Seifer was called down to Quistis' office early that morning. He had had a restless sleep the night before, and his eyes were intensely bloodshot. Another weekend had rolled by, the week increasing in stressfulness each day for Seifer. He hadn't spoken with anyone for several days since Rachel didn't accept Seifer's proposal to be her lover. Seifer spend the entire day in his room until it was too late for anyone to be out. Then he went and got a quick bite to eat.
He laid awake each night listening to messages on his answering machine from Rachel, begging for a call back. Cody also called, saying he didn't want to barge into his dorm because he was afraid he was going to get hurt, but he was concerned about Seifer. Selphie left a hang up message. Even Rinoa had called, but she left no message.
Seifer quickly threw on his Balamb Garden uniform, rumpled from being shoved underneath his bed. Luckily for Seifer, no one was in the hallways so he didn't need to talk to anyone. Either way, Seifer was almost unrecognizable because of his rumpled appearance. When he entered Quistis' office, she was startled.
"Seifer?" She asked in amazement.
"Yes," Seifer said in an exasperated tone, "What did you need?"
"I just called you in to say that Mason is in great shape. He's accepting visitors over in the Dollet hospital." Quistis said, adjusting her glasses and looking at some sort of notice.
"Really?" Seifer asked in excitement, "Is a train leaving for there anytime soon?"
"Yes, in two hours," Quistis responded, "You may want to get ready."
"Can do," Seifer said, "Thanks." He got out of his seat and was about to leave, when he stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly and walked back up to Quistis' desk.
"What?" Quistis asked, looking up. Seifer took the small music box out of his pants pocket, placing it on the desk. Quistis looked at him in surprise, but Seifer just left without an explanation. Quistis wound up the music box, hearing the music that she knew all too well. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't cry. She quickly placed it in her lap so nobody would see it.
When Seifer returned back to his bedroom, he saw Rachel knocking helplessly on his door.
"Seifer, I know you're in there!" She yelled, rapping on his door, "Just open up. I have to talk to you." Seifer walked in front of his door, ignoring Rachel, and punched in the code. Before Rachel could speak, Seifer was in his door and he slammed the door shut right in front of her face.
"Seifer!" Rachel exclaimed, "My shirt got caught in the door!" Seifer sighed, walking back to the door and opening it a crack. Rachel grabbed the door and pushed it open, holding it with one of her tall, plastic sandals.
"Seifer, talk to me!" Rachel demanded through clenched teeth. Seifer pushed the door on her sandal, but it wouldn't budge.
"What do you want?" Seifer asked angrily.
"I need to talk, just let me in." Rachel said, trying to push the door open. Seifer pushed it back.
"Seifer stop this! What did I do to deserve this?" She asked painfully. Seifer looked at her blankly.
"I'm just not in the mood right now, Rachel," Seifer said, "Now please move."
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Seifer, I really am," Rachel pleaded, "But you have to talk to someone! Even if it's not me."
"I don't have to do anything." Seifer replied listlessly.
"I just want you to be happy." Rachel said, "Anyway, I'm going to see Diehard today when the train gets in. Please come with me."
"I was going anyway, but not with you." Seifer sad coldly.
"Fine." Rachel replied angrily, moving her sandal and letting the door get slammed in her face.
Seifer was ready for the train just before it left. He was wearing his usual overcoat and black pants with his blue vest underneath. In his hand was a small black bag where Seifer had prepared a present for Diehard. He had his favorite beer (since Diehard was so particular) and his favorite shirt from his dorm. He entered the train and saw Rachel and Cody on it. Selphie had wanted to go, but Quistis said it would be too much of a trek with her crutches. She had given Cody a camera and demanded he take pictures, but Cody dropped it in a waste basket before he got on the train. No one had heard anything from Summer.
"Hey there stranger," Cody said, "Where've you been, man?"
"Just busy with stuff." Seifer replied, putting on fake happiness for Cody. He could tell Rachel didn't buy it.
"What's in the bag?" Rachel asked, crossing her legs.
"Stuff for Diehard." Seifer said softly, placing the bag at his feet.
"What sorta stuff?" Cody asked.
"Just got him his favorite beer and a shirt to wear instead of that stupid hospital shit they give you." Seifer responded, leaning back on his seat.
"How nice of you." Cody said with a strange voice that was probably imitating something, for Rachel giggled.
"So what are you going to say to him?" Rachel asked.
"I'm not sure." Seifer responded, looking at his lap, "Didn't think about it much."
"Seifer, why are you mad at me?" Rachel then asked, standing up in front of Seifer.
"I'm not fucking mad at you!" Seifer yelled at her, standing up. He was taller than her, but she was pretty tall herself for a woman. Her large plastic sandals also helped her get some lift.
"Then why do you keep treating me as if I did something wrong?" She asked angrily. She then turned to Cody, making a face of disgust. "Stop staring at my ass you perv."
"What?" Cody asked, placing his hands up like she was pointing a gun at him.
"You were there, I was angry," Seifer yelled back, getting her attention. He then let his body sulk down.
"And I'm sorry for treating you badly." Seifer said softly. He moved to sit back down in his seat, but Rachel stopped him. She placed her hands on his face and kissed his lips softly.
"Whoa baby!" Cody exclaimed, "What did you guys do last night?" Rachel looked over at Cody and gave him a dirty look. Seifer sat back down. He looked at Cody and tried to figure out how his friendship could fit in between the love he felt for Rachel and the love he was trying to prevent from Diehard. Rachel sat back down next to Seifer. Seifer looked at her and Cody just about disappeared.
"I'm willing to take you back," Rachel said softly, "If you'll stand to be with someone like me."
"I'll rough it." Seifer said, smiling. Cody was silent, obviously feeling disjointed from Seifer's relations with the girl. Rachel looked down guilty at her stomach. Seifer placed a hand to it.
"I don't care, Rachel."
Once in Dollet, Rachel went ahead to use the bathroom. Cody and Seifer walked together, and Seifer explained all about what happened with Rachel and him.
"It totally makes sense," Cody said, revived by being included by Seifer, "You and Summer would have never worked out."
"What makes you say that?" Seifer asked, walking with his hands in his pockets.
"Well," Cody said, demonstrating with his hands, "Summer is pretty, but like many pretty girls, she's shallow. Rachel seems to really like you for who you are. Also, Summer's the kind of materialistic-serious-afraid-of-commitment type. Rachel and you are really similar. Well, they say opposites attract..."
"Who knows?" Seifer said, looking up at the sky. It looked as if it was going to rain and the clouds were on the verge of pouring.
"If you haven't noticed yet, I don't." Cody said.
The hospital where Diehard was staying was very large and intimidating. There was a glass dome on the top of the entrance that must have been forty feet high. The place looked more like a palace than a hospital, but from the outside it looked just like a regular medical building. The façade of the building was built so that the dome was hidden, as to not draw attention to the building.
"Diehard gets the best hospitals, eh?" Cody asked, looking up at the dome.
"But he's not rich or nothing." Rachel said in her soft voice.
There was a nurse who greeted them at the door, insisting they continue on instead of gawking at the dome. She was a short lady with bleached blonde hair like that of an aging waitress. She was a very jolly woman who operated a lot like a 'Stepford wife' would.
"Your friend is recovering very fast," the nurse said, "We at the hospital have been making a herculean effort to be back on his feet." Cody nudged Seifer, mouth the word 'herculean?' Seifer shook his head, not bothering to tell him what it meant.
"Look at all these rooms," Rachel said looking at the hallway they were walking down that was lined with doors, each having a medical clipboard in a built-on folder, "What could possibly go on in all of them?"
"Well, we do many cosmetic surgeries here, miss," The nurse said without turning back, "This is actually the plastic surgery wing. It got so popular that a rich benefactor gave us money to build the wing. Imagine that, huh?"
"Yeah." Rachel said softly, looking down at her chest.
"A lot of tit jobs must be done here." Cody said, his hands on his head as he stretched. Seifer elbowed him.
"Not cool." Cody said, grabbing his stomach. Rachel looked forward to not attract attention to herself. Her hair fell cutely in front of her shoulders as it usually did, curled at the ends with clips on the top of her hair. She had a small bag that was candy pink like her shoes, banging against her leg each time she walked. The purse was as large as it was pink, but it looked cute on her, Seifer had to admit.
"Ah, here we are." The nurse said cheerily, opening the door. The three went to go in, but the nurse blocked the way. "Only one at a time, I'm sorry I didn't say that before." She chuckled off.
"You can go in first, Cody boy." Seifer said, slapping his shoulder playfully. He nodded, going in. Seifer and Rachel could hear Cody greet Diehard with a large, "What up!"
"Weren't you afraid you were going to grow more after you got those?" Seifer asked, looking at Rachel. Rachel closed her eyes, leaning against the wall.
"I didn't care," Rachel said, "I wanted to be pretty quick. And luckily there's been no problem with them yet. They actually got a little bigger than I wanted them because I grew in addition. The doctors were scared I would get some complications, but I never did."
"Oh," Seifer said.
"Would you have noticed me if they were gone?" She asked sadly.
"Yes." Seifer said, "Because I love you, not the silicone." Seifer smiled at Rachel.
"Even though they're not so bad." He said, making Rachel smile.
"Shut up, Seifer." Rachel said with a smile on her face. Cody came out of the room, presenting Seifer and Rachel.
"He's all yours." Cody said. Seifer moved to go, by Rachel grabbed his hand. Her eyes were welled up with tears.
"You can come with me." Seifer said, looking at Cody even though he was speaking to Rachel. Cody nodded in approval.
"That nurse isn't going to throw any punches." Cody said laughing to himself. Rachel and Seifer went in slowly. Rachel's hand was clasped hard on Seifer's for support.
"Seifer! Rachel!" Diehard said softly, grunting as he sat up in his hospital bed. Rachel let go of Seifer's hand and ran to Diehard, embracing him tightly.
"I'm so glad to see you," Rachel cried, "How are you feeling."
"Pretty good," Diehard said, embracing her back, "The doctor says I'll be good in a few days." Rachel then moved back, embarrassed about how long she had been hugging her friend. Seifer then approached Diehard, placing his hands on Diehard's shoulders and kissing him softly on his face. Rachel wasn't fazed.
"Seifer I've missed you the most," Diehard said softly, "I'm so glad you're here." Seifer wrapped his arms around Diehard's body as best as he could.
"You stupid bastard," Seifer said softly, "I was so fucking scared for you."
"We all were." Rachel chimed in, leaning against the wall of the small room's wall.
"I was reckless," Diehard said, "And I guess I paid for it." Seifer moved back from him, remembering the black bag he had left on the floor.
"Uh, I got you something." Seifer said softly. He reached over to grab the bag, then handing it to Diehard. Diehard removed the items with a fond smile on his face.
"Oh, man," He exclaimed happily, his voice a little raspy, "Thanks a lot, Seifer." Diehard held his shirt close to him, smelling it deeply.
"I missed you!" Diehard said to his shirt, hugging it tightly, "So how are the rest of them? Selphie? Summer? Jaquel and Samuel?" Rachel became quiet, crossing her arms.
"What?" Diehard asked when Seifer and Rachel didn't say anything. Seifer knelt down to be eye to eye with Diehard.
"Jaquel never recovered." Seifer whispered softly.
"Oh." Diehard said softly to himself, lying back in his bed. Rachel sighed, but she didn't cry. Just as Diehard was about to say something, there was a soft rumbling felt in the room underneath the soldiers' feet. The rumbling continued to grow in intensity with every passing second.
"What's going on?" Cody asked, going inside the room. Seifer looked at the window next to Diehard and saw that rain was pounding on it very heavily, unusually heavily. Seifer went to the window to see, but just as he reached it there was a loud crash of glass. Rachel looked out in the hallway to see that the dome had broken under the pressure of gallons and gallons of water that had stored in the short time they were there, and the water was pouring at an alarming rate into the hallway.
"What's wrong?" Diehard asked when he saw Rachel's face go white. She quickly shut the door and sealed it with a magic spell.
"It won't last long, but maybe it will be over by then." Rachel said, placing her back up against the door.
"What won't last long, what's going on?" Seifer asked, walking away from the window. Suddenly, there was a loud rush of sound and the door began to go backwards into the room. Rachel let out a cry of fear as the door began to give way under the pressure of the water.
"Did the dome break?" Seifer then asked in fear.
"Luck guess." Rachel grunted as she tried to keep the door shut. Seifer and Cody backed up against the door, trying to hold it closed. They heard the rushing of the water that sounded like a whole ocean had flooded the area.
"How did all that water get in there?" Rachel asked in fear.
"Water?" Cody asked in surprise.
"The dome broke under the pressure of an ocean full of water. No amount of rain could have caused this." Rachel said. She gave a dramatic look at Seifer, "Do you think this is the work of a sorceress?"
"No," Seifer said, "Possibly a monster, but not a sorceress. They can't control seas to my knowledge."
"I heard different," Diehard suggested, "I heard only high degree ones can."
"There hasn't been a high degree one seen anywhere in the mapped area for centuries." Rachel said struggling to keep the door closed, as were Cody and Seifer were.
"Didn't you magically seal it?" Seifer asked.
"That only increases the strength on the door, my magic isn't advanced enough to full proof seal it," Rachel grunted, "And even if I did, the air would be sealed also, so we'd suffocate." Seifer flashed a glance at the window, which had water to a halfway mark.
"Unseal the door!" Seifer yelled.
"What?" Cody panicked, "Are you crazy?"
"The window is going to break and send water rushing in here. We've got to get out!" Seifer yelled.
"But what are we going to do, the water will swallow us!" Rachel said. Diehard remained silent. Seifer looked at him in horror.
"Can you walk?" He asked Diehard.
"Yes, but not for extended periods." Diehard said.
"Ok, you probably won't need to walk at all," Seifer said, "Just walk over here to the door. We're going to let it go and we'll have to swim for it." Rachel began to cry, the door hard on her back.
"Don't cry," Seifer said softly, "We need you to be strong for us." She nodded, sniffling. Diehard hopped his way over to a place where Seifer had brought him a shirt. He also found a pair of jeans, though he didn't know who they belonged to. He threw on his shirt that Seifer had given him so that he wasn't bare-chested.
"The bandage could rip off if the water is as strong as it seems." Diehard said. Seifer stripped off his jacket and belt, giving them to Diehard. Diehard put on Seifer's coat, then tightened the bet across his waist.
"Ok, ready?" Seifer asked, looking at his team. Water started to fill up the room, coming down from the vents. The window looked weak against the water, and no sooner did Seifer let the door push in did the window give way. The rushing water took control of the four students, forcing them all the way down the long halls. Seifer lost contact with everyone except for Diehard. He had grabbed his belt, and then fastened his palms underneath so he was hooked on. He couldn't see that well underwater, so he waited for the intensity of the water's rushing to go down before attempting to look around. Diehard could see. Seifer could only tell because he felt Diehard navigating. Eventually, the water seemed to go down in intensity, but only because the group had fallen out of a large broken window out of the hospital. Seifer and Diehard could now swim, and they looked at the town that was suddenly overcome by a flood. Water was not very high outside, but as the water poured in from the hospital, the level was rising. People were running all over the town, looking for some type of shelter.
"This place isn't even on the ocean," Cody said in confusion, "Where is the water coming from?" With those words, the four soldiers looked up and saw a large monster sending water into the Hospital at a fast speed.
"That's the Transdekka!" Diehard shouted, "I thought that was a myth!" The monster was a long, snake-like monster with a smooth looking body. It was a deep blue, except for large crystals that lined its neck, in all different colors. It's head was large and it had two deep black eyes. On the sides of its heads were what looked like underdeveloped wings. It's body was covered in yellow spots that were dulled by the rain. Its mouth was long and sharp, its teeth showing as it shot the water from its mouth.
"Say what?" Cody asked loudly.
"The Transdekka was a monster in a book I was reading in Garden," Diehard explained, "Its said that the monster was actually a sorceress who's heart was broken by another sorceress who was more powerful than she. The sorceress' feelings of hate and revenge began to get control of her, turning her into a huge monster. She killed the sorcerer and she hated herself for killing the man she loved, so the monster now destroys places where there are high emotions, wherever they may be."
"Then why a hospital?" Rachel asked.
"I guess sad people are here or something." Seifer proposed.
"Who cares about that!" Cody exclaimed, "What are we going to do?"
"Is there anything in that book that says how to kill it?" Seifer asked impatiently.
"There was a spell, but its purely fictional," Diehard said, "It doesn't exist in real life."
"Maybe it does under a different name." Rachel proposed.
"But it's a combination of spells, some real some not, but that was the final sealence that would kill the monster and return her to a sorceress again."
"What did they all do?" Rachel asked, noticing the water level was rising to her ankles. Suddenly, bits of the glass from the dome began to fall around the four soldiers.
"Run and duck for cover!" Diehard shouted, running to find some kind of shelter. The group began to run, narrowly avoiding the glass pieces as they fell. A large sheet fell in front of Rachel, causing her to scream.
"Come on!" Seifer yelled, grabbing Rachel's hand and dragging her far from the hospital. Seifer then looked back, lifting up Diehard and carrying him along since he saw that he couldn't walk very well. The group reached a sturdy looking bank building, and tried the door.
"It's locked!" Rachel yelled as she pulled on the door.
"Move," Cody demanded, using a magic power to break the lock of the door, "Paying attention in Quistis' class has its upsides."
The four ran into the bank, seeing that all the workers there were startled by the door's opening. Seifer shut the door tightly and sealed it with a magic spell, a little more advanced than what Rachel did, but barely sufficient.
"Who are you people?" A worker asked in terror.
"We're SeeD's from Balamb Garden," Diehard said, looking around the room, "Have you working internet access?"
"Y-Yes." Another worker responded. He got Diehard situated on a computer behind a desk.
"This is hardly the time for you to check your e-mail!" Cody exclaimed.
"I'm going to try to find information about the spells in the book. If I try to see ones with the same effects, they could help vanquish the beast."
"Don't make yourself sound like King Arthur." Seifer said coldly.
"Stop!" Rachel yelled, beginning to cry, "We've got to work together."
"RACHEL NO!" Diehard yelled as he saw a small tear fall down the side of her face. Suddenly, the building began to rumble. Rachel shrieked, grabbing on to Seifer's arm. The rumbling continued until the top of the building was ripped clear off, the Transdekka looking down at the group and all the workers around them.