Tears Of The Lioness
A/N: Flashbacks are signaled by ***.
Chapter Four:
They spent the rest of the day in discipline. Seifer spent the time fiddling with the panel computer. Athena was seated across the room. Quistis was at her desk, doing paperwork. They were the only ones in discipline that day.
Seifer logged on to the instant messenger, his fingers hitting the keys quietly so the instructor couldn't hear. He knew how to work these things, being the former disciplinary officer he knew how to get into most of Garden systems. He centered in on Athena's computer by typing in its id number, and typed in a message.
S. Almasy: Athena. Is this boring or what?
Over on the other side of the room, Athena had been analyzing the panel before her, not sure what to make of it. Then suddenly a window popped up on the screen, displaying a message from Seifer. Then she saw a cursor blinking below his message, and curiously she typed in a message of her own.
Athena: What is this?
S. Almasy: What do you think it is? It's a private chat room.
Athena: This is a discipline room. We are not here to chat. And it is not private.
S. Almasy: L No…jeez. Haven't you ever heard of a computer chat room before?
Athena: Certainly I have heard of computers. But where I come from, we have no need of them.
S. Almasy: Where _do_ you come from, anyway? Mars?
Athena: I would rather not say.
S. Almasy: Whatever. Listen, I swear I saw you in my bathroom this morning. You were standing right there.
Athena: I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about.
S. Almasy: …I must have been seeing things.
Athena: Yes. That could be possible. Considering.
S. Almasy: Considering _what_???
Athena:…Nothing.
S. Almasy: No, no. Clarify this for me, Athena. What exactly do you mean?
Athena: Considering the fact that you are weak…it is no surprise for you to be seeing things.
Seifer's teeth gritted as he read what Athena had to say. That bitch!
S. Almasy: What?!
Athena: It is all right to admit that you are weak. My lips are finely sealed.
S. Almasy: I'm not weak!
Athena: Then you are afraid of me. That is fine. There are few who aren't.
S. Almasy: Oh, you are asking for it, BITCH! I'm not scared of you! I'm not scared of anyone!
Athena: …I know one person you are afraid of, Hyperion Knight…do not deny your fear for her…I know…though you try to forget, you will always be looking over your shoulder for her…
Seifer's eyes widened, shivers running through his body. He slowly looked up from the panel, and saw Athena staring at him from across the room. Her ruby lips were turned upward in a dark smirk, her eyes boring like bluesilver lasers into his soul. His own lips mouthed the word 'bitch', and her smirk grew wider, bowing her raven haired head slowly.
Athena: I know. See you at midnight…if you dare.
Seifer was about to type another message at her, but then something beeped and the screen read under Athena's last message:
Athena logged off at 14:35
"You bitch!" he hissed aloud, hitting the panel screen angrily with his black gloved fist. The screen went blank and Quistis' head rose from her paperwork, hearing the profanity.
"Seifer, who are you talking to?" she demanded. "Are you abusing the school property again?"
"……"
She sighed. "Just for that, you will stay an hour more. Athena, is it? You may leave."
"Certainly," Athena replied. She stood from her seat and gazed into Seifer's eyes. Seifer shuddered again. There was such patience in her eyes, a clever wonder sparkling in the bluesilver irises. It looked much like how Matron, when possessed by Ultimecia, had gazed upon Squall when he had jumped the float at the Deling Parade. Then without a word she turned away and left the classroom.
That night, Seifer sat at his own computer, watching the clock closely. He intended on meeting her at midnight, but he wanted to try and dig up some info on her first.
He checked all the known Garden's databases. There was no record of Athena in either of them. In fact, according to the computer, Athena did not exist. There were no records of her anywhere.
(Athena…she looks so familiar…why can't I remember seeing her before? Where have I heard her name? Where have I seen her face? Where have I heard her voice???)
He gave up on the computer and began to get ready for the fight. He sheathed his freshly oiled gunblade and opened the window. With nimble ease he dropped down, feeling the autumn grass crunch under his feet. The moon above was full and the night sky was speckled with stars.
Without a word, he slipped away to face Athena once more.
The moon above was entirely full and glowing with tremendous radiance and power. Athena could feel the silver light around her, inside her, a presence she could not escape.
(Something is not right,) she thought to herself, watching the moon as it slowly reached its midnight peak. (Something is wrong here. Everything is normal…and yet…nothing is as it's supposed to be.)
That wary feeling crept across Athena's skin again, like so many times before. But this time it was so strong, like something was going wrong; somewhere something terribly irregular and unnatural was occurring. She did not like this feeling…
***
Luna paced back and forth in her cell, feeling restless and wary. She'd only come to the Sea Lab about a week ago. Her pale skin glowed almost blue from the large plexiglass window that displayed a view of the entire ocean. It looked very peaceful, and yet Luna felt so alarmed, as if something bad were about to happen.
Dr. Odine walked in quite calmly, looking down at Luna with a smile. "Ah, good morning Luna. I hoped you vere avake. We're going to run some tests right here, so you won't have to go anyvere…"
"I am not entirely sure that is a good idea," Luna muttered strangely, Odine's smile fading.
"Oh? And why, exactly?"
"…" Luna could find no reason.
"Zat's vat I thought. Now, sit down so I can test your current vitals…" Luna sat and Odine pulled out an armband, and started taking her blood pressure and her heart rate and things like that that fascinate a man of science such as Odine.
As he readied a hypodermic to draw a sample of her blood, her eyes remained on the window and the world out side. Out of nowhere a monster fish appeared, swimming at a very fast rate. As Odine prepared to insert the needle into her arm, the fish slammed dead on into the window without stopping, making Luna actually jump and the needle went in wrong and left her a small but deep cut that began to bleed immediately.
"Dammit! Stupid fish." He set the hypodermic needle down and analyzed the deep cut, made by the razor point of the needle into her arm. Luna did not even flinch at the pain, which had always confused Odine because she did not seem to respond to pain…ever. He quickly cleaned and bandaged the silent preteen's arm, taking out another sterile needle.
"Not to vorry, Luna," he said brightly, preparing the extra needle.
But Luna turned her head again at the window, her arm growing tense in his grasp. "Doctor…"
"I'm almost done, Luna, be patient."
"Doctor…look…"
Dr. Odine looked up and gasped. An entire school of monster fish rammed their scaly bodies into the glass window just as he looked, frothing the water and spider-webbing the once thought unbreakable glass with their massive weight. They attacked the glass again and again, baring their razor teeth, trying to get in. The window began to give way…
Luna jumped up without a word and ran toward the door, reaching the outer hallway and ready to seal it off. But before she could do that she saw Dr. Odine still inside the cell, still on his knees, quavering in fear as the glass began to crack and spurt water as millions of pounds of pressure were applied to it…
Her conscience getting the better of her, she ran back in and grabbed his arm, pulling his shocked self quickly to the hallway and left him to lie there. The window then imploded on itself in a mass of glass shards, frothy, bloody water, and razor jawed fish. Without hesitation she hit the emergency lock button, and the door automatically slid shut, sealing off the deluge. She backed away as the monster fish rammed themselves uselessly into solid steel, tripping over Odine's robes and falling to the ground beside him, the shock slowly subsiding.
"My…my dear sveet Hyne…we could've died, both of us…" Odine whispered; his eyes still as wide as saucers. "Luna…you saved my life. Zank you…Luna? Are you okay?"
Luna only stared at the steel wall plainly, hearing the monster angelfish gnawing vainly at the impenetrable metal. Dr. Odine looked at her, a strange look in his wide eyes as he stared at the child.
"You…knew…didn't you, Luna?"
***
Didn't you, Luna?
Athena closed her eyes as she brushed upon that fateful memory. Now she regretted saving that scientist's life, but things had been different then. Yes, she had known. Without knowing it, she knew. It was only a little later they had both realized that due to a shift in the moon's gravitational orbit, the monster fish had been driven into a murderous frenzy for blood. No astronomer had predicted it, no oceanographer had spotted it. Only a young girl, barely a teen, secluded in a private laboratory under the sea miles and miles away from the surface world, had known what was coming.
A gift…and a terrible curse…
"Athena."
Athena turned to see Seifer. He looked very defined, his gray trenchcoat swaying in the breeze, standing straight and tall. The red scar that lined the middle of his face balanced his handsome features, his fierce, proud jade eyes glimmering like gems in the night. His hair, deliberately disheveled slightly, shifted lightly in the autumn wind. Soft pink lips vaguely turned up in a soft yet lecherous grin. His gunblade already drawn, clenched in his black gloved hand. A perfect picture of the lone knight.
Seifer stared at his opponent. In the moonlight, she was different. Her marble white skin was set aglow by the silver rays, her long, midnight hair glistening against the light. Her eyes remained the same disturbingly beautiful color, yet there was a strange glow to them this night. She stood in the long grass, as still as a statue, as silent as a shadow. She stood there, watching, waiting.
No words passed between them. There was a lone metallic swish as Athena drew Hyperia from her waist and held it firmly at her side, as if waiting for him to make the first move, her face growing tense. Seifer could tell she was impatient and ready to fight.
Without a single word they lunged at each other, twin gunblades swerving towards each other. The silent night air rang suddenly with the sounds of the clashing of swords and the exerted grunts of the two opponents.
"YAH!"
"Ugh!"
Seifer was on the ground as Athena swung around and caught him in the back with the non sharp base of her blade. His knees buckled beneath him, and he fell. Instantly he twisted his body around to meet the face of his adversary, gunblade still in hand.
A series of swift parries and blows occurred, the piercing sound of metal against metal in the night air. Seifer drove at her again and again, trying to break her strength, but she seemed to have an endless supply of it, as his arms grew weary and tense she seemed to have constant energy. He staggered back, his eyes locked with hers as he readied for the next attack. She was not tiring, and seemed stronger than ever.
"What? Tired already?" she taunted. "Not what you expect from the Hyperion Knight."
He swiped the gunblade at her. "I'm not tired!"
She leapt forward and swung at him, their gunblades colliding in midair. He threw her back in anger, though she did not go far, catching her balance quickly.
"And I'm not afraid of you either!" he growled.
"Then you are a fool," she snarled back at him.
For several minutes they continued to fight, neither winning nor losing against each other, though Seifer fought hard to keep up with Athena's swift movements. Their breaths grew loud in the air as the fighting ensued, the clashing of blades louder.
Athena blocked his gunblade as he came in for a deadly blow. The look in his eyes was amazing, like green fire burning furiously within two prisms. His teeth were gritted, his face muscles tense and gleaming with the perspiration of battle. He was tiring, she knew, but was refusing to give up. She admired that, at least, the refusal to give in. Maybe they weren't so different after all.
Seifer's breath was like fire in his throat as he ran a fake swipe at her, running past her and turning back quickly. He decided to end it right that moment, and, still holding his gunblade, held up his right palm. Athena stood ready.
"Here's a little thing Ultimecia taught me!" he shouted mockingly at her, his hand growing hot. "FIRAGA!!!"
From the midnight air conjured a giant, fiery sphere of red and orange light, a miniature sun. He grinned lecherously as he hurled the flame at the silent woman, grunting with the effort.
It soared through the air at tremendous speed towards Athena, who strangely stood very still and did not bother to move from the fireball's path. Just watching, waiting.
Suddenly the fireball's speed seemed to decrease, slowing down as it reached its target and then stopping altogether right in front of Athena.
"What the hell…?" Seifer murmured, terribly confused.
Athena seemed to gaze into the fireball's depths, so close that the flames seemed to lap at her pale face but not hurt her. Her eyes illuminated in the brightness of the fire, and it began to grow larger in size. Then, it swerved away from Athena…and hurled straight back at Seifer.
"Holy shi—"
His world exploded in a mass of flames, flinging him violently backwards in the air, the searing fire swirling around him and almost appearing to keep him afloat for a moment before sending him plummeting onto the autumn ground. As he was hit, however, he'd panicked and accidentally pulled the trigger on his Hyperion.
He hit the ground hard, feeling his arm shoot back a little from the force of his gunblade going off. The paramagic flames disappeared quickly but left their damage; minor burns on his skin and scorch marks on his clothes. But they disappeared fast enough for him to hear Athena grunt loudly, and see her slender body jerk backward and then fall.
He'd shot her.
Her body lay still on the ground as he staggered to his feet and ran near, seeing the wound immediately. Right below her left shoulder, a gaping bullet hole stood out like a crater; blood freely and vigorously flowed from the wound, shining dark on her black shirt.
"Oh my god…" Seifer knelt down beside the unconscious body, visions of murder charges and life in prison already swimming in his head. "Athena? Athena, can you hear me? God dammit!"
As he reached within his coat for a Potion or a Remedy or something that would be able to help, Athena's eyes slid open slowly, facing the autumn night sky. He stopped the search for medicine and turned his attention back to her. "Athena!" He felt relieved, fears of murder fading away. "Stay still, I'll…"
But she was sitting up, her ears deaf to his words. She looked down at the bleeding bullet wound, looking at it blankly but not the slightest hint of pain glistened her eyes. Taking the thumb and the index finger of her left hand, she prod them into the wound and without the slightest flinch, pulled a glistening black bullet from the hole. The sight almost made Seifer want to throw up.
She brought both of her hands up and folded them over the wound, the blood oozing through her fingers. Her hands glowed a dark purple-black light and when she took them away, there was no wound; no blood. Only a jagged hole in her black shirt, the only evidence of there ever being a wound. The skin underneath was as smooth and whole as ever.
She looked up at him, a strange look in her eye, almost frightening.
"What are you looking at?" she asked quietly.
He couldn't speak. She stood up, brushing herself off and picking up her Hyperia.
"Well fought, Seifer Almasy." She cleaned the dust off the silver blade with her hand. "I must admit that you have defeated me in this bout."
"What do you mean, I won? I shouldn't win." His face was indignant. "I almost killed you."
She gave him a wry look. "You of all people should know that death is a factor in battle that all must face. Good evening to you." She began to walk away.
Seifer gritted his teeth. "Then I forfeit my victory."
She swung back immediately, her gunblade pointed squarely at his throat. "I refuse your yielding!" she snarled. "I refuse to receive victory that I do not deserve, just because you are too weak to acknowledge it. Unless you'd like to have another bout right now?" she offered, her eyes gleaming dangerously. "We'll settle it all in one more spar."
"What is it with you?" Seifer demanded. "You're constantly leaping at my throat! I never did anything to you, I don't even fucking know you! Can't you just leave it be!? You won!"
"I will never win until I say I win," she growled deeply. "I will never leave you be…never." And she stormed away. "You have won now, Seifer Almasy," she called back. "But savor your victory while you can."
Seifer sat at his computer the next morning, as usual, eating some leftover macaroni. There was a brief knocking at his door, and he vaguely wondered who would be up at this hour, much less at his door. He got up and answered it.
To his surprise, the person standing on his doorstep was no other than Fujin. Looking a little abashed, the silver haired woman looked up at him.
"What do you want?" he asked his former friend.
"…Forgiveness," she muttered. "I…I'm sorry. I missed you, to tell the truth. Raijin got mad and kicked me out…well, actually I left, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to know if I could stay…here. At least until I can switch dorms."
Seifer looked at her. He knew the embarrassment of facing her ex best friend must be killing her, but honestly he'd missed her too. To hell with Raijin. And it had been his fault, kind of…she had warned him.
"Come on in, Fuj," Seifer said, displaying a soft smile. Fujin, looking extremely relieved, walked in carrying a duffel bag.
Two sodas and a frozen pizza later in the common room of the double dorm, Fujin was still telling him how horrible life in the Garden had been without him. "It's just no fun without you, Seif. It's been so boring I could barely stand it. Raijin isn't too upset though. He's practically made up his own 'I Hate Seifer' club. I guess we know where his loyalties lie. But hey? What's been happening lately with you?" she asked as they hung out on the couch.
Seifer told her everything about how he'd met Athena and her constant craving to battle him. He told her about the bathroom incident and the chat room, and last night's midnight spar, especially when she had changed the course of his fireball without even the aid of a Reflect spell, and most especially about how she'd pulled the bullet from her own shoulder and healed herself.
"I just don't get it," Seifer said, taking a bite of his pizza. "She didn't even cast a spell and the next thing I knew I was on fire. And the woman doesn't seem to feel pain. She plucked that bullet out of her like it wasn't even her! She's just plain weird."
Fujin shrugged. "Maybe she's psychic."
"Psycho?"
She grinned. "You know. Psychic. Telekinetic. She can read minds and bend spoons with her mind and stuff."
"I thought that stuff was just a lot of sci fi crap."
"Not at all. There are actually schools for people like that. Besides, what else can it be?"
"You're right. But get this. I hacked into at least every government listing file, and all records show that she doesn't exist. And every time I look at her I have this feeling like I've known her all my life. Explain that."
Fujin's eyes widened. "…I can't think of anything for that."
"Damn straight." He sighed. "But it's obvious I'm not going to find out anytime soon. She's a secretive little bitch. But she seems to know a lot about me, I'll tell you that. She's just creepy."
Fujin looked very concerned now. "Hmm…I don't have any idea what this girl's about either, Seifer. But from what you told me I think you should be careful around her. I think she's looking to kill you."
"Believe me, Fujin," Seifer laughed dryly. "If she wanted to kill me…she would've done it by now."
"Hey. Maybe…she's…you know…" Fujin paused, as if not certain how to put her thoughts into words. "One of your…victims?"
"What? You mean like that Trabia student? No. I looked her up, remember? She simply doesn't exist. But you have a point. She could be holding a grudge." He got up and put their plates in the sink. "She's really strange. Looking at me like she does. Taunting me. It always feels so cold when she comes near, and dark. She's almost like…" Seifer trailed off on his own breath, and shook his head stubbornly. "But whatever she's about, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. She's probably just trying to scare me, like everyone else." He looked at the clock on the counter, which read 8:56 a.m.
"Dammit." Seifer turned and shrugged. "Class starts in a few minutes. We gotta get going."