A/N: Another late update… I'm terribly sorry you guys, but things in my life aren't going too well… My best friend's father passed away two days ago and I had to fulfill my terrible duty in standing by her side through the whole thing. Plus, my exams are coming up and the pressure is just getting tighter and tighter every passing day. I hope you can all understand that the updates can't be as often for a short period of time…
On a happier note… This new chapter will, as I've already said, confuse you. Why? Because it takes place during a chronological point not defined, the main character in it is not named and there is only one spot that is linked to the rest of the story. Which one? You'll have to find out for yourselves. However, I assure you that it's relevant to the previous chapters and that the 'mystery' behind it will become unveiled in the future. I'd like to make clear that I will not answer questions concerning this chapter. You may freely make your own guesses, but I'll reveal nothing.
Lastly, be warned that this chapter includes a few quite brutal scenes. The material is already rated R, but I felt the need to warn you. If you don't like to read such material, then please don't. That's all.
Last chapter summary: Seifer returned in time for the New Year's party. However, something intriguingly weird happened to him during his mission…
~*The Beginning, is the End, is the Beginning*~
A sequel to 'Love Conquers All'
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 3: Burn the sins away
Sometime, someday, in Deling City…
A tall, blond man walked in the dark streets of Deling City. The time was almost two in the morning and the temperature had long passed the stage of being called plain 'chilly'. The man raised the neckline of his long black coat, watching his breath linger in the air in a small cloud of steam. It was by far the coldest winter Galbadia had ever witnessed. It still hadn't snowed, but the weather was too damn freezing… It had been raining for quite some time before and the atmosphere was now 'clean', although somewhat foggy.
The man heard the clatter of his black boots on the wet sidewalk, as he traced his steps outside a lavish residence. He stopped right at the entrance, taking a look around him, to check if anyone had been following him. To his relief, the streets were deserted. Not even criminals were in the mood to come out, in such a cold, wintry night 'Just one…' thought the man. The blond walked a bit closer to the grand mansion before him and examined it closely. Some lights were still on, even at this hour.
The man sighed and leaned against the wall, part of the stone fence guarding the perimeter of the building. He dug his hand in his pocket and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. He lifted it upside down, making the small black lighter inside, drop onto his palm. He took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag of smoke right through his lungs. It was exceptionally strange how a cloud of nothing but toxic smoke could liven up a person, but at the cost of slowly, yet steadily draining one's energy and life resources. The blond closed his eyes and exhaled the smoke, resting his head against the stone wall behind him. He had already gone through three cigarettes when the last light of the mansion was switched off. He threw the cigarette on the ground, putting out the smoldering butt with his boot. He slid his hand down his pocket once again, only this time he took out a pair of black leather gloves. He slipped his fingers through them and turned around to face the wall.
- "Time to get to business…" he said, in a voice just above a whisper.
The tall blond jumped up the wall fence, grabbing the top ledge. He rested his foot up against a slightly prominent rock, aiding himself up. With a slight amount of difficulty, he crawled up the ledge of the wall, resting with his stomach on it; he had to be careful not to be seen by anyone. Luckily, his almost all-black outfit allowed him to be camouflaged enough at night. He scouted across the grand yard of the mansion, spotting a pair of guards right outside the entrance 'Well… I couldn't expect this to be TOO easy…' he thought. He looked down from the ledge he had climbed upon and saw he was standing right above some bushes 'Convenient enough, but it's gonna be kinda tricky to remain silent…' Carefully, he moved about the wall, slowly letting his body slide down. He suspended from the ledge, holding it with both hands. He bowed his head down, looking for a clear spot to land upon. When he found one, he shimmied across the ledge and let go of his hands. He landed as quietly as possible on the bare grass, swiftly hiding behind one bush. The leaves rumored a bit though, catching the guards' attention. The two Galbadian soldiers stirred, looking down at the bushes, where the slight noise had come from.
- "Did you hear that?" asked one of them.
- "Yeah. Right behind those bushes down there…" said the other.
- "Are you gonna go check it, or should I?" asked the first.
- "Stay put over here. I'll go…" said the second, preparing his gunblade.
The guard left his position, cautiously walking down the grass yard, over to the bushes. He held his gunblade tightly, steadily raising it as he approached the spot where the blond man hid. He stopped moving about nine feet away, slipping his finger through the trigger and raising his weapon towards the bush.
- "Is anyone there?" he asked, but got no answer.
He decided to get closer. Almost soundlessly, he stepped over carefully, until he was only three feet away. He asked the same question again, getting no answer once more. He was starting to think it had probably been just the wind or something, but he had to make sure. He walked even closer to the bush and carefully leaned over. To his great surprise, he found the young blond lying on the grass, smirking at him.
- "Hi." said the tall blond grinning.
The soldier's eyes grew wide open and he got ready to attack the boy in front of him. But he proved to have much quicker reflexes than him. The blond pulled a knife out of the side of his right boot, swiftly throwing it at the soldier. The blade of the small dagger found the man square between the eyes, killing him on the spot. Many feet away, the other soldier saw his colleague's body fall lifeless on the grass. He jolted up in surprise, getting ready to run inside and hit the alarm. Behind the bush, the blond didn't lose any time getting up as soon as he'd killed the first guard. He slipped his hand under his left armpit, pulling out a black pistol. Hardly aiming at all, he shot the other guard from the distance on the back of the head, right as he opened the door. The silencer on the nozzle of the gun did a good job in muting the sound of the shot. When the second soldier was down as well, the blond lowered his pistol down, tranquilly. He blew the smoking barrel of the gun with an impassive expression on his face and put it back in place
He glanced around the yard, trying to spot anyone else. When he made sure the area was clear, he looked down at the rigid body of the soldier he'd killed first. He bent down next to him, pulling the dagger out of his skull. A boil-disturbing sound was heard as the cold blade slipped through bone and flesh, coming out of the, now gushing, fatal wound on the guard's forehead. Rivulets of blood came trickling down his face, giving an ever more grotesque appearance on the dead man's pale skin. The blond didn't even wince at the sight, just wiped the blood-stained knife clean on the guard's uniform. When it was spotless, he rose it up and examined it, tracing the cutting edge with one finger. He rode it all the way up to the tip, where he felt a slight sting. He pulled it back, and noticed a small pearl of deep red blood shining on his index finger 'Pointy…' he thought. He licked his fingertip, slipping the dagger back in place on the side of his right boot.
He grabbed the body from the armpits, dragging it right behind the bush. He left it there, not bothering to hide it all too well. Subtlety was never his specialty anyway… He tilted his neck from side to side, feeling that a cracking sensation relieving his soreness. He slowly walked over towards the entrance to the manor, where the second dead person on his body count list lay. He merely kicked it out of the way onto a rose bush on the side of the doorsteps, and marched inside the house, pushing open the door which so far stood ajar.
Determinedly, he walked towards the wooden stairway which led up to the second floor of the mansion. He heard the steps creak under the weight of his body as he ascended towards the door visible right at the top of the stair. He kept his eyes and ears peeled for any sound or sign of movement, looking around him skeptically. He reached the top of the stairway and glanced to his left and right 'Just darkness…' he thought. He eyed the rest of the doors spread around the hallway of the second floor. The one he was looking for though was right in front of him. He slowly moved his right hand onto the handle of the door. However, as soon as he touched it, a figure leaped out of the shadows, landing right onto his back.
The person, who had obviously been guarding the door but heard him come inside, wrapped his right arm around the blonde's neck, blocking his air pathway. The young man lost no time and grabbed the man's hand across his throat, aiming to pry him off. The guard was persistent enough though, hence didn't seem eager to let go. The blond struggled for breath as he tried to escape the man's grip. When he realized the soldier was stronger than him, he decided it was time to use other tactics. He threw his legs up in the air, pushing his weight forward. When he landed back on his feet, he ducked and dexterously threw the guard off his back, flying on mid-air, until he saw his stomach make hard contact with the floor. The guard quickly stood back up, but the blond was already behind him. With one fierce movement, he grabbed the sides of his head, abruptly turning it to one side, thus breaking the man's neck. Third in a row, the soldier fell heavy onto the floor in a loud thud 'The President must have heard that…' the blond thought, cracking his knuckles. He slid over to the left side of the door, sticking his back right against the wall.
As expected, he heard footsteps coming from inside the room. The doorknob wiggled, turned, clicked and the door opened. Out came a puzzled-looking man. He poked his head out of the door, looking to his right and left.
- "Jefferson?" he asked confused "Is everything alright? I heard a…" he began, but never finished his sentence.
The blond had already rushed over to him, grabbing him from the shirt of his pajamas. He lifted him off his feet and pulled him inside the room. The thin, pale man seemed terrified by the tall blond holding him threateningly.
- "Help!" he cried out "Someone help me!"
- "No use…" spoke the blond with a smirk on his face "I've wasted them all…"
He threw the man onto the air, sending him crashing onto the bottom left corner of the room. The thin man winced, groaned in pain and trembling, he turned around to take another look at his attacker.
- "W-w-who… are y-y-you…? Your face… s-s-seems f-familiar…" the man stuttered, touching his bleeding lip with two fingers.
- "It does, doesn't it?" asked the blond rhetorically, with a grin "Either way, take a good look at it, as it's the last face you'll ever see…" he said, moving his hand under his long black coat, to the side of his pants.
- "No! Wait!" snapped the man, panicked "J-j-just… tell me what you want from me…"
The tall blond smirked. He walked over to his victim in a sinister way, making him squirm anxiously around the corner he stood against. He stopped about three feet away from him and let out a laugh.
- "The only thing I want from you…" he said, slipping his hand back to the left side of his pants "…'Mr. President'…" he added in a mocking tone, placing a gloved hand onto the grip "…is…" he continued, slowly slipping his gunblade out of its case tied on his left leg "…your life." he said finally, holding the blade on one hand, pointing the tip towards the man on the floor.
The President's eyes grew wide in terror. The whole scene happened in slow motion; the blonde's eyes glistened dangerously as he tightened his grasp on the gunblade handle, moving it upwards. The President felt the ever-so-sharp tip of the weapon slash across the skin on his face, jerking it to the upper right. Blood sprayed the walls behind, the curtains and the blonde's clothes. The man screamed in pain, holding his bleeding face with one hand. The tall blond, examined his clothes, holding his coat with one hand.
- "I really like that coat… You'd better watch where your blood sprays upon…" he said, eyeing the man murderously.
He raised his gunblade, sending it down on the President's body this time. He slashed and slashed incessantly, going literally berserk. The man's screams drove him even madder, making his breaths faster and deeper. He hit and hit non-stop, his eyes shimmering like emerald green fire. When the President could barely move, he stopped. He ran a gloved hand through his fair hair, still breathing heavily. He looked down upon his victim. The man was now completely disfigured; a deep gash ran across his sallow face, while blood trickled from it, making an antithesis of deep red and pale yellow. His clothes were now completely ripped and soaking red in front, while long, profound cuts were visible on his chest. He was shaking in spasms, while his breath could barely be heard. His life was literally hanging from a thin piece of thread… The blond didn't seem the least bit disturbed by the sight. He casually dug the gunblade tip on the wooden floor, resting both his hands and his weight on the top of the handle.
- "Any last words?" he asked coldly. The President coughed blood in response "Speak up. I can't hear you." he said sarcastically. More blood gushed and trickled from the man's mouth "Alright then…" said the blond shrugging "I was only trying to be nice…"
He pushed himself backwards slightly, grabbing the handle with his right hand. He stuck it out from the tiny hole it had created on the floor and rose it back up towards the President. He pulled the cock back and aimed.
- "Goodbye…" said the blond, pulling the trigger.
A loud bang was heard and from the barrel of the gunblade, as a silver bullet came rushing out. It slipped through the air, cutting it, eventually finding its target on the President's face. A new small round wound now formed right between his eyes, terminating his life instantly. His head shot backwards when the bullet made contact with his skull, then tilted lifeless on one side. The blond wiped a rogue droplet of blood that had spluttered on the corner of his left eyebrow and took a deep breath. He spent some time carefully examining his victim. He didn't seem to be the least bit repulsed by the sight. On the contrary, an expression of ultimate relief had now spread across his face.
Deciding he'd stalled enough, the blond turned around and walked over to a full-body mirror standing next to the wardrobe of the President's bedroom. He took a good look at himself. His clothes were pretty much stained with the red vital liquid, but there wasn't much he could do about it. His face also bore spots and drops of blood. He walked over to an open door inside the room, from where the bathroom was visible. He blindly looked around for the light switch for a few seconds, then flicked it on. He rested his gunblade against the wall and took off his leather gloves, placing them next to the sink. He turned the tap on, letting the water flow, then cupping some on his palms and washing his face clean. Without bothering to wipe the water droplets dry, he wore his gloves and exited the bathroom.
The man walked back inside the room, running a hand through his fair hair. He glared at the body of the President lying motionless in front of him and fell deep in thought for a few moments. He slipped his weapon back in its case and kneeled down next to his victim. He grabbed the man's wrists with one hand and carefully hung the thin body on his right shoulder. He held his legs with his right arm and slowly walked out of the bedroom. Considering the fact that the man was pretty thin and the blond was quite well built, the latter didn't have much difficulty to walk easily.
The blond walked down the stairs to the pitch dark entrance hallway. He walked outside the door, which still stood ajar and strode down the front yard. Halfway down, he stopped and looked around. With his left hand, he removed his gunblade from its case, rose it up in the air and pulled the trigger once.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A loud, banging sound was heard all over the block, breaking the complete silence of the cold night. The silver bullet pierced the air and got lost in the dark night sky. Immediately, the blond broke into a run. Upon reaching the entrance, he came face to face with a couple of soldiers. He pried them off, swinging his gunblade at them and ran into the streets. Many people living nearby had heard the gunshot and had barged outside the balconies to see what was going on. A couple of old ladies had even come out to the street.
The tall blond sprinted down the street, passing right in front of them. The two women caught a pretty good glimpse of him and looked at each other in awe. The blond kept running, hearing shouts from people calling for help, car wheels screeching and a far away siren ringing. He came to a stop in the main avenue of Deling City, looking around worriedly. Right then, a black mini-van rushed over to him, halting right in front. The back doors of the van spread open and the blond jumped inside, with the body still clutched underneath his right arm.
- "Drive!" he said breathlessly, once inside.
The man driving in the front sped off, soon leaving the central avenue behind, heading towards the outskirts of the city. Inside the van, the blond dropped the body of the President on the floor and sat down on one of the benches. He wiped his sweaty forehead and took a deep breath, looking around.
The small van had two wooden benches, one on each side. On the left one, the now exhausted blond was sitting, trying to catch his breath. On the right one, sat two men dressed in uniforms which resembled the Galbadian ones, only they were black. Right in front of them, the body of the President lay rigid. On the driver's seat, another man was sitting, dressed similarly to the others.
The two men in the back kneeled down next to the dead body, examining it. They both wore rubber gloves, so as not to leave any fingerprints behind. When they were satisfied by their examination, they both turned up to the blond.
- "Good job…" said one of them.
- "Did anyone see you?" asked the other.
- "Didn't you hear the uproar back there?" asked the blond.
- "Good." replied the man, surprisingly.
- "We should be arriving at the mansion anytime now…" said the other, looking outside the window.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The black mini-van reached a luxurious mansion on the outskirts of Deling City. The driver pressed a button on the gateway, still inside the car. A voice came through the intercom, as someone inside heard their call.
- "It's us. Open up." said the driver.
Immediately, the gates opened and the mini-van advanced on the stone path which led any vehicles to the entrance of the building, going through the impressive gardens. The vehicle stopped right in front of the entrance, where two soldiers, also dressed in black, were standing. The driver got out first, closely followed by the three people boarding the back of the van. The two soldiers carried the President's dead body, –now wrapped inside a black, plastic, morgue bag- holding it from the feet and armpits and walked inside the mansion. The tall blonde came out last from the three, holding his gunblade in one hand, while running the other through his hair. The two soldiers waiting outside the now open doors shot him weird glares as his clothes were covered in blood. The blond ignored them, following suit in walking inside the luxurious building.
The four passengers of the mini-van made their way up the stairway in the Hall of the mansion. They reached the second floor and ignoring many rooms they passed by, stopped in front of a pair of doors. The driver knocked and when he heard a muffled 'Come in' from inside, opened the doors. The room they walked inside was probably some sort of study. Many similarly dressed soldiers were gathered inside, while a man who appeared to be some sort of leader was sitting on an armchair behind the desk in the middle of the room. Upon seeing the quartet, -or rather quintet, if you counted a dead man…- his lips upturned into a smile. The tall blond who came in last, closed the door behind him.
The ones carrying the dead body dropped it onto the carpet.
- "I presume that everything went as planned…?" asked the man behind the desk.
- "Of course…" answered the driver "What do you take us for? Amateurs?"
- "Zip it open." ordered the first.
The two men carrying the body so far pulled down the bag's zipper. Almost everyone inside the room winced and covered their mouths and noses from the smell of the corpse, now at the dawn of decay and disintegration.
- "*Cough* *Cough* Good job… *Cough*" said the leader, turning to look at the tall blonde.
The latter, who was now resting with his back against the wall, didn't turn to look at him, just lowered his head and spoke.
- "Thank you." he said, while his facial features frowned.
- "Don't tell me you're starting to feel all guilty now lassie?" asked the leader chuckling.
- "No." replied the blond, now frowning in anger, turning to look at the leader "I'm just anxious to change from this disgusting… 'attire'."
- "Go ahead. Your job is done for today." suggested the leader.
- "Thank you Kuja…" the tall blond mumbled, walking out of the room.
The leader, obviously named Kuja something, turned his attention back to the corpse, now held by the armpits from the two men who'd carried it inside.
- "Where do you want him?" asked one of them.
- "Right on that corner, by the window." replied Kuja, pointing at the upper left corner of the room.
The two men dragged the corpse, with the bag still around its waist and legs, towards the designated spot. They let him rest his back on the corner, while carefully removing the black bag off him.
- "Yes, right there…" said Kuja "Now, make sure the environment looks… convincing. When you're done, come down to the living room so we can leave this place." he added, walking out of the room, closely followed by all the other soldiers gathered there.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The tall blond walked inside a room on the second floor. He still had some time to kill (A/N: No pun intended :-) ) before the others were done and they would have to leave the mansion. He desperately needed a bath and a change of clothes. He took off his long black trench coat, resting it on the bed. He walked inside the bathroom and began undressing. He took out his white and red T-shirt first, then his boots and finally his black leather pants. He stretched a bit, feeling his body sore and removed his black boxers as well.
He was just about to step into the shower, when he noticed his reflection on the big mirror on the wall, above the sinks. He turned around and walked towards the sinks. He rested his palms on the counter and studied his reflection. A tall, well-built body, a head full of blond locks and a pair of green eyes was what looked back at him. His expression was that of hurt, confusion and guilt. He raised one hand from the counter and began tracing his face. His fingers stopped right between his two emerald green eyes. His fingertip came across a big scar right on that spot. A scar that began from the middle of his lower forehead, going right down across the upper end of his nose.
Tears filled the young man's eyes and as he shut them, they trickled down his cheeks, burning them like acid. The man let out a sob and landed his fist straight onto the mirror before him, cracking it. Blood came gashing out of the newly formed wound on his right hand. Through clenched teeth, he took a deep breath and looked at the reflection once again. Still blond hair and green eyes as facial features, only somehow different this time, distorted from the cracked mirror. Or maybe not…
The blonde walked inside the shower stall and turned the knob to hot, hoping that the burning water falling on pale skin, would burn the sins away as well…
A/N: I believe the words you might be looking for are: What the hell?!
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'THE BEGINNING, IS THE END, IS THE BEGINNING':
The morning peace in Balamb Garden is abruptly broken by terrible news…
Let the main storyline begin…