Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all characters are creations of Square-Enix.
I know that you're hiding things
Using gentle words to shelter me
Your words were like a dream
But dreams could never fool me
Not that easily"
---1000 Words, Jade
Fujin was at the Galbadian desert prison, standing guard lest any of the SeeDs escaped. She and Raijin were supposed to assist Seifer in the interrogation, but they did not wish to have anything to do with it. Although Fujin was a raging, tempestuous person, she had never found torture to her liking. Besides, while she could not stand Squall, Rinoa or any of their companions, she would not even wish for them to be subjected to such brutalities.
She was not feeling rather well at the moment, having gotten up so early just to guard the prison. Not only was her duty quite boring, but seeing Seifer being at his worst made her uneasy. It isn't like him, she would often repeat to herself. It was clear that she had trouble adjusting to the new Seifer. Sometimes she admonished herself for interfering with Seifer's lifelong dream---wasn't she supposed to be happy for him? But she would remind herself that he was merely being used as a pawn, and even worse, his personality and memories altered to be someone that he wasn't.
Chivalry. Honor. Integrity. Weren't those the qualities of a true Knight? How ironic it was that Seifer did not seem to live up to those.
Just then, her dazed thoughts were interrupted when she caught sight of Seifer himself. Speak of the devil.
"So far, you've been doing a good job. Keep it up," he commended her. Fujin said nothing. "or would you like to watch me torture Squall and his sorry companions?" he added, chuckling slightly.
"NO THANKS," Fujin shot back sarcastically.
Seifer merely shrugged casually. "Oh well. To each his own. Suit yourself, then." Silence filled the hall and soon, the clicking of his boots was heard as he walked away.
Clenching her fists in repressed anger, Fujin would have liked to punch some sense into Seifer. He certainly was not the ambitious dreamer and good friend she knew, just an arrogant prat. Sometimes, she just wanted to give up and forget about him, since it was his ambition in the first place. Every time the thought crossed her mind, however, Raijin was there to talk some sense into her. He would always convince her to save the posse from falling apart. It worked every time---he always had her feeling guilty.
Half an hour had passed and Fujin was incredibly bored and tired from standing for several hours. She silently cursed Edea for getting them into this mess. Had it not been for that alluring vixen, the posse would just be spending another ordinary day at Balamb Garden, and that was far better than what they were up to now.
All of a sudden, Raijin came hurrying over, panting. "Seifer says that we deserve a break, ya know," he informed her. "It was considerate of him to give us a break. We've been guarding the place for like forever, ya know."
Fujin smacked him on the head. "IDIOT," she said. "It wasn't considerate of him, stupid." Fujin wondered how Squall and the rest of the SeeDs were. She then asked Raijin, "Have you seen Squall?"
Raijin shook his head. After a few seconds, he suddenly spoke up. "But just now, I could hear a cell being taken to the floor above us."
"WELL," Fujin's eyes brightened slightly after hearing what Raijin said. She then grabbed his arm. "I'll check it out. You stay here if you want to."
"You're going to get yourself in trouble, ya know," Raijin warned her dangerously. "It isn't good to always be so adventurous."
Fujin, however, was undaunted. She wanted to know what Seifer and his mistress were planning to do, and there was no stopping her from doing so. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." And in an instant, she quickly climbed up the stairs.
This must be it. Fujin carefully studied the cell, and pressed her ear closer to hear what was going on. Distinctly, she was able to make out Seifer's cold, drawling voice. She pressed her ear closer, feeling rather guilty for eavesdropping on something that didn't concern her. However, a part of her wanted to know what atrocities the Sorceress was up to.
"Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the sorceress." Seifer could be heard telling someone, most likely Squall, about it. Fujin froze for a moment. Destroy Balamb Garden? One thing was for sure, Fujin did not want that to happen. While they were mostly treated as outcasts or feared, Fujin had grown used to the atmosphere at Garden. It was, after all, her home---no, the posse's home, since they were orphaned at a young age. And as much as they refused to admit it, Garden held a lot of sentimental value for them all.
Fujin listened more intently. She could hear Seifer drawling sarcastically this time. "It's a pity, really. I grew up there, too... But orders are orders, and Edea wants it destroyed."
How could Seifer be so BLIND? she wondered. Did Garden really mean nothing to him? And since when did he start taking orders from someone? She was starting to lose faith in Seifer now. What she admired about him was his refusal to take orders from anyone, and his ambitious nature. Hearing him now, Fujin could very well say that he had definitely been reduced into a mere lapdog.
"After the Garden's gone, the SeeD hunt will begin. I'll be Edea's bloodhound and hunt down everyone of your kind. It'll be fun, Squall. Don't die on me, yet." She heard Seifer smirk and order the warden around, and nearly jumped in surprise when she suddenly heard the door open. Fujin panicked, wondering if Seifer would punish her as well, however, she tried to retain her poise and stay calm.
Seifer clucked. "Tsk, tsk. Eavesdropping now, are we?"
"I DIDN'T," Fujin said defiantly, her cheeks turning a shade of red. Seifer could see that she was lying.
"It's not good to listen in on conversations. Most especially when it is none of your business," he said sternly, smirking.
Fujin asked sarcastically, "What are you going to do, then? Punish me?"
Seifer shook his head. "Oh, no, no. I wouldn't want to lose my subordinate. No matter how stubborn she is, she's still an asset nevertheless, because of her unconditional devotion to me. Whatever I ask her to do, she'll gladly do."
At this, Fujin felt her blood boiling. She did not like that he thought of her that way. While it was true that she would do what was told of her, there had to be a limit. She wouldn't serve him so blindly. Furiously, Fujin slapped him hard. "SHUT UP!"
Slightly chuckling, Seifer merely held his reddened cheek. "My. It seems that we can't take the truth here."
"Look who's talking," Fujin spat. "Admit it, Seifer. You're just Edea's pawn."
Pretending not to hear it, Seifer shifted the topic. "What did you hear from my little chat with Squall?"
"You're going to destroy Garden and kill the SeeDs." Fujin said. "You can't just do that," she pointed out angrily.
Seifer smirked again. He was getting more and more annoying to Fujin. "But I can. With Edea, I can do anything. And that, my dear, includes the destruction of Balamb Garden."
"BUT IT'S YOUR HOME!" Fujin yelled angrily. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? You've lived there for practically all your life, and now you're going to destroy your home? Our home? So this means that Garden is nothing to you, does it?"
Unfazed by her words, Seifer looked unnaturally calm. "I don't want anything to do with Garden. It was never my home."
"We met there," Fujin said, not caring whether she made any sense or not. "We didn't exactly have the time of our lives, but we met. We became the posse...we had an inseparable bond. And now, this is the end of the posse?"
Seifer shrugged. "To be honest with you, I remember nothing. And if you don't mind, the Sorceress needs us now. We have to go."
Seething in anger and discontent, Fujin and Seifer descended down the stairs, taking Raijin with them, until they reached the ground floor, where a vehicle was waiting for them. Through the entire ride, everyone was silent. No one said a single word; just unusual silence. Raijin, being the peacemaker, wondered what was behind all the animosity and tried to break the ice, but later on, he did not dare bring it up. He suspected, however, that Seifer had once again struck a nerve.
Upon their arrival at their new base, Galbadia Garden, Seifer immediately reported to his mistress, who was sitting luxuriously in an exquisite chair.
"So, how did the interrogation go?" she immediately asked.
Seifer looked embarrassed and apologetic. He knelt, knowing that he was unworthy to meet his Lady's gaze. "My Lady, he refused to answer. Even after I subjected him to torture, he was still defiant."
"And what about the others?" she quipped, looking unsatisfied by Seifer's answer.
"The Warden will take care of that," he assured her. "He will make a way to squeeze information out of them."
Edea looked at him dangerously. She had expected better from him, and was getting more and more disappointed. Even after working her manipulations on his personality, he was still not her ideal knight. Still, he would do. She would just have to teach him a lesson in case something went wrong. "See to it that he will," she warned.
Seifer nodded, fearing the consequences of his failure. He knew that his Mistress was most displeased with his behavior, and no matter how he strived, he had never been able to live up to her expectations. But there was no turning back now. He was going to show her that he was a true Knight; that he could be there to protect her and attend to her every whim. His dream was becoming a reality now. Nothing else mattered to Seifer; not even the two, who claimed to be part of his posse. He no longer cared for them; it was selfish, he knew, but if they were really his friends, they had to realize that this was what he had always wanted.
"Now," the Sorceress simpered, smiling cruelly, "you know very well of my plans to launch missiles to destroy Balamb and Trabia Gardens. Listen to me, as I do not want you to fail on this highly important mission..."
"They want to destroy our home. Balamb Garden," Fujin lamented, shaking her head sadly. Raijin looked at her, and he could have sworn that she was close to tears. He had never seen Fujin cry before, as she was one who chose to hide her emotions. But now, here she was, at her most fragile moment. He never expected her to be so emotional over the impending destruction of Garden.
Raijin tried to think of something to assure her that everything would be fine, but they both had to face the truth. "There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm sorry," he said, feeling foolish for being so pessimistic.
Fujin said nothing, trying to think of a plan to save the Garden. She knew that there was no stopping the Sorceress---what she wanted, she always got, but perhaps there could be a way. If Garden was ever damaged, they would have no more place to turn to; Fujin reminded herself bleakly.
"We could always take one last look at Garden, as some sort of goodbye," Raijin suggested.
At this, Fujin's eyes slightly brightened, and she looked up. "Good idea," she said seriously. "And maybe we could warn someone. They could at least do something to stop the missiles!" She looked determined. "But what if Edea won't allow us to?"
"She might," Raijin said, glad to see that his friend was back to her stubborn, determined self. "There's got to be a way."
"Do you understand me, Seifer?" Edea asked, her eyes gleaming.
Seifer nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, my lady."
"Good," she said. "You had better not fail me again. Now go and brief the Galbadian Army." Seifer nodded again, bowed and stood, leaving to give new orders to the army.
As he was on his way out, there was a sudden loud knock. "Enter," the Sorceress said.
Although they were rather intimidated by the diminutive but powerful Sorceress Edea, Fujin and Raijin entered her chambers, bowing politely.
Edea arched one eyebrow, seemingly suspicious of them. She never really liked them, especially the albino, who was too feisty for her own good, but because they were Seifer's friends, surely they would do anything to save him, even if it meant service to the Sorceress and her loyal Knight. "What do you want?" she queried.
There was much hesitance among them, but Fujin had the courage to speak up. "W-we know that you will be launching missiles at Garden," she began. "Please...we wish to take one last look at the place where we have lived for so long..."
For a moment, Edea pondered whether it would be a good idea or a bad one; allowing them to go to Balamb Garden. She knew that they would most likely warn someone about it, but then it would be futile, as Balamb had already received anonymous threats. They would never be able to stop her plans now. It was far too late. She smiled, supposing that there would be no harm sending them, as the two did not know the full details about their plans anyway.
"Very well, then," she said. "You may go." As a sort of afterthought, she then added, "You people are always so sentimental. Take a final look at your beloved Garden, if that's what you want. Even if you warn anyone, nothing can be done. Soon, the missiles will be launched." She laughed shrilly, much to Fujin and Raijin's annoyance.
Both of them bowed again. "Thank you, my Lady," Fujin said, not looking the least bit discouraged. They then departed, hurriedly making their way to Balamb.
A few minutes after Raijin and Fujin had left, a messenger hurriedly entered Edea's chambers, without even bothering to knock. "I have urgent news, my Lady," he said, panting. "The SeeDs have escaped!!!"
Edea stood up, and the expression on her face was that of utter fury. "What?!!" she sputtered, outraged. "How could that be?"
The messenger stuttered, fearing the wrath of the Sorceress, "T-t-they even managed to escape, despite the m-many security alarms and creatures on guard! That's not all; t-the prison even c-collapsed!"
Trying to maintain her calmness despite being enraged, Edea nodded. "I have heard enough. Go."
She sat down, contemplating angrily on how the SeeDs could have broken out of prison. Her Knight was certainly incompetent---he was still a boy; too naive. She made a mental note to teach Seifer a lesson the moment he returned.
An evil smile lit up Edea's face, rubbing her hands ominously. SeeDs...how lucky of you to escape my clutches again. But there is no escape...the moment the missiles target Garden... you will surely perish in it...and you are still fortunate enough to survive...your days will be numbered. We will hunt you down next...
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't updated for a long time. Let's just say that school and the real life got in the way. But now, I'll still try to keep updating. I hope that you liked this fic and that it wasn't too bad or anything. Tell me what you think; leave a review! Constructive criticism is especially appreciated.