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 seventeen: Blood Brothers -
Seifer snapped around and ran for Quistis' chamber. But when he arrived there he found her calm as ever in her bed. Relief flooded his heart as he realised it hadn't been her alarm.
He caressed her cheek and stroked her blond hair from her face.
"It's going to be alright, Quisty. I promise. You have to wake up, you have to. I'll protect you from anyone, as long as you wake up and return to me."
He placed a light kiss on her brow and smiled warmly. Only then did he realise there was still an alarm ringing. He looked out the window from his seat on the bed and watched curiously as the doctors went by. Curiosity got the better of him and he stood up, leaning over the bed to get a better look and the people running by.
Only when he saw Rajin pass by did he realise what was going on. He had forgotten about Fujin completely but now she was in danger he could feel his old protective feeling return to him.
He ran to the window, trying to get a better picture of the others. He didn't know what to do. Should he go? Or should he stay here with Quistis? Then he made up his mind and briskly walked towards the door. Just as he was about to close it behind him, a shattering sound made him turn around.
Next to the bedside table a flowerpot had fallen to the floor, broken into a million pieces. Seifer looked from the broken glass to Quistis and suddenly realised her arm had crashed it to the floor. She was awake…or something like that.
Overrun with happy tears he pulled her into a hug. At first she didn't respond, but then she opened her eyes. As soon as she knew where she was, she hugged him back.
A faint smile washed over her face when he released her.
"I thought you were…"
"I thought you were, too…" she whispered.
He pulled her back into the hug. "I was so afraid I had lost you…"
He cried softly, unable to explain his tears.
She whispered his name and hugged him tightly. But as their hug lasted longer, both of them slowly realised how quiet it had gone. No feet running, no voices…no alarm.
Seifer's grip tightened and turned into a cramped hold. He had to hold on to Quistis to realise what it meant. He was still alive and so was his love, but even after all these miracles, still one of his friends had had to die.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and held him close, not letting him pull back from the embrace.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "I truly am. She didn't deserve that."
"Her body has been ripped to pieces." Edea said quietly, holding on to Fujin's pale and cold hand.
Squall rested his hand on Edea's shoulder comfortingly. He felt slightly nauseated at the sight of this lifeless body. Lifeless, but whole.
"What do you mean?" he managed to say.
"Well, you see…" Edea began.
But at that moment the door opened. Seifer and Quistis entered the room, looking very weary and tired. Their sober faces showed they were grieving the situation, even though they had been spared themselves.
Quistis sat down in a chair near Ellone, seeking to stay in the background. She wanted to give Seifer the time to realise and process what he was seeing now.
"The doctor said she suddenly went rigid." Selphie said in a small voice. "Her body started to shake…it looked like there were electric shocks pulsing through her."
Seifer didn't look up from Fujin's face. Why was he having these feelings? He had wished her dead before. He had wished her gone so many times before. But as his eyes glided over this empty shell that had once been his friend, he realised that he wanted to turn back time.
A little cry escaped his lips as he closed his eyes to shut out the tears.
"They say she was thrashing around, her body shaking violently…she crashed onto the bed with such force that they were afraid she would…die…"
"And what did they do about it!" he suddenly roared.
Selphie jumped back, scared by him. She backed her way up to Squall, who placed his arm around her protectively.
"What did they do about it?" Seifer roared again. "Nothing! They just let her die! They just let her die!"
His shoulders were shaking as he turned around. Inside him, he could feel his anger rising. He needed to let it out if he didn't want to burst.
He looked at the others. How could they just sit there? Didn't they feel sorrow? Or regret? His friend was dead! This wasn't how it was supposed to be!
How could he be happy when there was someone dead? Fujin wasn't meant to die. She had never deserved to die so young. If Fujin could just die like that, then what could happen to all of them?
"Seifer please…" Ellone tried, reaching out with her hand.
He shot her an angry glance. Suddenly she pulled her hand back with a cry of pain. Everyone looked at her as she breathed on her fingers.
"They're burnt…" she said quietly.
Immediately everyone looked at Seifer. Ellone turned around and ran into the corridor. He felt his anger sink away to make room for regret. He hadn't meant to hurt Ellone, it had just…happened.
But how?
"Ellone, wait!" he followed her, the others close behind him.
Edea rose form her seat next to Fujin's bed and walked up to Seifer out in the Hall. She took his hands and looked into his eyes.
"…I see."
"But how?" Ellone asked.
Quistis let out an aggravated sigh. "Am I the only one who doesn't understand? Fujin's dead. I felt myself die, but I'm still here. And now there's something wrong with Seifer. I don't understand what's going on!"
Edea took her shoulders and looked at her calmingly. "When we separated Fujin and her magic, her body resisted even though her mind wanted to give in. She clung to it so desperately that it ripped her insides to shreds. There was nothing any doctor could have done for her. Her body has been destroyed on the inside completely."
"Nothing could have healed her? What about magic? Couldn't a spell-"
"I'm afraid not." Edea said, shaking her head. "The damage done was too great for any kind of magic to heal. And I suppose her body realised that the magic was gone only moments ago. My guess is that her body was fighting to keep her alive, but that was a lost cause now the magic was gone. Nothing could have saved her."
"But…what about me? And what about Seifer?" Quistis asked. "I saw him die…and I felt myself die too."
"Seifer never died. He was wounded, yes. But he didn't die."
"…And me? I felt the magic…it was tearing at me, it was burning me. I know I died…then how come I am here?"
"Your body went into a state of shock, a state that feels close to dying. This was because the magic was too aggressive. Your body needed to get used to it. And the magic had to calm down before you could live with it in your body. What you felt dying was your mortal soul. Not that your immortal now…" Edea added with a weak smile. "But part of you is a mixture of something earthly and yet divine. You'll get used to it."
Quistis raised her hand to her chest. She could feel the magic burn within her, but it was calm, almost drowsy.
"Am I- are you going to freeze me now? I know I am a danger to you all if I stay free. I'll go willingly."
"Quistis, you can't!" Seifer suddenly shouted.
He rushed forward and grabbed her hand.
"You can't do that…not after all this. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you. But I won't let them freeze you!"
"Seifer…you know I must. I don't want to become like Adel…I don't want to let the power change me into something evil. You know I must go with them."
Squall coughed. "Actually, Quistis…you don't."
She looked up at him. "What? But what about the magic? I don't want to end up as a sorceress."
"You'll never be one. Fujin's magic didn't pass on to you completely. It…has been split." Edea said calmly.
"I thought hat was impossible…how-?"
Edea shook her head. "I…don't know. But when we transferred it from Fujin's blood to yours…apparently it was torn in two. Most of in entered you…but the rest entered Seifer."
"What!" Seifer said. "That's impossible! W- Wouldn't I know?"
But when he looked at the others for support they looked away.
"Selphie? Squall…Zell, come on. Ellone?"
But Ellone looked at the ground. At the mention of her name she looked him straight in the eyes meaningfully. He looked at her hand and felt all his hope melt away.
"Oh…"
"But how! How did it happen?" Quistis asked again.
Edea shook her head. "I don't know. I always believed it could only be transferred to one other person's blood. I guess I was wrong. I can't say what caused it."
Silence surrounded them. Seifer shivered and rubbed his arms. His fingers came across a thin, long scar on his arm. He looked at it and suddenly a flash of memories returned.
The pain of teeth piercing his arm…The blood spilling over his shirt…
Her voice screaming his name…
He gasped for air as he felt the pain soar through his body all over again. Quistis clamped herself to him.
"Are you aright?" she asked worriedly.
He focussed his eyes and smiled when he saw her.
"…I am…I think I know why it happened…"
He took her hand and traced her finger over the scar. She looked at him curiously for a moment, then it suddenly started to dawn on her.
"…You think so?"
"It's the only explanation." he said. "Why else would the magic have come to me?"
The others shuffled their feet uncomfortably.
"…I don't understand." Zell said quietly.
Quistis and Seifer looked up, still slightly dazed by their discovery.
"Edea, you said you transferred the magic to Quistis' blood…and that you didn't understand why it also came to me."
"But my blood…also runs through his veins." Quistis said.
The others looked at them confusedly.
"…You're not family, are you?" Zell asked, a hint of horror on his face.
Quistis shook her head. "No, it's not like that. We share the same blood because I gave him some of mine."
"I was in the infirmary when I was still in Balamb because a T-Rexaur had attacked me, remember?"
Slowly they began to remember. It had happened four months ago. An accident.
"I see…so when the magic was being transferred it got confused and split itself in two because it didn't know where to go." Edea said slowly.
"Two hosts for the magic…blood brothers, so to speak." Seifer took Quistis' hand and she gave him a soft smile.
It was over. At last.
He looked back at the door to Fujin's room with sadness. It was all over…but at the wrong cost. He knew he would never return to Dollet again.
Quistis squeezed his hand and led him away from the ward, wanting his grief to be short. She didn't want to see him suffer.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have saved her…no one could."
"But she was my friend…"
"She knew you cared. She cared for you too…but in the end…the magic controlled her. She had no choice…no choice or control anymore."
He looked at her as they left the building. "How…"
She raised her hand to her chest and placed it over the softly burning flame.
"I feel it…in here. Don't you? She wanted to stop it but couldn't. She wanted to protect you from harm."
Seifer looked at the trees as they made their way down the road.
"I don't understand why you speak of her so understandingly after she tried to kill you." he said quietly.
"Seifer…I'm blaming it on the magic and on her strong affections for you. I don't want to blame her anymore. I saw her face in the church, her true face. She loved you and I know what that feels like."
She stopped as she reached a banister looking out over the beach. She leaned forward, gazing into the distance. Seifer followed her and placed his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close.
"She meant a lot to me…before she changed. But she could never have been to me what you are, and what you always will be. I loved her as a friend, but I love you as so much more."
Quistis gazed out over the ocean. "We'll go home soon. Are you…coming with us?"
He leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'll follow you wherever you go. So, yes, I'm coming with you. I couldn't stay here…not after all this. It would remind me of her, all of it. I would constantly remind myself, blame myself. She was my friend…"
Quistis faced him. "She was your friend. But it was not your fault. Nor hers. She couldn't control it any longer and that was why she died. But I think she doesn't blame you. She knows it wasn't your fault."
Seifer looked away, letting his eyes glide over the waves. "…Do you remember…the cottage we had imagined?"
She smiled softly. "I never forgot."
"Perhaps…we could go there…"
She smiled and kissed him. He wanted to kiss her back but she pulled away, smiling.
He looked at her curiously but she shook her head and cuddled up in his arms, placing her ear over his heart. She closed her eyes contently and let his warmth wash over her as the calm rhythm of his heartbeat slowly synchronised with hers.
The End
Tadaa! That was it! No more chapters and no more revelations. I really felt happy when I wrote the ending, feeling I had finally written a proper ending to what started as Bittersweet Goodbyes. I hope you all liked it and I want to hank each and everyone of you very much for always being such faithful and good reviewers :) It's always a good feeling to know your writing is being appreciated by a bunch of people who keep reading it straight to the end.
Dark Angels: Don't worry, Quisty and Seifer finally have their happy ending, the one they deserved for such a long time. Thank you for all the great reviews!
LadayKadaj: Hmm, saving both of them would have been too happy, in my opinion. Glad you might go and read Bittersweet Goodbyes, though let me warn you that the lay-out and the spelling isn't as good as this one was. Please don't let it put you off, it's just that I wrote the prequel a longer time ago and my spelling is still improving :) Thank you for reviewing even though you joined the story at such a late point!
Firess Ifrit Devil; I hope that you got to read this before you went on holiday. I know how it can suck to have to wait a long time before being able to read something. That's why I updated before I went away on holiday. I hope you enjoyed the story and I am very happy that you stuck with it to the end.
JadeAlmasy: As far as I know, you've enjoyed every single chapter and that makes me very happy indeed. I hope you liked the ending too, because endings are always the trickiest bit of a story. Thank you for always leaving a review!
Matron Raenee: Yup, his excuse was shit. But I learned to love with it ;) I mean, it's not as if it's going to be any different if his excuse was good. Ad this happened half a year ago so no more worrying about that for me nn I'm glad you liked the story and that you also stuck with it to the end. Thank you for all your kind reviews.
It might be a while before I post another FFVIII story because, even though I'm writing one now, I'm a little stuck. Darn those writer's block things! And apart from that, I promised someone I'd post an HP fic first, called 'For Old Times' Sake.'. But if I do eventually get to post another FFVIII fic I hope to see some or perhaps all of you there too! Thanks again for all the reviews!
Love, Raven55