in the hosptal.

Slowly, the cloaked figure moved away from the scrying ball and towards a
small table filled with odd-shaped bottles that contained liquids of different
colors.

"they are developing too slow." it said, a pale hand searching carefully
across the myriad of bottles. "this one...should speed it up a bit" and
she picked up a small, circular bottle with a crystalline stopper. It
contained a pinkish liquid wich gave off a light pink glow.

"you will never escape me, my dear prince!" it said, laughing as it turned
to look back at the scrying ball which showed the face of a young blonde
man, with blue eyes and a distinguishing tattoo on his face...

_________________________________________________________________


END