Legacies: Chapter 22
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own FF8. But I do own this story.
Irvine wasn't an expert marksman for nothing. The blast hit Gabe square in the arm. It was close enough to fry the liquid metal, but not close enough to hit the rest of him.
The flames surrounded the writhing mass, and the pulsating substance actually gave off what sounded like...a scream...
Slowly, it disintegrated, lifting from Gabe's arm like a layer of dust. The metal crumbled, vanishing into the air.
Immediately, Gabe crumpled over, cradling his left arm, rolling on the street, to smother the remaining fire. Once the flames were out, he curled up, bringing his arms and legs close to him, as he shuddered from shock.
Meanwhile, Squall was continuing the CPR, alternating between the breathing and the heart pumping. Rinoa continued to cast her best healing spells.
Squall brushed back errant strands of hair from his eyes, staring frustrated at Quistis. He breathed into her lips once more, praying to any deities that would listen. But no response came from Quistis...
With an enraged yell, Squall beat down on Quistis' heart with all his might...
She let out a strangled grunt, and rolled to her side, coughing uncontrollably. Her entire body was aching...completely exhausted. Quistis' arms flew to her sides, as if she felt she would fall apart otherwise...
She rolled her face upwards, breathing harshly, "what..."
Squall rubbed his hands up and down her shoulders, trying to stop the shivering, "don't worry Quistis, you'll be alright."
Rinoa leaned against Squall's back, sobbing softly into his jacket.
Quistis only looked back at Squall, "are you...alright?"
Squall nodded jerkily, mouth set taut, "thanks to you, are you?"
Quistis smiled slightly, the blood still coloring her mouth.
"Squall," she whispered, before she closed her eyes.
"I'm so tired," she said.
Rinoa nodded, "rest, we'll get you home..."
She looked across the street, at Gabe. He opened his eyes long enough to look at her, an inquiring look in his eyes.
"She'll be alright," answered Rinoa.
Gabe nodded jerkily, closing his eyes shut once more, as he grimaced in pain and cradled his arm, shuddering uncontrollably.
Selphie drew up beside him, casting several healing spells.
"Whatever you just did..."
"I'll explain later," replied Gabe through clenched teeth.
Irvine drew up in front of the two, as did Zell and Leona.
"Dude," started Zell, "you are seriously screwed up...your arm..."
"Will heal," said Gabe, "just get us to someplace quiet, covered, and away..."
Irvine nodded, "you got it."
Leona shook her head in disbelief, "Gabe, what the hell just happened? Who were these people? What...what are you?"
Zell put his hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him, as Zell shook his head.
Leona nodded, understanding, and then finally broke down, sinking into Zell's arms and beating his chest with her fist.
Zell simply closed his eyes, caressing her back.
Officer Murdoch looked on the whole affair with understandable disquiet, thanking Hyne for the bliss of ignorance...
Gabe closed his eyes, talking to the voice in the back of his mind, thank you Siren, I'll never be able to repay you.
The crystalline voice laughed slightly, you are always welcome master. You did well. Now...get some rest...I will do what I can for your wounds.
He nodded, thanking her again.
Gabe opened his eyes and looked up at Selphie, letting out a wan grin, "I think I'm going to pass out now."
She smiled back, "you do that."
He nodded once, smiling again before tilting his head back and allowing the dark realm of sleep overtake him...
He woke up in an infirmary. Gabe could tell it was so, simply by virtue of the sterile white lights and checker-pattern ceiling that seemed to be the stereotype for such places.
He closed his eyes, letting them rest a bit longer, before opening them again, adjusting to the new light. He looked to the side, seeing small plants, and various medical devices. Gabe himself was lying on a cot, still wearing his padded vest and pants. The sun shone in through the window above his bed. He couldn't see anything else, since there was a screen to his left.
Gabe looked at his left arm, now bandaged from above his elbow to his knuckles.
He grunted, "well, that's not as bad as I'd thought it would be."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "so...where am I?"
A calm, quiet voice answered him, "how'd you know I was here?"
Gabe shrugged, "I'm psychic."
The female voice laughed, "oh really? Then what am I thinking?"
Gabe shook his head, "deciding whether I am crazy or not."
She sniffed, "okay wise guy, what is my name then?"
He furrowed his eyebrows, "if I had to guess, I'd say you were Dr. Kadowaki, am I correct?"
The doctor laughed again, "why can't all my patients be like you?"
She did a double take, her voice becoming serious, "scratch that. Zell told me what happened...why did you...?"
"Cut my arm?" asked Gabe, sitting up for the first time, facing the doctor.
She nodded.
Gabe looked down at his bandaged left arm, it felt just a little numb, with a slight burning sensation.
"Hmm...good work..."
"Thanks, I try."
He took another look around the room, taking in the desk where the doctor was sitting, the various computer arrays, flashing medical text and images. There were even a few more plants here and there.
"We couldn't seem to remove your padded vest," said the doctor.
He nodded, "you weren't meant to be able too..."
Gabe looked at Dr. Kadowaki, a heavy-set, motherly looking woman. Glasses rimmed her calm eyes, and she looked back at him with a degree of interest and uncertainty.
He sniffed, "I have a question to ask."
"Only one?"
He grimaced, "where is Quistis? How is she?"
The doctor returned a somber look, "she's...resting..."
"Can I see her?"
Kadowaki nodded, pointing to the area behind the curtain that Gabe could not see, "she's right there."
Gabe nodded, getting himself up from the bed, slowly getting to his feet. His head swam a bit as he raised himself up to his full height. But soon it was gone. He let his left arm hang dead at his side, as he slowly hobbled to the other side of the curtain.
Quistis was lying motionless on her cot. IV lines were running from her arms, dripping various colored solutions into her body. Her eyes were closed, and her face set in a bit of a grimace. Her brow was sweaty, strands of her hair clinging to it.
"Whatever happened to her," explained the doctor, "it will take a while for her to pull out of."
Gabe nodded, "she'll be under careful watch until she wakes up?"
Kadowaki grunted in assent.
He allowed himself to slump into a chair, resting his face in his right hand, his left hand in his lap.
Taking a deep breathe, he continued, "that bullet she took...it was meant for a sorceress."
"I gathered as much," replied Kadowaki.
Gabe continued, "it keys onto energy signatures. Very few magic sources are as powerful as a sorceress. Greymalkin warned me that the Illuminati might try something like this. He taught me how to counter it...I just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon..."
"So why your blood?" asked the doctor, "why not...say...Rinoa's, why not Squall's?"
Gabe sniffed, "if I had used Rinoa, she would have been the victim of attack, and there would have been no way to pull the bullet out. I was the only one who knew what was going on. Plus, I still had more magic running through my system than Quis."
She nodded, "so the task fell to you."
"Just so..."
"You know," he said, looking pointedly at a mirror at the far end of the room, "it insults my intelligence that you think I am not aware of what is going on...come on out."
A few seconds later, the door to the infirmary opened.
Zell walked in, "how?"
Irvine trailed after him, "come on Dincht, he's a spy, it's his job..."
Gabe laughed a bit.
Several more moments produced Squall, Rinoa, and Selphie. The SeeDs each took up seats at the far end of the room, facing Gabe. Dr. Kadowaki remained standing, arms crossed.
"We've had enough," said Squall, "what happened last night?"
Gabe raised an eyebrow, "I've only been out one night? Hmph..."
He took in each of their looks, and nodded, sighing before he began.
"From what Greymalkin told me, the Illuminati are an underground organization. They follow another Sorceress."
Squall raised an eyebrow, "Sorceress?"
Gabe nodded, "don't ask me details...Grey will be able to tell you."
"And how exactly," asked Irvine, "do we contact him?"
Gabe sniffed, "Nida and I can get a hold of him."
"And who is Greymalkin?" asked Rinoa.
"That's a good question," he answered, "I'll ask him next time I see him. Apparently, he has a history with the Illuminati...that's all I can tell you..."
Squall leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin, as he looked at Rinoa, "how can we be sure they won't try something like this again?"
Gabe shook his head, "we can't...however...we won't have to worry about another one of those damned bullets for quite a while."
Selphie furrowed her eyebrows, "and why is that?"
He raised his good arm animatedly, "the nature of the bullet...it is very difficult to create. Grey assured me, once they used it...there would be no more for quite a while. Again, don't ask me why or how...something to do with spatial instabilities inherent in the mere existence of the bullet..."
Zell stood up, pacing back and forth at the far side of the room, "so we've got another Sorceress on our hands?"
"It seems so," answered Gabe, "but Grey told me she's also not yet able to manifest...looking for a power base or something."
"Does this have anything to do with the missing persons cases in Galbadia and Dollet?" asked Squall.
Gabe nodded, "very good...yes, Grey surmised as much."
He then threw his head in his right hand again.
Dr. Kadowaki interjected at this point, "okay kids, I'm sorry, but the patients need rest."
The SeeDs got up to leave, each walking by Quistis' bedside before exiting.
Squall was the last to leave, "how's the arm?"
Gabe flexed his left hand, wincing slightly as pinpricks of pain shot up his arm, "I won't be playing piano for a while yet, but I'll be fine. Thanks."
Squall nodded, "I'll set up a meeting with the President of Galbadia. In the meantime, look after her..."
Gabe turned to see Quistis again, lying still in her cot, "will do. Be careful, especially Rinoa."
Squall nodded, closing the steel door shut as he left.
Gabe pulled his chair closer to Quistis' bedside, taking her cold, unresponsive hand in his own. He sighed once more, looking into her eyes, wishing they would open, if only for a moment.
Dr. Kadowaki delicately interrupted him, "aren't you going to get any sleep?"
Gabe shook his head, "in a little while."
She nodded, "you know...Quistis was lucky you were there...thank you for bringing her back to us."
Gabe looked up, facing her.
Dr. Kadowaki looked into those hazel depths, seeing someone much like Squall, someone who would do anything for his friends, someone to be trusted. But at the same time...something was concealed within him as well...
"It may not seem like it, but we are all grateful."
He turned back to look at Quistis. The sun was shining on his face, making him feel warm. It shined on her as well, taking away a bit of her pallor.
'Hyne...that was too close...'
But we did it master, replied a crystalline voice.
Dr. Kadowaki studied him with critical eyes again. He seemed to be distant...his mind was elsewhere. There was something else going on here she didn't understand.
Gabe jarred her from her thoughts, "tell me doctor...what's she like?"
Kadowaki blinked once, "Quistis?"
He nodded, "what kind of person is she? She just...threw herself in front of that bullet...and she seemed so...sad..."
The doctor looked at Gabe uncertainly, then looked at Quistis. She smiled slightly before answering, "Quistis is the kind of person who just keeps on giving. She a rock, she's reliable. Ask any of the Treppies around Garden who idolize her, and they'll tell you stories about her that border on deification. Much the same with Squall. But he isn't like that...and neither is she."
Kadowaki sighed once, "Quistis is one of the most humble people I know, and one of the most sincere...she is also the saddest..."
Gabe turned away from Quistis, facing the doctor, "saddest?"
She nodded, "you see, she fell in love with Squall...everyone knows it...but then Squall met Rinoa and...well, she just had to move on..."
Gabe turned back to Quistis, "oh..."
The doctor continued, "she never begrudged Rinoa...she let things be...still, I don't think she...I don't know how to explain it..."
He shook his head, "you don't have to. I think I understand...she feels isolated...despite it all...she still feels alone."
Kadowaki nodded, rubbing her temples.
Gabe glanced at her sideways.
"Go ahead and get some rest doctor," said Gabe, "I know you are tired."
"What about Quistis?" she asked.
He shrugged, "I'm not going anywhere for a while, not with this arm...I'll be here."
She nodded, turning to leave the room. Gabe hobbled over to Quistis, as she closed the door.
Dr. Kadowaki smiled, "about time..."
Greymalkin smiled down at the unresponsive Quistis, "you'll be fine Quis, I promise."
She sighed in her sleep, her wince calming a bit, as he stroked her forehead.
Gabe breathed heavily, looking at the mirror on the far end of the room. What exactly was going on here?
He ran a hand through his hands, staring at the mirror again, looking at the reflection of his bandaged arm, thinking to himself, 'Greymalkin, who the Hell are you? And what in Hyne's name am I doing...?'
Kadowaki looked down the hall, seeing several Treppies pacing on the light golden marble floor, some leaning against the steel blue bulkheads.
"Okay kids," she advised, "Quistis will be fine, move along now, the poor soul needs her rest."
The student reluctantly obeyed. Kadowaki didn't bother locking the door behind her, no one would bother Quistis as she recuperated.
She continued to walk towards the cafeteria, a little more spring in her stride than had been for a long time.
Author's Note: Alright, that chapter was a bit more sane. More up next. Tell me what you think, thanks. It'll be a while before I post again, I want to get a few more chapters ahead before I do so, so see you wonderful people later!
