Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything related to FFVIII, all I own is the plot.
- Chapter sixteen: Slumbering Sorcery -
Selphie screamed. She watched the limp body of Fujin collapse to the ground, but the energy that remained in the air scared her most. She closed her eyes as it pierced Quistis' chest, not wanting to see her die too.
Edea behind her had straightened up again, continuing her chant.
"Matron, stop. You'll harm yourself." she pleaded.
But Edea shook her head. "I can still help her. If I can just calm it down…"
"Edea!"
"It'll tear her apart!"
At the other end of the hall, Ellone stumbled back up as well. Their voices were the only ones heard in the hall apart from Quistis' screams.
Selphie looked at Squall and Zell desperately but they looked back helplessly. There was nothing they could do now.
Selphie's eyes avoided the horror in front of her, but only to discover another one on the floor. She rushed forward and fell to her knees next to Seifer.
He was breathing heavily, specks of blood at the corners of his mouth. His uniform was drenched with the crimson fluid and his face was pale.
"Seifer…don't die…you can't."
He smiled weakly. "…Se- Selphie…it's too late…"
His face contracted in excruciating pain.
"I'm…already dead…" he whispered
Selphie bit her lip and leaned her head on his shoulder. She knew it was true. He, too, would lose his life if he wasn't helped.
"Damn it…Curaga!"
The blue sparks ran across his body and danced into his wounds.
"Selphie…it's too late." he coughed.
She wanted to cry. She wanted to say something, anything to console him. But her mind was empty and her energy gone. She couldn't think of anything.
She turned her head away to hide her tears.
Suddenly she was smashed to the ground by a bright flash of light. She heard Seifer scream. A cry of pain, a cry of a dying man.
She sobbed. Three of her friends had died today.
The hall was quiet. Only Selphie's sobs pierced the silence. Squall looked around at the destruction around him. Large chucks of plaster had fallen from the ceiling. Corpses of soldiers and civilians littered the floor.
He leaned on his thin blade, gasping for breath. He looked up to see Zell carrying Ellone to a chair. They avoided each other's eyes. Squall slowly walked up to the altar. He leaned down and pulled Selphie up.
"It's over, Selphie."
But his words were lost in her flow of tears and he found his own voice wavering as well.
"Squall!"
He looked up at Zell. Zell was helping Edea through the rubble. He looked up at Edea's tired and worn-out face.
"They're all…aren't they?"
But before Edea could answer, a sudden string of coughs pierced the room.
Selphie stopped crying abruptly, holding on to Squall a little tighter with frightened eyes. Zell rushed over to the body on the ground carefully.
"Seifer?" he asked carefully.
Seifer opened his eyes slowly, confused that he opened them at all.
"Z- Zell? What-"
But Zell shook his head. "Come on."
He helped him up and supported him towards the others. Seifer looked at Squall questioningly, but he was too dazed to see Squall's serious expression.
"Get him out of here." Squall said quietly.
Zell nodded and walked Seifer to the door. Selphie watched them disappear and glanced back at Squall.
"…Are we…going to leave them here?" she said with difficulty.
"Of course not." Squall said, releasing her from his embrace. "We're not leaving them behind, even if they're…"
He walked away hurriedly so he did not have to finish that sentence. He leaned down on the ground next to Quistis for a moment before picking her up into his arms.
"I'm sorry for everything." he whispered.
But his whispers were lost in the sound of rubble being thrown aside.
Rajin had freed himself from beneath the rubble and gasped for fresh air. He looked at them wildly, but then searched the ground for the body of his friend.
Selphie could see the tears in his eyes when he saw Fujin's body on the ground. He took her in his arms and cried into her shoulder.
He looked back at them and then saw Squall holding Quistis.
"…I didn't...I never meant for them to…" he swallowed difficultly. "Follow me. I'll show you to the-"
"They do now need a graveyard." Edea interrupted.
"At least not yet." she added when the others looked at her. "There is still a chance we can save them. The magic-"
"The magic is what killed them! Can't you see they're dead?" Squall said roughly.
He brushed past them and moved towards the door. But Rajin cut him off.
"Follow me." he said quietly. "If Edea says so, then I will bring you to a hospital."
"How are you feeling?" a gentle voice asked.
Seifer groaned and looked up at the soft face of the nurse. He grunted. The nurse just smiled and gave him his tray with breakfast.
He sat up and looked around. He didn't know this room. It was cold and white and he felt a stranger left on his own.
He took the tray and placed in on his knees. The buttered toast looked up at him but he wasn't hungry. The mere thought of food or water made him want to throw up.
He squinted and tried to focus on the other things in the room aside from his bedside table. It wasn't empty as he had thought moments ago. His bed was surrounded by curtains, separating him from the rest of the room.
He could hear soft muttering on the other side of the curtain. He crawled out of bed, feeling uncomfortably underdressed in his white hospital shirt. His bare feet made a flat patting sound as he slowly stumbled around the curtain.
He saw his friends look up at him from their seats. Their faces were tired and worn-out. Rajin looked unusually pale and he sat with his head between his knees.
Zell stopped patting Rajin's back, who was coughing terribly, and looked up too. An awkward silence surrounded them. No one knew what to say.
Selphie got up and ran towards him, hugging him tightly. He felt her shoulders shake and he pushed her away to look in her eyes. She was biting her lip to keep herself from crying uncontrollably.
Seifer looked at her questioningly but no one spoke or answered his silent question. He allowed himself to be brought back to his bed by the nurse. But before he could be tucked in, he finally managed to force a sound from his throat.
It was a pathetic little croak, but it made all his friends look up.
"Seifer? Oh, thank Hyne! We thought you were in some sort of trance!" Selphie piped.
"You've been asleep for days…" Zell said quietly.
Seifer looked at them. "…Where am I?"
"You're in a hospital in Dollet. But you'll be okay. The doctor said you would be if you woke up." Selphie answered as she passed him his glass of water.
Seifer took a sip to please her but he had to force the liquid down his throat.
"…And where is Quistis? Where are Fujin and Quistis?"
The others suddenly quieted down and their relieved smiled faded slightly.
"Selphie?"
But she looked away, rubbing her arms uncomfortably.
He looked at Squall. His sombre and frowned face scared Seifer. They all looked as if Quistis and Fujin were dead. But they couldn't be, could they?
"Tell me they're aright, please tell me they're okay." he pleaded.
"Seifer…they're-"
"Zell!" Selphie said warningly.
But Zell ignored her. "They're in the IC ward…"
Seifer jumped up from his bed before the others knew what he as doing. He stumbled out the door. He looked at the signs on the ceiling, making his way to the ward where both girls would be.
He burst though the door and looked around wildly.
He found himself in another corridor. Large windows enabled him to look into the rooms. Some curtains were drawn, but he found Quistis' room soon enough.
He let out an involuntary whimper as he saw her motionless body on a bed. She looked so pale and weak. It nauseated him to see the tubes that went in her nose and arm. He placed his hand on the window, hoping she'd wake up to tell him everything would be alright.
But her eyes staid shut and her face remained emotionless.
A hand on his shoulder made him turn around.
"Come…She'll wake up. But not while you're staring at her."
"Squall…do you really think she'll wake up? And if she does, will it only be to have her frozen like Rinoa and Adel? She's a sorceress now, isn't she…"
"Well…not quite…" Squall said hesitantly.
But before he could explain, a loud and high-pitched alarm made them look up with fright.
A heartbeat monitor had gone flat.
Hehe, mean aren't I. Another lovely cliff-hanger to keep you all on the edge :P
Firess Ifrit Devil: I'm glad the finger is healing. It would suck if you'd have to go on holiday with a cast on. It takes away a lot of holiday fun, doesn't it. I made sure Seifer is okay, I couldn't make him die…he starts to grow on you when you write a story about him, doesn't he. Doesn't matter if he's a good guy or a bad guy, he grows on you. That's why so many people liked him in the game too nn
Matron Raenee: Cool, one of the best chapters? Hell Yeah! Woohoo. Sorry, that just makes me happy a lot :) I'm really, really sorry about your girlfriend, because love can be one heck of an evil thing. It took me a few months to get over my last boyfriend who broke up with me because 'we were too much alike'. That was his excuse. Well, it felt really good to me to know that even one of his best friends thought that was the lamest excuse ever. So like I said, love can be one heck of an evil thing.
JadeAlmasy: Glad you like the drama! And no, Seifer's still alive. Like I said to Firess Ifrit Devil, a character like his starts to grow on you and you can't get rid of him that easily. Somehow bad boys are always the ones the girls like most from a game. Though that didn't really work in FFX….Seymour isn't really the kind of guy you'd prefer above Tidus….I remember think he was a really badly disguised bad guy first time I saw him when my brother was playing FFX…
Kitty Malone: I am really flattered that you said that you thought this fits in with the Final Fantasy series. I didn't necessarily try to write it like that, but I did want an ending with an edge to it. You need an ending battle for a story like this. Glad you like it!
Dark Angels: Well, this wait had to be humane, didn't it? This must be one of my fastest updates! I wanted to update last night but we went out for dinner unexpectedly so I couldn't. Hope this chapter was interesting enough as well ;)
Well…there is only one more chapter to go! And I hope to explain everything there is left to explain in that one. So please be really sweet reviewers and stick with me to the very end of that last chapter yet to come. I'll update soon, I think. Definitely before the 21st, so please review and then I'll update as soon as possible!
See you guys soon!
Love, Raven55