Legacies: Chapter 21
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own FF8. But I do own this story.
WARNING: Do not read this chapter if you are squeamish about blood!
Time seemed to freeze in his mind, as Squall slowly lowered Quistis to the ground. Then it jarred back into the present, as his training kicked in.
His hands searched on her wrists, trying in vain to find a pulse. He looked up to officer Murdoch, "several first aid kits! Now!"
The officer nodded.
Irvine ran to their side instantly, "is she..."
Squall shook his head, "it isn't good. She will die if we can't do something."
Gabe came up behind them in a heartbeat. He took one look and knew things were bad.
Gabe looked to the side, where the smoky husk of the fallen Illuminati was still burning, "Irvine, I need you to do something."
The SeeD turned, raising an eyebrow, "what?"
Gabe nudged his head towards the corpse, "get his gun."
Irvine furrowed his eyebrows, "now what in the hell is-"
"No questions Irvine," cut in Gabe, "please trust me, we don't have time to waste."
Irvine looked once into Gabe's eyes, and nodded, running to get the Illuminati's gun.
Meanwhile, Squall motioned to Rinoa, "I'm going to breath for her, you try to start her heart."
Rinoa nodded, crouching to help administer CPR.
"Damn it Quistis," she whispered, "don't you die on us..."
"Anything we can do?" asked Zell.
"Keep everyone back," ordered Squall.
"And pray," added Gabe.
Zell nodded, gripping Leona's hand tightly. The SeeD cadet looked up to him, and smiled desperately.
Selphie looked away, hugging herself, as she struggled to hold back tears.
Officer Murdoch came back, bearing several medical kits. Gabe took them.
"Anything we can do?" asked the officer.
"Any doctors around?"
He shook his head.
Gabe cursed, "of course...well, keep everyone back then."
The officer nodded.
Squall continued to breath into Quistis' cold lips, trying to force her to breath again. Rinoa continued to pump the woman's heart, moving to the rhythm of her own heartbeat.
Irvine drew up beside Gabe, "here's the damn weapon."
Gabe nodded, perfunctorily taking the rifle from Irvine's hand, and cracking open the barrel.
He drew out the used shell, examining it.
Gabe's eyes widened, "shit..."
Quistis started to cough, thrashing uncontrollably. She screamed in pain, her eyes still closed tight.
It was all Squall and Rinoa could do to hold her down.
Irvine turned to Gabe uncertainly, "what?"
Gabe didn't bother answering, instead, he simply got to his knees, beside Quistis. Gabe threw his trench coat to the pavement, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
In his mind, he reached out to the GF, Siren...I once again ask for you help...
The crystalline voice replied, I am here master.
Gabe nodded, help guide my hand...you know more of the ways of healing than I do.
Yes, master, answered Siren.
Gabe looked across Quistis' body, at Squall and Rinoa, "I need you to hold her down."
Rinoa pounded the ground with her fist, "Squall...feel her wrist."
The SeeD did so.
"Damn," cursed Squall, "we lost the heartbeat again..."
"Keep up with the CPR," said Gabe, "I'm going to try something."
Then his mind was clear, he heard nothing, felt nothing, saw nothing...except Quistis.
Her clothes were made from thick leather, clothes which had helped her weather many an attack. Gabe tore the vest aside as if it were paper, leaving the black sport bra alone.
He reached into the medical kit, drawing several scalpels, and a syringe.
He plunged the syringe into Quistis' mid-section. Then, with a curse, he saw the blood streaming from Quistis' stomach, just to the side. It must have hit the lung...
He took a moment to calm his nerves, then began his incision, cutting in a straight line along the wound.
Zell turned away from the scene, moving away, as he wretched into the gutter. Leona turned with him, as Zell buried himself in her arms, shuddering silently.
Selphie gripped Irvine's hand, looking on, bleary-eyed. Despite the blood flowing from nails digging into him, the cowboy just looked on, frozen in place.
Gabe continued to cut, leaving scalpels in Quistis' abdomen to hold it open, as he drew forth blades to search for the bullet imbedded in her.
He turned to Selphie, "I need you to take all the contents of the medical kit out."
Selphie nodded absently.
"Now Selphie," said Gabe, sternly, but kindly, "I need you to mix up a wash I can clean out her body with. No telling what will happen if we can't sterilize her."
She nodded again, this time with more awareness in her eyes.
Gabe handed several spell stones to Irvine, "help her."
Irvine grunted, as Gabe turned back to his work...
His hands were covered with blood, surprisingly warm despite the cool of the night. His brow began to sweat.
Siren spoke calming words to him, urging him onward, telling him how to guide his hands.
"Why is it so deep?" he wondered, "it-"
Then he found it...the bullet lodged in Quistis' side, wedged just beneath the lungs. But...it didn't look like a bullet...
Irvine felt his knees giving away, as he looked at a pulsating mass of liquid metal throbbing to the pace of Quistis' heart, "what in Hyne's name..."
Gabe looked at the evil fluid mass, and drew back for a moment.
He looked up, "this isn't good...Greymalkin told me about this...there's only one thing to do..."
He motioned to Selphie, who brought him the medical wash.
Gabe nodded, "good, pour half of it in, we need to sterilize before I do this. And again once I'm finished."
He turned to Rinoa, "I need you to help with the bleeding."
"Done," she answered.
Gabe drew himself up, stretching and breathing heavily, as Selphie and Rinoa administered the wash. Squall continued with the CPR.
"What are you doing?" asked Zell, his eyes bloodshot.
"You don't want to know," answered Gabe, "ask Greymalkin, he told me about this."
He pulled off his shirt, leaving on only his padded vest.
Irvine looked at him askance, "now is not the time to-"
Gabe pulled out a knife from his belt, one with a white ivory blade, and a black handle.
He then proceeded to cut at his arm...
Leona drew back in shock, hands to her mouth, as Gabe cut a swath through his own arm. He grunted in pain, his face a mask of agony, as his forced the knife to continue it's path along his arm.
Officer Murdoch, watching from a distance, cried out in dismay, covering his mouth as he ran from the horrid scene.
Blood fell in streamers along Gabe's arm, pattering sickeningly to the pavement, pooling in his lifeless, semi-closed palm.
Gabe panted for breath, "that's...enough...back off..."
Rinoa and Selphie looked up at Gabe for the first time...and staggered back as they caught sight of Gabe's bloody arm.
He drew himself over Quistis' prostrate form, kneeling down, close to the wound.
Gabe raised his left arm, now cut to ribbons, and let the blood flow into the opening.
Immediately, the liquid metal imbedded in Quistis began to react, writhing and churning.
Quistis began to breath sporadically, screaming again in agony. Again Squall could do nothing more than hold her down.
Gabe let the rivulets of his blood stream into Quistis' body, then he drew out another knife of ivory bone. He placed it in his numb left hand, holding the other one with his right.
He then did the last thing anyone expected him to do...he plunged the knives into Quistis' body...
The knives, bloody from Gabe's arm, struck into the writhing liquid metal. With shaking hands, Gabe began to attack the mass, drawing it slowly out of Quistis' body with his the knives.
Slowly but surely, the metal withdrew from Quistis, slowly keying onto the bone knives. It began to surround the bloodied portions, bits reaching for Gabe's tattered arm, as if hungry for his blood.
Now Siren, thought Gabe.
Prepare yourself, came the GF's reply.
A dull glow began to emanate from Gabe's hands, surrounding the liquid metal, and immersing itself into Quistis as if tangible, leaving an aura over everything it touched. She stopped thrashing, her body going lax.
Gabe quickly withdrew his hands from inside Quistis, drawing the last of the liquid metal out with him, "the rest of it! Now! Seal her up!"
Selphie and Rinoa reacted instantly, throwing the remaining wash in the medical kit into Quistis' body, sterilizing it.
Irvine followed behind them, pulling the scalpels from her sides, closing up the open wound.
Rinoa quickly summoned her most powerful healing spells, sealing up the wound. Quistis was safe from whatever effects the bullet had wrought...but she still wasn't breathing...
"Damn it Quistis," whispered Squall, pushing with all his might, "don't die on me now...fight it...show me what you taught me..."
He stopped pumping, long enough to return to her cold lips, trying desperately to force her back to the land of the living...
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a dirge called itself to mind...
Life is precious...it will not wait, no matter how hard you hold on...it escapes you...
'Not today,' swore Squall.
Gabe was now thrashing back and forth like a man possessed. He gripped at his bloody arm, which the liquid metal was, it seemed, trying to swallow. The metal was writhing along his arm, streamers of it reaching for his face and ribs.
He held his left arm out at full length, forcing his gloved right hand to push the metal back, "BURN IT! BURN IT NOW!"
Irvine and Zell looked at Gabe incredulously, not believing what they were seeing.
"Damn it!" shouted Gabe, wide eyed, "I'm not joking! Fire spell! Blast the thing off my arm!"
"Man," started Zell, "that's your own arm!"
Gabe would hear none of it, "if you don't do it now, it'll be my whole body! NOW! THERE'S NO TIME!"
And still everyone remained motionless. Gabe fell to the ground, trying his hardest to keep the pulsating mass on his arm away, pushing frantically with functioning hand.
"DAMMIT!" he shouted, "do it now! Or kill me yourself!"
Irvine slowly aimed his shotgun at Gabe's outstretched arm. He took one look at the bloody hand, covered with the viscous metal, and closed his eyes.
"Hyne forgive me..."
Then he fired, releasing a blast of pure fire at Gabe...
Author's Note: Don't ask me why, don't ask me how...don't even ask me if I'm still in my right mind. I was in some weird Halloween mood or something when I wrote this on Oct 31...jeez, you should have listened to the dream story I had...demons and stuff...
