¨¨°º©o., Chapter 6: Hallucinations ,.o©º°¨¨
Dorothy looked up at me then buried her face in her hands. Her whole body seemed hesitant, she was on edge. Tin Man sighed and left the room, leaving us alone with the passed out Lion. I stared at her never letting up my fiery gaze, I wanted answers.
"We grew up together, all of us orphans. When we grew old enough we were split up and sent to be SeeDs. You, Toto, Lion, and I went to Balamb. I was your teacher" she finally answered my question not looking up at me.
"I was a Seed?" I asked stonily crossing my arms across my chest.
"You were, no one knows why you left. Not even you" her answer was muffled as she spoke into her hands. Some of the tension was leaving her body, slumping in the stool. I got the feeling she was lying, there had to be more.
"And what about his scar, and mine for that matter" I shot off another question my voice still cracking like a whip. She finally looked up at me her blue eyes slightly blood shot.
"You were rivals. In a duel you gave him his, and he returned the favor" she said softly. I nodded curtly looking over at the large duffel bag sitting on the counter in the room.
"That his?" I asked pointing at it. She nodded watching as I moved across the tiled floor. I unzipped it quickly, and dumped it out on the counter. It's contents spilled onto the Formica, some rolling to the floor. Syringes of ConMag bounced across the tile. Concentrated Magic, the new hype drug.
I looked down at the brightly colored tubes and frowned. I scooped them up from the floor, clutching them in a fist.
"I'm sure that these do wonders for people that have the Azure Plague" I growled shooting the man on the table a dirty look. I was having a hard time comprehending all this new information. Walking over to her, I glared down at her slumping form.
"Is there anything else you need to tell me," I said evenly trying to keep my temper. She stared up into my eyes, as if she was searching for something.
"My name is Quistis," she said softly. The name struck a small chord with me, familiar like the last impression of a sent.
"It doesn't mean a thing to you, does it?" she asked standing up slowly, here eyes never leaving mine.
"No" I responded stonily. She was the key to my past; I could feel that she would unlock so many doors. I couldn't get any closer to her. All she was to me was a client.
"I'll take care of these," she said taking the syringes out of my hand. She slid passed me and left the room, closing the door behind her. I sat down in her stool, with a sigh. I buried my face in my hands, trying to remember something anything about her.
The door opened again and Tin Man walked in. I nodded at him, as he leaned over the patient.
"He's got the plague pretty bad. It comes and goes with him, like most people. I just got off the wire with the Wizard" Tin man said. I nodded, not really caring.
"Is that the chick that's going to put all these pieces together?" I asked.
"Yeah, she does some wonderful things" Tin man responded with a half smile. I quirked an eyebrow and laughed softly.
"You have a thing for her, don't you?" I asked shaking my head.
"Am I that transparent?" he responded shaking his head. Then Lion moaned and stirred, shooting straight up in the bed. Tin Man took a few steps back as the pale sick man shook his head. Lion looked around his stormy eyes landing on me.
"What is he doing here?" Lion asked evenly his voice sounding parched.
"He brought Dorothy" Tin man responded before I could open my mouth.
"Dorothy made it out of Dollet alive?" He asked looking back over to Tin Man.
"Toto didn't. Rinoa killed him" Tin man answered shortly.
"Rinoa" Lion said his voice trailing off; he looked down at his hands in his lap. Tin Man placed a hand on his bare shoulder, a touch of friends. I felt like an outsider looking in on their world. They were in a snow globe and I was the one shaking it up.
"Where is Dorothy?" Lion asked looking over at me.
"She went to dispose of your ConMag" I growled back eyeing the scar on his face. The anger slid off his face, and his eyes registered shock.
"Why did you let her do that?" Lion asked jumping to his feet.
"You are not going after her to get it back," I said standing up to challenge him. There was no way I was letting him shoot up.
"How can you be so stupid, don't you know Quistis used to take ConMag?" Lion growled at me the bridge of his nose crinkling up making his scar look even angrier. Guilt washed over me, it seemed like an important detail I should have remembered. I rushed out the door into the greenery of plants and choking vines that covered the glass house.
I scanned the area, tapping into my cyber enhanced eyes to try and spot her. There across the way I spotted another tiny room tucked in amongst a group of wicked looking weeping willows. I rushed forward my trench coat slapping on my legs as I ran through the bushes. I shoved though the trees, throwing open the door to the room.
Light spilled into the room in a perfect rectangle my shadow falling down on the floor. She lay there; empty ConMag needles scattered across the floor. Her eyes were wide and glossy staring up at me. A half-used needle hang from her arm, the lightning held inside the syringe crackling.
"Quistis" I said her real name out loud rushing forward. I fell to my knees beside her and ripped the needle from her arm. The magic exploded from the glass sending numbing lightening pain up my arm. I pulled her to her feet, pulling her out of the cramped tool shed.
"Lions…" she whispered looking around with wide eyes at the weeping willows. Their long branches resembled claws as I tried to drag her through them towards the medical facilities.
"Tigers" she whispered jump backward stumbling into my arms a bit. I rolled my eyes skyward trying to help her get her feet. Of course she would be hallucinating, just my luck.
"Bear!" she screamed stumbling forward her eyes huge and crazy. I caught her again, and pulled her close to me looking down into her eyes.
"Hyne, I hate to do this," I said softly before I brought my palm thundering down on her jaw. She yelped her eyes clearing for a moment.
"Oh my…" she whispered. Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell forward against me. Her blond hair spilled across my arm as I lifted her up and carried her back to the other structure where the two men waited.
"What did you have to hit her for" Lion growled at me pulling her from my arms. He lay her out on the table, the track marks on his bare arms matching the ones in hers.
"She was hallucinating" I answered curtly.
"What she ever saw in you, Hyne only knows" Lion growled looking over his shoulder at me. I bristled at the comment right away, my shoulder squaring. How was I supposed to know about her and my past? I had it removed for a reason.
"I am only here because she is paying me" I thought I was beginning to sound like a broken record.
"If you don't care then you can just wait outside," Lion practically shouted at me. I rolled my eyes and walked out the door. I slammed it wall shakingly hard behind me and strode across the greenhouse to sit alone by a tiny pool.
I glared up at the sun through the crystalline windows trying to calm my ever-unpredictable temper. I suddenly realized it wasn't about the Gil anymore. I knew all of these people, somehow. I had wanted to forget them for some reason. Now here I was again with them.
This Cyber Emerald was the key to my past, and perhaps the key to my future.