Time's Scars
Chapter Fourteen: Only a Shell
"Say what?" Zell exclaimed.
"I know." Irvine replied. "I can't believe he allied with them."
Zell looked out the window to the battle and grabbed the binoculars so he could see better. Sure enough, Seifer was up on a pedestal near the end of the Orc troops, being carried. It was like he was a leader.
"This can't be, Irvine! Seifer might have done bad things, but I know he wouldn't do this!"
Irvine shook his head, "I don't know, Zell. Seifer is pretty shady."
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He felt the energy building strongly all around. His brown hair whipped around, swirled by the gusting wind. It was working, he'd done it.
He watched in amazement as the sky lit up with a greenish lightening. He felt as though all the energy in him was being sucked into the sky. Watching the other Elves, he realized that was true. All of them had a brighter glow than usual. Some were already on their knees.
He, too, fell to his knees in exhaustion, as he watched the power of the storm he'd created.
The lightening was flashing faster now. It was almost too bright to watch.
An energy wave was forming in the cloud above him. It was close to full. The wave would launch and destroy the Orcs. No army could stand against it.
He dragged himself over to Rinoa, who was also amazed at the sight. He put an arm around her and pushed her down, shielding her.
The burst of the wave sounded like an explosion. The energy surged across the battlefield, and every Orc in sight fell. They were all dead, and it only took a matter of seconds.
That was when Squall's sharp eyesight caught sight of another creature amongst them, a human. Seifer.
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Selphie stood by the infirmary, where Squall and Rinoa were being held. She sure was glad that they'd upgraded it. The facility was much better equipped to handle severe wounds than it had been before.
After the battle ended, she and Quistis had gone atop the mountain to see if Squall and Rinoa were okay. Squall had fallen unconscious, and Rinoa was very weak. In fact, every Elf on the battlefield was weakened to the point of exhaustion. Most had also passed out.
All of them were in the infirmary, recovering from the massive energy loss.
What Selphie was most concerned about was the human among the energy blast. Seifer lay in a nearby room. He was hurt, but alive. Dr. Kadowaki was not sure when he would awaken from his sleeplike state. It was similar to the one Rinoa had gone through when she was possessed by Adel. Maybe Seifer was possessed?
Dr. Kadowaki came out of the room, smiling. "You can see them now, Selphie. Both are awake and feeling much better."
Selphie rushed into the room. Rinoa was sitting in a more comfortable chair, while Squall was still confined to the bed. He was attached to multiple machines.
She hugged Rinoa, and then walked to Squall's bedside.
"That was some performance out there!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah." Squall mumbled.
She folded her arms, "How'd you do that? That was the most powerful spell I've ever seen! You killed ten-thousand Orcs in about five seconds!"
Rinoa got up and walked to Selphie's side. "I think he's still a little worn out."
"Hey, why were you so weak?"
"Well, Squall could not have done that on his own. It took more energy than he had. He borrowed some from me so he could do the spell." Rinoa replied.
"Wow. You guys never cease to amaze me."
"I'm flattered." Squall said sarcastically.
Rinoa lightly punched his arm. "Don't be a grouch, Squall."
She turned back to Selphie. "So, is Seifer awake yet?"
"No. He's out cold. But the doctor said he should wake up soon!"
"Good. Did anyone find out what he was doing with an army of Orcs?"
She shook her head. "We're all still guessing. He's in a state a lot like you were when you were possessed."
"Really? Hmm…I wonder why that is?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Squall said.
Rinoa looked at him. "Isn't what obvious?"
Squall sighed. "Seifer is in that state because he IS possessed. Otherwise, there is no way he would have survived. Saruman may be using his body."
Selphie's eyes widened. "But, why would he choose Seifer?"
"Why not? Seifer has been possessed in a way before, maybe he's more susceptible to it now. And Saruman also knows that we all have some sort of emotional tie to Seifer."
"Why does that part matter?" Rinoa asked.
"Well, we're less likely to kill him, aren't we?"