NOTE to Rinoa fans: I just want to make this loud and clear. You may not like what happens in this chapter, but note that Ms. Heartilly's not totally gone from this story! And I wrote this chapter out to make sense, so it's not a careless blood bath. Chapter 2 is written out to be gruesome and gory because…well… Didn't I tell ya that this story was dark from the very beginning when you looked in the main FF8 fic menu?! Lol.
Song lyrics used: "My Tourniquet" by Evanescence
Chapter 2: A Near Death Experience
My God, my tourniquet! Return to me Salvation…
Seifer, along with Marianne, looked ahead of them. Irvine and Squall had no choice but to look too, afraid by her terrified scream. By the loudness of her voice, she signaled that they were in deep shit if they didn't look. The upcoming event was an image that would haunt Marianne's mind in memory for a long time, if not forever.
Two monsters leapt off the building Marianne knew Squall and Irvine would climb. Most of their bodies looked like a huge iguana. Their back feet, lower back, and tail were that of a lion. Iguions. Yes, the name made sense. When they landed on the ground, they had ripped a young screaming woman in half as if she were made of paper. From there, the screaming came to an abrupt halt when a batch of her blood below the beasts splattered all over the sidewalk. "RINOA!!!" Seifer and Irvine screamed, instantly recognizing the figure that was now dead and eaten. Squall had a look of horror on his face, and looked away. This was such a terrible sight to see that his voice had temporarily left him, and almost felt like throwing up. This hit Marianne like a sledgehammer to the heart, which was beating so rapidly, as if it wanted to burst out of her chest and scamper down the street, straight out of the Alien movies she has seen on her home world.
I tried to kill the pain, but only brought more…
So much more…
She knew it was her fault in stopping Squall and Irvine from completing their mission. Her arrival had caused Rinoa's death. This was definitely beyond Marianne's control. It was like time speeding by, against this one person. She never wanted to be here in the first place. Edea was so wrong about her "desires." The witch only said that as an excuse! Marianne felt as if her heart leapt up to her throat, as if it were unable to break through the rib cage and planned on an escape route through the mouth. She may have been unable to speak, but her entire brain was screaming in the horror of it all.
Seifer and Irvine already decided it was time to run, seeing that the scared-as-hell crowd ahead were very smart, them seemingly dumbfounded at first. Squall stopped to get the girl who knew where Edea was. Marianne had frozen in fear, too afraid to move. Too afraid to even scream anymore. A fleeing pedestrian had knocked her backwards to the sidewalk. Leonhart instantly rushed over to help her up. He held a good grip of one of her hands as he led her away from the mouths of the Iguions. The heads reminded Marianne of Godzilla, for the nineties version movie monster, and once thought as fictional monsters had a close resemblance of each other.
Everyone, as in the crowd of the parade, Seifer, Marianne, Squall, and Irvine, seemed to be running towards the Deling City gate. Fear was sweeping over them like a plague and had taken control of their minds. Irvine and Seifer stopped in upon reaching the gate. Kinneas knew, or at least assumed that his fellow team members: Quistis, Zell, and Selphie, were inside. Seifer followed, hoping that the murderous monsters would realize they couldn't fit through the door that was much too small for them. Squall and Marianne went inside last, herself out of breath. Leonhart could see that she was really, really afraid. As he observed, she trembled, looking at him, not knowing what to think or say. Everything was whooshing by her so fast. And by a really big whoosh. If Squall hadn't led her to safety, no doubt at all the Iguions would have seen her as another snack item, and he would never know about what really happened to her and Edea. And that was all he was interested in…right? A part of him, deep down inside his own shell, burst on through to his brain, trying to tell him that this was not. Leonhart inwardly cursed himself for that.
Ever since he was thirteen and a half, he made a choice. A choice to control his own emotions, and lock them up inside of himself. Not wanting to be hurt anymore. Not wanting his own…feelings…to be wasted on someone or something else. He was hurt twice: being orphaned by his parents, who he suspected were dead. And by a girl who he looked up to as a sister. He was not going to be hurt again. Not anymore… This strange, frightened female had brought back the memory of being afraid so much as a young five year old. Bringing out a small part of him from his outer shell. Squall hated it. I don't ever WISH to be in her affairs. That will never happen. No matter how frightened or in how much danger she is, I only want to know what happened to her and Edea.
Irvine grabbed a hold of and rode the rising chain up to a frightened trio of comrades. "Irvine!! What the HELL is going on?!" demanded the spiked blond, a black tattoo on his left side on his face that looked like some kind of odd shaped and burnt up plant. Or a dark, shadowy monster… A curvy body, and jagged wings. Everyone inside the gate's walls felt the earthquake, signaling that the Iguions were very close by. "We have to get out of here!" a petite young woman with long golden blonde hair said for everyone up near the gate switch as they rode the nearby elevator down a level to meet up with Squall, Seifer, and Marianne, watching the walls in front of them beginning to crack. The monsters were going to make the gate collapse!
The group of human beings went outside, making the Iguions stop in using their front feet as battering rams against the other side of the wall. Irvine made the first move of the battle by drawing magic from one of them. A small squeak had erupted through Kinneas' mind. Was he imagining it? The squeak came again, and showed him an image of a creature. Something awfully cute and cuddly, pale blue green blubbery skin. A ruby was shown on its forehead. That's gotta be Carbuncle, the Galbadian cowboy suspected. Those boring GF lessons sure pay off in the long run…
"Let's kick some ASS!!" That shout was made by Seifer, agreeing to bring the beasts down. Squall began to unsheathe his Revolver gunblade. Quistis grabbed hold of her chain whip, wrapped around one of her arms. Zell had been ready, using nothing but his own body as a weapon, in learning the martial arts as a skill. Selphie Timlitt, the short girl in the yellow dress, had her weapon out too. Dincht recognized everyone, but the girl in t-shirt and blue jeans. "YO! What about that chick?!" he yelled, jerking his thumb to point her out. That was Marianne, backing up in sheer terror as the Iguions banged their front feet against the stone and metal wall one more time, causing a much bigger crack over the smaller one already made. The wall began to crumble.
It was a hailstorm of rock and steel all around Marianne, who was automatically helpless and put herself into this. She moved as a huge chunk of dried cement landed right in front of her. The rest of the wall had broken down into various sized projectiles, varying from small pebbles to large boulders. And they all piled in on top of Marianne, cutting into her skin and bruising her. A medium sized rock slammed onto her right temple.
The others had moved back, having no choice but to save their own skins. The collapse had ended shortly, killing the Iguions in the process. In cause of their own carelessness, large boulders had hit both of their heads in a single deathblow. Their dark red blood spilled in a huge mass, the group minus Marianne running away from the gate to a safe distance.
I lay dying, and I'm pouring crimson regret…
And betrayal… I'm dying…
Praying… Bleeding…and screaming.
Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost?
Seifer surprisingly was the first one to run up to the mess. It smelled of really rotten fish. "Marianne!!!" he yelled, his mind overridden by the shock and fear that took hold of him. She only just arrived here, dammit! Marianne, you're much too important to die now!!! he panicked as he nearly slipped on the blood he was towering over. Within the rocks, he could hear female crying and that she was praying, "Oh God, help me…"
"Seifer!" Quistis called after him, followed by the others. Almasy was lifting rocks and tossing them aside, immediately. He just…snapped and panicked in saving Marianne's life! Squall went over and helped him, feeling like he didn't have a choice. Only she knows what's really going on with Edea, and Leonhart was so eager to find out. They all joined in quickly to save the poor young woman from the clutches of death. Marianne slowly got to her knees, trembling and crying in a state of shock. The palms of her hands and her clothes were stained with a mixture of her own blood and Iguion blood. As she looked down upon herself, she gasped in horror. Small cuts and bruises had shown themselves on her arms. A medium sized rock also hit the left side of her head, a vertical line of her blood dripping down. Her jeans and the front of her white t-shirt had been soaked in the red mixture. That God awful stench, she could never forget or push aside no matter how hard she tried.
Seifer helped her to her feet, and asked her if she was alright. She did not answer, but looked at him, a look of fear remaining on her face as Zell was a few feet behind them, asking her the same thing. "Cura," Almasy uttered as he waved a hand over Marianne as he was helping her out of the pile of rock. She closed her eyes momentarily as a blue orb of light circled around her, making the cuts and bleeding vanish. The small bruises on her arms and legs remained, but only the ones on her arms could be seen. There was a purple mark on the same spot where a piece of fallen wall had hit her head. Seifer, along with Zell's help, used some of the pieces as stepping stones for Marianne. To avoid stepping into the blood, seeing that she had no footwear on.
"Oh my Hyne!" Selphie cried as she watched the girl tremble and gasp in her heavy sobbing. Squall and Irvine seemed really surprised and amazed that Marianne had survived, also giving them space and room to let the two blond men lead the traumatized girl out of the rubble. "It's a damn miracle you lived girl!" Zell said to her as he helped lead her on a third boulder, Seifer helping as well. "That's it kid. Just a little further," he encouraged her, as she kept a hand on his already unclean trench coat for support. Almasy let out a grunt as he lifted her by the waist off the last step stone rock and safely onto the ground, free of puddles of Iguion blood. Jeez girl, what the hell do you eat?! She was slightly heavier than his own damn gunblade!
In her quick reflexes, Marianne had her arms wrapped around Seifer in a hug. Her shivering appeared to be nonstop, scaring him to death. "Whoa…" he blurted, but he understood her actions. He understood her completely, and hugged her back. "Oh Hyne, you must be terrified." Quistis suspected as the two released of each other. Even Squall, deep inside his emotion controlled shell, was scared by looking at Marianne. Damn, she's traumatized…Oh no….NO! That girl, Marianne if I heard right, did it again! His frightened look turned into a scowl, obviously not making the poor young lady feel any better, but he was mostly angry at himself. This stranger seemed to want to break down his inner walls like a wrecking ball on a crane!
Almasy knew that his clothes were bloodstained, but he wasn't fully aware of Marianne's actions at the time. She stared at him, mouth slightly open. He could hear her heart pounding and the beats have accelerated, causing her to breathe heavily through her shaky crying.
"Let's get out of here. This place really stinks!" Selphie said for everyone. At the same time, the group was surprised that Seifer was acting so different. Well, fear changes people in some ways. From seeing Marianne panicking from the first moment he saw her, Almasy had made it his duty to help her. Instantly, on impulse. He had an arm around her, gently coaxing her to come with him. She also said something about being in another world. It's no wonder that she's so scared. Damn you Edea. How could you fucking do this to someone so innocent?! He paused in thought, remembering that she called him by his name before. …How does she even know my name?
After a moment of silence, Quistis Trepe took one last examination on Marianne and told everyone, "Her head… She must have been hit pretty hard on where the bruise is, meaning that there's a risk of her going into concussion." She turned to her. "What is your name?" Seifer answered. "This is Marianne. That Hyne damned Sorceress Edea brought her here." "She claims she's from another world," Irvine piped in. "She doesn't know why she's here or how Edea even knows about where she's from." "Holy crap man! Another world?!" Zell responded, as surprised as Seifer first was when Marianne first told him, Leonhart, and Kinneas. "Oh my Hyne, there's other humans out there besides us?!" Selphie quirked, eyes staring at Marianne's shaking form.
In observation, it became clear to Squall, reading through her emotions like looking through glass, that she wasn't going to answer anymore questions for now. He watched the tears fall down her face from walking beside the others. He also noted there was nobody else around, too busy to hide inside their homes from the Iguions. The sidewalks and streets were littered with confetti, junk food, and other various items. Damn cowards, he scowled to himself, not believing how much Galbadia had become such cowards in putting faith into Sorceress Edea to lead them. Some leader. She just planned out an escape route and fled to go into…Marianne's world. The fear of Marianne had caused him to suddenly give a damn. Why would he? Leonhart would never let anyone into his heart, protected by a hard shell that he assumed no one was able to look into. He was sure of it, but there was something he didn't know about Marianne. There were a lot of things he didn't know about Marianne, but was he eager to find out? Yes, he most certainly was. The suspicion of her was overwhelming on his cold as steel heart. I can't ignore the fact that she needs help, and we're the only ones who are around.
The others seemed to herd around the scared one, concerned. Marianne couldn't believe all of this was really happening still. These people, she never knew they were as real as her. She couldn't even think straight. Literally freaking out, she didn't know for sure if she was ever going to go back home. Was Earth really doomed? By a freakin' sorceress?!
The memory of Rinoa's death also played over and over in her mind. The death of a person she never thought was real. And the blood. So much blood… She never been through such chaos. Not ever. The previous events overwhelmed her so much. Rinoa's death also was revolving around Seifer, who he had a relationship with, and he blew it. Completely. First he fled from Balamb Garden with Quistis tagging along behind him, to make sure no innocent people would get hurt and that he wouldn't do anything stupid. They ended up in Deling, remembering that promise to Rinoa, to liberate Timber from the President. How he tried to help her was foolish and not thoroughly planned out, like Heartilly's plan was. The sorceress saved him from execution by a thread. Now there was no way to make it up to Rinoa.
"We'll get you all cleaned up at the hotel, okay hun? A hot shower will do you good," Tilmitt soothed to Marianne, trying to be of comfort. Trying to reach her. "Hey, when we get ya to the hotel, I'll run over to the shopping center and get some fresh clean clothes for you and Seifer. Okay?" She watched as Marianne closed her eyes, and opened them again to produce more tears. I think we all could use a good shower, Seifer thought, every now and then observing the newest member of the group. We smell like we haven't bathed in over a year.
Zell felt like he was blown off the face of his own world and into the universe. The fact that other human beings outside of this world even existed had shaken him up. This chick… She looks as normal as any other human being! I don't understand this at all. His mind had a lot of questions for the newcomer, but he wasn't dumb. He knew he had to wait until Marianne was calm enough to talk again.
Quistis was being comforting in a non verbal way. She massaged one of Marianne's shoulders. The trembling Earth girl was trying so hard not to focus her eyes on the blood she was covered in. She was trying so hard to push that fact aside, but couldn't. Calming down at a time like this felt impossible for her to do. The fear had taken over her body, and didn't realize that she was looking at Squall. He noticed, and Marianne focused her eyes to look at Quistis, quick before she would cringe of his intense stare downs, which she called a "hawk stare." Oh yes, only his eyes matched the ferocity of any bird of prey on her home world.
Then her eyes moved to Zell, who had the urge to say something, eyes wide open in examining how much of a mess Marianne was. "Wow, that bruise on your head sure looks nasty…" Nice choice of words, Chicken Wuss, Seifer thought as he was keeping an eye out for anymore monsters. For Marianne's and everyone else's safety. "When we get to the hotel, we'll get ya an ice pack, okay Marianne?" Dincht added. He has been here before on vacation with his parents, and it was indeed a nice city to visit during the summer. As everyone made a left from moving away from the gate, he instantly knew that the group was heading for the hotel. At first he wasn't sure, and was just tagging along.
A Galbadian soldier in red armor with a metal device latched around his right arm, was standing around the corner of the street when he heard a set of footsteps. He turned and ran towards the sound. The group of civilians stopped. "Hold it right there! Where the hell did you people come from?!" he called, and found himself looking upon the slightly overweight girl in bloodstained jeans and t-shirt, and the bruise on her head was obvious.
Marianne instantly knew this soldier was known as an Elite Galbadian Soldier. She rested her arms on Seifer's shoulders and stood behind him for protection. Almasy looked over his shoulder at her. Does she even know about the enemy soldiers? he wondered. Nah…she can't know, idiot! She's just scared, answered the smug voice in his head. "What the… What the hell happened to you?!" the man in red demanded of Marianne out of shock. This guy also wore the same kind of helmet the soldiers in blue wore, she but had a better look of it this time. There were rubies on the front of the helmet, for nothing more than decoration.
"I'll handle this," Irvine said calmly for the group he was standing behind, and then stepped around and forward to face the elite soldier. He made a surprised facial expression for the one in red to see. "By Hyne, didn't you see those hideous monsters out there?!" "Where did they go? I'll be sure to radio in some troops immediately!" the Galbadian enemy interjected, and unclipped what looked like a walkie-talkie than was attached to his black leather belt. He had obviously seen the Iguions, and was also one of the patrollers of the parade. He was getting civilians to safety. "They're dead. The Deling City gate collapsed, and we were able to pull this girl out from the wreckage," Selphie stated calmly, helping the cowboy out. Tilmitt played along quite well with the innocent civilian routine and patted Marianne on the shoulder. "It's alright Marianne, he's not going to hurt us," she said, actually meaning that and playing her role at the same time. The soldier looked upon the terrified girl in concern. She endlessly trembled and was using Seifer as a human shield. "My Hyne, you look shaken up." He turned to the others. "Where are you going?" "We're taking her to the hotel, to get her cleaned up," Squall simply replied, keeping his expression blank and indifferent. Believe it or not, Marianne's our only safe haven past him, he scowled to himself.
The soldier nodded and looked away from the young man in leather jacket, who secretly shot him another "hawk stare", as Marianne observed and mentally labeled. "Well, don't let me stop you then. You folks better take good care of her." The man in red armor nodded curtly towards Marianne, who had the courage to exchange a similar reaction. As Seifer and the group that kept her in safe hands past the man who she saw and knew was an enemy, she felt him give her a light pat on the shoulder and added in assurance. "You'll be just fine ma'mm." She twitched fearfully in reaction, not wanting to be touched by him at all. She didn't even want to say anything to him.
Before Marianne and the group not originally from Deling City could walk any farther, the Elite Galbadian soldier had one more thing to say. "You folks wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Sorceress Edea, would you?" Only Marianne knew of it, but silently told herself to tell him squat. Otherwise she'd risk herself in danger and be taken away from Seifer and the others to be cooped up somewhere and interrogated. Possibly go through torture as well. No way in freakin' hell am I going to allow that! she yelled inwardly in thought, really terrified of that possibility. She wasn't stupid, not at all. To hide her cover, she shook her head no rapidly. "We don't know where she is," said Quistis, enforcing an "I don't know" shrug of innocence. The soldier believed them, and had no other intention to bother them. He watched them as they resumed walking towards the hotel on the left side of the new street the others came to. Then he detached the walkie-talkie from his belt and talked into it. "Viper to Brick Sack, do you read me?" Brick Sack, because the blue armor patrolman through the other line had bricks for brains. "Gather the troops. We've got some cleaning up to do at Deling's Gate…"