Ch 11 – Twisted In More Ways Then One
The flight back to the arena was in silence, each person on the device brooding with his or her own thoughts.
When they finally arrived at the area, however, it was a completely different story.
The masses of hot, sweaty martial arts fanatics rose as one as Zell stepped of the device, and began to cheer as one. The massive wave of sound washed over him, causing him to take a small step back and let out a breath. "Whoa…"
"They're cheering for you, Zell." Said the President, his voice barely carrying over the sound. "This is you're moment."
Zell turned and looked down at the old man, who still had tears in his eyes. He placed a hand on the President's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, before turning to the crowd once more. He lifted his arms high in the air in celebration.
The crowd went hysterical. People jumping up and down suddenly began to cartwheels. Women wolf-whistling and giggling between themselves suddenly found themselves on the floor, feeling a little woozy. Men looked down at the dirty, bloodied boy before them, and grimaced in jealous acknowledgement.
Zell found himself grinning from ear to ear, waving his hands to gather more of a response from the crowd. Is this what it feels like to be celebrated…to be known by thousands as the best?
He jumped high into the air, flipping twice, before landing on his hands. Balancing precariously on his fingertips, he did a few handstand pushups, before pushing off the ground and landing perfectly, a few feet from the railings of the seats.
A million faces obscured his view, and his mind seemed to melt into them, as his body ran down the stands, grinning, as his high-five some and were touched by others. Women, men and children screamed his name, phone numbers and possible date times. The words filtered through his brain and gurgled out of his ears as he revelled in the attention.
Finally stopping at the end, he ran back to the device and picked Selphie up, tossing her high in the air. "I survived, Selphie! I won!!" he yelled, laughing, as she came screaming back to earth, only to be caught and tossed back up again.
The constant tossing up and down made Selphie giggle insanely, as well as feel a little queasy. "That's good for you, Zell, but if you don't put me down I'm going to ralph up my breakfast!!"
Zell, laughing, caught her finally and gently placed her down on he ground. She straightened her yellow dress dignifyingly. "Thankyou."
The President walked up to Zell. "If you don't mind, Zell, the advancement announcements need to be over here."
"Oh, ok…" Zell said cheerfully, walking with President Justice to a small podium.
"Stand here, my boy." The old man said, pointing to a piece of ground next to the podium. Zell did as he was told, and watched as Justice placed Sheran's urn gently on the ground, on the other side of the podium.
Composing himself, straightening his tie and pushing back his hair, which had been ruffled by the ride back, he stepped up the podium and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentleman…ladies and gentleman, if I could have you're attention, please…"
He waited for a full ten minutes before the crowd died down enough for him to begin. "What you have seen today…" he began, "Was only a taste of what's to come from this brave young man. I have a good feeling that he shall make his way, all the way, to the final round, and will put up a good fight as well. It is with a clear heart, however, that I can say the Sheran Timletts death was not in vain. Knowing the man personally, I knew that the last thoughts that would have been running through his mind as the final blow was delivered, was that he would have had it no other way."
"Although Sheran's death will weigh heavily on the hearts of all Galbadian people, it is with great pride and admiration that I declare Zell Dincht, Balamb SeeD, victorious in the second round, and has qualified to pass into the third!!"
The sound from the crowd was deafening. Zell blinked as the noise assaulted his eardrums, and he reached up tentatively to scratch the insides of his ears with a pinkie. Finding nothing of interest inside them, he turned to see President Justice facing him. "Zell? Would you like to say a few words?"
Zell shrugged, and walked over to the podium, looking at the people as he cleared his throat. Woo, boy…what do I say…do I say I feel sorry for killing Sheran, or that I'm proud to accept the qualification? Dude…this is really nerve wracking…
"Uh…I guess I have to pay my condolences to the family and friends of Sheran Timlett. He was a worthy opponent, and even though I knew him for about an hour, I'm sure that it would please them greatly to know that I found him to be an honourable dude." He stepped back from the microphone, before hesitating and leaning forward. "And…uh…Booya!!"
The crowd went ballistic, the people cart wheeling now doing back flips, the fainting ladies now needing medical attention, the jealous men suddenly wanting to join Zell for a good beer.
He waved to the crowd once more, before turning to Sheran's urn. Sorry, big guy, he mouthed, touching his temple with a finger – before a gunshot rang out, taking him in the upper back, causing him to fall.
* * *
"ZELL!!!" Selphie screamed, as a puff of blood appeared from his back, spraying the President as Zell fell to his knees.
Immediately, the security detail, told to stand down whilst Zell was in the President's presence, suddenly swarmed around the old man and whisked him away. "Zell!!" Justice cried, arm outstretched, as the men bundled him into his limo and drove for the nearest airship.
Selphie ran to Zell's side, falling to her knees sobbing in front of him as he looked at her. His eyes were dulling – becoming blank as blood pumped it's way viciously from his back. "Selp…Selphie?" He muttered, crimson flowing from his mouth. "I…I can't…breath…"
He pitched forward, collapsing into her arms, his eyes going from dull to a blank stare. Blood dribbled out of his mouth freely – no movement in his limbs – he was dead.
The crowd seemed to freeze, not knowing what was going on – before it finally sank into one lady, her shrill scream tearing through everybody in the makeshift stadium. People suddenly began to scramble for exits, cries of horror mixing in with the absolute terror felt by every person.
Selphie looked up at the crowd with tears in her eyes, looking for the assassin, anywhere, any person with a gun…but all she saw was Irvine, running towards her with shock and horror etched into his face.
"Selphie! What the hell happened?" he cried, dropping his shotgun and kneeling beside Zell, pulling him off Selphie and rolling him onto his back. "Hyne! He's dead!!"
Selphie looked down at the shotgun lying beside Irvine as he began to check for life. She saw that it had cracked open in the fall, the shells popping out.
One of the shells had been spent.
She looked up at him with shock, the unrealism hitting her full in the face. He's the assassin…he had all the opportunities, all the perfect alibis…it's him!
She stood and raised her hands, the ground around her blowing with wind as her power swelled, unique magic flowing through her as she lifted him from the ground and threw him up into the air, stopping him mid-flight. He looked down at her, dumbfounded and shocked, as she looked up at him with murder in her green eyes.
"Why, Irvine?" She screamed. "What was you're price?"
Irvine twisted in the air, fighting something he had no chance against. "I have no fucking idea what the hell's going on here!" He screamed down at her.
"Oh, come on! You had the best opportunities to kill him at any time! All I want to know is why! Why kill a friend?!"
"You think I killed Zell?!" Irvine screamed. "Hyne, Selphie, you've got to be joking!!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?!" She replied, tightening her grip, watching as the invisible magic around him began to squeeze him to pulp…
…before Zell's body jolted again, more gunshots ringing out, his body dancing as the bullets pounded flesh and bone, turning his corpse into Shumi-cheese.
Selphie, taken by surprise, let go of Irvine immediately, allowing him to drop the twelve feet to the ground, and ran to Zell's body as the pummelling stopped briefly. Grabbing the bloody corpse, she dragged him back behind the podium, which was thankfully made of steel. Looking down at his body, Selphie saw that Zell now had seven blossoming wounds, blood seeping out of them rapidly. Holding her hands over the wounds, she muttered a word of power, and the bullet holes closed slightly, the bullets moving out of the holes, the bleeding slowing to a stop.
Looking up as a shadow loomed over them, she allowed Irvine some space to huddle beside her. He looked bruised, angry, and a little concerned. Selphie immediately launched into the deepest apologies, but he cut her off with a kiss, their lips pressing together longingly, before he cut the spell by drawing away.
"I know you did what you thought best, sweetie…" He muttered. "But right now, we need to get rid of this guy before he kills anymore people." He looked down at Zell. "Did you cast Full Life?"
"No." she muttered, balling her fists as more bullets rattled into the podium. "Only Life. It ought to kick in, in about five minutes."
"Right. Here's what we're going to do." Irvine muttered. "My shotgun is out there, but I still have my Vincent's. I'll draw his fire whilst you sneak out and cap him. I judge him to be…" He stopped talking suddenly, seeming to wait. Another bullet hit the podium, and he looked at the girl once more. "…Row twenty, at the very top. High powered rifle, judging by the delay of shot by the hit rate. He's good too, so make sure you cast Protect."
"I'll do better then that…" Selphie muttered, the ground blasting away from beneath her as her Barrier spell kicked in, the orb surrounding her flashing in the sunlight brilliantly.
Irvine shrugged with a grin. "Yeah, I suppose that'll work too." He winked at her, before jumping out from behind the podium, his handguns flaring as he ran across the area between the announcing area and the stands.
Puffs of dirt flew around his feet, followed by the delayed gunshots, as he ducked and weaved, judging where the next bullet would be and planning a trajectory to not be where that bullet ended up. He twisted through the air, shelled tinkling around him as he fired shot after shot up into the stands, now deserted.
Silhouetted by the sun, the Assassin ducked behind some cover as the .45 calibre bullets hammered into his surroundings, turning the wood around him into woodchips.
Selphie, seizing her chance, cast Float on herself and flew high up into the air, her Barrier magic surrounding her perfectly, as if she was a fairy in a bubble. Floating towards the Assassin, she saw him crane out from behind his cover and pop off a few shots at Irvine. He had no idea she was coming for him.
Pulling her nunchaku from the sling on her dress, she dropped down on him, flinging the tough chain around his neck and pulling back for dear life.
He choked, dropping the rifle and scrabbled for his neck, trying to find some purchase as his air supple was abruptly and shockingly shut off. Selphie grunted as he stood, staggering back and ramming her into a wall, but she continued to hang on, wrapping her legs around his chest and squeezing with her thighs as much as she could.
The man gurgled and took a few staggered steps forward, before finally pitching to the floor, the tiny girl wrapped around him hopping off as he hit the floor. Rolling him over, she gingerly pulled the nunchaku from the crevasse that she had put in his neck and placed his hands together before covering it with her own, a ball of ice forming around them. Moving to his feet, she locked them in ice too, the Blizzard magic working well for arresting movement.
Her job done, she turned and began to run down the steps, reaching the bottom to jump into a relieved Irvine's arms. "I saw you Floating up there, and then I saw a struggle, and Hyne you frightened me…" was all he got out before she peppered him with kisses.
"Oh, Irvine will you ever forgive me?" she wailed, tears reforming in her eyes.
"Yes, I forgive you, just as long as you remember that I do target practise every morning, ok?"
It was true. So caught up in the sudden death of Zell, that she had forgotten that he had not bothered to reload his shotgun that morning. "Oh, I'm so sorry…"
"Forget about it…oh, crap. Zell!!"
* * *
Darkness.
Suddenly, a white light burst over his view, and Zell squinted as his eyes opened. The world was a blur, but unlike last time, it began to clear swiftly. His body felt like it had been punched several times by a Blue Dragon, and he painfully reached up to probe a semi-healed bullet wound.
Which was when he saw someone craning over him.
He moved quickly for someone newly resurrected, his hand swiftly grabbing the person's neck and applying pressure slowly, listening to the victim gasp for breath…
…Before he let go and sat up, pushing the person away in the process.
It was a girl, dressed mostly in black, but as his vision clear even more, he saw that she wore fishnet stockings with a black short skirt. She was wearing a black shirt with a raised hood. Spikes adorned her wristlets, which hung loosely off very pale skin. She rubbed her neck softly, as if to be glad to get away from the pressure.
Zell, inherently a gentleman, immediately mentally kicked himself. "Oh, Hyne, I'm so sorry…" He said hurriedly, pulling himself to his feet and moving to her crouching form. "Are you ok?"
She looked up at him, and he was shocked to see that she was smiling. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue, the kind that pierced the soul and left it for dead. Reams of earrings adorned her ears – most of them associated with pentagrams and horns – and she flipped a dark black ponytail from her chest into the hood, before standing. She was a little shorter then Zell, a bit taller then Selphie, and grinned more when she saw his reaction.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice a cross between rusty barbwire and smooth silk. "Why'd you stop?" She moved forward, placing a hand on his chest. "Or is it my turn?" she asked seductively, jamming a finger into one of his newly acquired bullet holes. She prodded it in quickly, worming it around inside, aggravating the severed nerves.
He grimaced with pain and pushed her away, making her fall onto her behind as he put a hand to the now bleeding wound. "You're a Goth, aren't you?" he muttered.
She smiled up at him, and he suddenly saw the black makeup and lipstick. She licked his blood off her fingers and stood. "That's right, honey…" she whispered. "I'm Emily Strange…and I'm you're next contestant. Sheran considered himself the best…but I'll show you real pain."
Zell frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Rather quick off the bat aren't you. You don't seem too depressed about you're friends death."
"Death isn't something to be depressed about, baby. It's something to look forward to." She said with a cute smile, tilting her head to the left slightly, narrowing her eyes.
Zell sensed a strange force around him, before he suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her, the urge attacking his mind like a virus. He frowned and shook his head, blinking as if someone had cast Blind on him. His sight blurred slightly, and he hesitantly took a step forward, unable to stop himself…
…before a gunshot rang out, causing him to blink and turn, the spell broken by the sudden noise. Selphie and Irvine ran up to him, puffing and panting as if them had just battled for their lives. "Zell!" Irvine said, concern in his voice as he trained the Vincent Valentines on the beautifully pale woman. "Back off lady, lest you want a lead salad."
Zell raised a hand, lifting his other to shield the woman. "Hey, what the hell's going on, guys? This chick isn't any harm…"
The Goth smirked and crossed her arms. "You sure about that, Sorceress Hunter?"
Zell's eyes narrowed as his head swivelled to face her. "How do you know that name?"
Selphie walked up to Zell and placed a hand on his re-opened wound. When she removed it, the wound was closed. "We'll talk about it later. Right now we need you're help."
"What do you mean?" Zell muttered, still staring at the girl.
"You were shot by an assassin. We need you to see if he's our guy."
Zell grimaced, before turning away from Strange. He looked up to see people beginning to re-emerge into the deserted stands, their frightened faces cutting into his soul. "No…" he whispered to himself. "He wouldn't do it this way…"
Irvine grimaced, his guns still trained on Strange. "What?"
"He wouldn't want to kill me like this." Zell turned Emily, looking straight in her eyes as he spoke. "It's not his style."
The woman smirked once more. "True…he wouldn't attack you like this. It is too cowardly."
Selphie and Irvine blinked at this remark, but Zell seemed unfazed. Strange continued. "You will not pass by me…but if you do, then you're work will be cut out for you. The old man will die, wether you like it or not." Her smirk grew wider. "I sympathise for him…gathering the goal that I desire…to experience absolute death in its true glory…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, the lucky bastard…"
Selphie suddenly snapped, lunging at the girl in a bind rage, her nunchaku swinging wildly as they bore down on the martial artist.
Amazingly, and with speed that seemed to defy logic, Emily Strange deftly slapped the weapon to the side and hammered a palm into Selphie's chest, knocking her skittling back into Irvine. Selphie collided into the gunslinger's chest, knocking him onto his back.
Zell followed Selphie's trajectory with his eyes, and he swung back to face the Goth warrior…only to see her vanish behind some stands. She paused briefly to blow him a kiss, before disappearing from sight.
Zell's mind was in a whirlwind. She knows…she knows everything…but how? And why didn't I try to stop her? Do I really want to experience the perfect challenge, like Diablo says?
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind blindly, turning to Irvine and Selphie, who were just beginning to pick themselves up. He gave Selphie a hand, looking down at her, concerned. "Does it hurt? If you have any trouble breathing, you have to tell me now."
"No…no, I'm fine…" She gasped. "She just knocked the breath out of me…"
Irvine stood shakily, and ejected the clips in his handguns, placing them in his belt before replacing them with fresh ones. "Oh, don't worry about me, Zell. I'm fine. Really." He muttered sarcastically, slamming the last clip into the gun and chambering a round, before allowing them to slip back into his sleeves.
Zell gave him a deadpan stare, before turning to the stands, looking up at the shattered wood and dented metal from the barrage of gunfire thrown at the assassin. He turned and looked at the dented wreckage that used to be the podium. Looking down at it, he realised that the urn containing Sheran's ashes had shattered, the ashes scattering in the wind. Finally, he looked down at the large puddle of blood before him.
His blood.
"Come on guys. Lets get back to the Ragnarok." He muttered.
* * *
The wind began to really blow as they walked back to the ship, the sand nipping at their heels at first before throwing itself at them, the sand stinging their skin and getting in their clothes.
When they finally reached the gigantic metallic dragon, the stumbled aboard, weary from the day's excitement. Irvine, shaking sand from his wide-brimmed hat, removed the loading bay door control from his pocket and pressed a button, the clanking of gears and whir of machinery seeming to signal the end of the day for the SeeDs.
His job done, Irvine hooked the control where it belonged and staggered off in the general direction of the recreation quarters, his shoulders slumped in tired defeat. Selphie turned to go with him, but paused as she passed Zell.
"Do you hear that?" she asked with a frown, but Zell had already turned to the door as someone called his name again.
"Zell! Zell, I need to see you!" July called over the sandstorm.
Zell turned to Selphie, his face twisting with fear. Help me it conveyed to the tiny SeeD, but she simply shrugged, smiled, and turned, following Irvine.
The door almost closed, Zell ran forward, grabbed the control from the hook, and dived through the closing gap, landing in soft land and tumbling to a stop.
Ow… He thought to himself. Never do that again unless you are fully healed, you dope. He managed to pull himself to his feet and looked around, fighting desperately to keep the sand out of his eyes. He just managed to make out a silhouette walking away from the ship in the dulled afternoon sun, and he called out to it.
"July! July, come back!" he cried, sand getting in his mouth. He gagged and spat out as much as he could, and looked back up to see a shadow moving towards him…
…and July burst from the sandy fog, embracing Zell tightly, the sound of her weeping carrying over the sandstorm's howls. His chest burned as she pressed hers against his, the bullets wounds feeling like cigarette burnings, an unwelcome experience…he should know.
He pulled her off of him gently, looking down at her as she tried desperately to wipe the tears from her eyes. They mad little sandy trails as the granules sank into the teardrops, and her eyes were red. Her white blouse had been replaced with a white jumper with a hood, to keep the sand out of her face. Zell, wearing nothing but his shorts and sneakers, had sand caked in his blood and his wounds. He needed to get inside now.
"Come on!" He yelled to her over the storm, grasping her hand and pulling her towards the loading bay ramp. Pressing the button, the ramp slammed to the ground, and they bundled themselves inside, before Zell slapped the emergency shut mechanism beside the entrance. The ramp slammed shut, and Zell sank to the ground, his back supported by the wall. July crouched next to him, looking over him worryingly.
"Are you ok?" she murmured, wiping some sand-filled sweat from his brow. "Hyne, you look like shit…"
"Tell me about it…" Zell muttered, looking down at his broad chest. He was breathing heavily, his tanned skin making cracks in the coagulating blood around his body. Sand was caked to the blood, and he grimaced as he looked at one of the bullet wounds. "Dammit. I'll need to really wash that out…"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" July cried, slumping to her knees before him. "I was just worried about you, that's all."
"Nah, it's ok…" Zell said with a smile. "I'll just need to…uhhh…wash it out really well, that all…" He suddenly felt weary, as if something had sapped his strength. Zell remembered the walk back to the ship. I was feeling a little woozy…probably loss of blood…I didn't tell Selphie cause she looked so tired…
"Are you ok?" July asked. "You're starting to look pale."
Zell waved a hand in front of him in a dismissive gesture. "Nah…I guess I lost…a few more pints…then I thought…" He shook his head to rid his sight of blur and stood uneasily. "You can't go back outside, not until the storms over…we'll go tell Selphie and Irvine you'll be staying…" He looked down at her clothes, stained with his blood. "And then we'll…get you some clean clothes."
He gestured for her to follow, and began to pick his way towards the recreation quarters.
* * *
Zell pressed the door stud with a knuckle, the grey metal sliding open for him, and he staggered it.
Originally a stasis chamber for the deep-space explorers in Esthar, it had been remodelled after the deep-space program had been scrapped by Laguna. Now it contained a tiny kitchen, sofa and TV, entertainment system, and several other luxuries that made living on the gigantic dragon a little easier to bear then the hard sleeping cots and bland living quarters. Zell looked around drunkenly, but couldn't see Irvine or Selphie anywhere.
Funny…usually when I bust in here, they're making out on the sofa…I wonder where they went? He stumbled in and waved a hand at the sofa. "Make yourself at home." He muttered, finding it hard to concentrate one thing at a time. "Do you…want something to eat…or anything?"
July walked over and sat on the couch, looking up at Zell with concern in her eyes. "No…thankyou…" she said slowly.
Zell paused, before shrugging and moving to the small kitchen, grabbing a tiny packet, which said 'Steak and Veg', from the fridge and tossing it in a small microwave. Tapping in five minute on the screen, he sat down on the floor with his back to the cupboard and watched as the tiny packet expanded into a big packet.
The small microwave beeped, and Zell opened it and pulled the now large packet out, grabbing a plate from the stack on the counter and placing the packet on the plate. Finding that the procedure needed precision handling in his condition, he carefully ripped the packet open, revealing a mound of steak and vegetables.
Taking the plate, now looking like a home-made meal, he made his way over to the sofa and sat next to the White SeeD, who looked at him with curiosity.
He placed the meal on his lap and smiled, licking his lips, before looking up at her. "I …love those…things. It's amazing what…Esthar has accomplished, huh?"
"It sure is…" July replied.
Zell looked down at the meal, before frowning slightly. He had forgotten the knife and fork. Still frowning, he looked up and over at the counter, a pained expression on his face. "Awww…" he sighed. He didn't have the strength to get up and get them.
He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and turned to see July smiling at him. "Which drawer?"
Zell frowned, thinking hard, but found that he couldn't. "Uhh…I…can't remember…" He frowned again. "I need food…to get more blood…"
July got up and walked over to the kitchen, coming back in a few seconds with a knife and fork after quickly searching. Sitting down beside him, she looked up…to see that he had fallen asleep.
She immediately grabbing the plate and put it down on the coffee table beside the sofa and shook Zell's shoulder, forcing him to wake. "Hey! Don't fall asleep!! You need to eat!"
Zell weakly pushed her hand away from his shoulder. "Not now, Baku…" He mumbled sleepily. "I'm…too tired…to play…" He suddenly slumped down on her, his body falling on her, her arms catching him just in time.
* * *
"Zell…" she muttered, savouring the warmth of his body on hers, feeling the tautness of his muscles…before shaking her head, pushing him away from her. His blood oozed from some of his chest wounds, and his head slumped back.
"Zell!!" A voice screamed, and July turned to see Selphie standing in the doorway.
"I didn't! I means, it's not what it looks like!!" July uttered, before Selphie pushed her aside and looked down at Zell.
"Of course! Zell would never do that kind of thing…" Selphie muttered, running her hands over Zell's chest, looking down at the re-opened wounds. "He's lost a lot of blood. The walk back must have taken more out of him that I thought." She looked at the coffee table, still holding the steaming plate of food. "Well, he had the right idea in mind…he was just too tired to eat."
July looked down at Zell. "What…what do we do?"
Selphie looked up at her, her usually happy face now grim. "We need to clean his wounds before we heal him. Otherwise they will heal over the bullets and ingrained sand…that will be very painful to live with if we do that."
She stood, rubbed her hands together, and looked over at July. "Stand back." She said, before pointing her hands at Zell's unconscious body. "Float." She muttered, Zell's body limply dragged itself into the air. She pointed to the door. "Get the door, will you. We'll go to the infirmary."
July rushed for the door, her face pale as she slapped the stud.
* * *
Zells body lay on the infirmary table, flat on his back, no movement whatsoever. His broad chest, covered in sweat, dirt and coagulated blood, was bathed in light from the flood rigged to the roof above the operating table.
Selphie, Irvine and July looked down at him, all with an uncertain look on their faces. Selphie looked up at Irvine, and shrugged. "Hey, I'm skilled at magic, not bullet wounds. You're the gun expert. You should know something."
"Hey, babe, I just deal them out, I don't know anything about healing them."
"So, it's true that you can't use magic?"
Irvine and Selphie gave July a blank stare, before Selphie moved around the table and placed a hand on her shoulder, a warm smile on her face. "July…maybe you should wait outside until we're finished."
July looked insulted. "What for? What are you going to do, brainstorm how to hurt him more?"
Selphie's smile didn't shift one inch. "No…it's just that we're going to have to…you know, check on him…and I don't think you should be here to see it." Selphie raised an eyebrow. "Do you follow?" Her tone said it all. We'd rather you wait outside. Now.
July looked a little suspicious…but nodded. "I understand. It would be kinda personal…ok. I'll wait in the corridor."
"I'll be out with you in a second, ok?"
July left the room, and Selphie turned to Irvine, letting out a breath. "I thought she'd never leave."
Irvine nodded with a smile, and looked down at Zell. "You can get up now, you big dope."
Zell opened one eye and looked up at Irvine. "Hi there."
Selphie walked over to the operating table and jumped up on it, sitting next to Zell as he sat up. "Ok, Zell. Now can you tell me why we had to pull the wool over July's eyes?"
Zell rubbed his face, and looked at his friends with a goofy smile. "Well…you wouldn't want to hear the real reason…"
Irvine rolled his eyes and face-palmed. "Oh, geez, you mean to tell me we went through all this just so you could get rid of her?"
Zell waved his hands in a not at all gesture. "Of course not…it's just that I'm still not sure which side she's on yet…I just wanna talk to you guys about it first?"
Irvine shook his head in amazement and slight disgust. "Man, I don't think I've ever met a guy who's so scared of a little girl…Hyne, you're just a big sook."
Zell looked at Irvine, deadpan. "You're not helping."
"I know, but it's still fun rubbing it in."
"It wont be fun when I force you to eat you're sock."
Selphie jumped off the table and moved between the two boys, placing a hand on both their chests. "Ok, fellas, lay off each other for a second, will you? We've got more important things to worry about."
Zell nodded sagely. "Yeah. Like getting rid of some of these bullets in me." He lay back down on the table. "As of now, I'm in excruciating pain, so if you wouldn't mind putting me to Sleep and taking the damn things out of me, the sooner we can talk about this stuff."
Irvine and Selphie looked at each other, before Selphie shrugged and tapped Zell on the temple, the small jolt sending an instant Sleep spell through his brain, knocking him out instantly. She sighed and turned to Irvine. "Get Dr. Kadowaki on the vid-screen and get her to walk you through it. I need to talk to July."
Irvine nodded and turned to the screen beside the operating table as Selphie walked out of the room to the corridor, where an anxious July stood.
July was leaning against a wall, tapping her finger on her arm, and stood straight as soon as Selphie came out. "How's he going?" she asked.
"He'll be fine…we're getting Dr. Kadowaki on the phone, so she'll walk Irvine through it…he might not look it, but he knows more about gun-related injuries then anybody."
July nodded, letting out a breath. "That's good…"
Selphie moved to stand beside the White SeeD, leaning on the wall next to her. They stood in silence for a second, before Selphie spoke. "July…why are you here?"
"We're here to gather money for the Ship. We haven't been getting much work lately, and the stuff we have been getting has been tiny stuff, bodyguard work, that kind of thing…and the orphanage was going under as a result."
Selphie frowned at the way July rattled off the answer, as if she had been practising it. "But…why are you here? You don't seem like the fighter type."
July smiled. "Am I that transparent?" she chuckled. "I can see why you should say that. I'm actually more Magic based…paramagic level 12, Status magic division."
"Level 12…that's pretty high."
"Yeah…I'm one of the healers. I get all the missions where it's certain there will be losses. I just didn't expect one of the losses to be me…"
"That's right…you were killed in the selection…"
"You make it seem like it happens everyday…"
Selphie shrugged. "Well…I've died a couple of times too, ya know…"
July looked at her. "Really?!" she asked in obvious shock, before looking at the ground in amazement. "Wow…you know, I always thought the best never got hurt…that they were too good for that, you know?"
Selphie laughed out loud at that, gripping her sides at the look on July's face. "What gave you that stupid idea?! How else do you think we got this strong?! Everybody makes mistakes, even Sorceress Hero's!!"
July looked down at her shoes sullenly, her face going red. "Ok…you don't have to make fun of me…"
"Oh, I wasn't making fun of you…it's just that, in our line of work, casualties are a part that we can't avoid. Everybody dies…which is why we have Phoenix Downs and Life magic's."
"When was the first time you died?"
Selphie frowned at that question, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Uhhh…I think it was when we went against Bahamut…"
July looked at her, shocked. "You fought the Dragon King?!"
Selphie shrugged. "Of course. How else do you think we acquired him?"
She reached over suddenly, placing a hand on July's temple. July began to moved back when a royal voice, full of grandeur but with a hint of ferocity, filled her mind, the words rushing in, the message over in a millisecond.
The King of the Dragons is who I am. And the little one speaks the truth. I killed her with a single swipe of my claws…before the blond one blinded me.
July took a step back, batting Selphie's hand away from her head. "How did you do that?!" She gasped, rubbing the area where Selphie touched her.
Selphie grinned and shrugged again. "I don't know. When you have a GF in you, you can converse with it at will. Don't you know that?"
July continued to rub the area on her head, as if it had an ink blot that she couldn't see. "No…you see, I've never drawn a GF before."
Selphie frowned. "But…that's crazy. You're a SeeD! The very first thing you learn is how to depend on your GFs."
"We have very different teaching at the Ship then you do at Balamb Garden." July said with a small smile, finally lowering her hand. "It's not uncommon from Galbadian soldier training, or Estharian soldier training. We simply don't use GFs."
Selphie frowned, rubbing her chin, and began to speak when Irvine came out of the Infirmary, his coat now off, his rubber-gloved hands bloody. He tugged them off and smiled at the women. "Whew…I don't want to do that again in a hurry…"
"How'd it go?" July blurted, beating Selphie to the punch.
"Oh, he'll survive…all we need is Selphie to close the wounds…I would do it, but these Potions are expensive." He looked at his girlfriend and cocked a thumb over his back. "Dr. Kadowaki wants to speak with you too."
Selphie shrugged and turned to July. "Uh…maybe you should…"
July nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know…"
Selphie nodded, and walked past Irvine into the room. As she moved past him, his hand lightly brushed hers. It was enough to send a signal with a GF.
Irvine was very scared. Quazecoatal said, a brief static charge emitting in Selphie's brain. Several bullets were very close to major organs, and sand has become embedded in most of the wounds. He cleaned them out as well as he could, but he'll leave the rest with you.
Then the moment was over, and Selphie walked into the room, the door oiling shut behind her.
Zell lay on the table, lightly snoring away. The Infirmary was dark save for the operating lights, and was rather small in size. Equipment Selphie had never seen before was either hung on walls or were tucked neatly in drawers, which adorned most of the walls.
The operating table looked like someone had poured a bucket of blood over it, Zell's body slowly oozing life fluid out into tiny channels, which allowed the liquids to run down into containers hidden in the floor. Selphie walked over to it, and looked down at the equipment table.
A plethora of operating utensils were strewn all over it, but it seemed Irvine had only used two – a scalpel, and what looked like a pair of tweezers. Both were stained with blood. A small, metallic jar sat beside these, filled with an alcoholic smelling liquid. Selphie could just see several lumps of metal at the bottom.
"Selphie!"
The SeeD jumped at the sound of Dr. Kadowaki's voice, and swivelled to see the vid screen craned over Zell's body, just enough so the doctor could see the damage and the operator at the same time. "H-hello Doctor." Selphie said, trying to catch her breath. "You scared me."
"If anything, dear, it was me who was scared when Irvine called me. What the hell happened to poor Zell?"
Selphie briefly explained their situation to the doctor, all of which she absorbed without a word. When Selphie was finished, Dr. Kadowaki paused, before tapping a button off screen, and Headmaster Cid's face suddenly filled the screen.
Selphie immediately saluted, but Cid waved his hands at her. "Hyne, Selphie, I hate it when you do that…" his tone went from annoyed to amazed as he looked at the sleeping Zell. "My Hyne…what happened to him?"
"Sniper fire, sir. I managed to revive him, but he then had to walk through a sandstorm in order to get back to the ship for proper medical treatment."
Cid ran a hand through this hair. "Hyne…this just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn't it?"
Selphie cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean, sir?"
Cid seemed to compose himself, and let out a slow breath. "Maybe I ought to let Squall tell you." He pressed a button off screen. "Squall, you hearing this?"
A voice came over the comm., filled with static. It was Squall's, and he sounded tired and angry. He wasn't in the Garden, that was for sure. "Yes, sir, I'm hearing it all. Selphie, are you reading this?"
"Yes Squall." Selphie said, beginning to get a little excited. "What's going on?"
Squall seemed to gulp, drawing in breath. The sound of Rinoa telling him to rest came from the background, but he told her to be quiet. "Selphie…its Watts."
Selphie blinked. "Watts? What…what about Watts?"
Headmaster Cid's face seemed to fall, his gaze falling to the floor in sadness.
Selphie frowned, beginning to get impatient and angry. "Squall! What about Watts?"
Squall's voice was like ice to her system. The second it hit her ears; her whole body froze like a Blizga attack. "He's been compromised…and has been so for almost a year. He's been tortured and has haemorrhaged information to the enemy. Selphie…I think the information he's been giving us has been false. They're not going for Laguna. They're going for someone else."
