------'-----,--- Pulverized------'-----,---
They couldn't see what was happening. The steel walls of the airtight room were all they knew.
It was the sound of his breathing that kept her from panicking. Knowing that she wasn't alone simply waiting for an unknown outcome. Seifer was at her side both of the sitting on the floor leaning heavily against the wall. Both spacesuits sat near by ready and waiting in case the tiny room's air lock collapsed and they were forced to abandon their haven.
"What so you think will happen?" Seifer asked quietly tilting his head back to let it rest on the wall.
"I'm sure that Ricker left the Pandora in some place where it will do the most damage. The monsters will travel to earth and ravage whatever is near by. SeeD will be called in to dispose of them. Of course it will create problems all over making the demand for SeeD high. With Balamb down there won't be enough to respond and the world will be in chaos" Quistis answered simply with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm sure if Ricker was still alive he would march out his little super soldiers to do the job showing the world how powerful he really was" she continued with a shudder.
"Gee don't you have a brilliantly optimistic way of looking at things" Seifer said sarcastically with an exasperated sigh.
"I'm just being realistic" She responded resting her head on her knee.
"What about us..." he asked his voice very quietly. Quistis dared not look at him; she didn't want to see those green eyes that seemed to look right through her.
"I don't know..." she paused taking a deep breath, "I remember Dr. Kowdaski saying that the wires had to be removed from you or you might die... but the procedure was risky"
"I would... I can't live without this metal in me. I remember the scientist telling me that so many times" Seifer said in that same quiet voice.
"Maybe I'll move to Dollet and get a job or something. I've always thought it was pretty there" Quistis said hugging her knee, moving her head to rest her chin on the top gazing at the wall across from her
"If we live through this..." he paused his voice shaking a little "Maybe I could go with you"
Quistis looked at him at last with a broad smile opening her mouth to say something just as the room all around them lurched. It was happening, the Lunar Cry.
"I'm scared" Quistis whispered softly. With out anymore words Seifer took her into his arms and held her close as the room around them shook once more. And suddenly it was shaking constantly a huge dent forming in the wall opposite them. And with the force of motion they were tossed from one wall to the next, suddenly falling, the space station drowning in the sea of monsters.
"Hang on Quistis" Seifer shouted as the metal of the room started growing hot around them, they must have been entering the atmosphere of the planet.
The whole room was rattling and shaking around them, and a loud boom sounded outside. Quistis closed her eyes huddled against Seifer tears flowing down her cheeks.
Roaring, Crashing, Tumbling. The only way they knew for sure they were nearing the planet's surface was that they had left the noiselessness of space.
"Seifer, I can't breath" Quistis cried out as the walls turned red from the heat. He held her tighter to him, staring desperately at the walls around them.
"Stay with me" he whispered gently, trying not to let panic over come him as he they started falling faster and faster.
Then the roaring became almost deafening a powerful rattle shaking all around them. With an immeasurable force the collided with something, the very walls around them shuddering and creaking.
Suddenly something popped, a loud ping sounded through the room. Steam there was steam, it was all around them. Quistis found herself coughing and choking.
"Oh Hyne" Seifer whispered softly.
"What is it" Quistis said opening her eyes.
"We landed in the water..." Seifer said looking towards the door, a screw on it has melted from the heat of the atmosphere. Water was dribbling in slowly, they were sinking.
"What do we do?" Quistis screamed panic overwhelming her suddenly. Seifer popped his neck and gazed around them.
"We have to get out before we reach the ocean floor or we will never be able to swim to the top" Seifer said looking over to the door, and grabbing for his Hyperion.
"I'm not a very good swimmer" Quistis said her voice shaking as started to jam his Hyperion into the door to pry it open.
"I'll help you" He said softly, "Okay I'm going to open this, but first let all the air out of your lungs then take a breath as deep as you can and hold it"
"I can do that" she said nodding. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her body shaking with panic and fear.
"As we swim up let some out every now and then, slowly" Seifer wanted to make sure she got it right and waited for her to nod. Watching her slowly breathe out he did the same, then as he took a deep breath he shoved the door open.
Neither of them were ready for the force of water that came rushing into the room. It shoved them back hard against the wall. Quistis couldn't see, everything was black. She didn't know which way was up. Struggling she tried to remember where the door was. Suddenly she felt Seifer's hand grabbing her own, pulling at her. She kicked off from the wall as hard as she could and he yanked her through the open door.
Finally she could make some sense of what was going on around her. Seifer had a firm grip on her hand and was steadily pulling her up with him as he kicked his way towards the surface. He always had been the strongest swimmer of all the orphanage kids.
It was like floating in a dream. The water rushing around her, the air burning in her lungs. And then suddenly she could see the sun cutting through the water. The surface, they were close!
And suddenly there was air in her lungs, she was breathing. Seifer was calling her name from some where, water rushing around her again. He was there holding her close whispering her name over and over again.
"Don't leave me now that I've found you..." she thought it was him whispering. Quistis longed to see his green eyes... but couldn't seem to get her own open.
And then the world fell silently black.
Seifer looked up; in the distance he could see the approaching form of a very familiar red garden. Red, like the blood. Blood in the water. He pulled her closer to him and started to weep.
Somehow he would get the attention of the Garden, they would live through this. And perhaps after, they would love.
..