Oh, and one more thing: Did any of you Seifitis/Quiefer writers get an email from someone called Tomy something or other? It was not a nice email and I was just wondering if I was singled out. I would appreciate it if you let me know that I wasn't the only one. Thanks!
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"Seifer, this is crazy," Quistis insisted.
"No it's not," Seifer replied.
"What exactly do you plan to do once we get to Timber?" Quistis demanded.
"Just wait and see," Seifer smirked.
"You're impossible," Quistis sighed.
"If it took you this long to figure that out then you really are a mediocre instructor," Seifer chuckled.
"Actually, I'm not," Quistis stated primly, "I'm not an instructor at all anymore. You saw to that."
"Hey, I just did what I thought was best," Seifer defended, "I couldn't let another poor, disadvantaged student fail the SeeD exam because you were too busy fawning over Puberty Boy."
A loud WHACK sounded through the train cabin as Quistis' gloved hand connected with Seifer's cheek. "We both know that you're neither poor nor disadvantaged so save your pathetic excuses for someone who cares, you bastard." Cerulean fire danced in her eyes and she spat the last word.
Seifer stared at her, fire in his own eyes. He brought his hand up and touched his cheek. A look of subdued rage encased his features. "You'll get away with that once but try it again and you'll find out just how much of a bastard I can be."
"Show me," Quistis taunted, "if you think you're man enough." She gripped her whip threateningly.
The screech of the train's brakes cut into their conversation. The all too familiar smirk crept up on Seifer's lips. "Trust me Instructor, I am man enough. Probably too much man for you to handle. Unfortunately, we'll have to find out later because this is our stop." Seifer grabbed Hyperion from the seat next to him and hurried out of the cabin.
"Seifer wait!" Quistis called but he was already out of sight. She jumped up and followed him out of the cabin. She looked up and down the corridor and just barely caught a glimpse of his gray trench coat flying off the train. Quistis ran towards the exit and jumped off of their transport. She spotted Seifer running up a long flight of stairs and followed after him. He reached the top half a flight ahead of her and entered a door. She hurried after him and burst through the same door he had entered moments before. She found herself in a television station. Speaking into the monitors was the President of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling.
"Seifer!" Quistis shouted but it was too late. Seifer had already rushed towards the President. A Galbadian soldier charged him only to meet an untimely end on Hyperion. From behind, two more soldiers grabbed Seifer's arms and a third came from the front but was stopped by Seifer's foot. The soldier flew forward and knocked over one of the TV cameras. Seifer quickly got free of the soldiers who were holding him and grabbed President Deling, holding Hyperion dangerously close to his neck.
Quistis ran forward and turned to a soldier approaching from behind her. "Stay back!" she shouted. Another soldier began to creep up on Seifer from the side and she stopped him as well. "For the last time, stay back! You're only going to provoke him." She turned towards the fallen camera. "Timber Team, are you watching? Get over here right now! You HAVE permission. I need your help." She turned back towards Seifer and saw that he was dragging the President towards a side room. "Seifer, stop this right now!"
"Too late to turn back now!" Seifer informed.
A door slammed behind her and she spun around. She was relieved to see Squall, Selphie and Zell. "We need to restrain him!"
"What do you think you're doing?" Squall demanded.
"It's obvious ain't it?!" Seifer yelled, "What are you planning to do with this guy?"
Squall's brow furrowed in confusion. "…Planning to do?"
"I get it!" Zell announced, "You're Rinoa's…"
"Shut your damn mouth! Chicken-wuss!" Seifer interrupted.
"He broke out of the disciplinary room, injuring many in the process," Quistis informed.
"YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Zell screamed.
"Be quiet," Squall ordered.
"Instructor, I know!" Zell exclaimed, "You're gonna take this stupid idiot back to Garden, right?!"
"Shut up!" Squall shouted, but he was too late. "NO!"
"I see…" President Deling commented, "So you're all from Garden. Should anything happen to me the entire Galbadian Army will undoubtedly crush Garden. You can let go of me now."
"Nice going Chicken-wuss," Seifer yelled, "You and your stupid big mouth! Take care of this mess! Instructor and Mr. Leader!" Seifer slowly backed into an adjoining room with the President and Quistis followed. Once inside the room, Seifer stopped suddenly.
"…Poor poor boy…" A disembodied voice floated out of a nearby wall and a second later, Sorceress Edea emerged. Quistis stopped at the doorway and looked on in terror as the sorceress spoke to Seifer.
"Stay away from me!" Seifer ordered.
"Such a confused little boy," the sorceress taunted, "Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide."
Afraid of what she might do to Seifer, Quistis rushed forward only to be stopped by the sorceress' magic a few feet from Seifer. Her entire body froze and she couldn't move. The sorceress walked over to Seifer and continued to talk to him, but the words were garbled and she couldn't understand them. Finally, Seifer released President Deling and walked towards the sorceress.
No! Quistis wanted to scream but her mouth wouldn't cooperate. No Seifer! Don't go! Please don't do this! Stay here! Don't follow her Seifer! Quistis watched in utter despair and helplessness as Seifer exited the room through the wall that the sorceress had entered from. Seifer! She felt tears stinging her eyes as he disappeared but they didn't fall. It was if all her body functions had been frozen. All but her mind. The sorceress followed Seifer into the portal and as soon as she disappeared, the spell was broken and Quistis could move again. She fell to her knees and the tears finally fell down her cheeks.
"Instructor, are you okay?"
Quistis wiped her face quickly and turned around just as Zell approached her. "Yes, Zell, I'm fine."
"I can't believe he went with the sorceress," Selphie commented as Quistis got to her feet, "What do you think will happen to him?"
"I don't know," Quistis lied. She had a pretty good idea. "Come on, let's go."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The dream was ripped to shreds as the loud knocking entered her consciousness. Quistis groaned and forced her eyes to open. She rolled over and looked at her bedside clock. The blurry blue numbers said 0612, which meant it was 6:12 in the morning.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Go away!" Quistis called and stuck her head under her pillow. The knocking stopped and she thought that whoever it was had left but a second later she heard the door slide open and footsteps approaching.
"Why Miss Trepe, are you still in bed?"
Quistis didn't bother to pull her head out from under the pillow. "Go away Seifer."
"Is that any way to treat your fiancé?" Seifer asked. Quistis cringed as he pulled the pillow off of her face. "And besides, if I remember correctly, you begin training today at 0600 hours, which means…" He looked at her clock, "you're already fifteen minutes late."
"How did you get in here?" Quistis asked him as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"With this." He held up a keycard. "You gave it to me."
"When?"
"A few months after we started dating," Seifer informed, "I believe your exact words were: 'Here's a keycard to my room in case you want to visit me at night. Wink wink.'"
"Well, I changed my mind," Quistis told him, "I want it back."
"Too bad," Seifer smirked, "You can't have it back. Now get up. It's time for training." Seifer grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of her.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Quistis whined.
"Because you did it to me now get up," Seifer ordered. Quistis didn't move. "Don't make me get the water."
"You wouldn't dare," Quistis challenged.
"Try me."
Quistis saw a determined look in his eyes and decided not to push her luck. Suddenly her dream came rushing back to her. The strange thing was that she remembered it, the entire thing. She suddenly wondered if her dream was actually a memory. She decided she would ask Seifer about it sometime.
"That's more like it," Seifer commented as she sat up," Hurry up or chicken-wuss might piss his pants."
"I heard that asshole!" Zell raged from the doorway.
"Good!" Seifer called back.
Quistis chuckled and stood up. "Just let me get dressed." She looked up at Seifer. "I can get dressed, can't I?"
"Personally, I like your rumpled princess look," Seifer grinned.
Quistis looked down at her wrinkled, pink, satin pajama top and pants. "Whatever." She walked over to her closet and pulled out some clothes, then took them into the bathroom to change. Once she was finished she came back out.
"Ready?" Seifer asked.
"I guess," Quistis shrugged.
"Good," Seifer said, "Just get your Save the Queen and we'll go."
"My what?" Quistis questioned.
"Your Save the Queen," Seifer repeated, "Your whip." Quistis stared at him blankly. "I don't believe this! I mean, I can see how you forgot the others, they're not important and I can even understand how you forgot me but Save the Queen? This amnesia thing is worse than I thought."
"Right." Quistis rolled her eyes. "So where is this Save the Queen?"
Seifer walked over to her dresser and pulled out the bottom drawer. Inside was a large, brown case that completely filled the drawer. The case was outlined with gold and had a gold crown emblazoned in the middle. Under the crown were the letters QAT, also in gold. Seifer reached in and gently, almost lovingly, lifted the case out. He turned around and put the case on the bed. Quistis now saw that there was a handle on one side, along with two golden clasps. Seifer unfastened the clasps and opened the case. Inside the case was plush burgundy cloth. Nestled in the middle of the case was a yellow leather whip. Quistis' eyes lit up when she saw it.
"This…" Seifer lifted the whip out of the case, "is Save the Queen." He stared forlornly down at it. "When you fell, you dropped it. I found it in the Quad the next day. I almost threw it off the Garden because I was so out of it, but I just couldn't let it go. I brought it back here and put it back in it's case. It's been here ever since."
Quistis smiled gratefully but her eyes never left the whip. "Can I touch it?"
"It's yours." Seifer handed her the yellow whip. The second her hand closed around it she knew it had been made to fit her hand. A sinister smirk crossed her lips and she cracked the whip in the air. "Feeling lucky, Almasy?"
The same evil grin appeared on his lips. "Always."
"Then let's head down to the training center and see how rusty I really am," Quistis suggested.
"You're on babe," Seifer told her.
She coiled her whip and the two of them met Zell at the door.
"It's about time," Zell scoffed, "I've been wai…ting." The couple walked right past him as if he didn't exist and headed towards the training center. "Hey guys! Wait for me!" Zell called and hurried after them. He didn't catch up to them again until they were just entering the training center. They still ignored his calls and only stopped when they reached a clearing in the foliage. They stood across from each other about twenty feet apart and stared each other down.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Seifer asked, the cocky smirk still on his face, "I don't want to hurt you but once we start, I'm not gonna take it easy on you."
Quistis was beginning to doubt her own abilities but her pride wouldn't let her be intimidated by the arrogant blonde. She cracked her whip in the air. "You better just worry about yourself."
Seifer unsheathed Hyperion and held out his hand, motioning her forward. "Come on."
Quistis took a step forward and cracked her whip again. What are you doing?! her mind screamed, He's going to slaughter you! She ignored the nagging voice and took another step forward.
"Come on Quistis," Seifer called and tapped his foot impatiently, "I don't have all day."
Quistis glared at him and without a word, rushed forward. She stopped a few feet away from him and swung her whip. He dodged it and it snapped harmlessly about a foot away from his head. Quistis flipped it back and tried again, closing the gap between them. This time, Save the Queen was right on target and Seifer brought Hyperion up to deflect it. Then it was Seifer who struck. He swung the heavy gunblade at her and she spun away just in time. In mid-spin, she lashed out with Save the Queen. The tip of it struck Seifer on the left side of his face, drawing a thin line of crimson liquid. Both of them stopped and Seifer brought a gloved hand up to his face. Quistis' eyes went wide when she saw what she had done and she started to apologize but Seifer spoke before she had the chance.
"First blood," Seifer commented, "Not bad."
"I'm s…" She was cut off as Seifer raised Hyperion and ran straight at her. She froze, unsure of what to do. He's going to kill you! the voice inside her head warned. She watched a Seifer raised the gunblade over his head, preparing to bring it down on her. It was then that her instincts kicked in. Just as he brought the blade down she ducked and rolled under it. Hyperion struck nothing but training center dirt while Quistis jumped to her feet. She cracked Save the Queen above him, a warning, and waited as he turned around. She then swung the whip at his right hand, which clutched Hyperion. The whip hit his glove, slicing through the thick leather. He yelped in pain and just as she had planned, dropped Hyperion into the dirt. It skidded away and stopped in the middle of the two of them. Both of them froze again. Seifer knew that if he went for the gunblade, Quistis would strike before he made it and she knew she could stop him. They looked up at each other and their eyes locked.
"Looks like I win," she boasted.
An evil grin crept onto Seifer's face and Quistis had the distinct feeling that she was about to find out that she hadn't won.
"Fire!" Seifer called and held him palm out to her. A fireball shot towards her and hit her in the stomach. She fell onto her back and gasped as the air was forced out of her lungs. A second later, Seifer was standing above her with Hyperion resting on his shoulder.
"Looks like I win," Seifer smirked.
"You…cheated!" Quistis managed after she was finally able to pull in a breath of air.
"All's fair in love and war," Seifer shrugged with a smile.
"Okay." Quistis swung her legs to the left quickly, catching Seifer off guard and knocking him to the ground as well. He had barely hit before she was kneeling on his chest, Save the Queen in hand. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Like I said," Quistis chuckled, "looks like I win."
From her left, she heard laughing. She looked in that direction and saw Zell doubled over with laughter. "That was great!" he exclaimed.
"Shut up chicken-wuss!" Seifer shouted. He looked back at Quistis, "besides, if this is my punishment, I should lose more often." Quistis' face turned red and she could tell he was enjoying her embarrassment. "Anyway, this was fun but we should get started wit the real training. Although judging by your performance, I don't think you need it but orders are orders. What do you say babe? Truce?"
"I guess so," Quistis reluctantly agreed. She stood up and took a step back from him. Seifer got to his feet and picked up Hyperion.
"Well," he began, "where should we start?"
---------------------------------------------
About five hours later, Quistis was dragging herself to the cafeteria behind Zell and Seifer. They had trained continuously and now she felt like every muscle in her body had turned to jelly. Seifer noticed her fatigue and waited for her to catch up while Zell skipped ahead to the cafeteria singing a song about hotdogs.
"You okay?" Seifer asked as she shuffled up to him.
"Do I look okay?" she snapped.
Seifer shrugged. "Well, if it's any consolation to you, you did great kid." He slapped her on the back.
Quistis glared at him. "Thanks a lot."
"No problem," Seifer grinned. The two of them continued in to the cafeteria and sat down at the table with the others.
"Hi Quistis!" Selphie chirped, "how was training?"
"Exhausting," Quistis sighed.
"You wore her out, huh Seifer?" Irvine smiled and winked.
"Irvy!" Selphie exclaimed and slapped his arm.
"What?" the cowboy chuckled. He looked back up at Seifer. "Hey man, what happened to your face?"
Seifer's had shot up to his injured cheek. He was about to answer when Zell walked up with a tray full of hotdogs.
"Quistis nailed him with Save the Queen," Zell told them.
Everyone's mouth dropped open and they looked over at Quistis. They all knew that even with remembering all her training that Quistis would've had a hard time scoring a hit on Seifer. Without any knowledge of her previous training, it was almost unthinkable.
The blonde woman began to feel very uncomfortable under the surprised stares and shifted in her seat. "What?"
"Nothing," Rinoa replied, "we just can't believe that you hit Seifer in your…state."
"What do you mean?" Quistis inquired.
"I'm gonna go get some food," Seifer announced, "You want anything Quis?" She saw him shoot a glare over at Rinoa.
"Yeah," Quistis nodded, "get me a cheeseburger, fries and a diet coke." Seifer nodded and gave Rinoa another look, then headed towards the food line. She looked back at Rinoa. "As you were saying…"
"Never mind," Rinoa waved it off, "it wasn't important."
Quistis stared at her questioningly for a second, then realized what was going on. She's have to confront Seifer about it later.
Around the table, the talk turned from Quistis' training to how the Galbadian government was beginning to build power again. Quistis wasn't sure what they were talking about but she listened intently anyways. Seifer brought their food to the table and she ate while listening.
"It's going to be a problem if we don't do something about it soon," Squall commented.
"Then why not just go in there and take out the new president?" Zell suggested in between inhaling hot dogs.
"We can't," Squall told him, "we have no proof that the army is being gathered for hostile purposes."
"Why else would they begin amassing so many troops?" Cammi inquired.
"There isn't any other reason but until they make their move, there's nothing we can do," Squall said.
"POLITICS," Fujin scoffed.
"Who's the president of Galbadia now?" Seifer questioned.
"Vinzer Deling's fifteen year old son Skylar," Squall answered.
"Damn!" Seifer exclaimed, "How many kids did that Vinzer guy have?"
"Just the two boys that we know of," Squall informed.
"Galbadia's being run by a fifteen year old kid and you guys are worried?" Irvine snickered. "Come on! What's he gonna do? He probably hasn't even hit puberty yet!"
"Never underestimate your enemy, ya know," Raijin offered.
The SeeDs continued their talk of the Galbadian army and finished their lunches. Quistis had just finished her last bite of cheeseburger when she looked down at her watch.
"Oh!" she exclaimed and stood up, "I've got to go or I'm going to be late from my memory recovery session with Xu! I'll see you guys later!" The SeeDs at the table called goodbyes as the blonde hurried out of the cafeteria and to Xu's office on the third floor. As exhausted as she was, she knew that Xu wouldn't be too happy if she skipped her appointment to rest.
After the session had started, Quistis wished she had ditched her appointment and gone to sleep. Xu went on for three hours telling Quistis about what her life had consisted of. After she had finally finished, she was able to go back to her room. The first thing she did was put the whip back in it's case. Once that task had been completed, she collapsed onto her bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
She was awakened again by the sound of someone moving around in her room. At first, she thought it was just Marta checking up on her but then she remembered that she wasn't in Winhill anymore and her eyes flew open. She was surprised to find the room lit only by two candles sitting on a card table set up at the foot of her bed. Also on the table were a tablecloth, two plates, two sets of silverware, two champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Kneeling next to the table and digging in a plastic bag was Seifer. His gray trench coat had been removed and thrown over the back of one of the two chairs around the table, and Quistis could see the muscles in his arms flexing as he moved things around in the bag. The dim light of the candles made his skin shine a deep gold. She suddenly realized how gorgeous he really was and began to wonder how out of all the women in the world, she had been the one to capture her heart. As she was thinking this, he looked up and their eyes locked.
"Hey," he greeted, "I'm glad you're awake."
Quistis stretched and sat up. "What is all this?"
"Dinner, my dear Miss Trepe," Seifer told her, "I figured that since you were so tired, I'd bring you dinner. I went into Balamb and got the food from the restaurant there."
Quistis stood up and walked over to where Seifer was still knelt down in front of the bag. She bent down also. "You did all of this for me?"
Seifer shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"It is to me," Quistis told him, "thank you." She helped Seifer dish up the food and he poured the champagne. After everything was set up, they sat down and began to eat.
"So how'd your session with Xu go?" Seifer asked as they ate.
"Not as tiring as the training with you," Quistis answered, "but definitely more boring." She took a sip of her champagne. "Speaking of the training, I wanted to talk to you about going easy on me."
"I warned you that I wouldn't," Seifer reminded, "you still agreed to fight."
"But you did go easy on me," Quistis stated.
"What makes you think that?" Seifer inquired nonchalantly.
Quistis reached forward and traced a finger across the cut on his cheek. "I saw you glare at Rinoa at lunch today. You were afraid that she was going to tell me that you let me hit you."
"Why would I do that?" Seifer asked.
"I don't know," Quistis admitted, "why don't you tell me?"
Seifer sighed. "I know how you get and I didn't want you to get depressed because you can't fight anymore."
"What do you mean how I get?" Quistis inquired. "Oh never mind. I wanted to ask you something else."
"Okay."
"I had a dream last night…" Quistis started.
"Was I in it?" Seifer interrupted.
"Yes."
"Then by all means, tell me about it," Seifer urged, "don't leave out any of the details, especially the juicy ones."
"What?" Quistis questioned in surprise, "Hyne Seifer! What do you think the dream was about?"
"Nothing!" Seifer insisted, "I just thought…"
"Thought what?" Quistis demanded.
"Nothing." Seifer shook his head, "just forget about it. What did you want to ask me?"
"Well, I wanted to tell you about my dream," Quistis answered, "it was so real that I thought maybe it was a memory. I used to have dreams like it in Winhill but I couldn't remember what had happened in them after I woke up."
"And you think they were memories?" Seifer inquired. Quistis nodded. "All right, go ahead."
"Well, it started out that we were on a train going to Timber," Quistis began, "when we got there, you rushed up to a TV station and held the president of Galbadia hostage. I was trying to stop you but you wouldn't listen. Then Selphie, Squall and Zell came in and Zell mentioned the Garden. The president told us that the Galbadian army would crush Garden if anything happened to him. You drug him into another room and Edea walked out of the wall. She was a sorceress. I remember being terrified of her in the dream but I was also afraid for your safety. I started to approach and she froze me with a spell. She talked to you and then you left with her." She chuckled. "Now that I say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous. That didn't really happen, did it?"
"Yeah, it did," Seifer deadpanned.
"Are you serious?" Quistis questioned.
Seifer nodded. "Yep, that all happened. That was the day I was possessed by Ultimecia?"
"Ultimecia?" Quistis repeated, "who's she?"
"An evil bitch of a sorceress who wanted to make the world into a place where only she could live." Seifer's eyes flared in anger but Quistis also saw fear in the emerald depths.
"So Edea really is a sorceress?" Quistis inquired.
"Yes," Seifer answered, "so's Rinoa."
"Rinoa is a sorceress?!" Quistis exclaimed, "You're kidding!"
"Nope." Seifer shook his head.
"You were Rinoa's boyfriend, weren't you?" Quistis avoided his eyes as she spoke.
"If you wanna call it that," Seifer scoffed, "it was only for a few months during the summer. We were just kids. It wasn't serious. We only kissed once."
"What happened between the two of you?" Quistis asked.
"There never really was anything between us," Seifer shrugged, "she needed someone to make her feel safe and I was the only one around."
"You don't regret that you're not together anymore?"
Seifer laughed. "Oh yeah, all the time! Sometimes I just want to go and steal her away from Squall." He snickered, then go serious. "Why would I want to be with her when I can be with you?" Quistis' blush was visible even in the dim candlelight. Seifer smiled. "Well, since that dream was actually a memory, I guess that means that things are getting better huh?"
"I guess so," Quistis said forlornly and looked down at her plate of half-eaten steak.
"Hey," Seifer called and she looked up at him. "Don't get discouraged. Your memory will come back eventually and I'll be here for you every time you feel upset to remind you of that."
Quistis stared at him. "I don't see it."
His brow wrinkled in confusion. "See what?"
"The asshole in you," Quistis told him.
He smirked. "Who said I was an asshole?"
"Rinoa."
"Figures," Seifer stated, "spoiled little princess. Well, you know, I can be an asshole if you want me to be."
"No," Quistis commented, "I like you just the way you are right now."
"Good," Seifer smiled, "because I like myself better when I'm being nice."
"I think I'm starting to see why I fell in love with you in the first place," Quistis told him. Now it was Seifer's turn to blush.
"Yeah, well, um," he stammered, "I decided to cancel training tomorrow so you can have a chance to rest."
"Thank you Seifer."
"You're welcome."
They smiled at each other and continued to enjoy their candlelit dinner.